Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Can I put too much wood hunks in?

Kjunbob
Kjunbob Posts: 118
Tomorrow I will be doing a Pork Butt and will probably add some chunks of Apple Wood in with the charcoal.  But I am wondering, can I add too much??? I know that I need enough charcoal to sustain the cook, but it seems like the more apple chunks, the better... or am I missing something?

Thanks
Large Egg.  New Orleans Area

Comments

  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
    Yes, you can add to much wood. Unlike an offset smoker that has a continuous, small fire burning, the Egg relies on red hot lump for heat.
    Adding to much wood will only get you billowing, smoldering smoke. Not a clean burning wood smell. End product will have bitter wood burned taste.
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
  • dmourati
    dmourati Posts: 1,265
    I'd start with four fist sized chunks distributed throughout the lump. Get your fire up to temp, let it ride and stabilize for an hour, then throw on the butt.
    Mountain View, CA
  • bikesAndBBQ
    bikesAndBBQ Posts: 284
    This really comes down to preference. What is too much for some could be not enough for others. It is better to add not enough at first than too much. You can adjust as you learn. 
    Pittsburgh, PA. LBGE
  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,125
    dmourati said:
    I'd start with four fist sized chunks distributed throughout the lump. Get your fire up to temp, let it ride and stabilize for an hour, then throw on the butt.
    You have to take in consideration the size egg you are cooking on. Four fist sized chunks in a mini max is an entirely different story than four chunks in a XL. 
  • stompbox
    stompbox Posts: 729
    edited May 2018
  • TEXASBGE2018
    TEXASBGE2018 Posts: 3,831
    Just this past weekend I put 3 Fist sized hickory chunks to cook a pork butt on my large egg and the smoke flavor was pretty minimal. I would say the stronger and denser the wood the less to use. In my circumstance I could have put on a couple more and probably been happy. If it had been Pecan or Mesquite chunks 3 might have been over kill.  In general apple wood is extremely faint smoke.  Strength from lightest to most pungent would be about the following (Apple, Cherry, Oak, Hickory, Post Oak, Pecan, Mesquite) The amount of bark on the wood chunks will also have an impact. Less bark for less smoke.


    Rockwall, Tx    LBGE, Minimax, 22" Blackstone, Pizza Party Bollore. Cast Iron Hoarder.

  • Kjunbob
    Kjunbob Posts: 118
    Thanks for all of the comments.  I am using a Large Egg, and have a 9 pound Butt... so I think that I will put in about 4 fist sized pieces and place them throughout the fuel....  Any other comments?
    Large Egg.  New Orleans Area
  • Hans61
    Hans61 Posts: 3,901
    Well, you can get into whether to wrap or not, what to wrap with, (foil or butcher paper) and hot and fast versus low and slow but you’ll get a myriad of answers 
    “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
  • Kjunbob
    Kjunbob Posts: 118
    Do you mean to wrap the Apple Chunks?  Never thought of that... It would seem that that would hinder the smoke?

    Large Egg.  New Orleans Area
  • TEXASBGE2018
    TEXASBGE2018 Posts: 3,831
    No @Hans61 means wrapping the meat.


    Rockwall, Tx    LBGE, Minimax, 22" Blackstone, Pizza Party Bollore. Cast Iron Hoarder.

  • jeffwit
    jeffwit Posts: 1,348
    stompbox said:
    Wood hunks?


    You may want to clear your search history...
    Jefferson, GA
    XL BGE, MM, Things to flip meat over and stuff
    Wife, 3 kids, 5 dogs, 4 cats, 12 chickens, 2 goats, 2 pigs. 
    “Honey, we bought a farm.”