White colored smoke coming out of the grill signals that the food is being grilled correctly. At this point, just relax and let the grill do its job. But black smoke is a signal that the grill needs to be adjusted. It could mean that you have some flare-ups occurring inside the grill.

Black smoke will leave a layer of soot on your food. So make sure to clean your smoker before you start your cook.

Simply put, when you're charcoal grilling, thick white smoke is bad and thin "blue" or "clear" smoke is good. A lot of beginner charcoal smokers envelope their food in thick white smoke thinking it'll give their food that delicious smoky flavour we all love - they're sadly mistaken.

Stifling the fire by partially closing off the smoker exhaust or the intakes on the firebox will cause the wood to smolder. Smoldering wood might hold a steady smoker temperature for hours, but it also bathes the meat in dirty smoke. When you're cooking barbecue, the smoker vents and exhausts should be wide open.