How much wood?

Firetruck · March 2008

Hey ya'll, the other day I smoked my first butt ever. All seemed to go well, except for the flashover which I alluded to earlier.

When I started the fire and dumped in the lump, I mixed hickory wood chunks in with the lump. It was a small bag like you would find in the grocery store.

The meat turned out great. I took it to the fire station with me and all the so called great cooks there said it was good. I was asking for a critique not pat on the back. The only thing that was a little bit negative was one guy complained that I left out too much bark from the pulled meat. I did that because I thought it was too charred, but I digress.

My question is how much and what type (chunk or chip) of wood should I use? Is mixing it in the preffered method?

Thanks JoJo

Buster Dog BBQ · March 2008

About 3 fist sized chunks. On Pork Butt I like a fruit wood.

RRP · March 2008

It's a personal call IMO. Even though that butt will be cooking for many hours too much wood chips/chunks can add a bitter taste. I much prefer that the "bark" come from the rub and cheap yellow French's mustard. BTW the love of bark also is something I have found differs from group to group...

Celtic Wolf · March 2008

I agree with Buster. 3 or 4 good sized chunks is all that is needed.

Bob-O · March 2008

I agree....3 fist size chunks. I prefer a combination of pecan and apple or cherry. I have found that the amount and choice of wood is very much a part of the learning process.

Firetruck · March 2008

Thanks for the info. Is it best to mix it in with the lump or put it on top like the video shows?

Celtic Wolf · March 2008

I put on top only to ensure that it actually gets burning clean.

Firetruck · March 2008

Check, I've tried it both ways. One thing I did notice was as someone mentioned earlier, some of the pork I cooked sort of left my mouth num. As if it had some sort of petroleum in it.

Celtic Wolf · March 2008

Bio-Diesel :woohoo:

Never had that problem with wood chunks.

dhuffjr · March 2008

I often used chips. I usually use one large fist full and spread them around on top of the lump. A little smoke throughout the cook is my theory.

Too much smoke is often the crimp in a lot of folks cooking.

Light wispy smoke is good a smoke stack is bad.

Unknown · March 2008

Bitterness come from creosote. You want thin blue smoke instead of white rolling clouds. You want the smoke to just kiss the meat. The white rolling clouds are what imparted the bitter taste.

Put your chunks on the fire when you start your lump. When it first combusts, you'll get most of the creosote. Let it burn off. Once the chunk is smoldering put your meat on.

How much wood?

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