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How many of you soak your wood chucks ?

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Robert5506
Robert5506 Posts: 11
in EggHead Forum
I always just throw a few in about 15 min before food . Is the smoke taste less when they are soaked ? A few of my cooks have been pretty campfire like taste wonder if I should let them cook down more .
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  • Hans61
    Hans61 Posts: 3,901
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    Don't soak

    what kind of lump you cooking with?
    “There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
    Coach Finstock Teen Wolf
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  • Hans61
    Hans61 Posts: 3,901
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    http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_soaking_wood.html
    “There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
    Coach Finstock Teen Wolf
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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
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    Not in the egg. Just adding water.
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • ronw9471
    ronw9471 Posts: 112
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    Used to, not anymore.
    Parrish, FL

    My Photo Website: www.ronwooldridgephotography.com

    XL Big Green Egg
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  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,684
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    I'll soak two and leave the other two dry.  That way the two wet ones are drying out and smoking as the two initial dry ones are burning out.  Not sure how much extra time it buys, but by the time the meat hits 140ish, that's when it stops absorbing smoke.  
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
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    stlcharcoal said:
    I'll soak two and leave the other two dry.  That way the two wet ones are drying out and smoking as the two initial dry ones are burning out.  Not sure how much extra time it buys, but by the time the meat hits 140ish, that's when it stops absorbing smoke.  
    You're wasting your water. And as for smoke, meat takes on smoke as long as there IS smoke. It stops developing a smoke RING at 140°. Which has nothing to do with the presence of smoke, but that's another story.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Hans61
    Hans61 Posts: 3,901
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    To address the campfire taste issue too, it's either the type of lump or too many chunks imho 
    “There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
    Coach Finstock Teen Wolf
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  • Hans61
    Hans61 Posts: 3,901
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    Or not a clean burning fire
    “There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
    Coach Finstock Teen Wolf
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  • jfine1
    jfine1 Posts: 87
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    I always soak 
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  • StillH2OEgger
    StillH2OEgger Posts: 3,748
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    No soaking for me.
    Stillwater, MN
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  • Robert5506
    Robert5506 Posts: 11
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    Hans61 said:
    Don't soak

    what kind of lump you cooking with?
    Cowboy and green egg kind 
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
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    All soaking does is create steam. The wood absorbs very little water and doesn't smoke until that water steams off. So all you're doing is delaying the smoke until the surface water steams away. 

    Don't bother. It accomplishes nothing.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Mikee
    Mikee Posts: 892
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    I soak wood chips or else the burn up in a few minutes. Chunks go in dry.

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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 16,989
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    If wood soaked up water, do you think they would have made boats with it?
    I have not found the flavor of food enhanced with the burning wet wood. Just my opinion.
    Rockwood and dry smoking wood work for me.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • Mikee
    Mikee Posts: 892
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    YukonRon said:
    If wood soaked up water, do you think they would have made boats with it? 
    Read up on wooden boats then ask yourself that question. 
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  • td66snrf
    td66snrf Posts: 1,822
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    I'm not sure because I don't have a woodchuck 
    XLBGE, LBGE, MBGE, SMALL, MINI, 2 Kubs, Fire Magic Gasser
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    Soaking chips delays smoke.  That is a fact, use this information to cook better. 
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    how much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could get soaked?
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • GrillSgt
    GrillSgt Posts: 2,507
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    With .22 shells. 
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  • ColtsFan
    ColtsFan Posts: 6,343
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    I like to soak it in cider 
    ~ John - https://www.instagram.com/hoosier_egger
    XL BGE, LG BGE, KJ Jr, PK Original, Ardore Pizza Oven, King Disc 
    Bloomington, IN - Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!

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  • thetrim
    thetrim Posts: 11,357
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    I used to, but after my ch harassing at the hands of my fellow, esteemed forum members,no more.  
    =======================================
    XL 6/06, Mini 6/12, L 10/12, Mini #2 12/14 MiniMax 3/16 Large #2 11/20 Legacy from my FIL - RIP
    Tampa Bay, FL
    EIB 6 Oct 95
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  • kcw
    kcw Posts: 58
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    Never, unless you want steam.


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  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,674
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    NO
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
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    Mikee said:
    I soak wood chips or else the burn up in a few minutes. Chunks go in dry.

    That is why mixing the chips throughout the lump and lighting from the top in one spot, cooking with the lid down (low and slow) works best with dry chips. If you throw them on the top of burning lump, they will ignite when you open the lid and let oxygen in. 
    On the Weber, use chunks, unsoaked, in the kamado, chips or chunks unsoaked. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
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    Nope. Never.

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."
                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 16,989
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    Mikee said:
    YukonRon said:
    If wood soaked up water, do you think they would have made boats with it? 
    Read up on wooden boats then ask yourself that question.

     I get the "weighs less than the amount of water it displaces." However, the absorption of water by wood is much lower than a few people might think. That is why you will see Indonesian water craft, decades old, facilitating several generations, without the aid of paint or sealant of any kind, used as fishing boats on an ongoing, daily basis.
    If they absorbed water, their density would rise, making them heavier than the water they displace, therefore subject to sinking.

    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • vb4677
    vb4677 Posts: 686
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    Nope - sprinkle chips and chunks around and through your lump, like tossing a big ol' charcoal salad - I get smoke throughout my entire cooks that way.

     I USED to soak them when I was using my old gasser - but that was mostly to keep the chip box from bursting into flames.  

    No soak - just smoke now!
    Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
    2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
    Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
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  • Rte1985
    Rte1985 Posts: 304
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    When I was new I got campfire taste because I didn't wait until clean burn.  Rookie mistakes
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