Just realized I've been using way too much wood for my brisket smoke

I switched from a full log every hour to just two fist-sized chunks at the start, and the flavor got way cleaner. Anyone else find less smoke wood actually works better on long cooks?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylan_anderson1mo ago

Honestly I feel like people overthink the wood thing sometimes. Tbh as long as you have some smoke flavor and the meat is tender, you're doing fine. It's not like a tiny bit more or less wood is gonna ruin a whole brisket. Ngl I've used way too much before and it still turned out okay.

terry_owens431mo ago

Tiny bit more or less wood" is the part that makes sense to me.

tessa8681mo ago

The part about too much wood still being okay is where I disagree. Over-smoking makes the meat taste bitter, like licking an ashtray. It's a harsh flavor that ruins the texture too. Once that creosote builds up, you can't fix it no matter how tender the brisket gets. A clean blue smoke is the goal, and that needs way less wood than most people use.