Questions on using wood chunks

[Wcl1683]

Hi,
I fairly new to smoking and brand new to this forum. I looking for some answers on the best way to use wood chunks. I have an outdoor gourmet vertical triton with the side fire box which looks about the same as a brinkman vertical trailmaster. A few weeks ago I made some summer sausage out of venison in it which turned out pretty good. Next I would like to do some snack sticks and eventually jerky from what was leftvof my harvest. Anyway I was just wondering how is the best way to use the wood chunks. I used charcoal for the heat and added wood chunks on top. My problem is if I close the door to the firebox right away they seem to smolder and the smoke comes out thicker and white instead of thinner blue as I have heard talked about That you should be trying for. But if I leave the door to the fire box open a bit or give it more air with vents open more the chunks seem to catch fire which cleans the smoke up a bit but it doesn’t last long before it’s ashed and it also raises my temps up by 20 degrees or more which isn’t what I would like trying to keep temperatures low while doing sausage. I have no problem keeping temps close to where I want them with charcoal alone but trying to get the flavor wood right is causing problems. Is there a better way I can keep the chunks burning longer but still have good smoke? Is the white smoke bad for things like jerky/sausage? The chunks I am using vary I have tried smaller 1”x1” size that burn to quick and maybe baseball size that either smolder to much or spike temps to high if they catch fire.
Thanks!

 

[wimpy69]

Try burying your chunks and see what the results are.

 

[bluefrog]

I find that when chunks first catch fire and are flaming up you get thick white smoke. Once the chunks become coals the smoke is the thin blue smoke everyone desires. I put meat on before it turns to thin blue with no ill effects.

 

[jimmyinsd]

I assume you are using a pile of unlit charcoal and then only add a few lit ones to the top and letting it burn down through? If so you can add the wood chunks throughout your charcoal so that the fire will burn to them. I also think that preheating them either in a separate cooker or possibly by setting them on top of your firebox if it gets hot. I think you are possibly seeing a little moisture in your smoke, so preheating/drying the chunks should help with that... or just get them burning before you put them in.. snuff the flames as soon as they are going pretty good and then throw them in glowing?

 

[Wcl1683]

Actually I am just using a chimney starter to start my charcoal and dumping it in already lit. I throw the wood chunks in the firebox for a good 20 mins to let them heat up before throwing them on the hot coals of charcoal but it seems if I close the box lid even with the air vent wide open they kind of smolder quite a bit especially a decent size chunk. If I let it open until it catches on fire it will obviously burn cleaner when I shit the lid to the fire box but then my temp spikes up pretty high when I am trying to keep lower temps. Maybe I have to just burn the wood chunks with the charcoal in the chimney starter or I suppose try burying them like the first post said. I mean is the smoldering white smoke bad for something like summer sausage, snack sticks and jerky? Also if I my chunks burn off the heavy smoke and are coals how do I know when it’s times for another chunk since the blue smoke is so thin. My chunks usually just turn into ash like the charcoal after a few minutes of lighting.

 

[floridasteve]

I have the same results. I just don’t let it worry me.

The guy on the PBS smoking show, steve racklin (sp), always soaks his chunks, but I’ve heard in here that’s a bad thing.