New to smoking food

[william123j]

So I just got a charcoal grill / offset smoker royal gourmet. I used it for the first time the other day. I put charcoal in it and let it sit for 2 hours to seasons the smoker. After that I would like to know after your chips are soaked should you put the chips on and then wait a few minuets then the meat?. The first time I cooked ribs at 3lbs they were I only had time to smoke them for 3 hours. Should I put chips in every 15 mins or no please let me know. Thank you.

 

[submariner]

Welcome to the Forum. 

 

[joe black]

Welcome from SC, William. It's good to have you here on this great site. I prefer chunks rather than chips. They're not nearly as much trouble. And never soak them. That just makes a lot of steam that's not necessary.

I like to let the heat get about 10* higher than where I want to cook. Then when you put the cold meat in, you have a window to work in before you need to increase the heat back up.

 

[william123j]

Well I will have to get some chunks. But I got chips for now till I run out but I tried doing dry chips and they kept burning I assume that is normal?. I know the bag says to soak them so I was just thinking that would work. How long will a chunk last for because I cooked ribs for the first time the other day. I didn't have a long time frame so only smoked them for 3 hours which I know isn't long enough. But when I go to my camp I plan to cook longer. I had to feed more charcoal every time the temp wouldn't go up i assume thats okay?