How many of you soak your wood chucks ?

Robert5506

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 .

Theophan

Some people soak them, but my sense of it is that the overwhelming majority of people who've looked hard at this issue agree that there's no point at all to soaking them.

Hans61

Don't soak

what kind of lump you cooking with?

Hans61

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_soaking_wood.html

bgebrent

Not in the egg. Just adding water.

ronw9471

Used to, not anymore.

stlcharcoal

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.  

Carolina Q

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.

Hans61

To address the campfire taste issue too, it's either the type of lump or too many chunks imho 

Hans61

Or not a clean burning fire

jfine1

I always soak 

StillH2OEgger

No soaking for me.

Robert5506

Hans61 said:

Don't soak

what kind of lump you cooking with?

Cowboy and green egg kind 

Carolina Q

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.

Mikee

I soak wood chips or else the burn up in a few minutes. Chunks go in dry.

YukonRon

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.

Mikee

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. 

td66snrf

I'm not sure because I don't have a woodchuck 

Toxarch

Woodchuck?

nolaegghead

Soaking chips delays smoke.  That is a fact, use this information to cook better. 

nolaegghead

how much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could get soaked?

GrillSgt

With .22 shells. 

hoosier_egger

I like to soak it in cider 

thetrim

I used to, but after my ch harassing at the hands of my fellow, esteemed forum members,no more.  

kcw

Never, unless you want steam.

Mickey

NO

Skiddymarker

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. 

GATraveller

Nope. Never.

YukonRon

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.

vb4677

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!

Rte1985

When I was new I got campfire taste because I didn't wait until clean burn.  Rookie mistakes