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why does everyone agree that "soaking wood chips does nothing" yet everyone "soaks wood planks" ??
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is”
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You do not want to soak chips as you want the oils in the wood to "smoke" and not steam the water from the chips.
The planks are soaked so it does not char/burn and give an unpleasant taste to the fish.
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Large and Small BGE, Blackstone 36 and a baby black Kub.
Chattanooga, TN.
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I don't soak planks either. I was under the impression that the reason you use a plank, is to impart the wood's smoke into the fish (in my case) as it starts to char. Otherwise you are just cooking indirect.
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You soak softwood planks to give you a little time before they start to smoke.
Steve
Caledon, ON
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Little Steven said:You soak softwood planks to give you a little time before they start to smoke.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
Thanks. I did a little research also and found much more info than I wanted on amazingribs.com. I have heard people knock this site and also heard people praise the site, but below is the link and below is quick summary is right here.
Don't Soak Your Wood. This Myth Is Busted.
Planking: An exception to the rule
Plank cooking is a method of cooking food on top of a wooden plank. The technique calls for soaking the plank in water for several hours. The theory is that by soaking we prevent the plank from bursting into flame and the steam created on the top surface under the meat helps with cooking. As we know, not much water soaks into the plank, so just dipping it in water for a few minutes is long enough to get the job done.
http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_soaking_wood.html
Columbus, OH
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is” -
I was confused because you always see bobby flay and other BBQ experts using a large bowl of soaked chips.Columbus, OH
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is” -
Cedar/Alder planking is an indirect cook, albeit one where the heat shield provides both natural oil taste, aroma and possibly smoke. The traditional method that I've seen involves the fish to be pegged to a board that is mounted on a slightly off vertical angle, stacked around a wood fire that allows the fish oils to self baste. The plank allows for a slower cook and protects the fish from burning. Most of the plank smoke is drawn off on the non-food side of the plank.We plank salmon more for presentation than actual flavour, IMHO, smoke chips/chunks do a much better job. The Coastal First Nations did not have a kamado cooker like the egg.Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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NDG said:I was confused because you always see bobby flay and other BBQ experts using a large bowl of soaked chips.
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Harold McGee has something to say about this. I don't think Amazing Ribs has read his book, though.
The Naked Whiz -
The Naked Whiz said:Harold McGee has something to say about this. I don't think Amazing Ribs has read his book, though.stike Posts: 15,597Well. I have been preaching this for a while, and i'm late to the party. my logic is based solely on the construction of the egg. being airtight, it's not possible for wood to burst into flame (even at sear temps) because the spare o2 is not available.
but. I think it's the Naked Whiz who references a good point, and something which Harold McGee concurs on. McGee says that soaked wood (in a regular old briquette environment) will lower the contact temperature and the wood will smoke at a temp where the lignins are burning at temps that produce sweeter compounds. you are basically breaking down wood into it's compounds when you burn it. at a high temp, you get different compounds. I'm way over simplifying, but there's thought that lower temps produce sweeter esters.
i don't soak, because the wood in an egg doesn't burst into flame anyway.
but there is some logic to why you might soak in other cookers.ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dantestike Posts: 15,597the wood in a tree doesn't abosrb water really.
it's a pretty cool dynamic. the leaves evaporate water, and so the surface tension at the leaf is enough to draw water from the twig, which draws it from the branch, etc.
and thereby, hundreds of gallons of water are drawn up through the roots.
pretty cool.
gotta loves them trees.______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
NDG said:I was confused because you always see bobby flay and other BBQ experts using a large bowl of soaked chips.
Somewhat repeating what Stike said above... When cooking on a non-Egg cooker, soaking chips IS important. The only control of the burn rate of the chips is the moisture content.When cooking on a controlled airflow cooker ( Egg ) - the amount of air available controls the burn rate.
Look at a weber, all of the charcoal is burning 30-40 minutes in. Look at an Egg, only the amount of charcoal which is supported by the available air is burning. More air, larger % of the charcoal is burning, inverse is true.
The ONLY benefit that I see to soaking chips is if I am using chips to have a low total amount of smoke, and I need 5-7 minutes to put the plate setter in, set the drip pan, rack, load the meat, etc and I do not want a face full of smoke. In that scenario, I will give the chips 20 minutes of soak purely to delay their smoking.
IMO, soaking chips or chunks on an Egg has no impact. On an unrestricted airflow cooker, soaking does have impact.
Cookin in Texas -
Good Stuff, and I agree with Stike that you "gotta love them trees" . . took this shot in Ireland last month.Columbus, OH
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is” -
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hahaa - make me feel like a complete hippie, cool.Columbus, OH
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is” -
Sometimes we burn our fires at higher temps with lots of O2 and we want a burst of smoke. I soak then. But not if I do the Dr. BBQ method of putting chips throughout the charcoal for a low and slow.
The Naked Whiz -
Just to clarify the old posts that are sandwiched in this thread are not by the OP
Steve
Caledon, ON
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As I understand it the wood is soaked so as to introduce moisture (humidity) to the cooking chamber which reacts with chemical compounds in the smoke to make that "smoke ring" everyone is looking for, not to make more smoke.
Every time my elbow bends my mouth flies open. -
Little Steven said:Just to clarify the old posts that are sandwiched in this thread are not by the OP
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This is a very timely post for me since I'm planning on doing a cedar plank salmon tonight. It'll be my first time doing it. I've been searching through the forum all day looking for tips and recipes, and I've gotta say I'm really confused at this point. Some people say soak for hours; others say soak for minutes; others say don't soak at all. Doesn't seem to be any consensus. I'm also having a hard time parsing through the comments by stike above. Is the suggestion that the water keeps the temperature of the wood from elevating to a point at which it would give off nasty tasting smoke?Southern California
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bicktrav said:This is a very timely post for me since I'm planning on doing a cedar plank salmon tonight. It'll be my first time doing it. I've been searching through the forum all day looking for tips and recipes, and I've gotta say I'm really confused at this point. Some people say soak for hours; others say soak for minutes; others say don't soak at all. Doesn't seem to be any consensus. I'm also having a hard time parsing through the comments by stike above. Is the suggestion that the water keeps the temperature of the wood from elevating to a point at which it would give off nasty tasting smoke?
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nolaegghead said:bicktrav said:This is a very timely post for me since I'm planning on doing a cedar plank salmon tonight. It'll be my first time doing it. I've been searching through the forum all day looking for tips and recipes, and I've gotta say I'm really confused at this point. Some people say soak for hours; others say soak for minutes; others say don't soak at all. Doesn't seem to be any consensus. I'm also having a hard time parsing through the comments by stike above. Is the suggestion that the water keeps the temperature of the wood from elevating to a point at which it would give off nasty tasting smoke?Southern California
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Soaking or wetting the plank increases the period of time before the smoking starts. The egg makes the most of smoke flavour and it is easy to oversmoke. Das it.
Steve
Caledon, ON
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Little Steven said:Soaking or wetting the plank increases the period of time before the smoking starts. The egg makes the most of smoke flavour and it is easy to oversmoke. Das it.Southern California
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Purpose of the soak is to allow the fish to cook a bit before the plank starts to char and smoke. You normally will get 2 to 3 cooks per plank. And yes, it definately adds flavor to the fish. Cedar is good, but I prefer alder planks with my salmon.
Damascus, VA. Friendliest town on the Appalachian Trail.
LBGE Aug 2012, SBGE Feb 2014
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