Smoke wood, all at once or gradually?

[DavidD]

what is your view on adding smoke wood when doing a long cook like a butt? Would you put the entire amt you expect to use when you put the meat on or would you add the same amt at different times during the cook, like over the course of 3-4 hours? I realize the meat won't develop the smoke ring after internal temps of 140 ish, so it would need to be before that temp, but still, that's a pretty big window.

regards,

dave

 

[Dave K]

I always put it on at the same time as the coals, then close it up and leave it till done.

 

[Don Irish]

I layer the chunks within the stack of coals so that there is a continual burn throughout the cook.

 

[Jason Pedu]

I get the charcoal going. Put all the wood on top. Then put the meat in about 40-50 degrees from the cooking temp.

 

[j biesinger]

I like to continually toss wood on throughout the burn. I'm overly cautious about creating a "clean burn" so I fillet my chunks and lay the little sticks on the lit coals where they'll get plenty of O2.

wood smoke doesn't contribute much to the smoke ring so if thats your goal don't be worried about getting wood on right away. burning charcoal will provide plenty of nitrogen compounds on its own.

And smoke will lay on the meat throughout the cook. so I like to always keep a fresh bit of wood in there burning and layering on the smokey goodness.

 

[KenP]

I mix the chunks in with the charcoal and let them go.

 

[Jon Merka]

i use two fist sized chunks of oak at the begining on top of the coals. i dont add anymore after that. for pork and chicken i use one half fist sized chunk only.

i am not a fan of heavily smoked bbq except in the case of jerky which i like heavily smoked.

dont worry about smoke rings you can get smoke rings by chemical means in a gas oven. it has nothing to do with taste.

my suggestion try various methods and find what ya like none are bad ways except ones that use green wood.

 

[Tim Johnson]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by KenP:
I mix the chunks in with the charcoal and let them go. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Me too...

 

[Phil Perrin]

I'm with Dave and Jason. Put the chunks on top of the charcoal,put the lit on top of that and let it go.

 

[Larry Wolfe]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Phil Perrin:
I'm with Dave and Jason. Put the chunks on top of the charcoal,put the lit on top of that and let it go. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ditto!

The less you open and mess with the WSM during a cook, the better it will function!

 

[Jim S]

I lay it on thick at first to get that nice smokey flavor. It's hard for me to get any wood in chunks besides hickory so I use chips. Strange living here in Massachusetts considering all the orchards around. One guy wanted to charge me 12 bucks a lb for the wood (bark and all), I thought that was insane.

 

[Paul H]

David, I get the smoker up to temp, put the meat on then add smoke wood. Got real tired of putting it on first then fighting the smoke when it was time to put the meat on. One note,if you are doing ribs,chicken, or fish, go light on the wood. Made some ribs the other day after not cooking for awhile and overdid the wood. Could definitely taste the bitterness in the meat from over smoking