@bpschuebel While it being greyish would mean the cure wasn’t effective it being pink doesn’t necessarily mean it is perfectly safe. Color change is one of the properties of the cure, it isn’t the only thing it does. I’d still treat it as a fresh product, it might be fine but I wouldn’t think it would be worth risking it. Freeze whatever you arent going to eat in 3-5 days and vac seal everything else and you’ll be safe.

@jim-volk A full bowl goes a long way. The most I’ve ever used is a nearly full bowl that I’ve gone back and added a handful or two later on in the cook, and that was a very smoky product. As @twilliams mentioned, you can have too much smoke on your product. Even if it’s not bitter, the smoke can overwhelm. There have been times I am glad I didn’t use a full bowl in the first place. If you don’t see anything coming out of your stack, you can go shake up or stir up the bowl. The stuff in the center doesn’t burn up so much. In fact, if you’re going to be around during the cook, you’re probably better off starting with a bowl that’s half or maybe 3/4 full and then adding more later on if you want to. Again, keep in mind that the bowl gets HOT!