Have you ever heard of people having meat smoking horror stories? They just can’t seem to get it right no matter what they do? Chances are they aren’t taking the time to learn from their mistakes. This guide is here to change that to give you a heads up on what to look out for when you’re smoking meat.
You can’t live life without learning, and you can’t learn without making mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, so here are 18 things you should avoid while smoking meats. These are all great tips and some are not as obvious as you would think.
Overall this is a very comprehensive guide on mistakes that have been made by myself and others while smoking meat.
Not Leaving your comfort zone
When first starting out it’s a real learning experience, there’s so much going on and so much that needs to be managed yet the pros make it look so easy. That level of confidence comes with time, patience and experience. You aren’t going to become a master overnight, but once you get the basics down, don’t get comfortable because there’s a heck of a lot to learn about this stuff.
Electric smokers are great. They are really nice to have and can save a bunch of hassle cooking all of that meat inside. They are convenient, easy to put away and a lot of the times have built-in electronic sensors that give you fairly decent temperature readings. If you are just starting out a nice electric smoker will do the trick, but you aren’t going to be able to get those really nice smoke rings you could get from an offset smoker or a charcoal smoker.
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Once you get into offset or charcoal smokers, the world of smoking meats is going to open up to you. There are so many different techniques you can use and flavors you can achieve with a higher quality smoker. Good luck trying to get the same kind of bark on an electric smoker that you can get on an offset one.
Don’t get comfortable with where you are in our smoking experience, there is a lot to learn and more flavors to taste. Everyone has to start out somewhere, who knows if you get really good at it one day you could turn it into a business.
Read more:
- Best Electric Smoker Cookbooks for Amazing BBQ recipes
- Best Knife for Slicing Brisket (Slicing, Carving & Trimming)
Overloading the cooking chamber
One of the biggest mistakes people make when smoking meats are trying to cram as much meat onto the grill as possible. This makes the temperature very hard to deal with, and it also affects how evenly everything is going to cook. You also want to make sure your meat isn’t cold, as this will drastically change how long everything is going to take.
Let’s say you wanted to cram 2 briskets on the grill when you really only should have one. This will make the smoking time much, much longer. Instead of it taking, say 6 hours it would be probably closer to 10 or 12. That much more uncooked mass will absorb a lot of the heat.
A good rule of thumb is that you should have at least 2 to 3 inches of space around your slab of meat. That way the smoke and heat can cook the meat from all angles. If you had a couple pieces touching you would have some spots on the outside that aren’t going to be cooked enough.
Over seasoning
It’s really hard with so many choices of spices out there to determine which ones you want to include in your rub. There are 100s of different spices, herbs, and blends that people use to smoke their meats with on a daily basis. The blends are really nice to use and buying them will give you a sense of what tastes you want to add to your rub.
But if you’re like me you probably want to get this stuff figured out through testing and experience. The best suggestion I can give you when you’re just starting out trying to make your own rubs is to keep it simple. Just use salt and pepper, seriously. Once you can figure out how much is too much and how the 2 spices interact with each other on the meats, then you will begin to understand the basic concept of putting together a rub.
Once you have the 2 basic flavors down you should start to add a small number of other spices like paprika or cayenne, but don’t go too overboard because spices like these can make things too spicy too quick. You don’t want to overpower other spices when you add a new one to the mix, you want them to compliment each other.
Think of the spice rub as a flavor painting, you want the person enjoying it to be able to really understand the complexity and balance of it all. A good rub won’t have one spice that really takes everything over, they usually have a good combination of spices that complement each other well.
Read more:
- The Best Way to Reheat Brisket Without Drying It Out
- How to Smoke a Brisket? Based on the Advises from Aaron Franklin
Impatience
You’re going to hear me talk a lot about impatience in this guide, it is by far the most important thing you take away from these tips. Being impatient can lead to many problems, even right off the bat. Smoking meat is a long process and you shouldn’t be cutting any corners.
The whole cooking process isn’t about whether it’s on time, it’s about whether the meat tastes good. For the meat to taste good you need 2 main things; temperature and time. If you don’t have the right temperature either your meat isn’t going to cook all the way through or it’s going to char up and burn. If you don’t take your time and you try to rush the cooking process, things just aren’t going to work out properly.
The most important thing about smoking meats is the tenderness it produces. If you don’t get that tenderness then you have done something wrong and need to figure out what it was to fix it for next time. Most of the time this problem stems from impatience.
A Great slab of meat comes from a great amount of patience. Patience is a virtue we all strive for and it
Taking it too seriously
You have to remember that to be a pro it’s going to take a lot of time and money. Most of us just want to smoke meats because we enjoy it. That’s what I do and that’s the way you should look at it too. The whole process should be fun and relaxing.
Life can get stressful and this is one of those things that should just calm you down. You get to be outside in nature smelling your aromatic blends of wood, smoke, meat, and spices. What more could you ask for? It isn’t a competition against the clock, especially if you want your meal to turn out good.
Sometimes it can get stressful if your smokers acting up or if the heat isn’t just right, but know that this is supposed to be something you should enjoy. You can’t take it too seriously or you will suck all of the fun out of it and end up giving up on smoking meats altogether.
You have to remember there is a lot of work involved in smoking meats, but at the end of the day, it’s going to taste way better than if you cooked it in the oven. There’s nothing quite like a nice smoked brisket cooked by a pro smoker.
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Wrong choice of meat
The cut of meat has everything to do with how it turns out in the end. You don’t want to buy the cheapest piece of meat you can find, a lot of the times it has too much fat or is just not what you’re looking for at all. The wrong cut of meat can make it dry out too quick and just taste bad.
You should get the best kind of meat you can afford when smoking, it’s really worth spending that little bit extra to get the top-quality cuts. To get the best cuts you are going to want to find yourself as a butcher. That shouldn’t prove to be difficult since there is one in nearly every town or city that I’ve been to.
You should get to know the butcher, they have a lot of experience that can help you learn about how to cook your food properly. They should be able to advise you on what the best choice of meat is for your needs. The best thing about the butcher is that its fresh!
You should always buy fresh meat when smoking, if you don’t you can add a couple more days to the wait time for de-thawing it as flash or quick thawing is not recommended. Make sure your cut doesn’t have too much fat!
Lighting the smoker with lighter fluid
This is a common misconception for people just starting out smoking meat. They just got their new smoker and want to try it out right away and don’t feel like waiting for the coals to heat up naturally so they pour some lighter fluid over the coals and wood. This is a big mistake. You’re going to get a fire that going to burn far too hot for too long.
The fuel will also leave a very bad taste in the smoker that will affect many cookouts to come. Those bad odors will linger and infuse with the meat cooking in the smoker. No one likes the taste of gasoline in their brisket.
Also, the wood will burn more rapidly and once the flame dies down it will produce a lot more smoke as well. With the wood burning at a quicker pace, it will need to be replaced more often and having too much smoke can ruin your smoked meats.
What you need to use is a chimney starter. I usually like to pick mine up online and they aren’t too expensive. Weber carries a decent chimney starter, you can check out the prices here.
Not keeping a consistent temperature
The whole point of smoking meat is to cook it in a nice low setting, so it stays moist and tender throughout. The low heat and slow cooking will also allow the meat to absorb all the flavors from the spices and herbs that you added in the rub. Your temperature should reach a point of stability before adding the meat to the mix.
An important aspect of smoking meats is having the right amount of water in the water pan. The water absorbs the heat and kind of acts as a regulator of temperature with its steam. It will tend to evaporate so check it every time you need to flip the meat around, and if it needs to be refilled, refill it.
To accurately gauge the temperature effectively you should consider purchasing a digital probe thermometer for the smoker itself. This way you won’t have to guess what the difference in temperature is from the built-in thermometer to where the meat is.
The exact temperature of the smoker should be decided based on what type of meat you are cooking, the same goes for what temperature the meat has to be when it’s finished. You can adjust the temperature in the smoker by opening and closing the fans. It’s a good idea to start off with the fans open and allow the air to flow in.
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Adjusting too much at once
A big meat smoking mistake people make is trying to adjust to many variables at once. Let’s say your temperature dropped down really low and you’re trying to bring it back up, so you add another piece of wood and open all the vents. Next thing you know your smoker’s sitting at 450 degrees because of everything you did. Do one thing at a time, and wait for results.
If you’re all over the map with the vents opening and closing your temperature will fluctuate a lot causing the meat to dry out or take way too long to cook. You just need to make minor adjustments and see what happens. Once you do it a few times it will make more sense to you.
The main goal here is to do your best not to panic. It may get stressful at times but the best thing you can do in a situation like that is to stay calm and think about what could be causing the issues. Smoking meat isn’t a race so take your time.
Drinking too much
Yeah, you’ve probably heard it before, “Don’t drink too much or you won’t be able to finish cooking dinner”. Take it to heart though, these smokers could get awfully dangerous if left unattended.
You need to be focused and alert when smoking meat. You have to take care of the meat and make sure that it comes out nice and tender.
If you end up drinking too much you are more apt to make mistakes, and you aren’t going to learn much from them either. Let’s be honest though, there’s nothing better when everything is going so well to be able to relax and have a beer while you’re cooking, just don’t take it too far is all.
You have to be careful because a couple bad things could happen. For one, you could get dehydrated and pass out by not drinking plenty of water in between the beers and secondly, you could start a grease fire by letting it get way too hot by not keeping on top of the temperature. Both situations are a big meat smoking mistake.
Too much smoke
That smokey taste is to die for! But too much of it can very well ruin a dinner. A lot of people think since the taste is so good that if you make it smoke more it’s going to make the meat taste better. What’s really going to happen is the meat will start to dry out quicker and the flavors from the meat and spices won’t come through at all.
Sometimes you get to much smoke and you need to try to calm it down, the best thing you can do is open it up and let the cold air in. Try a combination of different variations in how much you open the vents but remember, don’t mess around with too much at once. If that’s not working you might have to take out some of the wood you put in the smoker.
Remember that less is more when it comes to smoking meats. The long cook times on low heat makes for a succulent chunk of meat that will just melt in your mouth. One more thing, if the smoke smells bad, the meat’s going to taste as bad as it smells so make sure you chose your fuel wisely.
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Not enough time
When your cooking for a group of people the atmosphere when it gets closer to dinner time will start leaning towards people wanting to be fed. Don’t let this change your goal though, the low and slow technique needs to be used the whole time or it would have all been a waste.
When crunched with deadlines people sometimes will try to raise the temperature to get it to cook faster but all that’s doing is drying the meat out and adding a burnt flavor. If anyone’s being bothersome about how long it’s taking just let them know perfection takes time. You know that you can’t rush the process so why try?
Always account for extra time needed in case you run into issues (which you most likely will) while smoking meat. Every piece of meat is different so just do your research and take your time, it’s not a race. Just use your best judgment and make the right calls.
A technique called the “Texas Cheat” is one that some people use if it’s absolutely necessary to get the food on the table. Basically, you preheat your oven inside, wrap your meat in foil and bake it for the rest of the cooking. It will cut down on time but it just won’t taste the same as if it were smoked the whole time.
Rushing the End
There’s this spot while your smoking meat called “the stall”, this is when the meat gets pretty close to where it needs to be but just kind of hangs at that temperature for a while, sometimes even a couple hours depending on the size of the chunk of meat.
This is a common thing, so don’t panic, everything will be just fine. People have done studies to try and figure out what causes this but it really just comes down to the fact that the temperature is low already and the meat actually get pretty close to the temperature it’s in.
It’s not advised to go any higher with the temperature of the smoker, just wait it out. Once all the fat burns down and gristles away that temperature will rise and you won’t have to worry about a thing. You really don’t want to go raising the temperature near the end and ruining the whole dinner, do you?
Opening the lid too often
I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep the lid closed as much as possible. I know it’s tempting to want to take a look inside and see how your meat is coming along, but trust me it’s not worth it to just look at it.
Think about it, every time you open the lid, you’re releasing all of that precious smoke flavor and heat. As soon as you open it, you’re adding more time to the overall cooking time, and you definitely don’t want to get caught with the lid open very long either. That would completely screw up the smoking session leaving you left with a bad tasting piece of meat and another lesson learned.
Opening the lid so much makes it difficult to keep a steady temperature. There’s no point in checking it so often, just take it slow and low as the smoker does. Opening a lid on a bullet smoker like the Weber will have a much greater effect in the temperature dropping since it’s wide open, so just be careful.
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Drying out the meat
Having a dry brisket at the end of an 8-hour smoking session would be completely disheartening. As a result, a lot of people won’t continue trying to smoke meats after a bad experience like that. The best way to avoid having dry meat is to make sure you keep the temperature low enough. For example, don’t try to turn up the heat to make it cook more quickly.
Another big problem that causes meats to dry out is not keeping the water tray topped off. In other words, you have to make sure to keep an eye on your water tray and if it starts to dip down, make sure to refill it. Above all, make sure you have a water tray in your smoker in the first place. As a result of not having one, the meat would surely dry out quickly.
If you put too much wood in the smoker, you’re going to have way too much smoke. Consequently, the meat will also dry out as a result of this. However, if you keep the recommended amount of wood in the burner at all times, you shouldn’t have any problems with there being too much smoke. In short, do your best to limit the amount of smoke going through your smoker, as it will dry your meat out.
Trusting the dome thermometer
From personal experience, I really don’t like using the dome thermometers. The thing is, the sensor isn’t situated near the meat, it’s at the top of the smoker. Temperatures can fluctuate between a couple of inches so you’re going to want to figure out how to fix that issue.
What you need to do is get yourself a temperature probe. You can find these on Amazon and they do the trick. All you do is place the probe beside your meat and you’re going to get a much more accurate temperature reading.
If you get one that you can’t keep inside the smoker, you’re going to want to let the probe cool down before checking again. This will ensure that you will get more accurate readings, just don’t check too often, we don’t want that heat to get out.
Wrong type of wood
Using the wrong kind of wood in the smoker can be disastrous. You typically want to smoke hardwoods as they don’t catch as easy and smoke longer than softwoods. Softwoods aren’t really going to do you any good here.
Some of the main types of wood used in smokers are pecan, apple, oak, hickory, and maple, each with their own flavor portfolio. Oak, hickory, and maple tend to give off a heavier smoke taste, where apple and pecan are a lighter subtler smoke taste.
The heavier tasting woods are good for darker meat, like beef, pork and wild game. I like to use either pecan or apple when I’m cooking chicken, turkey or fish, just so it doesn’t overpower all the spices and flavor of the meat.
The choice of what wood you should use is an important one, so don’t take it lightly. You don’t want to look like a fool when your chicken comes out tasting like a tree.
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Not carving the meat properly
After a long day of smoking meat, the first thing you want to do when it’s done is carve right into that bad boy. But not so fast, you need to let it rest before digging in. If you don’t wait at least 5 to 10 minutes after you take it off the smoker, the meat is just going to rip and tear. That’s not what we are looking for.
When you give it time to rest all of the meat starts to get a little bit more solid. When you cut it after it has had time to rest, you’re going to end up with a much better portion of meat. Nobody wants a bunch of little hunks of meat, they want a nice clean cut. Appearance is key here.
When your carving slices off of turkey, chicken, pork or beef for people you’re going to want to cut it a ¼ inch thick slices, about the width of a pencil. This is the perfect size for smoked meat to be enjoyed at. Furthermore, you will want to use a proper carving knife.
Summary
Now you should have a good understanding of what to avoid when smoking meats. As a result, you should also have a better knowledge as for what to do when problems arise. Every piece of meat is going to cook differently so you have to be aware of what’s happening. Meanwhile, there are some very basic concepts that carry through any other type of cooking. For example, don’t try to rush or race against the clock. As a result, you will end up with a poorly smoked meal.
There are so many different factors in smoking meats, above all, it’s important to make sure you’re having fun and taking your time. Half the fun of it all is the actual cooking, so do your best to enjoy it!
I hope this guide has been helpful! Click below to share with your friends!
Last Updated on August 6, 2020 by Judith Fertig
Monseis Robles says
I Like the information I read, it was very informative, thank you .
Judith Fertig says
Thanks for stoping by, Monseis Robles!
Reg Galbraith says
I don’t agree with using a water pan. I rely more on the marbling in the meat and the fat layer especially when smoking brisket or pork butt. The biggest thing of all is too not overcook the meat. With a 10 to 20 hour smoke, I like to wrap in butchers paper and rest in a beer cooler for a couple of hours
I’m not an expert but I make great bbq
Joe Findell says
Overcooking everything
Get a meat thermometer even it’s a cheapo hand held and cook to temp. Many people cook way too long
Jeremy Crandall says
I sometimes get pressed on time. I low and slow until last hour and kick it up a notch. I also let it rest for 4-6-8-12 hours, depending if I am going to go to work.
Tori Anderson says
This is my first brisket. It was partly tough and partly tender. Just reading some of this . I see that a lot of things I did wrong. I am cooking on a royal gourmet offset smoker charcoal grill. I put my coals with hickory in offset. I didn’t have a water pan on the coal side or under the meat. I was checking every hour. One of the things that I noticed was a slight area on the lid where it closed I can see a little light. After 7 1/2 hours on 4 lb it was still partially tough. I am not getting discouraged. But a mere disappointed at myself.
Gerry Morris says
great tips, I agree patience is key!
YIANNIS MORAITIS says
Thank you.I ama new smoker
alan sparks says
I smoked my first brisket last summer and I have to say it was quite a learning experience! I used a cheap standup smoker with no water tray and and also had a cheap 6 lb. brisket I got on sale at a supermarket. I opened the smoker door way too often because the temp. kept rising dangerously close to critical, The only right thing I did was use a quality temp. probe. Also I used foil instead of butcher paper and soaked wood chips mixed with dry chunks on top of cheap charcoal. I did let the meat rest sufficiently at the end probably because I was afraid I had shoe leather. Believe it or not the meat was to die for! My son-in-law actually offered me $50.00 for the last pound of meat left, I refused. I know I got real lucky and will probably ruin my next 3 or 4 briskets but I had a great time cooking it can’t wait to do it all again. that’s what it’s all about.