When to start smoking process

[dubepa]

Hi, i’m new at this! Making snacking sticks, they talk about the heat and how long, but at what point do i start the smoking process? Thank you!

[Jonathon]

dubepa I like to start smoke at the beginning of the second stage, the first stage is going to be drying mostly. For our smoke schedule that would be once you increase temperature to 140°, this should give you a nice finished product!

[dubepa]

Jonathon thank you much appreciated

[Parksider]

Couple smoking tips:

Like Jonathon said first step is drying, don’t use any liquid like a water bowl. Crack the smoker door to let moisture out. Once they are dry to the touch they are ready for smoke.
I like mine with more smoke so I keep wood on pretty much the whole time.

[hinoon]

Parksider Is the door to stay open the whole cooking time? Is just opening the top ports not enough? Seems like it would be hard to keep your temp correct with the door cracked.

[Jonathon]

hinoon No, the door should not stay open the entire time. I think what Parksider is referring to is cracking the door if your smoker/oven won’t start as low as 120° or so. Once that is over close the door for sure. If he is talking about just to get more airflow for the initial drying phase then it will depend on your smoker. I find that opening my top and bottom vents is enough but that may not be the case for everyone.

[Parksider]

hinoon Sorry for the late reply, job gets in the way of my hobbies sometimes… That correct, just crack the door on low setting to help let the moisture out. If the casings aren’t dry they won’t take the smoke and you’ll end up with very ugly sticks. The water will wash the smoke off. We live in Rochester NY and it’s cold here…so if the sticks come out of the cooler they will sweat. Just dry them out an you’ll be good to put the smoke to them.