Hi, its been a while since iv'e posted on here but a couple new questions have come up. I know how a lot of people in the meat smoking community layer their flavors using a different rubs and spices at different times during the cooking process. Example being prior to smoking a rack of ribs a generous amount of rub is applied. After the third hour (using the 321 method), the ribs are pulled and sometimes sugar and butter are added before foiling. I am doing an experiment today trying to layer different types of wood. I started with a cherry wood for the first hour. After the first hour, i started to blend in apple (mostly apple). During the third hour i did a hickory apple mix to finish it off before foiling. I'm wondering if this will work as my theory suggests. Now as many will say on the forums, after hitting a temp of 160, the meat doesn't really take on smoke anymore (some disagree of course). I did my "layering" all prior to 160 IT. Will it make a difference doing the woods in that order or would i get the same effect just blending them all together for the first three hours? If nothing else it was a fun experiment either way. The second question i have is about how to use the wood. I have a Masterbuilt verticle LP. I have always just soaked my chips and then drain off and add to the chip tray on top of the burner. I have a friend that puts them in the liquid pan. His food always comes out good but i cant really tell if the wood taste is in it. I figure maybe the flavor of the wood would get into the meat through the steam it lets off but i wasn't sure. It kinda seems like he doesn't get the smokey taste. What do the pros recommend ?
