Smoke Question

[grillnputt]

So I put my hickory chunks in water for about an hour. Put them on the smoker, and 6 hours later the smoke still seems gray to me. Not seeing that nice light blue smoke. Is there something happening that's causing this? Temp is 250-275.

 

[mike243]

It's fine but don't bother putting wood into water, it just adds moisture for no reason and slows down the smoke, if you want more moisture add a water pan to help smoke stick a little more. Lite blue/grey is normal, white billowing is water vapor

 

[Nuco59]

Wood floats- I don't know an hour would soak good sized chunks, even if it were desirable thing. On my 30 gallon UDS, I use 4 or 5 chunks a bit larger than a golf ball but smaller than a tennis ball. I get all the smoke I want. Not using a drip pan or diverter, I do get the foggy smoke from the juices /grease flashing back from the coals- so I never really get the "thin blue".

No 3-2-1 ribs
No soaking wood chunks
No 225* as the law

 

[Smokin'Butts]

There could be a few things at play here. First, with chunks I would not soak them. Spread them around and they will do just fine. Is your cooler getting good airflow?

 

[grillnputt]

I just thought I read here once that you put wood in water to help speed the process from tailpipe smoke to the blue stuff. I usually do have a nice light blue smoke. Couldn't figure out why this time was different.

 

[Smokin'Butts]

My understanding of soaking wood has always been in regards to wood chips to help them last longer and not burn up so fast. So people soak them to make them “smolder” so that the smoke will last longer. I have never used wood chips when smoking, only splits and chunks so I am no expert on that.

 

[Hoss]

No need to soak chunks.Toss on a few after you have reached desired cook temp and forget about it.

 

[jjdbike]

In my mind, smoldering wood that doesn’t fully combust makes dirty smoke. Fully combusted, appropriately seasoned wood w/ good airflow makes clear blue smoke.
That’s the difference I’ve noticed between wood chunks over charcoal vs a blazing fire in the stick burner.
JD

 

[Fooball]

^^^^ This.

You won't get blue smoke unless your chunks are flaming. However, many people smoke with non-flaming wood chunks with good results. Just not offset results. :wink:

 

[Shadowdog500]

^^^^ +1!

I also stopped soaking chunks years ago. Put them in dry.

 

[Gnarlbecue]

I never soak chunks.

Put them in dry, near the fire so they can preheat for a bit before you move them onto the edge of the fire.

Wait until they burst into flame before shutting the lid, and you'll minimize the nasty white smoke and see more sweet blue.

 

[food4thot]

Water soaking is for wood chips, not chunks.

 

[pmad]

Meathead did a great piece on this.
He soaked wood (block, chunk, chip) in dyed water for 24 hours.

Here are his results. (exterior and interior of wood after 24 hour soak)

So, if this is all you get after 24 hours, soaking a few hours does nothing - even for chips.

 

[cliffcarter]

So I put my hickory chunks in water for about an hour. Put them on the smoker, and 6 hours later the smoke still seems gray to me. Not seeing that nice light blue smoke. Is there something happening that's causing this? Temp is 250-275.

A few years ago I did a small experiment with soaked wood chunks for the SmokeRing Forum(sadly now defunct). The upshot was you have to soak the chunks for 4-6 days for the added moisture to effect how the chunks performed. I found it was necessary to let them air dry for 24 hours to remove excess surface moisture. This process gave me consistent TBS and longer smoke times for the soaked chunks vs the unsoaked. So soaking does work, if you want to put a little time into it. YMMV.

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

No soak. No problem.

 

[Bob O Q Shawtee]

Truth of the matter is poeple have varying preferances for how heavy smoke flavor is. Soaking adds a variable unknown to the mix. Anything desirable that can be accomplished by adding moisture to wood can be accomplished with seasoned wood. The two things I've heard most are additional smoke and extended burn time. More pieces of wood coupled with reduced air will make more,,,,BUT,,,,I prefer less smoke which results in less bitterness and milder smoke flavor. Increasing size of wood slows burn time by exposing less surface area for combustion. lay a stick of wood on charcoal after it's grey and one stick usually lasts as long as charcoal without adding more. Burning sticks I put in a heavy load and open air to quickly ignite all pieces to burn down 50% then set temperature by regulating air. From there on wood is added one piece at a time as needed to maintain glowing coals.