The all mighty "Smoke Ring"... fact or fiction?

[Duppie]

I am no expert on BBQ, I grill and dabble with Jerk occasionally. I hear,see and read about the mystical Smoke Ring on some BBQ and know it supposed to illustrate the care and skill the meat has been handled and smoked with....BUT and it's
a big one. I also hear and have seen on the BBQ circuit that the smoke ring can and frequently will be faked using additives and brine.
So the question remains,are all the supposed BBQ aficionados who wax eloquently about the mighty smoke ring being largely hoodwinked by clever pit masters and basically talking out of their collective asses?

[cowboyardee]

The smoke ring is a side effect of a certain cooking process, but not an end goal in itself. It is not the only visual cue of that process but it is probably the most obvious. It is not 100% predictive of quality or technique - there are indeed ways to fake the smoke ring, and you can get a smoke ring via the traditional method but still botch the process in other ways. And its absence doesn't necessarily imply poor quality - there are other smoking methods that produce results that are just as good in their own way but don't create a smoke ring. But it is a visual cue that generally indicates a cooking process that is (rightly) associated with good flavor and texture. And it does arguably add a bit of visual appeal on its own.

BBQ isn't alone in having this kind of visual cue, btw. Here are a few others off the top of my head:
- The oily slick on top of cups of coffee made in certain ways.
- Leopard spots on the crust of traditionally made Neapolitan pizza
- Vivid grill marks on grilled foods (this may be controversial to some, but I really don't believe that the grill marks are where the 'grilled' flavor comes from)

There are probably countless other examples that either aren't coming to my mind right now or else that are just over my head.

[rich in stl]

I love the looks of a nice smoke ring on brisket, and I was happy to see it on some meat in a famed KC restaraunt. Unfortunately the meat had little smoke flavor.

[scubadoo97]

The smoke ring doesnt indicate any skill or care or great BBQ. It's just a chemical reaction between the meat and wood smoke. It could have a beautiful smoke ring and be dry as a bone. Conversely you could have a succulent delicious brisket done on an electric smoker that lacks a smoke ring due to the conservative use of wood used in electric smokers

[Duppie]

Thank you,What little I've read supports that conclusion. I guess I'm fascinated with the myth that has persisted and thrived with expert after so called expert holding up the smoke ring as definitive evidence of great BBQ.

[Steve]

Are you saying a 'smoke ring' can not be found in charcoal-only bbq?

[jjjrfoodie]

Actually, just the opposite.
A smoke ring is a result of using charcoal (either hardwood or briquette) and the chemical reaction with the meat it produces.

I have smoked for a decade using an electric smoker and all sorts of wood and no smoke ring.
When I break out the charcoal smoker (and it still needs wood to accomplish the smoke portion same as the electric), you get a smoke ring.

It's the fuel source, and the process.

[scubadoo97]

Not sure where you got that. No I was not saying that.

[Steve]

"It's just a chemical reaction between the meat and wood smoke."

Leads me to believe there is something about wood smoke (as opposed to other kinds of smoke) that creates a unique smoke ring.

Sorry if I misunderstood, that's why I asked.

[scubadoo97]

Okay, now I understand why you were asking. But charcoal is made from wood is it not?
It's the nitrogen dioxide that is produced from burning wood, charcoal and even propane to some degree that reacts with the myoglobin to form nitrites and nitrates which give the meat the pink color.

[Steve]

I believe it has been shown on Chowhound before that there are ways to get a smoke ring without smoke at all.

[Duppie]

Yet peruse posts right here on CH,any number of specials on FN,CN,PBS,and you are regaled with oohs and ahhs of great authentic BBQ evidenced sometimes solely by the smoke ring.

[charles_sills]

alot of BBQ competitions dont allow smoke rings to be considered a mark of quality in said competition. they can be faked chemically.

also, they can at times show up just from being in the smoker for a long time. however you can also smoke something all day and you will get no smoke ring. its a complicated chemical process.

[twyst]

A good smoke ring is a great sign that you are going to have good BBQ, but it is by no means necessary for good BBQ.

It's my understanding that smoke rings are formed by the reaction of chemicals created by the combustion of wood with the meat being smoked, and that some methods of smoking will NEVER lead to a smoke ring becuase they only heat the wood enough to smoke, not enough to combust. By almost all accounts a smoke ring is purely a visual thing and has no effect on flavor/texture.

[Duppie]

Understood and agree... It's the "By almost all accounts" that I am questioning.

[twyst]

Well, the foodscience crowd is firmly in the "it doesnt matter" category, but there will always be a few who disagree.

Modernist Cuisine has an interesting section on the science of smoking and they are definitely in the "it adds nothing but a visual" camp. They say it simply means that there was not enough carbon monoxide or nitrous oxide produced to create the ring. Wet wood or low smoldering temperatures are the usual reasons that a smoke ring is not produced according to them.

[monkeyrotica]

Maybe the ring adds nothing to the flavor, but when I smoke beef ribs, it definitely adds something to the texture. I get a crispy char on the surface of the rib, like on a good seared burger, something that's lacking in the industrial smoker ribs I had a few weeks ago. Those had the ring, but the entire rib was spongy and swimming in fat.

[scubadoo97]

The ring doesn't add to texture. It's just the way you cooked your ribs relative to the "industrial" smoker you've had experience. Yours have better texture ring or not

[monkeyrotica]

Put another way, if you ate BBQ with a fake smoke ring and still enjoyed it, do you have to turn in your Chowhound credentials? MAYBE!

I'm pretty sure the neon red babecued spare ribs at my local Chinese carryout were nowhere near a smoker. They still taste pretty good, though. But hey, I actually LIKE chicken chop suey so what the hell do I know?

[Duppie]

I'm with you.....Not a fan of "Falling of the bone", still have all my teeth and like to use them. I posed the question because of all the frenzied coverage and rabid following BBQ seem to have garnered as of late with "experts" both new and old with glazed over stares proclaiming authentic BBQ from it's smoke ring only to find out it is frequently faked.
The question is can the fakery be detected by the folks that really know BBQ not just the armchair quarterbacks?