Chunks vs. Chips

[Guest]

If I can't get good smoker wood chunks in my area is there anything I should know about using bagged chips?

 

[Dennis Haner]

I would suggest making a foil packet of the chips. The poke some holes in the foil with a toothpick.

 

[Dale Perry]

I just bought some pecan chips and some apple wood chips. I have a hard time finding these types of wood in chip form let alone chunks. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the two, so I wonder about the use of chips compared to chunks. ?. My plan now is to just go for it and see what happens but my real question is what meat is best smoked with pecan? Apple I understand.
DP

 

[Paul G.]

We use a lot of pecan down here in the "heart of Dixie" and think it does well on most anything. Certainly great on pork. I've never tried chips in the WSM but I guess the foil wrap would be the way to go. For the long cook I don't think they'll compare to the chunks, but they sure are a lot more available.

 

[Dale Perry]

Paul, around these parts, hickory and oak trees are everywhere and that is what you find bagged up in the stores. I like hickory for smoke, but I have to try pecan.

 

[Guest]

We don't have much besides Pine and Alder. I heard Alder is quite a light flavor good for fish but not for Pork or Beef. Any thoughts?

 

[Dwain Gleason]

Pecan and Hickory are from the same "family" of trees, and I find that Pecan has a milder flavor that is still very reminiscient of hickory. Before my conversion to chunks, I did use chips (especially on my kettle), and I would soak the chips and then put them in a foil packet, just to try to get them to last longer before burning up.

I generally hear people using alder with fish, but I just watched an episode of BBQ America where the gentleman standing next to Jim Minion suggested using cherry wood with salmon, which is something I'm going to have to try!! Wow, now I can list Jim as one of my favorite TV chefs. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

I wonder how hamster-cage cedar shavings might work for salmon? /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif JUST KIDDING...

 

[Guest]

Put a layer of charcoal down, then a layer of chips. Repeat this for three or four layers. I use about 3/4 of a bag of chips. It keeps a little smoke going throughout the cook. Use dry chips.
Since you are burning chips, you won't have any smoldering chunks so you can put your meat on cold to get a deeper smoke ring.

 

[Steve Hilmer]

I like the chips made by JD. It is made from the JD oak whiskey barrels. When you open the bag you want to reach for a coke and pour it into the bag a start drinking /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif . I make a pouch out of foil and put about 1 handful or so in the pouch. Seal it and poke 1 or 2 holes about the size of a toothpick. Creates a good amout of smoke and smells womderful. I may use 2 pouches during a long smoke (say pork butt) but 1 seems to work fine for most smokes. I like chips because I can find more types than hickory or mesquite chunks.