I smoke using an 18" WSM and do both low and slow as well as high and short smokes. One thing I have been playing around with is how much wood to add for flavoring and how often to add it. 4 oz every 4 hours for low and slow? More? Less? Looking for ideas on the quantities folks use on charcoal cookers. Thanks.
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I go with 2-3 chunks if using wood chunks, 3-4 handfuls for chips.-
jsaniga No, chunks really last, if I use chips I'll soak half.
even after a long smoke you'll still find unburned chips depending on the fire.
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When smoking meats, I’ll use 3 fairly large chunks of hickory, occasionally mesquite, spread apart from each other. This allows smoke for the majority of my cook. I rarely replenish the chunks, unless they were small and burned up too quickly. I don’t know how much they weigh, I just go by size.
For shorter cooks I try to use my smaller chunks and save the bigger ones for my long cooks.Last edited by Panhead John; August 29, 2022, 03:44 PM.Comment
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I'm still learning that myself. I tend toward more than less.
In my logic, short cooks more smoke quicker
Long cooks, evenly spread out with less per inch
How's that?Comment
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I use a few fist sized or smaller chunks strategically spread amongst the charcoal. That's enough to last a few hours. I never add more later.
meat only takes so much smoke...
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Very well timed thread, since I will be making my first foray into smoking with charcoal and wood this coming weekend... I would think that especially when one is planning to wrap the meat at some point, one need not plan for smoke going past that point, at least. Lots of demo vids I've seen show three good sized chunks even for longish cooks... Have fun!Comment
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I use the Minion method when I fire up the 18" WSM
For low and slow, I use 4 "smaller than fist-sized" chunks, buried in the unlit charcoal and a couple near the lit charcoal.
I'm in the "less is more" crowd, as far as smoke goes.Comment
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I've been starting to use more lately. I go with 3-4 chunks (2" x 2") at the start of the cook and don't replenish. We're taught that cold meat attracts the most smoke. So I'm not sure if replenishing would add much. I was always worried I'd get too much smoke or an acrid taste doing what I'm doing now. So far it has really increase/improved the smoke taste. It really billows out the smoke as I make sure I put the chunks on well lit coals and then the meat right after. The super billowy smoke chills out after 15-20 minutes.Comment
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Few things I have learned on my offset and from other cooks, so FWIW:- You only need to smoke your food for a few hours or once the bark gets set. Once the bark (crust, fond, etc.) is set, the meat does not take on (absorb) anymore smoke.
- Place your wood chunks on top of the burning coals, not buried inside. The reason is #1 above and two you want your wood to burn, not smolder. burning of wood is complete combustion and good clean smoke, smoldering is incomplete combustion and bad, acrid smoke.
- You want to try and ensure you have seasoned wood with a moisture content between 15-20%. Fire kilned wood has a low moisture content (around 8%). Seasoned wood offers better wood (smokey) flavor to your food. I learned this on my offset when my ribs had little smoke flavor and I did some research. I had used kiln dried wood.
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For me it really depends on what I’m smoking and the wood I’m using. I’ve found that fruit woods get acrid quickly if too much smoke is used so just a chunk or two for ribs or bacon. . Nut woods like hickory and pecan are much more forgiving so I’ll use a bit more longer in the cook. I tend to use post oak or Jim beam barrel for hot fast cooks and it’s smooth enough to run the whole cook.
As others said I place the wood chunks on the top of my coals, nice long smoke roll.Last edited by CHNeal; September 6, 2022, 05:57 PM.Comment
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I just dumped like a third of my plastic bag wood because it was unusable chips. I use 4 good sized chunks per cook but mix up to 8 or so per hopper load (8 hours or so) in the Masterbuilt.
I have sworn off the low-quality stuff and wanting to use up what I have so I can order from https://www.smokinlicious.com/phone/index.html .Last edited by STEbbq; September 6, 2022, 09:54 PM.Comment
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If you see heavy grey smoke, you your seeing wood that is not fully combusted. It will be nasty tasting. Less is better. Meat that tastes like an ash tray isn't very good.
I use Fruitawoods chunks that are 2 X 2 in. For a 9 hour cook I'll put three maybe 4chunks about 3 inches apart in the SnS after the initial end gets started. It can depend on what type of cooker and what type of wood. My set up yields plenty of clean smoke for the first half of a cook. That can vary with variable like hotter/longer/shorter cooks. I believe the idea is to see a very light stream of smoke coming out the exhaust.
The last thing I need is to belch at midnight and have the acrid flavor of smoke burn my throat.
YMMV.Last edited by Bkhuna; September 7, 2022, 02:40 AM.Comment
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I actually don't like the taste of wood in my food, haha...
As far as wood smoke goes, it is very subjective. I've had cooks in the past where I fed chunks of hickory to the fire the entire cook, but these days, on my kettle I put 3-4 small chunks of wood (golf ball or tennis ball sized) on top of the charcoal in the SNS. On my kamado I bury 3-4 similar sized chunks in the charcoal in the bottom of the kamado, and light the fire in the middle. As it burns, during the cook those chunks of wood will catch fire and produce smoke. And its usually enough.
I ran an offset for a 6 hour cook on Monday, and used nothing BUT wood (oak), and if anything, it was not as smokey as my normal cooks on the kettle or kamado. But I attribute that to a combination of higher air flow, cleaner smoke (the wood was normally fully on fire), and the fact that all I burned was post oak, which is not so strong of a smoking wood.Comment
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Anytime I am using Kingsford, I don't add wood. To me, there is already plenty of flavor in the smoke.
If I do add wood, I will only add it directly on the fire, at the start of the cook. That is it. No more smoke needed. The WSM, PBC and other bullet/drum style cookers really do not need wood to be added. IMHO.Comment
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On an 18" WSM in August 2004, I cooked this brisket using Ozark Oak lump charcoal and about 1-1/2 cups of Jack Daniel's pellets. I buried 2 foil packets of pellets in the unlit charcoal, filled up a cast iron smoker pot half way (slow smoke for the first hour), then tossed another foil packet on the lit coals after chimney was dumped on unlit. Put the smoker together, two briskets no water in the water pan. This is my very first 1st place box!
Amount of wood is dependent on the type and form of the wood.
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