To Soak or not To Soak

[smokinberto]

 As I said in my intro, I'm not a novice smoker, just new to propane smoking.Most of my smoking has been done with economy charcoal & electric smokers. I read somewhere that soaking wood chips gives a stronger smoke taste but to leave them dry is a bit more mellow. Anyone not soak their chips?

 

[jarjarchef]

I never soak my chips. I feel it takes too long to get TBS.....

There was a thread not too long ago about not soaking wood and the scientific reasons why not too... Try the search bar you may be able to find it.....

 

[jarjarchef]

If you look on this thread in the 3rd post Eric has a great explanation of soaking wood and the use of a gasser....

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/131545/thin-blue-smoke

 

[s2k9k]

I never soak my pellets....oh wait this is about chips....Sorry!

I totally agree with Eric, wood has to dry before it will burn!

 

[doctord1955]

If you think about you will get steam before u get smoke if u soak them!

 

[chef jimmyj]

Soaking chips or chunks is a waste of time. Although this would be difficult to prove to all the soak fans. In any event they won't generate any smoke, only steam, until they dry out. Not to mention to absorb any significant amount of water would take several days or even weeks. I have looked in to the subject and of all the reasons to soak or not to soak, I have never seen any info on Soaking to increase smoke flavor. There was a thread a year or so ago where the author showed that after soaking for several days the water penetrated the wood less than 1/4 inch. This moisture will hardly make a difference.  If flair ups are a problem, soaking the wood just delays the inevitable. Flair ups are a result of too much Heat or too much Oxygen. In a Gasser move the Chip box or Pan away from the heat or cover with foil to limit the Oxygen getting to the wood.

Now our esteemed colleague Forluvofsmoke has shown on more than one occasion that having a Moist Chamber increases the Smoke Ring penetration because the surface of the meat stays moist longer. However the only ways to increase the Intensity of the smoke is to Smoke a long time, Generate lots of TBS such as lighting the AMNPS from both ends and/or Choosing strong flavored wood like Hickory or Mesquite. At bit more info than you asked for but I hope this helps...JJ

 

[smoke dawg]

Since I smoke with a fire, I do use wet wood at times. I use a combonation of wet and dry to help control the temperature along with air intake.

This also helps with how long the wood will last and to keep even heat. It is a lot of work but I do like the results.

 

[damon555]

I agree with these guys....the only thing that soaking does is prolong the inevitable, that is smoking. My propane smoker said to use chips not chunks because they wouldn't work right. Well my first smoke wasn't that great because of the chips....they simply don't last long enough and it's tougher to get thin blue smoke. If your propane smoker came with a chip pan that has a cover then chunks will work just fine. If not it's pretty easy to rig something up so the chunks work fine.

 

[bruno994]

When I used chips or chunks, before my large offset, I always found that it worked better without soaking.
 

 

[quieteagle]

I am a newbie to this site, but have smoked a little bit over the years.  My understanding of soaking OAK wood is to remove the sometimes bitter flavor it can give.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

 

[Bearcarver]

I am a newbie to this site, but have smoked a little bit over the years.  My understanding of soaking OAK wood is to remove the sometimes bitter flavor it can give.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

I think that's from the Tannic (sp?) Acid in Oak.

I don't think soaking will remove that.

I know that the dust from Oak, in my Cabinet Shop, used to burn my eyes & nose, and taste terrible when you breathed some into your mouth.

Bear