How Much Smoke is Enough?

Q: How do I know how much smoke is enough? I'm doing pork with hickory wood?

A: Excellent question! Pork generally handles smoke quite well and you can usually apply smoke for the first 1/4 of the total cook time and then work up from there depending on your personal taste.

As I will mention below.. hickory is strong so use with care and plenty of airflow.

Here are some more general considerations:


There are several factors that determine how much smoke is enough when smoking meat.

• Type of meat to be smoked
• You/Your Family's personal tastes
• Type of wood you will use

These are the main factors or variables that will determine the answer to this question.

Type of Meat to Be Smoked

Different meats can handle varying amounts of smoke.. while I do not have the space to list everything here I will tell you right off the bat that pork shoulder and poultry can handle more smoke than a brisket from my experience.

Brisket tends to be like a sponge when it comes to smoke so you have to be a little careful and for the record.. I have oversmoked a brisket before using the exact same settings that would have been fine for a turkey or pork butt or other similar cut of meat.

Your Personal Taste

This kind of goes without saying but I will mention it anyway.. you just have to learn what you and your family like. My family likes it pretty smoky while I know folks who just like to have the slightest hint of smoke. Over time you learn how to do it like you and your family like it and when you get it right, make some notes and try to duplicate your process.

Learn from your mistakes as well.

Type of Wood Used

This is another one of those things that can get you if you're not careful. Woods are as different from one another as day and night and you have to learn what woods produce strong smoke flavor and which ones are more on the mild side.

To give a few common examples:

Mesquite and hickory are on the wild side.. very strong and must be used with care.

Pecan and most fruit woods are considered mild and can be used without too much worry of oversmoking within certain limits.

In conclusion..

The things I have mentioned are the main factors however I do have some basic rhyme and reason for doing it correctly. In a charcoal, electric, or propane smoker I apply smoke for about the first 1/4 to 1/3 of the cook time and then finish it the rest of the way with heat only.

Also make sure you have adequate airflow since nothing is worse than stale smoke. The intake must me open at least half way and the damper(if you have one) must remain open 3/4 of the way for proper airflow in most smokers.

Improper airflow => stale smoke => creosote buildup on the surface of the meat.

An all wood smoker is a whole different beast.. I will tackle that one at a later time.

Visit Smoking-Meat.com for hundreds of great tutorials and guides on smoking meat.

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