Questions about grilling with wood

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dedmete

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I have some questions about grilling with wood instead of charcoal. I have a Weber chimney, would I put wood chunks in that and start it the same as charcoal? My grill is a similar but not nearly as fancy and cheaper Wally-world version of this: http://www.lowes.com/pd_177898-95393-DGO576CC_4294857761_4294937087_?productId=3086667&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_Charcoal%2BGrills_4294857761_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1%26page%3D2

I was planning on cooking chicken thighs tonight, but I thought I would ask here first on the proper way to cook with wood. I've never done it before (besides hot dogs on a campfire). I have a bag of hickory chunks that I use for smoking in the UDS, can I use those? I would assume that once the wood is lit, let it burn down to coals in the grill before putting the chicken on? Anyway, any direction or advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks.
 
My Advise, use lump charcoal and split up the chunks to add the wood flavor. The time you take to burn down the wood to be usable can be well served with cooking time on the lump. with the addition of the wood chunk pieces for the flavor.
The lump charcoal is your best bet.
 
cooking with wood..................;}-

Yes,you can use the 'chimmney' to start the wood,as long as it is in chunk form-2"X2"X2":thumb:Get them going and add 1 now and then (pre-heated).
Have your fire on one side of the 'bowl' and use it for searing fast cooking;the other side have a few of those chunks heating up.:rolleyes:
Don't flip them too much;after you get them scored on one side(peek under),rotate them 45* for those crossbar or X's. You can flip them in a couple min. and do the same way on the uncooked side.:thumb:
When done let them rest 4 to 5 min. to re-distribute the juices and enjoy your delicious Carnivor treat:clap2:
Have fun and as always...
 
You can do this, but essentially you're taking your very expensive chunks that you paid a premium for and turning them into charcoal. A more frugal option is what Anchorman suggested above. Make your charcoal fire and add a chunk for flavor. Also, chicken really absorbs the wood flavor. You can easily get too much for most people. This should not be a problem hot and fast, but if you're doing low and slow, be careful with wood and chicken.
 
dedmete said:
I have a bag of hickory chunks that I use for smoking in the UDS, can I use those? I would assume that once the wood is lit, let it burn down to coals in the grill before putting the chicken on? Anyway, any direction or advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Click to expand...

Yup.
The thing with chunks of wood is they burn with an open flame, so your best bet is to do what you described: let them ash over before cooking.

If flare ups become a big problem, you can also slide some sort of barrier between the coals and your meat (sheet of foil, water pan, etc.). A squirt bottle might also come in handy if/when you get some big flare ups (I use a spritz bottle as not to splash ashes all over the place).

Also, since the wood can flare up you'll want to keep the lid closed as much as possible and might even want to make sure you have a cool zone in case you need to move the chicken away from the flame.
 
Gore said:
You can do this, but essentially you're taking your very expensive chunks that you paid a premium for and turning them into charcoal. A more frugal option is what Anchorman suggested above. Make your charcoal fire and add a chunk for flavor. Also, chicken really absorbs the wood flavor. You can easily get too much for most people. This should not be a problem hot and fast, but if you're doing low and slow, be careful with wood and chicken.
Click to expand...


:clap2::clap2::clap2:
 
Like others have suggested, the best bet is to use a combination of lump and wood chunks. What I do is light a chimney full of lump, then after only 15 min I spread it around in the grill. I then toss around 6-8 chunks of wood on top of the partially lit lump and let her rip. After about another 20-30 min the lump will have ashed over and your wood chunks are now embers.

From here you can either grill direct or push the charcoal/embers off to one side and go indirect.
 
Wow do you mean you can cook any other way??? I always cook with wood and it doesn't take much longer than charcoal
 
jestridge said:
Wow do you mean you can cook any other way??? I always cook with wood and it doesn't take much longer than charcoal
Click to expand...

That is because your in Kentucky and there aint nothing else there in the area! :doh:
 
I always put some slices of cherry on my coals when I grill. Just adds the flavor I want.:-D
 
I cooked Strip steaks and fillets tonight on the Weber. I didn't realize that I only had about 20 Stubbs briquettes left in the bag. Luckily, I had some Hickory chunks to substitute. I filled the chimney with the chunks, lit 2 Weber starter cubes under the chimney, and added the briquettes to the chimney on top of the chunks. Worked like a charm, some of the best steaks we've had yet.
 
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