Excellent. Yea, we'll have to compare notes. I plan on a brisket/burnt ends for my inaugural run.
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Had 4 large bone-in chicken breasts on the smoker yesterday. I brined them for a couple of hours prior. They turned out great!

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Whats the proper way to add wood chips to a grill?

I have a 22" Weber kettle grill that a friend showed me how to smoke ribs in. Coals to the side with wood chips thrown in once ready to cook, ribs in the center.

I used to just soak my wood chips in water and throw them on the coals to smoke away adding soaked chips as needed. I've read that this really is not the proper way to do it as it just steams the water and the chips burn too fast and quickly. The proper way to do it is wrap the chips in foil and poke some holes in it and then throw it on the coals, is that correct?

I've found that the foil sometimes burns off, that can't be good for you. Well honestly it's happened once but I don't want that to happen again if it's bad for you.

So does it matter if the chips are in foil or not?
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I think that is up to BBQer Gregg. I don't use chips however, but small chunks of wood (hickory, mesquite, etc.). Just before adding the meat to the grill (I have a 22" Weber myself), I grab about 3 to 4 chunks of wood and place them right on the coals. Let them catch fire, add meat, place top on the kettle with flue wide open and bottom flue adjusted accordingly. Nice thick plums of smoke breath out as usual. I may or may not throw in a couple of more chunks as the cook goes on...


Yes they did...:-)
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Greg, everyone has their own method and opinion and everyone is right and their method is the best. :-)


Personally, I've found that wood chips are only good for smoke bombing the grill. About 5 minutes of intense nasty acrid creosote filled smoke and they are done. I never found that wrapping them in foil made any noticeable difference. You can get a cast iron chip box (normally used in gas grills) at any hardware store and that will slow down the chips burn, but with banked coals, it might not fit very well and you'll have to set it on top of the coals, which could affect how the coals burn.

You could get an A-maze-n smoker tube and pack it with pellets, light it and toss it in the valley between the banked coals and depending on the length of the tube, it should make smoke for a few hours, which is more than enough. You can find them on amazon, but here's the manufacturers website: http://www.amazenproducts.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=12

I have the 5x8 maze one and I've never had much luck getting chips to burn properly in it, so I use traeger pellets. The tubes might have better luck with the chips.

When I use a grill, I typically just add a bunch of chunks to the charcoal, each one about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of your fist, probably 8-10 chunks total, then let them burn down until most of that nasty white smoke is gone. Then open the lid to put the food on and that breath of fresh air will snap them over to burning clean and blue smoke. If you want some wood chunks, LMK, I have tons here in a number of varieties, I can bring you a shopping bag full at the barn herf.

And, lastly, you could always just switch to Lazzari mesquite lump and you won't even need the extra wood.
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Yep, skip the chips and go with chinks.
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I agree also about using chunks instead of chips. Can't convince my friend though, as he'll see a bag of chips on sale for $2 and buy it cause it's a good deal.
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Thanks guys.
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I am with Mark in CA, I get the fire ready, whether that be the coals have burned off and are ash and ready to cook,
or my 'clean up the yard" stick fire has burned down to coals, I get EVERYTHING ready to go on the grill and JUST before
I drop the lid, I throw a large chunk of wood on top of the coals and shut the lid. I don't soak anything, it is a lot less
useful than people think it is.
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I just re-read what I wrote earlier, and yeah, that's an unfortunate typo. I of course meant "chunks".
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No worries, I think we all knew what was meant.

Besides, I do represent that remark :-):-)
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The heck you say. I didn't know that Greg:-)
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So my inaugural cook this past Saturday was far less exciting... By the time I had it built and burned in, it was getting late and since it was already hot, I tossed a burger in there. Yay :-)

The Traeger roadshow sales rep is at my local Costco through this coming Sunday, and when I was in there the other day we were talking about the various pellet woods they offer. All he had with him as a roadshow-only pellet was apple, which is a wood I don't care for in my charcoal smokers, he suggested trying the Traeger apple with a box of cheez-its. I actually thought he was pulling my leg at first. Take a box of cheez-its, dump them into a metal basket, bbq wok or fish/veggie tray and put them in the grill on low smoke for 30-60 minutes - stir 2-3 times during the cook. Once they cool off, the smoke flavor comes through. I did a batch of them for a bunch of unsuspecting victims at a party Saturday night, they were actually pretty popular.

I still don't like apple wood though.
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That gives me a thread idea...
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My CampChef shows up today. Not sure when I'll get my first real cook in, maybe this weekend. I'd like to find some pecan pellets if they make them. That's become my favorite wood to use in my Bradley.
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IIRC, Traeger makes pecan pellets.

BTW, when you do the burn in / heat cure the paint, they call for 30 mins at 350F, after I did that, it still smelt like the paint was degassing, so I ran it at max for about an hour. That seemed to take care of it.
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Ah, thanks for the heads up. I got home to open the box (out on the back porch), only to have the skies open up on me. It's got the legs on now and in the garage. Still raining out, so the burn in will have to wait.

I stopped at Lowes and picked up a cheapo bag of pellets for $17 for the burn in. It's a hardwood mix. Time to find the cheapest price on pecan, oak and maybe a couple others.
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Doing pork chops on the smoker today. rubbed with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and then covered in rubbed sage. Can't wait to try them.

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What time is dinner Earl?
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7pm.
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