Hickory chunks

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Butt I would go with 2 chunks of hickory and a few of some fruit wood..
Ribs one chunk of hickory and then 2 fruit wood
 
Personally, I will use 6-10 chunks of wood when I cook. I always see where guys will not want to use too much and "oversmoke" but I have cooked with all wood enough times to know it won't happen! Keep the exhaust wide open. I cooked chicken and meatloaf Sunday and used at least 6- chunks of wood in 3 hours and everything turned out fine. Don't worry or sweat it. I believe "oversmoking" is a myth. DO NOT SOAK THE WOOD>
 
I gotta agree with woody on this

on my gator I use wood only and as long as the fire is burning clean the meat never gets too "smoky"

when using the wsm I too use about 6 chunks and never soak

I throw a couple chunks into the chimney and then scatter a few on top of the unlit charcoal
 
I just worried about it because i know hickory can be strong, i want a good smoke flavor but not over do it. I've only used hickory, since we got so much of it chopped up at the house, and every thing has came out good just think maybe i got to much smoke flavor. I usually use anywhere from 3-4 chunks. When i did my butt i used 5.
 
I cook most of my cooks on a stick burner and never had an over smoked flavor. When I use the WSM and use 2-3 chucks it seems it doesn't have enough smoke flavor for me. Just my 2 cents.
 
Couple of things here...comparing an offset and a WSM are two different animals..

and by tossing the chuncks in the chimeny you are preburning them and getting rid of alot of the "stuff" that would cause the meat to be oversmoked....

No matter how much or how little wood you use the fire needs to be clean...you can "oversmoke" meat with just one piece of wood if the fire isn't clean
Its a matter of what you like..you need to experiment and see what works for you
 
wittdog said:
Couple of things here...comparing an offset and a WSM are two different animals..

and by tossing the chuncks in the chimeny you are preburning them and getting rid of alot of the "stuff" that would cause the meat to be oversmoked....

No matter how much or how little wood you use the fire needs to be clean...you can "oversmoke" meat with just one piece of wood if the fire isn't clean
Its a matter of what you like..you need to experiment and see what works for you

I wasn't comparing just trying to give both sides of my cooking experience - and you are correct throwing a couple in the chimney is preburning but I also stated that I throw a few more on top of the unlit

but in the end it's all about what works for you
 
Well I gonna have to go against the coventional wisdom on this one. Fact is I got sort of a big ho made rectangular WSM clone..and Hickory will get a person oversmoked on that scenario quick..as will Pee Can..dont even mention Mesquite. By the aforementioned scenario I mean trying to run a tight ship..nuff air to keep a charcoal and chunk fire going but just barely. I dont let anykind of wood near me cept real small amounts of Oak and some fruitwood. Plum is my favorite but about all of it is tolerable cept I aint a big fan or Pear and I druther be gut shot than to even smell of Cheery Smoke. Make sure it has bark on it. The flavor of all wood is in the bark. If there is an exception I aint found it yet. Course the best flavor of Pee Can comes from the nut shells. Got a feeling Hickory might share this pecuiliarity too since they both in the same family tree so to speak but aint never had none to expuriment with. Hope this helps. The exotic woods is nice..but a person can't live without Oak in the pit configuration under discussion. Live Oak if you can find it..which you prob can't. Just use Oak.

bigwheel
 
Well, this has all the earmarks of one of those 60 post threads where we all agree to disagree. First of all, I think some people actuall LIKE the smoke flavor more than others. Personally, in 7 years of serious BBQ, I have NEVER tasted anything I thought was "too smokey." Secondly, Dave, pre,burning has nothing to do with it. I don't preburn anything in my offset, and I don't preburn anything in my WSM. Thirdly, Wheeler says that he gets the oversmoked flavor when he has his cooker choked way down to get a long burn. Voila!!! Not enough oxygen to allow the wood to burn correctly causes creosote!!! I burn both the WSM and offset wide open, thus, clean fire! This may be why alot of guys oversmoke on a WSM, they start it at 11:00 pm, and choke it down to go all night. Wood doesn't get a good supply of oxygen, and smolders all night. Not too much wood, too little of the "other fuel!" I would venture to say, that I could start a cook with a half chimbley of lump, and use wood for the balance of my cook in a WSM, and turn out a respectable butt or brisket. I have noticed that, with trhe vents open, the wood burns perfectly in the thing! I may try it with some small kindling splits and bagged chunks I have. Your friend, Woodman
 
Woodman said:
Personally, I will use 6-10 chunks of wood when I cook. I always see where guys will not want to use too much and "oversmoke" but I have cooked with all wood enough times to know it won't happen! Keep the exhaust wide open. I cooked chicken and meatloaf Sunday and used at least 6- chunks of wood in 3 hours and everything turned out fine. Don't worry or sweat it. I believe "oversmoking" is a myth. DO NOT SOAK THE WOOD>

It is not a myth, it's a fact.

Depending on the size of chunks 6-10 chunks in a WSM is overkill in my opinion. It also depends on how your fire is burning (as Witt states below) and what you are cooking on whether or not it will oversmoke. It also depends on your tastes, some people want/like mild smoke, others like a heavier smoke. So what's over smoked to one, may be just right for the other.

I cook predominately with hickory chunks and will use 4 fist size chunks for a load of butts, briskets and chucks, 2-3 for spare ribs, 2 for loin backs and turkeys, 1 for whole chicken or parts and meat loaves.

wittdog said:
Couple of things here...comparing an offset and a WSM are two different animals..

and by tossing the chuncks in the chimeny you are preburning them and getting rid of alot of the "stuff" that would cause the meat to be oversmoked....

No matter how much or how little wood you use the fire needs to be clean...you can "oversmoke" meat with just one piece of wood if the fire isn't clean
Its a matter of what you like..you need to experiment and see what works for you

I agree.
 
Well Kevin, I mean Larry, it cannot be a fact, because it is totally subjective. As you stated in your sophmoric rebuttal, it is really a matter of opinion. You are basically being contentious at the outset, then agreeing with everything Dave and I said. This myth that, because a WSM is smaller, it is easier to oversmoke is crap! Stuff gets oversmoked in WSM's more often, because :

a) Many using them are less experienced.
b) Because of a), they are more likely to use lousy wood.
c) People cooking on WSM's are more often than not, fat lazy slobs, who want to sleep all night, then take credit for being a great "pitmaster" the next day so, they try to get the vents choked down to next to nothing causing the wood to smolder.
d) They soak the wood which causes it to smolder even more.

I have cooked three times on the WSM< and used way more wood than a lesser man such as yourself could apparently tolerate and had nothing but raves from my wife's milquetoast family, and the folks at work. If it was oversmoked, they would have known it. You said it best, "overkill IN MY OPINION!!!" BBQ IS SUPPOSED TO TASTE SMOKEY YOU WIMP!!!!
 
If the vents are wide open then the fire will burn very clean. It will also run at temps in the 300 range with a full load of meat.

I prefer to run at lower temps for longer slower cook times. The only way to do this on a wsm or uds is to close the intakes down to less than 1/2 and leave the exhaust wide open.

There is a fine line between burning clean and smoldering. Finding the balance with a lot of wood is difficult.

On edit:

It has been my experience that there is still unburned wood from three fist size chunks 16 hours after the cook starts at temps below 260.
 
I agree with that last comment, it is unburned and "unsmoking". I do close the vents a little Cliff. I want to be in the 250 range generally. What I have observed is that, when you start it up, it smokes alot. Then, if I add a chunk, it smokes alot again for about an hour. Then , nothing. If I open it, and "jostle" the coals, it will smoke some more for awhile before ceasing again. Again, I have cooked and/or eaten BBQ over 200 times, and NEVER ONCE, thought "hey, this is too smokey." Therefore, my contention is, if it tastes "bitter" or "acrid" it is not a result of oversmoking, but rather burning a dirty fire. If it tastes too smokey, you just probably don't like the smoke flavor as much as others!
 
Woodman said:
Well Kevin, I mean Larry, it cannot be a fact, because it is totally subjective. As you stated in your sophmoric rebuttal, it is really a matter of opinion. You are basically being contentious at the outset, then agreeing with everything Dave and I said. This myth that, because a WSM is smaller, it is easier to oversmoke is crap! Stuff gets oversmoked in WSM's more often, because :


I have cooked three times on the WSM< and used way more wood than a lesser man such as yourself could apparently tolerate and had nothing but raves from my wife's milquetoast family, and the folks at work. If it was oversmoked, they would have known it. You said it best, "overkill IN MY OPINION!!!" BBQ IS SUPPOSED TO TASTE SMOKEY YOU WIMP!!!!

Well Dave, you're too ignorant to know whether someone is being contentious or stating their opinion, which I stated I was doing.

I did agree with what Dave Witt said because what he posted is correct in my opinion, however I did not agree with anything you said.

I'm learning alot about you from this post, your head is like your daschunds dick and you have a taste for shit.
 

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