Do you need to soak the chips prior to using in an electric smoker?

[davidash76]

I have a MES 30.  Was wondering if I should soak the chips or can I just put them in and get them smoking. THanks

 

[smoke king]

You will find people do it either way.  I think many however, don't believe there is a benefit.  Perhaps it would be best to try it both ways. Try soaked for the first load, and unsoaked for the next, and see if you notice a difference in the quality or quantity of smoke.

 

[big casino]

you can soak chips, but you should only spray saw dust and dampen them

but like smoke king says you don't have to, and I think it is easier to get smoke in an MES with out soaking

 

[gotarace]

I have a Mes 30 and i never soak the chips before smoking...i don't like the idea of them steaming away the water before getting hot enough to smoke. My MES came with the updated smoking tray and it has no problem producing smoke. This being said i have purchased the Amazen and the AMPS pellet smoke generators from Todd and have not used my chip tray since. The perfect amount of smoke every time and up to ten hours of smoke on a single pellet load. They are a perfect match for the MES smokers.

 

[smokeguy]

There's really no need to soak chips for use in a MES.  Just put in less chips, more often than you would if soaked, and you'll get a nice gentle smoke that's stays consistently smoking for great results.

 

[SmokinAl]

No soaking needed.

 

[mballi3011]

I would also say NO cause all it will do is lessen the time it take for them to produce smoke.

 

[eman]

If you soak a piece of wood and try to light it ,what happens? nothing. Wet wood won't burn.

Same w/ chips. If you soak them they have to dry before they will ignite.

 

[davidash76]

Thanks everyone. I went ahead and did a dry run last night on some burgers to help learn the smoker.  Got a lot of smoke without soaking.  I think I used to much wood.  I filled the loader to the max.  I am getting ready to do some ribs this morning.  I posted a separate thread with my progress and a pic of my ribs with rub on them prior to putting in the smoker.  Thanks to all for the response. I will be looking into Todd's Amazen pellet smoker based on all of the recommendations on this site.

 

[davidash76]

I got good smoke last night but probably too much.  I will be using less wood this morning for my ribs.  Am going to look into the Amazen pellet smoker Todd makes.  Thanks for replying.

 

[jkenow]

Just put the chips in the smoker.  MES does not like wet chips