glad i did a test run on the bread and smoker today

[fizzgig]

smoked a tri tip, it was perfectly cooked, but i grabbed mesquite without paying attention and the smoke was a bit overwhelming for me. don't get me wrong, it was effing tasty, but i don't want to overwhelm the pastrami with it. the grocery store only had mesquite, apple and hickory (i think). i'm going to run out tonight, brave walmart (it's close) and then head back to the store if walmart doesn't have any larger of a selection.

i think i'll go with apple since it seems to be a lighter wood, but this is the one area i didn't do enough research or hunting on.

set up a loaf of no knead rye bread last night, switched the amounts of ap and rye flour and ignored my gut that the dough was too wet. we fixed it, but the loaf came out dense and tiny. husband loved it, but i want a bigger loaf for dad. now that i know what i did wrong, i think i can do it right for the final product.

the only thing i'm waiting on at this point is the sauerkraut and i'm worried i put off starting it too long. if it doesn't come out, so be it, i'll just pick some up on the way to dad's tuesday.

[Major Nikon]

1. Of all the smoking woods, mesquite has the strongest smoke flavor, IMO

It's kinda like hickory on steroids. Since I got my electric smoker, I don't use mesquite anymore because it's just too easy to overdo it on the smoke. I only use between 2 and 4oz of wood. Any more than that and you get too many off flavors. I generally use hickory on beef and fruit woods on pork and everything else, or a combination of the two.

[fizzgig]

2. it's likely i used too much wood, too

i used a couple handfuls, by how much would you cut that down for a lighter wood? or would you?

this is a whole new world for me, but i think it's something i want to start doing more often.

[Major Nikon]

3. How much you use depends on the type of smoker you have

The smoker I have (SmokinTex) is similar to many low ventilation electric smokers in that you use very little wood. The reason is because unlike wood heated smokers and some electric smokers there is very little ventilation going on. So what smoke there is mostly stays in the smoker with a very small stream of smoke slowly ventilating out of the top. With this type of smoker you have to be very careful about how much wood you use because it's very easy to overdo it as most people who own one of these types learn very quickly.

I tend to use the same amount of wood for the job regardless of type. Fruit woods tend to have more subtle flavors, but the off flavors you get are directly proportional to how much wood you use regardless of type. At least that's been my experience with my smoker. I vary how much wood I use depending on what I'm smoking and how I'm smoking it. Generally for slow smoking over several hours I will use chunks. For short smoking (less than 2 hours) I will typically use chips. In either case I'm generally staying between 2-4oz of wood.

Another thing with electric smokers is you typically don't get a smoke ring as you would with a wood fired smoker using charcoal. Some people interpret this to mean that you need to use more wood and smoke, but this is actually wrong. The smoke ring comes from nitrates, not the smoke flavor itself. If you want a smoke ring with an electric smoker add a chunk of charcoal along with the wood, or cure the meat for 24 hours or so with a nitrate based cure like Tender Quick on the outside. I generally omit the nitrates altogether unless I am doing a cure. I don't think a little is going to hurt you but diets high in nitrates from cured meats and low in vitamin C have been linked to cancer. I eat a lot of vitamin C vegetables so I don't worry about it too much.

[fizzgig]

6. it's an electric smoker

not a whole lot of ventilation, just what comes out from around the lid. this is going to be a longer smoke job but i got chips rather than chunks. maybe i'll go exchange them tomorrow, but i'll definitely cut the amount a bit.

[Major Nikon]

7. Keep the chips as they work great for some things

If I'm smoking a big hunk of meat over a long period of time I use chunks, but for most of the things I smoke I use chips. It's good to have both.

Experience with your smoker will tell you how much to use. With the chunks I cut the big ones down to about 2oz each because that's what seems to work best with my smoker.

[Warpy]

4. I've only done smoking in a wok

and the mixture was star anise, black tea, rice, and 5 spice powder. The flavor was amazing and went all through the duck.

For wood smoked, my favorites are apple and mesquite. Anything less is just, well, less.

[Major Nikon]

5. My favorite is peach harvested from my peach trees

When I prune my peach trees I save the bigger branches and cut them down into short lengths. After about 6 months or more of drying they are good to go.