
As the puff of smoke emerges, it should quickly form a well-defined smoke ring, which travels forward for a couple of feet. Once the can is filled with smoke, push very gently on the flexible membrane to send a puff of smoke out through the mouth of the bottle. A paper towel can smolder for many minutes after it has been blown out. WARNING: Make sure you have a safe place at hand to put the burning incense or paper towel. Once the paper towel is burning well, blow out the flame and stick the still smoldering end into the bottle. If you don't have incense to burn, take a 6" square of paper towel and roll it up into a tight roll. Light them and stick the burning end into mouth of the the bottle until the bottle fills with smoke. The most convenient method is to use a couple of sticks of incense. Now you are ready to fill the can with smoke. If you don't have a balloon of the right size, you can substitute by cutting a piece from a plastic freezer bag for food and holding it in place with a few sturdy rubber bands. Stretch it over the bottom of the plastic bottle. To make the membrane, cut the mouth off of a rubber balloon. Homemade smoke ring cannons demonstrated by Steve Spangler and Ellen DeGeneres. Using a pellet smoker can absolutely get you a smoke ring, and they are a good option for keeping things easy as you smoke your meat.Video of Giant Smoke Rings - Cool Science Experiment So all a smoke ring means is that the fuel, brine, seasonings, and smoke you used had the ability to preserve the color of your meats. What this means is that a smoke ring is evidence of nitric oxide interacting with the protein myoglobin. The nitric oxide preserves the color of the meat while allowing the protein to still change form.

This means that the two must interact before the myoglobin changes form at the temperature 140. The smoke ring forms as the myoglobin binds to the nitric oxide. 170 and above is metmyoglobin and is a grayish color. From 140 to 170 farenhieght is the hemichrome. Myoglobin exists until meat reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit and is the dark red color of a smoke ring. From here the protein becomes metmyoglobin. As myoglobin heats up it loses the ability to bind to oxygen because the iron in it experiences the loss of an electron. This color can only exist when the myoglobin has the option to bind to oxygen. As meat warms up this myoglobin becomes the grey color of cooked meat. This protein is what gives raw meat its characteristic dark red color. We know that pellet smokers can achieve this by themselves if they use the proper fuel to smoke.īut how does it stay red? There is a protein inside raw meat called myoglobin. What exactly is a smoke ring? We know that in order to form there needs to be a reaction between the meat and nitric oxcide gas. Remember that it has more to do with how the meat is prepared than it does the smoker you use. So don’t worry too much if your pellet smoker is giving you grief when it comes to a smoke ring. It serves no purpose but to get the mouth-watering. The bottom line is that the smoke ring is worthless.

That has nothing to do with the coveted smoke ring though. If stripped and turned into jerky meats can last for weeks. When cured, smoked, and dehydrated properly large slabs of smoked meats will last up to four days. Smoking has been a technique used to preserve meats long before the invention of the refrigerator. Smoking meats properly actually cures and preserves them.

With that being said, smoking meats does have an effect on your meats beyond that delicious flavor. There’s no reason to be upset with your pellet smoker if you aren’t getting a smoke ring. Smoke rings actually have no effect on the taste of meat. This will increase the depth of the smoke ring as the meat reacts with the sodium nitrate. Sodium nitrate is a kind of saltpeter that does not require that you soak it. This is specifically for the smoke ring.Īnother thing you can do to achieve a smoke ring is dust your meats in sodium nitrate before you start smoking it. This should not replace any other brine you are using though. Let the meat soak in this brine for a few hours (generally two hours of this brine will give you a good ring size) to achieve a good smoke ring. Let’s talk about some of the ways you can achieve a good smoke ring even if your pellet smoker isn’t helping out.įind good saltpeter (potassium nitrate) and make a brine with it. This means that even if you don’t have the proper fuel but still want a smoke ring there is a way you can achieve one. Anything high in NO will give you a smoke ring. To properly achieve a smoke ring you have to use wood that will give off high amounts of nitric oxide in the smoke.
