Adding wood chips/chunks during cooking

samegg · July 2008

What is the best way, especially cooking for long hours to add wood chips or chunks say every hour or so to the lump charcoal. I find it annoying to have to open up the lid, lift the screen up where my food is and and have to move the place setter just to add my soaked wood chips. I know there has to be an easier way for this

I was just curious as to what other people do.

Thanks,
Sam

Stanley · July 2008

Using chunks and mixing them strategically into your lump should pretty much eliminate the need to add them during the burn.

civil eggineer · July 2008

Distribute dry wood chunks throughout your lump before you light. That will provide smoke throughout your cook without raising the lid.

Stanley · July 2008

HA! this time I beat you! Note the similarity of answer though. Scary.

stike · July 2008

i build the fire with lump distributed up and down in a column, in the center of the egg. as it burns down, there's continuous smoke.

crghc98 · July 2008

Similar to others I distribute my Chips throughout the top half of the lump....after that I don't think the smoke adds much...(see postings about when smoke ring stops forming)

Buckdodger · July 2008

This is a IMHO response to your Q. For long cooks, like butts/pulled pork, I put on a glove and clean out all the small pieces of lump. Make sure all the vents in the fire box are clear, fill the firebox with new/big pieces of lump.Use the ash tool to empty the bottom of the egg. I use about 4 fist size pieces of hickory, dry,
about half way thru the new lump.
Start the lump...let it get to about 300 dome. Open the lid...add plate setter and drip pan...and butts. Close the daisy to about a sliver open. Close the bottom vent to about 1/4 inch. Check temp in about 1/2 hr.250 dome is where you want to be.The egg will cool down when u add the stuff and u will not have a problem stabilizing at 250.
Did 3 butts for the 4th...no leftovers. took about 14 hrs. Temp stayed at 250 for about 10 hrs then went up to 275. Meat was at 190 for about an hr..kicked up the heat to 300 to finish them off at 196.
Did the foil wrap and towels in the cooler for 3.5 hrs. Meat was to die for.
Hope this is not tooooooo much info.
Bob
Alex City, Al

Slotmercenary · July 2008

as mentioned mix throughout the lump but after the first half hour the smoke is just for you to smell as it doesn't get absorbed into the cook any longer.

Grandpas Grub · July 2008

Slotmercenary,

I respectfully dissagree.

Try some chicken or long cook beef/pork and don't use smoke for the 1'st half hour.

Then drop some chips or chunks so they will start smoking. You will get a nice flavor smoke in any of the cooks.

IMO the smoke flavor will impart all through the cook.

Kent

Unknown · July 2008

I do agree, but meat stops taking in smoke at a internal temp at 140

Fidel · July 2008

This is not necessarily correct. The smoke ring stops forming at an approximate temp of 140* (and some sources say as low as 120*).

Smoke particles will deposit on the surface of the meat as long as there is smoke present, regardless of temperature. Internal temperature has nothing to do with smoke particles on the exterior surface of the meat, which generally reaches 140* quite quickly.

The cellular structure of the meat may no longer absorb the smoke particulates and gasses, but the particles are still being deposited on the meat, and thereby making the meat taste more smoky the longer it is exposed to the smoke.

There is a ton of information out there about smoke absorption, adsorption, diffusion, etc. if you really care to read about it. Search for Danny Gaulden, Bill Wight, and Joe Cordray for a few experts on the subject.

stike · July 2008

THANK YOU fidel...
another voice in the wilderness!

this "smoke gets absorbed" myth just will not die. smoke doesn't get "absorbed" by the meat. and it will flavor meat if you only add it for the last ten minutes of a 12 hour cook.

Grandpas Grub · July 2008

How much play do we have with the 12 hour mark.

My chicken sure had crispy skin on the last cook when I added smoke chips @ 11:50 into the cook.

GG

stike · July 2008

it was facetious. you could still have smoke flavor if you added smoke for the last five minutes of a butt cook.

if a person smokes for an hour up front, and another smokes for an hour at the end. they'll have the same smoke flavor. the first may have a better smoke ring, but that's about the only difference the two different methods will reflect

Grandpas Grub · July 2008

stike wrote:

it was facetious.

Me too...

GG

stike · July 2008

hahaha

i hate those green smileys, but i find i need to use them or folks don't see the irony (or sarcasm, as the case may be!)

Knauf · July 2008

Whether or not the smoke is useful after the first hour or not try using your plate setter legs down and then feet/ drip pan/grate. You'll have a little more room to drop chips and small chunks in the fire.

Celtic Wolf · July 2008

My first question would be why would you want to add chips/chunks every hour.

First of all you are wasting heat by opening the lid and by doing so prolonging the cook.

Yes it is a myth that food stops taking on smoke after it reaches a certain temp. However, the idea is to add flavor to the meat not overwhelm it with raw smoke particles.

Every time you add wood chunks to an existing fire you are adding all the crap on the surface of the chunks to the mix. YEECH!

To top it all you are soaking your chips/chunks and adding steam to the cook. Soaking is one more BBQ Myth. Remember water boils at 212 degs. That lump is burning way higher then 212.

Add the chunks to the cook at the get go. Leave the lid shut till you food is done. Remember with smoking it's not what you see that counts. It is what you don't see that is flavoring your food.

stike · July 2008

good point, that just because you CAN add smoke throughout the entire cook, you may not WANT too.

Eggtucky · July 2008

No response from me...I think CW covered it quite effectively

Adding wood chips/chunks during cooking

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