Stupid question about smoker boxes

[redeye chuck]

I bought a smoker box for my gas grill as i found several recipes that i wanted to try that called for it. Recipe said to soak the wood chips for at least 30 minutes before placing in the box and on the grill. So here's my stupid question - the chips are not going to smoke until they dry out so why do I need to soak them for 30 minutes? Why not just put them in the box dry and save myself 30 minutes worth of propane? Am I missing something?

 

[woodcutter]

My preference is not to soak. It does delay the smoke until the wood dries out. Smoke penetrates food best early in the cooking process.

 

[cliffcarter]

Wood of any size will not soak up enough water in 30 minutes to make a difference. Skip the soak.

 

[noboundaries]

Yep, I never soaked the wood when using the gas grill.  If I was doing a longer cook I loaded my smoker box with chips AND smaller wood chunks.  The chips would provide the early smoke and the wood chunks smoke for a longer time.

 

[cmayna]

Chuck,

There is never a stupid question.

 

[daveomak]

I bought a smoker box for my gas grill as i found several recipes that i wanted to try that called for it. Recipe said to soak the wood chips for at least 30 minutes before placing in the box and on the grill. So here's my stupid question - the chips are not going to smoke until they dry out so why do I need to soak them for 30 minutes? Why not just put them in the box dry and save myself 30 minutes worth of propane? Am I missing something?

Cuuck, morning..... Most folks that make smokers don't have a clue how to smoke meats etc.....  They don't even know how to engineer a good smoker.....  Then they hire folks at 25 cents/hour to build them....     Go figure.........

That's my opinion....     Dave

 

[mamabearcoffey]

So...I have a question that is related.  I saw where pretty much everyone said Don't bother soaking...I had thought to use a combination of soaked and dry wood...Dry to get the heat/smoke going, soaked to keep it going.  As in, get my fire hot with dry wood, then add some soaked wood that will dry out over time and lengthen the time before feeding the fire again. No?