Wood chunks in grill

[Guest]

I've heard about using wood chips in a grill, but I'm not sure about chunks. Do they work? I'd like to add a little smoke flavor to my grilled products. If not, I guess I can cut a chunk into little pieces!

Thanks,

--Mickey

 

[Guest]

Micky, I think people prefer chips for grilling because of the short time the meat is over the fire. Chunks = more smoke over a longer time, chips = quick smoke over a short time. I added some apple chips when I grill roasted a chicken the other day, added a hint of smoke flavor without being over powering. My family liked it better than chicken off the WSM /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

 

[Guest]

I have been putting a container under my table saw to catch the saw dust while cutting chunks for the WSM. I tried them in my grill and they REALLY smoke a lot. You need thick smoke to get some flavor in such a short time.

 

[Guest]

Okay, I'll either cut up the wood I have or I'll buy some apple chips. I saw some on clearance the other day.

So how many soaked chips do you need for a quick hot dog/burger cook?

 

[Konrad Haskins]

I use chunks when grilling with great results. I'm not now nor have I ever been a member of the chip fan party.
Have a good 4th,

 

[Guest]

Mick,
I have used both, and they each work well. I don't think there is a need to soak chips, but try it, and gauge your results.
Good luck on your cook tomorrow!!

Jim

 

[Guest]

When I went into my bag of hickory chunks to start the smoker, I realized that I had a bunch of smaller chunks that I keep passing up. I like the bigger ones for the smoker. I took a bunch of the smaller chunks and threw them on the coals when I grilled. I didn't soak them.

The only problem was that they flamed up. I had to wait a while for the flames to die down. I'll try soaking them next time for comparison.

Thanks!

--Mickey

 

[Guest]

Mickey,

When I use the grill for smoking, I usually use chips, rather than chunks. To make them last longer, I soak them in very hot water for ~ 30 minutes and then roll them up into small, tin foil logs. Using a fork, I poke about 15 to 20 small holes into the chip/foil logs and start off by putting two of them on top of my coals, one on each pile of coals that have been banked to the extreme sides of the grill. You can see a series of pictures where I cooked a pork shoulder this way by clicking here. Just click on the small thumbnail picture to get a larger version and then use the arrows above each picture to scroll through the entire series. It really doesn't take very much to smoke a shoulder or turkey and, when cooked on a grill this way, it doesn't take much charcoal, either. Enjoy!