Food tastes awful..I am doing something wrong

[fnm2121]

I purchased a PARTY-Q controller and Smokenator for my 22.5 OTG a few weeks back. It seems that no matter what I cook and what type of wood I use, the meat always tates awful a chemical tate every time. My thoughts are either its the charcoal smoke I am tasting (Stubbs), or its the fact that the party-q is just not allowing good airflow and its causing me issues (top vents opened all the way, bottom vents closed). Temp holds perfectly all the time. I have tried chicken, pork shoulder, ribs, and brisket. Each cook turning out the same with unedible food that ends up feeding my cat. Every time the taste is identical no matter what meat or wood I use. So below are my steps. I cant figure out what I am doing wrong.

Close Bottom vents
Put coals in smokenator and remove 10 or so for starting.
Start coals in chimney starter and allow them to be 3/4 ash
Add them to the smokenator
Fill the water pan
Add a EZ-Foil drip pan under the cooking side and fill that with water.
Connect the party q  and temp probe on the cooking grate.
set temp (235 in this case)
close the lid and wait for startup smoke to stop and temp to hold at 235
Add my meat
Wait about 10 mins and add a small chunk of wood (about the size of a bic lighter)
Close the lid (vents over the food)
Add coals (10-12 unlit) as needed
Add one more small wood chunk
Let it go til it finishes

Now with that little bit of wood cooking a pork butt, I cant see how it can be over-smoked. I have been so frustrated and have wasted so much money. I feel like giving up on this whole effort. What am I doing wrong?

[ncsmoker]

Hi 2121 sorry to hear about your problems. I also have the gold. Here are a few things I see that you might want to change for your next try. I assume you are using the Stubbs briquettes not lump. You don't need to wait for them to be 3/4 ash, just white hot. Do away with the EZ-foil water pan it is reducing the heat in the grill and adding extra moisture you don't need. This will cause the Party-Q to run more. Don't close the lid vent the smoke has to have some where to go, I would leave it 1/4 open. On a ribs I will smoke them 6 hrs, brisket and butts for 10 hrs this is using 3x3x1 chunks. The chunks smoke about an hour. Don't add coals until the 4 hr. point, see page 7 and 8 of the instruction manual. Then sweep the white coals to the center and pack in as many coals as you can, and sweep the ashes out.

Now try it on a whole chicken and if that works a rack of spare ribs, then move on to the more expensive cuts. If your still getting the foul taste then I would try a smoke not using the Party-Q again with chicken. The briquettes I can't see being the problem. Stubbs are highly thought of. A recent article I saw on one of my BBQ e-mail news letters said it didn't matter what you bought you should just buy what's on sale. They talked to several BBQ champions and they agreed they used what was available the important thing was the wood and the cooking process. I just reread your post and I don't see the wood being a problem as you say you have used several types. Sometimes wood can be moldy and cause a problem.

I hope this works and helps you.

Please let us know.

Tom

[rangerone]

Hello fnm2121, and welcome to the forum. I hope you can correct the problem quickly and get on with enjoying your equipment. Sounds like you have a killer setup.

NCSmoker has hit all the important topics for you to consider. I do have a few questions for you.

When you start up the kettle, do you detect any bad smells, or is it just the taste of the food that is bad?
Did anyone use any type of oils or lubricants when the PARTY-Q was installed? Cutting oils or silicone lubricants (WD-40 etc.) would have to be throughly cleaned away.
Does the PARTY-Q appear to be working too hard? Could it be overheating?

There are really only 5 possible causes to your issue (that I can think of):

1. Bad food. (as long as it is not too old and has not sat out of the fridge for too long, highly unlikely)
2. Bad charcoal. (rare, but I have heard of people getting a "bad" bag from time to time)
3. Bad wood. (if it was wet and mouldy perhaps)
4. Chemical residue (from cutting oil, packing oil on grills, cleaning agents, etc.)
5. Bad PARTY-Q. (contaminated, overheating, etc.)

Good luck, and please let us know what happens.

[bigpernz]

Rangerone listed all the possible variables that could be causing the problem. You might try some chicken cooks eliminating (or changing) one of them at a time. Maybe try without the party-q first.

[ncsmoker]

2121 you have done enough smokes that any oils should be gone. But lets be sure. Do a blind cook with no meat. Load the SN with 40 coals and add 12 lit coals. Set the temp for 400 degrees. I have never had a problem with this, but if you did use oil when drilling the hole for the Party-Q this may be the problem.

Don't know if this is the problem and really don't know if you need to do this. But think about it.

Tom

[fnm2121]

No lubricant was used when I cut the hole. I can reproduce this exact sae issue on my 18.5 Kettle. I bought a second adaptor from Party Q and have the same results on the 18.5. No Smokemnator on the 18.5. I also tried using some RO lump yesterday on a chicken breast (Split breast). I did add a tiny bit of wood and had the same taste Not as strong as usual, but I added only a tiny bit of wood. So its not the coal, its not the grill, its not the smokenator.All I keep coming back to is the Party-Q. I have my lower vents completely sealed with magnetic strips, Just thought it was worth mentioning. 

[rangerone]

Hello again 2121. It sounds as if you are narrowing down the possible causes. The Party-Q sounds like it might be your #1 possibility, but don't count out the wood yet. You commented that you used less wood, and the taste was not as bad. Wood can sometimes be a problem. Here are some points I have read about wood.

1. Bad wood. Plain and simple, wood that is for some reason not good for smoking. Maybe it has some rot, mould, chemicals, or another condition that makes it useless.
2. Wood not burning clean, causing dirty smoke. If you are getting a thick white or dark smoke coming out, this can add a bad or bitter flavour to the food. Ideally, you should be getting a thin, light, blue smoke coming from the cooker.
3. Bad choice of wood. Not all wood is the same, and maybe this type is just too strong or provides a flavour you do not like.
4. Too much smoke. Over smoking the food is not a good thing. Since you said you only used a tiny bit of wood in your last cook, I doubt this is an issue for you.

You really have me interested in what the root cause is. Good luck and please keep us informed on what you find out!!!

[ncsmoker]

I agree with RangerOne you have narrowed it down to the wood or the Party-Q. Where did you get your wood. Was it a name brand reputable supplier Cameron's, Weber, MaineGrillingWoods are 3 that come to mind. Again your smoke should be a light blue to very light white. A heavy white to grey is an indication of not enough air for the wood. Is there a lot of bark on the wood this can cause an off taste. When lighting coals do not use lighter fluid. Here is a picture of the smoke you are looking for. As you see you can see through it.


I think the easiest thing to eliminate is the wood. Go to Lowe's or Walmart and pick up a bag of chunks and try using them. Walmart may not have them this time of year, but Lowe's should.

Another thought I just had is with all the bottom vents totally sealed you are depending totally on the Party-Q for air. Try opening the vents a little bit so that so that some air gets in. Otherwise the wood has nothing to provide oxygen to burn with when the Party-Q is off. Even a 1/16 will provide enough air for the wood. When I smoke my bacon I close the bottom vents to a 1/16 and the top to 1/8 and can control the temp to 160 at the grill. Without air coming in you are basically creating charcoal of the wood. Hope this makes sense.

Please keep us informed as this is as puzzling to us as it is to you.

[whiskeycharlie]

Greetings Friend fnm2121,

Welcome to the fire. I am sorry for your difficulties. As opposed to some of my brethren, I run with my bottom vent full open and I vary my top vent from 1/4" to 3/8" to control the temperature, see pages 3 & 4 of the manual. I have considered the PartyQ and expect to purchase one for next season, I'm planning to start with the lower vent closed down to ~3/8" and then make a test run.

Guess I'm trying to echo Tom's thoughts above, try opening up your lower vent a tad.

Good luck.

Whiskey Charlie

[ncsmoker]

fnm2121 thinking more and more about it I would try opening the bottom vent by 1/8" and the top vent by 1/4-3/8" first before trying anything else. With the OTG this is like opening one hole open on the bottom vent.. This assumes you have a good wood source.

Tom

[ncsmoker]

fnm2121 it has been nearly 2 weeks and just want to check in to see if we have solved your problem. We all love the SN and want you to be happy in your smoking experience.

Please let us know where you stand on your smoking tries.

Tom