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CC Smoke Vault 24 Wood chunks QUESTION

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    CC Smoke Vault 24 Wood chunks QUESTION

    OK, So i NORMALLY just cut up some branches from an oak tree in my back yard that failed to survive the freeze when i need wood for one of my charcoal smokers, use pellets for the Yoder, real wood for the stick burner and dont really smoke on my gas grill. The Smoke vault is my first "tray" and my first couple smokes were successful enough using stray bits of wood in various sizes. But I decided to buy some wood "chunks" (on sale, pecan) and am just curious:

    HOW MUCH?
    ADD OVER TIME?
    Cover with Foil and punch holes? (Saw this on youtube but didnt make any sense---)

    TIA

    #2
    I’ve never used a Smoke Vault, but this is my experience with charcoal. Depending on what I’m cooking and for how long, I’ll usually use 2-4 wood chunks. If I’m smoking low and slow, I’ll normally use 3-4 chunks, depending on the size. But I almost always use hickory and sometimes mesquite. These are stronger flavored wood than pecan and oak. I’d start out with 2 good size chunks at first, see how you like the flavor profile.

    I’ll sometimes add more wood during a cook if my chunks have burned up too quick and I don’t think I’ve got enough smoke on the meat. That’s just a judgement call you’d need to make, as far as adding more during a cook. You normally want to get the most smoke at the beginning of a cook while the meat is still cold and absorbs the most smoke.

    If someone’s using wood "chips", that’s usually when people wrap them in foil. This prevents them from burning up too quick. Most people only use chips wrapped in foil…with a gas or pellet grill. I’ve never wrapped "chunks" in foil.
    Last edited by Panhead John; June 15, 2022, 08:11 AM.

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    • fracmeister
      fracmeister commented
      Editing a comment
      I'm the same with charcoal. Just not sure about gas

    #3
    You will have to experiment to find the right amount for you. But would you prefer too much or too little smoke for the first cook? I'd start with 2 med. size chunks for "too little smoke" and 4 for "too much smoke" and adjust from there. Others here might have different recommendations.

    Comment


      #4
      texastweeter uses a SV24, and ought to be able to help with this question...

      Comment


        #5
        I would put it right on the heating element. You want good clean burning wood. Most of the smoke adhesion happens in the first couple of hours anyway, so I would not really worry about adding more wood later int he cook, unless you really want to.

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          #6
          Just put them on the tray where it is the hottest. NO foil. I'll actually start with chips and chunks to get immediate smoke. I typically start with a handful of chips and two chunks. Your temp may go up a little when the chunks ignite. I just keep adding as they burn out.

          Comment


            #7
            I fill the tray up with chunks to where it just barely slides under the water pan. Let it heat up and get smoking before meat goes on. Occasionally I upen her up, slide out the tray and move the unburnt chunks to the center where they burn. How much wood depends on the wood I am using and what I am cooking. If chicken and pecan, usually just 2-3 chunks, if mesquite, just a chunk. If brisket and oak a full tray, maybe even a 2nd one.

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              #8
              I had a Thermotemp XL 340G vertical propane smoker. texastweeter is spot on. I used 2 or 3 medium chunks for ribs at 225, 1 or 2 for chicken depending on whether low and slow with a burst of 350 at the end to crisp the skin or hot and fast at 350 to 400 from the start. Like Spinaker says, most of the smoke adheres during the time before the IT reaches around 90 degrees. After it hits 90 to 100 I stopped adding chunks when I was using the Masterbuilt (which is pretty similar to the Smokevault). If I was doing a chuck or a pork butt I would just keep adding a chunk if the first ones were finished burning. Have fun exploring and just keep some notes until you are comfortable with it!

              Edit: I never used foil. Chunks burn slowly enough, you don't need to slow it down with foil on the chunks.
              Last edited by SmokingSteve; June 15, 2022, 04:11 PM.

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                #9
                Awesome. I saw a youtube video wjere the guy filled the entire tray with what had to be the equivalent of 15+ chunks of wood and I thought --- well now that's going to be a smoky mess and if they catch on fire who knows how much past 225 I will go!

                Comment


                  #10
                  I really like the smell of the pecan wood chunks. I usually add 3 or 4 medium sized chunks at the start of a smoke. I'll occasionally add another large chunk or 2 about halfway through a cook. I tend to go a bit light on smoke because my wife does not like heavy smoke flavor.

                  Comment


                    #11
                    I put about the equivalent of 2 fists of pecan initially and added about one every couple hours or so. Stopped once the bark was really dark.

                    Comment


                      #12
                      Depending on the length of cook but as a minimum I fill the wood tray 1/2 full with good sized chunks. If i'm doing over a 3 hour cook, then I'll fill it up.

                      Comment


                        #13
                        I've only got a few cooks in on my Camp Chef, but I'll echo the advice above. Chunks, not chips - I did chips the other day and got MASSIVE amounts of smoke (probably fairly dirty) that lasted about 5 minutes.

                        I actually have liked the maple chunks I've been using, I can actually smell the maple syrup flavor in the smoke, though I don't know it did anything different for the pork butt I was smoking.

                        Coupla fistfuls of good sized chunks, I essentially fill the pan to about 75% coverage, then I will open up and turn and shift the chunks a little every hour or so to make sure they're still burning and getting some more smoke. This is for longer cooks, obviously, and I'll throw an extra chunk or two in there if needed.

                        For hot and fast on chicken I did mostly the same, but the hotter temp burned 'em up quicker, but they didn't need to last as long - chicken was done in 1h15m.

                        The Smoke Vault is a neat little smoker, I'm growing to like it. About to get to work building a platform with wheels so I can get it up a bit higher, off the ground and more mobile with my 30 lb tank for it. I'll have more in the cart than I did in the smoker (got in on the smokin' deal on W00T for $100), but it'll be a neat little rig when done.

                        Comment


                          #14
                          Well now that I have about 10 smokes in (pork butts, ribs, bacon wrapped sausages) I am very happy with how easy the CC is to operate and how reasonably it holds temperature. Of course there is drift in a long cook, but not excessive. I clean the grids and water tray with a pressure washer ...i put some foil on the bottom outside the big hole for the burner and that helps catch some of the fat. The extra cooking area is great so now between the Yoder, Oklahoma Joe, Weber, 2 gassers and the Blackstone flattop I can cook a whole lot of food at once...

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