Newbie question.

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Oneshot
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Newbie question.

Postby Oneshot » Sun May 21, 2017 8:15 am

I soaked some wood chips, cherry if it matters, and threw them down on the hot lump charcoal. There was a ton of smoke for about a minute then it went away. Did I not soak them long enough or do I have to wait for the coal to start cooling down? Any help is appreciated.

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Re: Newbie question.

Postby OldUsedParts » Sun May 21, 2017 8:18 am

Don't know about Cherry making a difference but, in my limited usage, the amount, the size and the soaking time does make a difference in the Mesquite and Apple Chips I use. :idea:
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Re: Newbie question.

Postby k.a.m. » Sun May 21, 2017 9:29 am

Do yourself a favor and use dry wood chunks instead of the wood chips. Soaked chips once they hit hot coals disappear quickly.
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Re: Newbie question.

Postby Sailor Kenshin » Sun May 21, 2017 10:11 am

If you already have the chips, might as well use them up, right?

You won't get long-time smoking, naturally. We soak for about a half hour, add a small amount at first, then more later.
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Re: Newbie question.

Postby bsooner75 » Sun May 21, 2017 10:21 am

I agree with KAM on the chunks. BUT - I also see Sailors point of using up what you already have.

How about making a foil pouch or something similar to help them burn longer?


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Re: Newbie question.

Postby Sailor Kenshin » Sun May 21, 2017 10:27 am

bsooner75 wrote:I agree with KAM on the chunks. BUT - I also see Sailors point of using up what you already have.

How about making a foil pouch or something similar to help them burn longer?


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We've tried foil pouches again and again. Doesn't work that well. What does work best, at least for is, is soaking long enough, and adding a handful on the coals now and then throughout the cook (and we have to make sure we're not opening the kettle too often, 'cause that just dissipates too much heat).

Another point is, we are not going for heavy heavy smoke either. If you are, yup, get chunks. But don't waste what you already paid for. ;)
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Re: Newbie question.

Postby OldUsedParts » Sun May 21, 2017 10:35 am

Like Sailor, I have tried the foil pouch technique and didn't like it BUT unlike Sailor, I chunk ALL of the well soaked chips on top of the hot coals right when I put the meat on - - - then I don't open until it needs more charcoal or checking to see if it''s done. :dont:
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Re: Newbie question.

Postby Sailor Kenshin » Sun May 21, 2017 10:39 am

OldUsedParts wrote:Like Sailor, I have tried the foil pouch technique and didn't like it BUT unlike Sailor, I chunk ALL of the well soaked chips on top of the hot coals right when I put the meat on - - - then I don't open until it needs more charcoal or checking to see if it''s done. :dont:



That's more or less what we do. Open the lid if the 'barbecue product' needs mopping, spraying, or coal adjustment. :laughing7:
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Re: RE: Newbie question.

Postby Lone_Wolf_Ronin » Sun May 21, 2017 4:24 pm

Oneshot wrote:I soaked some wood chips, cherry if it matters, and threw them down on the hot lump charcoal. There was a ton of smoke for about a minute then it went away. Did I not soak them long enough or do I have to wait for the coal to start cooling down? Any help is appreciated.

Oneshot

The "ton of smoke" you're seeing when you put the chips on the hot coals is predominantly steam, not smoke, though it will carry some smoke flavor. You're soaking to prevent the fire from using up your chips too quickly. Not very useful if NOT using foil or the like as the chips are too thin and will burn up quickly anyway. (Pellets would bit a bit better in this regard.)

On my kamado, I add chunks, unsoaked. They will give off an initial cloud of smoke very visible - whitish-grayish in color - as the wood catches fire. However, as the fire settles down to embers, the smoke then "clears", turning to a whitish/bluish wisp barely visible (unless using lots of wood or running a hot smoker). That's about the time I toss my meat on, assuming set-up is at temp.

Lump smoke wood will last quite quickly while in a kamado-style smoker, though it will burn faster than the coal.

Some people, like me, just toss the smoke wood on the coals. Others use foil, while others still will use a cast iron pot with 3 lil' holes drilled on the bottom of the pot. The latter forces the smoke to pass through more of the fire helping to further burn off combustibles allowing more of the actual flavor to touch the meat. That's part of the theory, anyway. (Haven't tried it yet.)

Degree of smoke your meat picks up depends on:
A) Amount of smoke wood used,
B) Temp of pit - amount of smoke produced per unit of time,
C) How open your top vent is (smaller opening keeps more smoke in grill/smoke chamber), and
D) Whether your meat was cold or at room temp when added to the smoker. Colder meats pick up more smoke than meat already at room temp.

Note on mesquite: Very easy to over do it with mesquite, given the intensity of its flavor. Have had some great meat, texture-wise, that was god-aweful in taste as mesquite was overwhelming. Me, I usually add some other wood to mesquite to balance flavor out.

Good luck with it.

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Re: Newbie question.

Postby dub' » Mon May 22, 2017 11:53 am

+1 on using up the chips utilizing a foil pouch-OR- a foil snake/rope of stacked packed chips.
no need to bother with soaking.
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Re: Newbie question.

Postby Oneshot » Tue May 23, 2017 10:35 pm

Awesome. Thanks for all the replies. I assumed that there should be that ton of smoke throughout the entire cooking. I guess I pictured Cheech and Chong in their car... I'll try again this weekend
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Re: Newbie question.

Postby OldUsedParts » Wed May 24, 2017 8:44 am

As far as a Ton of "constant" smoke goes, as for me, the meat "CAN" get too smoky flavored, especially some Briskets that I've eaten. :dont: :D
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Re: Newbie question.

Postby Txdragon » Wed May 24, 2017 9:58 am

I do not soak wood chips. Why? Adding wet chips to a fire does more harm than good. The wet chip is obviously not going to smoke since it is wet and can not reach the proper temperature to combust and it is only bringing the temp down of your base fire/coals. By the time the fire regains temp, the water will have already dissipated enough the chip is gonna do what it will; burn. Soaking chunks is no better. The water only penetrates so far into the wood anyways. I tested this out for myself. I put some standard wood chunks bought from my local store, pecan chunks, if you're wondering! Anywho, I soaked them for a full 24 hours and then cut them in half. I found that only the outer 1/8" of wood was "soaked" while the rest was still drier than the Sahara. Wood density plays a large role here and if my guess is correct, most popular smoking wood is not going to do well getting the results from soak we are trying to achieve. Most hardwoods used for smoking are pretty dense, and If the wood is not as dense as it probably would be, it's most likely rotting and no good, or wouldn't be a good wood for smoking. What I found that works best is to try and isolate an area for my chunks that isn't directly on the coals that are actively burning. For chips, I put them in a heavy duty foil pouch or my makeshift chip pan and steer clear of chip/coal contact.
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Re: Newbie question.

Postby rockinar » Tue May 30, 2017 7:59 pm

Dont bother soaking wood chips. It doesnt do anything. Leave the soaked wood chips to 5 Star chefs who know so much, that they totally know nothing.
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Re: Newbie question.

Postby rockinar » Tue May 30, 2017 8:01 pm

Oneshot wrote:Awesome. Thanks for all the replies. I assumed that there should be that ton of smoke throughout the entire cooking. I guess I pictured Cheech and Chong in their car... I'll try again this weekend


Actually the opposite. If your smoker looks like Tommy Chong's van, you're doing it wrong. You want clear smoke.

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