Dirty Smoke
Thick white or gray smoke from incomplete combustion that deposits bitter creosote and soot on food — the enemy of good BBQ.
Dirty smoke is the thick, billowing white or gray smoke that comes from a fire that's not burning efficiently. It's the number one cause of bitter, acrid, "tastes like an ashtray" BBQ. If you can't see through the smoke coming out of your chimney, you've got dirty smoke.
What Causes It: - Green or wet wood: Wood with high moisture content (above 20%) absorbs heat energy that should be going into combustion. The water evaporates, producing steam mixed with partially combusted wood compounds. - Insufficient airflow: A smothered fire without enough oxygen can't burn cleanly. Open your intake damper. - Too much wood at once: Adding multiple splits to a weak coal bed smothers the fire. Add one split at a time. - Weak coal bed: Without a hot coal bed to ignite new wood quickly, splits smolder instead of burning. The smoldering produces heavy, acrid smoke. - Closed exhaust: Restricting the chimney traps smoke in the cook chamber. That stagnant smoke deposits creosote on everything it contacts.
What It Does to Food: Dirty smoke deposits creosote — a thick, tar-like substance — on the meat surface. Creosote tastes bitter and leaves a numbing sensation on the tongue. It also coats the inside of your smoker over time, and old creosote deposits can impart off-flavors to future cooks.
How to Fix It: - Open intake damper wider for more oxygen - Let the coal bed build up before adding new wood - Use properly seasoned wood (6+ months air-dried) - Keep exhaust fully open at all times - Add smaller splits that catch fire more quickly
If your first few cooks taste bitter, dirty smoke is almost certainly the cause. Focus on fire management before worrying about anything else.