Wood chunk size

[Adam Coleman]

I was wondering what you guys think is the ideal size of wood chunks for the WSM? I've notcied that the bags I get have a wide range of sizes, anywhere from golf-ball to grapefruit. Do several smaller chunks really equal 1 big chunk?

 

[Jerry P.]

Good question and you'll probably get many different answers. Harry Soo of Slap Yo Daddy BBQ uses tennis ball size chunks and arranges them around the edge of the charcoal ring. He did a Q&A here about a month ago which is a must read. Kevin Kruger is a well respected poster here and he chops his tennis ball size chunks into 6-7 pieces. Try both ways and see for yourself what you like. Either way, you'll turn out some great Q.

 

[Russ Sylvester]

I've been buying either Chuck's Smokehouse or DoItBest.com for my wood. Both places seem to give me anything from a grapefruit size right on down to dust and everything in-between.

I go by what I'm cooking. Brisket and Butts get the bigger stuff while the chicken and ribs get the smaller stuff.

I figure that if the smoke is going to go long then I want the wood to last quite a while so go big. If the smoke is short then the wood doesn't have to last as long, so go smaller.

That's about the only logic I've come up with so far. Seems to work.

Russ

 

[Steve Wene]

I'm with Russ on this one. The longer cooks get the larger chunks.

 

[Jim S]

I was given some applewood last year, basically 12 inch long. Some is only 2-3 inches in diameter, and some of it is much bigger. I can split the stuff, but it's too much work to make chunks. Thing is, since the pieces are long, they tend to give off a good amount of smoke... and for a relatively long time. I recently did some chicken & a fattie, the whole cook was basically 2 1/2 hrs without lifting the lid at all. I used a single split piece and it was still smoking when I took off the meat.

Here's a few pics of a different cook, what I do is basically Minion the charcoal and put some split wood on top of the fresh charcoal.