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Smoke/wood technique help

Hello all, I've been using my Big Green egg almost every day since it was given to me by my lovely wife and I'm loving it. I'm still having difficulties with smoke.  At first I would just put a few wood chunks directly on the hottest coals.  That would give me thick white smoke and then I would cook the food.  I honestly liked the taste even though it seems like that's not the way to do things.  Lately I've been trying to place wood chunks through out the charcoal when I fill up the egg.  I try putting some everywhere but the center. When I do this I tend to get no smoke or white smoke if I put some too near the center.  It quickly tapers off and I rarely get the famed 'thin blue smoke.'  The BGE cookbook explains how to lay out a spiral pattern with wood chips but that won't really work with chunks given the size.

Does anyone have any tips for me?  I really enjoy the smokey taste and it's been a bust for the last few cooks.

Comments

  • I would say it depends on the type of cook you are doing and how you light the coals. When i do a low and slow I put a few chunks mid level in the coals. Then I use a chimney to just light about 15 pieces of charcoal to pour over the top. After that I put a chunk or two on top of the lit coals. Doing this allows me to get smoke to be clear by the time the other coals beneath the orange ones catch on. Not sure if this is making sense yet. :)

    For direct cooking i just get the coals hot and throw a few chunks on top until the white smoke clears. Thats about it. Let us know your progress. 
  • Grill66
    Grill66 Posts: 15
    Thanks, I usually use one firestarter in the middle to get the coals going.  I'll try your suggestions tomorrow with my leg of lamb!