Little Chief--Size of wood chips?

JimT · 12-18-2010, 02:29 PM

I borrowed a Little Chief smoker to do some cold smoked salmon this weekend, and my friend graciously handed me a bag of "chips". Unfortunately, they were hickory, and I want to use Alder or Cherry for the smoke. His "chips" were very fine, not much bigger than sawdust. My Alder and Cherry chips are much bigger, about the size of a nickel, on average.

So the question is, do the larger chips work well with the Little Chief? Or should I somehow chop them up to a finer texture?

Thanks,

JimT

thirdeye · 12-18-2010, 02:41 PM

Big Chief's use larger pieces of wood than Little Chief's..... Heheheeee.

Seriously, you can burn the fine stuff or wood labeled chips. The key is to not use too much at a time, and I never empty the pan of coals during the cook. I just add a little as I go along. This is typical for starters, and I let this amount burn up, then add a little more before putting the fish in.

JimT · 12-18-2010, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thirdeye

Seriously, you can burn the fine stuff or wood labeled chips. The key is to not use too much at a time, and I never empty the pan of coals during the cook. I just add a little as I go along. This is typical for starters, and I let this amount burn up, then add a little more before putting the fish in.

Thanks for the response Wayne, but I'm afraid the logic escapes me! Why use only a few chips at a time, but not empty the pan of coals?

I did a "test run" today and filled the pan about half way. Things started out great, with a good smell and no visible smoke. After about an hour though, the smell went away. When I checked the pan, only a few chips in the middle looked charred. I mixed them up a little, put the pan back in, and the wonderful smell returned. Again though, it was only for a little while.

Is it possible the burner on this unit is going bad?

Thanks for the help,

JimT

swamprb · 12-18-2010, 06:35 PM

The Luhr-Jensen "chips" are a mix of Alder and Hickory, Mesquite, Cherry or Apple sawdust.

I just add any fruit/nut wood shake to the pan. The idea is for the wood to smolder. You don't really get much smoke from the "Chiefs".

The chips in thirdeyes pic looks like some of the Lazzari Smoking Wood that I have and will work just fine for you.

thirdeye · 12-18-2010, 06:46 PM

Well Jim, in your case for cold smoking, you don't want much heat. More wood = more heat. Under normal circumstances I can get 130° or 140° out of my Chief, and that's good for hot smoking, or for flavor smoking something like ribs that I'll finish on another cooker. For cold smoking you might want to adapt a different strategy, like blocking the lid open (like is shown in my photo) or unplugging the smoker for 5 minutes every 10 or 15 minutes to let it cool down, or use a pan with ice to keep the smoker cooler.

You can even raise the rack above the actual smoker box and using a cardboard box to cover the rack. Here are some of swamprd's photo's showing that set-up on a Little Chief.

To answer your other question, if I were to get a half-pan of wood going I would always be getting visable smoke, until the wood turned mostly into coals. The smoke would be too harsh at the beginning, and could even leave some residue on my meat. I sort of think of a box smoker like this like using a stick burner pit. Meaning that you do an initial burn with your wood fuel and get some coals going.... then add your meat, then add a little wood here and there to control heat and the type of flavor you want. Maybe the burners or the wattage is different between the two models. I did have a Little Chief about 30 years ago, but I'm sure they have changed since then.

seattlepitboss · 12-19-2010, 09:07 AM

The Little Chief smoker electric burner elements do burn out after awhile. But the replacement element is cheap, easy to find and easy to replace. I have smoked hundreds (maybe thousands) of pounds of salmon on my LC, had one most of my life. One key when smoking in the winter: LCs are vulnerable to wind chill, having a thin aluminum body. This is great when you're trying for a cold smoke (cheese) but if you're doing fish and trying to carry 120° it's hopeless in a strong cold wind. I took a plastic drum and cut off the top & bottom and used it as a windbreak one time. IIRC it worked pretty well.

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/smokers/876628001121.aspx

12-18-2010, 02:29 PM	#1
JimT Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 03-15-06 Location: Battle Creek, MI	Little Chief--Size of wood chips? I borrowed a Little Chief smoker to do some cold smoked salmon this weekend, and my friend graciously handed me a bag of "chips". Unfortunately, they were hickory, and I want to use Alder or Cherry for the smoke. His "chips" were very fine, not much bigger than sawdust. My Alder and Cherry chips are much bigger, about the size of a nickel, on average. So the question is, do the larger chips work well with the Little Chief? Or should I somehow chop them up to a finer texture? Thanks, JimT __________________ Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

12-18-2010, 02:41 PM	#2
thirdeye somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 01-14-06 Location: At home on the range in Wyoming	Big Chief's use larger pieces of wood than Little Chief's..... Heheheeee. Seriously, you can burn the fine stuff or wood labeled chips. The key is to not use too much at a time, and I never empty the pan of coals during the cook. I just add a little as I go along. This is typical for starters, and I let this amount burn up, then add a little more before putting the fish in. __________________ ~thirdeye~ I Play With Fire and Smoke *Barbecuist ~ Charcuterist ~ KCBS Master Judge & CTC* Big Green Eggs, Big Drum Smokers, Big Chiefs, Weber Smokey Joe "Custom Tall Boy" Oil Patch Horizontal, SnS Deluxe Kettle Visit my Cookin' Site by clicking HERE Barbecue is not rocket surgery “The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it's hard to verify their authenticity” ~ Abraham Lincoln

12-18-2010, 06:35 PM	#4
swamprb somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 10-27-06 Location: Bothell WA	The Luhr-Jensen "chips" are a mix of Alder and Hickory, Mesquite, Cherry or Apple sawdust. I just add any fruit/nut wood shake to the pan. The idea is for the wood to smolder. You don't really get much smoke from the "Chiefs". The chips in thirdeyes pic looks like some of the Lazzari Smoking Wood that I have and will work just fine for you. __________________ Brian - Left Hand Smoke BBQ PNWBA 2010 Team of the Year BGE's/WSM's/Pellet Pro WSM/BWS Gater/BDS Clones/Cookshack 008/Weber Performer w EZ-Que/Cajun Bandit/Rib-O-Lator Test Pilot/La Caja China/BBQ Guru/Weber 1000 RK Drum Coffee Roaster Follow Left Hand Smoke on Facebook!http://www.facebook.com/pages/Left-H...462391?sk=wall KCBS CBJ/PNWBA CBJ www.pnwba.com

12-18-2010, 06:46 PM	#5
thirdeye somebody shut me the fark up. Join Date: 01-14-06 Location: At home on the range in Wyoming	Well Jim, in your case for cold smoking, you don't want much heat. More wood = more heat. Under normal circumstances I can get 130° or 140° out of my Chief, and that's good for hot smoking, or for flavor smoking something like ribs that I'll finish on another cooker. For cold smoking you might want to adapt a different strategy, like blocking the lid open (like is shown in my photo) or unplugging the smoker for 5 minutes every 10 or 15 minutes to let it cool down, or use a pan with ice to keep the smoker cooler. You can even raise the rack above the actual smoker box and using a cardboard box to cover the rack. Here are some of swamprd's photo's showing that set-up on a Little Chief. To answer your other question, if I were to get a half-pan of wood going I would always be getting visable smoke, until the wood turned mostly into coals. The smoke would be too harsh at the beginning, and could even leave some residue on my meat. I sort of think of a box smoker like this like using a stick burner pit. Meaning that you do an initial burn with your wood fuel and get some coals going.... then add your meat, then add a little wood here and there to control heat and the type of flavor you want. Maybe the burners or the wattage is different between the two models. I did have a Little Chief about 30 years ago, but I'm sure they have changed since then. __________________ ~thirdeye~ I Play With Fire and Smoke *Barbecuist ~ Charcuterist ~ KCBS Master Judge & CTC* Big Green Eggs, Big Drum Smokers, Big Chiefs, Weber Smokey Joe "Custom Tall Boy" Oil Patch Horizontal, SnS Deluxe Kettle Visit my Cookin' Site by clicking HERE Barbecue is not rocket surgery “The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it's hard to verify their authenticity” ~ Abraham Lincoln

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12-19-2010, 09:07 AM	#6
seattlepitboss is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 02-05-09 Location: Seattle, WA	The Little Chief smoker electric burner elements do burn out after awhile. But the replacement element is cheap, easy to find and easy to replace. I have smoked hundreds (maybe thousands) of pounds of salmon on my LC, had one most of my life. One key when smoking in the winter: LCs are vulnerable to wind chill, having a thin aluminum body. This is great when you're trying for a cold smoke (cheese) but if you're doing fish and trying to carry 120° it's hopeless in a strong cold wind. I took a plastic drum and cut off the top & bottom and used it as a windbreak one time. IIRC it worked pretty well. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/smokers/876628001121.aspx