How do you add wood for your smoke flavor?

[sandman67]

I'm trying to get some opinions/ideas on how some of you add your wood chips/chunks to your charcoal. After weeks of mods and some trial and error I finally got my ECB temp problems under control and manageable but now I ran into a new problem yesterday -I couldn't generate smoke.

When I added chunks they would burst into flames no matter where I put them, even on the side away from the hot coals. So I wrapped them in foil and poked some holes in them. Still burst into flames!

I switched over to chips and put them in a smoker box but the smoke coming from there was way too little and didn't last very long so I had to keep opening the ECB to add chips to the box, which as you know hurts temp control.

What's your method of generating smoke in your charcoal smoker?

 

[davidmcg]

Sandman never heard of that problem. But what I do is put a few chunks into my chimney starter and get them burnt down to coals and then add them into the coal pit of the smoker. What type of wood are you using? Sounds like it might be pretty old stuff to just ignite.

 

[flash]

Soak chunks of wood in water. Place on lite coals as needed. If they catch on fire, big deal. They still smoke. The temp spike will be temporary and not hinder your smoke in any way.

 

[richtee]

Yes Sand try a preburn on the chunks. And a bit of flame won't hurt as mentioned. You should only be using 1-2 chunks of the size I sent you at one time. I STILL think those open bottom ECB's could benifit from better air intake control, A'la the WSM.

 

[coyote-1]

First off, using lump charcoal rather than briquets gives you smoke flavoring immediately. Depending on what kind of wood that lump is, it can be sufficient in and of itself.

I add smoke chips. I soak them in hot water for 20 minutes, then I let them dry for an hour. That way they are damp enough to not burst into flame, but not so wet that they impact the fire. I add some every half-hour or so for the first four hours of smoking. They generate a thin wisp of bluish smoke from the top of the Weber.... works great.

When I get the offset Smokin'Pro going I'll naturally have to review/adjust my methods.

 

[sandman67]

Actually it was newer wood...go figure. I though it would have the opposite effect. It was a mix of apple and cherry.

Just so I don't sound stupid....I'd like to explain some of this. You see in the old days (before this forum) I would just pull out the smoker, fill it up with coals and add chips every 30 minutes or so. It wasn't perfect but it worked well enough...or so I thought. I never used thermometers, didn't care what temp the smoker was cooking at, and the meat was done by eye.

All my problems have started in my attempt to smoke food better. I now cook at 220 degrees and use a digital thermometer for the meat. Doing it the right way sure is alot harder!!

 

[crusty ol salt]

As part of my night before preps I start soaking my wood chunks. I place the wet chunks on the edge of my coals away from the air source to reduce the chance of combustiuon. If I am using wood chips I start soaking them when I start my charcoal. I wrap the chips in foil, poking wholes only in the top of the foil. I only poke two or three holes becuase I want the chips to smolder and smoke not burn, more holes, more air, more chance for combustion. Good Luck

 

[flash]

And thus it becomes a mountain out of a mole hill. This is not an exact science, but "too taste". What one of us likes/uses, others might find foolish. Temps you use, I may add 25º too. Some use foil, some don't. Some use brine, some don't. All you can do is set up a system that works for you and be dam with the the rest of us.

The most important thing in my arsenal is my digital temp probe. Temps you smoke at are a big variable, but the internal temp of the meat will get you "perfect", or darn close every time. Shoot for that and you'll be fine.

 

[dangerdan]

I use a quart sized paint can from my local hardware. With a few holes drilled in the top it lets the smoke out without letting the air in. No blazin wood chips. It lasts an hour or so. Just add more chips when needed. Be sure to season out the can if it has a coating inside.

 

[jbchoice1]

hahaha, so is an honest living sandman :)

 

[tn_bbq]

Are you getting good smoke flavor? THat's all that matters.

In fact, you don't necessarily need to see smoke belowing out to generate good smoke flavor.

If you find that the wood is bursting into flames, then I'd use just a small amount of chips at a time.

Lump charcoal is also a good idea, as is using chunk wood as your heat source (instead of charcoal).

 

[dirtman775]

Rome wasn't built in a day my friend.......patience is the key to this great little hobby, great things come to those who take the time to research and apply the learnings

good luck my friend

 

[smokedcaveman]

yeah, I stopped having that problem with the brinkmann upright box when I swapped over to starting a wood fire, letting it burn for a half hour (I usually let it burn high and burn-clean my grates, to be honest) and then I put in two large pieces, large enough to cover my firebowl by about 80%. I leave a space between them, going from vent to vent, and it helps regulate the temp and produces a nice smoke without smothering the fire or all bursting into flames. Kind of like the minion method, but using the logs themselves as fire control. If the fire dies down, I space them out a little more...if it's burning a tad warm, I scoot them together a bit, and use them like disposable dampers, but because they're being burned as well, it's harder to smother the fire with them (in my experince) and as they burn, their coals fall off and drop down into the bowl, leaving a 'fresh' surface to generate more smoke.

 

[jlafrenz]

Is it best to get the coals going then add wood on top of it or to mix in wood chunks with the coal and add lit coals on top?