# Wood Chips: To soak or not to soak.....



## pne123

I have come full circle on this.  I used to soak my chips then realized that it should not matter.  Once the little bit of moisture that soaked into the wood steamed out they would be in the same condition, dry.  I stopped soaking the chips (i use a gas GOSM) and started to get flash fires in my chips.  So I am going to go back to soaking and this why.  I believe that soaking creates a buffer zone when you are getting your smoker to temp. I usually turn it up to get the smoke rolling and the temp right then turn it down when I add the meat.  The elevated temp also helps to hit the desired temp after you open the door and add a big piece of cold meat.  Even if I am wrong and soaking does not stop flare ups (does not add smoke either) it certainly does not hurt so might as well go for it.  W/ that said I am not soaking the additional chips I add thru out the smoking process since my temp is set and I already have smoldering chips to start the new batch.  

I may be full of it but it does seem to work for me but when i am lazy or in a hurry I do not soak them.  You can smell the difference when you have FIRE and I just pour some beer on it and shut the door.  all is good with beer.

beer+smoke+laptop+wireless=rambling posts.......I smell fire!


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## desert smokin

I had a problem with flash fires in my smoke pan on my GOSM. Turns out I punched some air holes in the bottom and there was appparently too much air. Covered the pan bottom with aluminium foil and haven't had a flash fire since. I put my wood in a bread pan. But then, I put sand in my water pan. Go figure.


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## pne123

the flare ups are usually after i put the meat on.  the wood get the oxygen in needs for fire after I open the door.  I think the wet chips gets me past this stage of me not paying attention to what i am doing.


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## mossymo

I soak both chunks and chips for a few days. Then I take them out of the water and put them in Ziplock bags and freeze them. I always have smoking wood on hand this way, and if I forget to soak before a smoke they are ready in the freezer. I do this for all my smokers; charcoal, propane and electric. Call me anal but I do like loading frozen chips much better in to the MEC wood tray than wet ones. all the chips slide right out when I dump it. Currently I have apple, hickory, mesquite, etc soaked, labeled and frozen in the freezer.....


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## gypsyseagod

lol mossy... have ya ever pulledout a bag of say mesquite thinking it was leftover pulled pork w/ the best bark ya ever seen ?


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## mossymo

Gypsy
LOL !!! not yet..... 

P.S.
If I have no presoaked chips or chunks and the smoker is ready; Put your bowl of water and wood in the microwave and nuke it on high for 5 minutes.


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## kew_el_steve

I always soak for about 15-20 minutes before going in the pan on my GOSM. Avoids flare-ups and temp spikes. Put it in for an hour. After an hour move it to the back half of the wood pan and put in another batch. After another hour take out the wood that's been in there for two hours, move the hour old to the rear and put in a new batch: so hour old in back new in front.

To manage wood (I use small chunks), spritz meat, and top off water pan takes about two minutes and coming back up to temp takes another 2-3.


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## smoke.eater

Speakin of doin stuff to wood chips for the smoker. I ( for the first time i smoked anything a couple weeks ago in a GOSM) used a 50/50 split of soaked chips and dry ...saw some guy on the food channel do that...seemed to work pretty good but now I have a question for you veterans. 
Do I replenish the smoke box after the chips turn to a white ash or before that when they are black and charcoal looking and don't seem to be producing smoke.
It seems that when the smoke stops issuing from every seam of the smoker, that its time to dump out the blackened chips and add new ones.
But I'm wondering if this is the phase when the legendary "thin blue smoke" is produced???

Thanks


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## minn.bill

I allways cover my cast iron chip pan with tin foil with pencil size holes in it .never seems to flare up with dry chips. seams like when i soake them they take to long to burn.


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## deejaydebi

Hmmmmmmm have you tried cunks instead of chips? 

Mossy what does nuking chips do?


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## flash

I have always soaked my chunks of wood. Anybody using chips, which can ignite too easily should soak those also. IMHO, it will allow the wood to last longer before burning up.


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## crewdawg52

Get them hot???????
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I just throw then on the fire, no soaking.


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## mossymo

Debi
It may just be my imagination, but I think wood chips nuked in water makes the wood chips soak up water quicker.....


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## starsfaninco

should try it in a vac sealer then :)


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## fatback joe

If you are going to soak, soak them in wine........get a little more flavor going.


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## walking dude

ihave found to use some kind of container to hold the chips......i was going to try to use foil, but worried bout the foil melting......i have had fires THAT hot......melted my al. pizza pan i was using to hold the charchol up from the bottom to allow better air flow...........i use the cast iron smoke box i bought for my gas grill..........but now am going to try using a coffee can instead......quicker to produce smoke...........

d8de


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## fatback joe

D8de.

I almost get the feeling I am following you from topic to topic.  LOL

If you want to get them smoking quicker give them a quick hit with a torch.............don't just hold there starting a fire, but a little blast gets the party started quicker.  I do that quite a bit when I am smoking off the hotplate.


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## walking dude

LOLOL.........yeap

kewl.......good idea, thankx


d8de


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## placebo

But won't that make the wine taste funny?


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## walking dude

ROTFFLMFAO..........good one placebo..........but dont they add tannin to wine........and doen'st tannin also come from wood ash?


d8de


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## peculiarmike

I used to use chips and used to soak them. No more. 
I use chunks and do not soak them.
If smoke is rolling out every seam, hole, gap around the door, etc. you have TOO MUCH smoke!     
	

	
	
		
		



		
			





Granted, starting up you probably will have that for a short bit. It should lessen and thin considerably. The thin blue is close to invisible, sometimes IS invisible, but you can still smell it. That is what you want.


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## fatback joe

Yeah, but it is great for adding fiber to your diet.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   Ohhhh, just had a thought about splinters on the backside..........


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## walking dude

since i am following these thread for my so called "Christmas" gift.......if you have it rolling out of every crack and crevace.........shouldnt there be some mods going to, so NO smoke escapes cept thru the exhaust?

d8de


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## richtee

I cannot for the life of me understand this wet wood thing. We're after thin blue, and not steamed rice here.

You may get a flare-up upon opening your unit, but so what. It'll be gone when ya close it.

And if ya pre-burn, you won't get that. Like Geek said, what's making the wood burn is mostly what we don't want in the smoker. I'm starting to think that I don't want to see much of anything coming out...just SMELL it!


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## shellbellc

I used to soak and then stopped figuring I was steaming until the moisture evaporated and wood started burning.  So I stopped.  I also lost nearly all of any apparent smoke ring.  I have a small electric smoker.  Then one of the threads on here said that the "strength" of the smoke ring is directly effected by the humidity in the smoker.  Hmmmm...I started soaking again and my smoke ring is back!!


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## fatback joe




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## walking dude

shell.........i wonder if thats a result of it being electric

i NEVER soak.........i get GREAT smoke rings............tho i am using charchol........i use chunks AND chips.......hickory chunks and apple/cherry chips..........

dude


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## peculiarmike

How does that smoke ring taste?


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## walking dude

like smoke............
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	














d8de


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## glued2it

I'm a soaker smoker!


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## richtee

In an ideal world D8de. But you live in Iowa.

;{)


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## muddy pond

started soaking again and my smoke ring is back!!

I use a log pit style smoker and find that I get the smoke ring deep into the meat from the low and slow method like 10 - 12 hrs, more than moisture in the wood. I use hickory whether it is green with bark or aged makes no noticable difference. I find that the deeper the smoke ring the tastier the meat and the more BBQ I sell.


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## fritz

Not sure if this is the problem, but here is my two cents.

In order for wood to BURN CLEANLY, it has to first be dry and
"seasoned". Why do that if you're just going to allow the wood cells
to soak up water?
When you soak the wood, as it dries when heat is applied, there is a
point when parts of the wood are JUST dry enough to actually start to
smolder.... but because the temperature is below the point of full
combustion, the burn is incomplete and the smoke and steam carry with
it unburnt components that you really DON'T want on your food.
This conglomerate of unburnt particles are lumped together into the
word 'creosote' - a gummy, tarry compound that, when enough
accumulates in a chimney or in your pit, is combustible by itself,
(because it contains UNBURNT stuff!)

The purpose of this story is: I, for one, don't want creosote,
unburnt, bitter, tarry substances on my food.
I want a nice subtle, but noticeable smokey flavor on my food.
I want a nice, well-established smoke ring in the meat, indicating
that the heat, smoke and enzymes and sugars in the meat have had a
nice day interacting in the pit.
I don't want unburnt components of incomplete combustion, like glue,
adhering to the outside surfaces of the meat, PREVENTING the above-
mentioned interaction of heat, smoke and enzymes and sugars in the meat.

THAT is why I and lots of "old-timers" say "Don't Soak Your Wood".
(why would you soak something you intend to burn??? That white stuff
you see when it first starts smoldering is mostly steam.)


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## glued2it

When soaking wood it actually acts a sponge soaking only water to the outer edges of the wood chunk. To actually water log a chunk would take some time. If the wood was to reach it's combustion level it would flare up. Seasoned wood even has a level of moisture content. 

Using unseasoned wood causes creosote not soaked chunks or chips.Wood is made up of solids (cellular structure) and high moisture content, with the latter under the best of conditions rarely falling below 11 to 17%. Combine this with the fact that as a tree grows it leaches all types of nutrients and minerals from the surrounding soil creating a mixture of solids. As this mixture burns, moisture and minerals are released in a gaseous form.

This is what we call smoking meat. If you soak your chunks you are only adding water. This will not affect the Celluar structure or cause any chemical reactions.


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## cdub198321

I would soak em if I was you.  Too much of a waste when you don't soak them.  They burn too fast.


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## joliver449

i soak my chunks (i try to avoid chips) for at least 24 hours. Usually more. Haven't experienced any crazy flare-ups. Don't know if this is the legitimate way to do it but it ain't broke for me, so i won't fix it.


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## el ropo

Smoking with wet wood has always caused too much of the nasty white smoke.  I've been using a few half fist sized chunks of pecan and hickory, buried at different depths in my charcoal basket, then place 10-15 hot coals on top for minion method.   As the pile burns down, I get an equal amount of barely visible thin blue smoke, wonderfully deep smoke ring, and great bark.

When I used to smoke with wet chunks, or chips, there was always nasty white smoke billowing out, and the meat tasted like ARSE.  Now with dry chunks, my meat always tastes like wonderful bbq, with no acidic, or off tastes.

I vote never use wet wood.  This is a pic of my superbowl sunday picnic roast smoke on my el cheapo modified Brinkmann Gourmet:


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## bbally

Soaking chips adds the components to make creosote.  I have not soaked for years now.

Make a smoke box that limits the O2 getting to the chip to get maximum smoke and minimum crap.

Can be as easy as an old 9X9 baking pan with foil over the top and holes poked in it.


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## tjohnson

i also believe if you have a better heat sink, like a cast iron pan, the chips smolder better.

Can't create fire without Oxygen, so Bob's idea makes sense.

I stopped soaking my chips when I had a nasty creosote bacon experience.

Todd


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## bbally

Just so you know, the molecule that causes the best tindall effect (white looking smoke in spectroscopist language) is the break down of the wood components cause SOX (SO2, SO3 an SO4) when water is added to the flu gas the H2O molecule becomes very active.  As the vapor moves from the heat and starts to cool it causes a reaction that creates H2SO4 (sulphuric Acid) which it the most common reason the smoke is white to the eye.

 


El Ropo said:


> Smoking with wet wood has always caused too much of the nasty white smoke.


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## SmokinAl

Like DeejayDebi says have you tried chunks?


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## el ropo

You could simply smell the smoke coming off your exhaust, and know immediately whether it smells heavenly, or raunchy.  Easy test.
 


bbally said:


> Just so you know, the molecule that has the causes the best tindall effect (white looking smoke in spectroscopist language) is the break down of the wood components cause SOX (SO2, SO3 an SO4) when water is added to the flu gas the H2O molecule becomes very active.  As the vapor moves from the heat and starts to cool it causes a reaction that creates H2SO4 (sulphuric Acid) which it the most common reason the smoke is white to the eye.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> El Ropo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Smoking with wet wood has always caused too much of the nasty white smoke.
Click to expand...


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## vernski

I think it's just a question of what works for you and has the best results in flavor & smoke taste. Some friends like just a little smoke flavor and some want it strong. I used to soak my chips when I had a little chief and it seemed to work ok. Now I have a MES and I quit soaking the chips and it has a great flavor and nice smoke ring. IMO I think soaking only extends the burn, not adding flavor to any perceptible degree. So I found that, that works best for me in the MES. There are allot of ways to smoke things as there are smokers and how they work best...Vernski


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## raptor700

I'm a stick burner myself, So I can't really say "to soak or not to soak"

But I can say that when I run my stick burner I like nice dry seasoned wood,opposed to wet.

I get a better even heat and nice even smoke through the chamber with the dry wood.

Hope this helps, in some small way

just my 2¢


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## rbranstner

NO don't soak.


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## firemarshalbill

It says on the box to soak.

They assumed you were going to throw it on an open charcoal fire, so "wet" would slow the burning rate down so you'd actually get some smoke for a while. A smoker (should) limit the O2 so the chips should smoke if dry. But as the other guys have said a bag 'o chunks is the way to go. I agree with Vernski - it's all whatcha like.


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## SmokinAl

FireMarshalBill said:


> It says on the box to soak.
> 
> They assumed you were going to throw it on an open charcoal fire, so "wet" would slow the burning rate down so you'd actually get some smoke for a while. A smoker (should) limit the O2 so the chips should smoke if dry. But as the other guys have said a bag 'o chunks is the way to go. I agree with Vernski - it's all whatcha like.


Hi Bill, Welcome to SMF. You should go over to the roll call section & introduce yourself so we can all give you a proper welcome. Glad to have you here, your gonna like this place!


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## galenabob

I like to rip small pieces on a table saw 3/4"x3/4"x6" of cherry and I always soak them for my MES.  It works great for me.  A few sticks of wet wood last longer than a handful of wet chips.  Thats what I do...


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## ficeroy

I've soaked chips before, and I have used dry chunks. I tend to go more for the dry chunks these days. I didn't ever notice a difference. This "thin blue smoke" is what I am always aiming for, but I have seen nothing but smiles around my table when the family and friends take that first bite, or when the neighbors poke their heads over the fence to see what's making that amazing smell.


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## nano

What I do is a 90/10 split 90% of my wood chips are dry and 10% are wet. This always works!


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## chef willie

In my old ECB I always soaked the chunks. In the first run with my new Master Forge I went with dry chunks in the chip box and was impressed with the length of the smoke. Think I'll be sticking with the dry method for awhile. Here's a good blog from a SMF member with lots of pics of the wood chunks both before and after. I found this pretty informative being fairly new here myself......http://gosm-bigblock.blogspot.com/


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## squirejoe

I have been using a small 5 inch cast iron skillet and a small aluminum pie pan with some holes punched in the top as a container and unsoaked wood. The pan I picked up at a thrift shop for $1 because it was all rusted. Best investment I have ever done.

I usually use charcoal, but a couple times I did a cheaters conversion into electric by putting in a single burner Electric Hot Plate and set it to high. Having the pan made things easy because I didn't have to worry about ruining the coil with an aluminum pie tin or wrapped aluminum envelope of chips.


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## justjoe

Is there anyone here that can tell me where i can purchase pecan shells? I hear they are great to use in a smoker and would very much like to try them.


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## upsman

I always used to soak my wood chips until I read this article he sent me  who knows smoking woods.

Wood is hydroscopic meaning it will only
 absorb
 water until it is in balance with the humidity and temperature of the
 environment it is in.  That is why swamp trees survive so long in water
 -
 they don't drink the entire time, merely when they need to balance their
 cell structures.

 You cannot hurt the wood chips by leaving them in water.  However,
 because
 wood contains cellulose and hemicellulose which are sugar molecules, if
 the wood is left for an indefinite period of time in water, the sugar
 molecules will loosen and that is where some of the flavor is lost.

 Our research shows that if the wood chips are left in water, completely
 covered mind you, they will begin to develop an unpleasant ordor and
 lose
 some of the cell structure after about 45 days.  So, as long as you can
 use up the soaked chips within a few weeks, you should be fine.

 You may also remove the wood chips from the water and allow them to dry
 again.  Generally, you will only change the moisture level by 1-2% when
 doing this.  Remember, the wood has been cut away from the main supply
 system of the natural tree.  Although the molecular composition of the
 tree allows it to retain and gain moisture again for a short time, the
 cells are in the process of dying.  This is the reason will generally
 recommend that you purchase wood that can be used in an 8-12 week
 period.

 Also, remember when santizing the wood, you can also use white vinegar
 and
 water.  This is a more "green" method of sanitizing that I personally
 prefer.


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## sqwib

I rarely use chips but when I do, I will wrap in foil packets and fork a few bitty holes.

Wood chips do not ignite when they are wet because they are wet, however when they dry out they can ignite.

The best way to keep wood from igniting is to *Limit the oxygen*.

It don't hurt to soak your wood chips, but I choose not to, because I don't believe there's any benefit to it.

My suggestion to individuals that are unsure, is to test it out yourself and come to your own conclusion.


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## tcon

One reason to not soak your wood is you have to cook off all the steam before the wood can start smoking.  So it will last longer but you don't get the smoke we are all looking for.


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## tcon

One reason to not soak your wood is you have to cook off all the steam before the wood can start smoking.  So it will last longer but you don't get the smoke we are all looking for.


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## mrmeatcutter

when I used chips I alway soaked them for a minimum 30 minutes before putting them on. I used a Browning smoke vault with a chip tray and this procedure worked very well. Now with my larger smoker I am using wood but I still smoke my smoke wood before putting on the heat wood fire.


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## sqwib

TCON said:


> One reason to not soak your wood is you have to *cook off all the steam* before the wood can start smoking.



And a lot of folks think this is actual smoke when in reality it is steam.


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## i is a moose

I recently made the switch from chips to chunks - there's no going back now!


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## smoker21

I use chips in the MES smoker dry.  I can contol the air so they don't go up in smoke...  As fast I mean)  I use chunks on everything else.  And those I soak for at least 6 hours.


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## john 4 21 ribs

[h2]I have always used dry wood chunks. If I want them to slow burn I cover them in foil & this reduces the available oxygen. They make charcoal by depriving the wood burn of oxygen.[/h2][h2]From Wikipedia - *Creosote *[/h2]
Burning wood and fossil fuels at low temperature causes incomplete combustion of the oils in the wood, which are off-gassed as volatiles in the smoke. As the smoke rises through the chimney it cools, causing water, carbon, and volatiles to condense on the interior surfaces of the chimney flue. This leaves a black oily residue referred to as "creosote", which is similar in composition to the commercial products by the same name, but with a higher content of carbon black.

The best practices to avoid chimney fires are:

Use a high efficiency stove or heater that fully burns the volatiles in the smoke.
*Make sure the wood is seasoned (not just dry on the surface) before burning.*
Avoid burning coniferous woods (spruce, pine, fir) as much as possible.
Inspect the chimney throughout the burning season.
Clean the chimney annually or more frequently if needed.


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## micmike

That is exactly how I do it.

 


MossyMO said:


> Gypsy
> LOL !!! not yet.....
> 
> P.S.
> If I have no presoaked chips or chunks and the smoker is ready; Put your bowl of water and wood in the microwave and nuke it on high for 5 minutes.


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## smoker01

Fire wood sits outside in the rain and weather etc and does absorb water (actually ages better) unless of course over years it will rot so soaking woods chips etc does really zero/nothing etc


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## aussie84

have you ever wondered why they use hardwood to make jetty pilons..??..  tha's right if they soaked up water they would rot.  next time you have wood left out in the rain go get your axe and split it.  take note of how much water has penitrated into it.  

  the real reason it is done ( soaking ) is not neccessarilly to wet the chips as such to stop the burning, but to keep the temperature lower than ignition point, so it smolders rather than burns.  

i have used chips in my WSM on occasion when i did not have the chunks on hand .  my method is 2 damp (soaked for an hour or so, then squeezed ) 1 dry.  wrapped real tight in foil with holes ( 3 ) .  it seems to work. 

and the reason being is not because the water is retarding the fire, but because the wood temp is lower than ignition point and the foil deprives the wood of  oxegen.

i think

kevin


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## fife

Just throw them in and let them smoke with no soak.


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## smoker01

agree - smoke and no soak only makes sense


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## jdawg

If I have time I soak mine in beer. Most of the time I don't have time due to poor planning so I just throw it in dry. It's all good!


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## junkers88

Just started smoking in the last few days and this is what I'm going to try. I'll soak a few chunks, lets say 4, and put one in the fire and the other three in my water pan. Then I can add warmed/soaked chunks when I need to. I'll only add on every half hour or hour depending on what I'm smoking since I like a light smoke flavor. I'll let you know how it goes.


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## steve k

Junkers88 said:


> Just started smoking in the last few days and this is what I'm going to try. I'll soak a few chunks, lets say 4, and put one in the fire and the other three in my water pan. Then I can add warmed/soaked chunks when I need to. I'll only add on every half hour or hour depending on what I'm smoking since I like a light smoke flavor. I'll let you know how it goes.




If you like light smoke flavor, forget the soaking.  I've done both, and no soaking means lighter smoke.  The directions to my Cabelas Pro 100 even says to soak if you want heavier smoke. I'm all about the Thin Blue Smoke.  Better flavor.


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