Stop Soaking Wood Chips Already
Fry like a human, and smoke like a dad. Smoke is the so-called “third leg” of a barbecue. It adds flavor and helps shape the desired bark, which is what makes BBQ taste like BBQ. To make smoke, you need to burn some wood (or pellets), and almost every smoking manual will say that wood shavings or pieces should be soaked in water before tossed into the fire.
I never did.
The first time I forgot to soak the wood because I forgot. My pork shoulder came out pretty darn good with no soaking anyway, so I saw no reason to change my method. I didn’t soak the wood when I smoked this turkey or this lamb , and both were delicious.
But still I wondered if I was missing something by not soaking my chips and bits. Was my smoke too aggressive? Will I get the best taste with damp wood? To answer these questions, I went to AmazingRibs.com , where there are always answers to my questions and thoughts.
It turns out that not soaking the wood is completely normal. According to Meathead, who soaked, weighed, and cut several pieces of wood, water doesn’t penetrate that far into solid wood (which you should be smoking from):
To see how deeply the water penetrates the wood, I soaked three pieces of wood for 24 hours in a mixture of water and blue food coloring. I then rinsed the surfaces and patted them dry with a paper towel. Photographed the exterior. I then cut the tree in half and photographed the interiors. As you can see from the drawings at the top of the page, the paint has only slightly discolored the surface, mostly where peach fuzz was left from the cutting and chipping process, and water and paint got inside only where there were cracks. and cracks. The rest of the wood is dry.
Then there is the question of steam and heat. Wet wood can only get hot. Water boils at 212℉ which means your wood won’t get much hotter until all the steam is out. This, in turn, can lower the temperature of your coals. If you have been cooking on a charcoal grill for a long time, you know that temperature control is an important part of getting consistent and reliable results:
Let’s say coals or gas jets have a temperature of 600°F on their surface. If the surface of the wood is wet, the wood cannot heat much above 212°F, the boiling point of water, until it evaporates into steam. The surface temperature of the wood is kept at 212°F. After the water evaporates, the wood begins to heat up, and when its surface reaches its flash point, around 575°F, it begins to release gases. It can then ignite and give off smoke.
Also, the whole point of putting firewood on hot coals (or on a gas grill) is to keep that firewood burning and giving off smoke . If you’re worried about your wood “burning too fast”, just use smaller chips and spread them out a bit. (If you know me, you know I’m a big fan of the coal snake for this reason.) According to Meathead, blue smoke is “the tastiest smoke” and “practically invisible, thin and pale blue.” Blue smoke is much better than white, gray or black. Blue smoke needs dry wood and hot fire, lots of oxygen and flame.”
I was right to be lazy and forgetful, that’s what I mean, and you too should feel encouraged to be lazy and forgetful. (At least about that; your mileage may differ in other areas of your life.)