When do you add your wood chips/chunks for a low and slow smoke?

MOT - hopefully some more experienced smokers will weigh in cause I'm interested as well.

I have a large BGE and have only done a handful of prolonged smokes. I'd give myself about a C+ avg - everything's been good but I think can do better. I don't have any problem with bad smoke or imparting a smoke flavor. Anyway, here's how I've done it:

1) Get my charcoals to a clean burn. Usually "stir" them 2X. Usually takes 15-20 min.
2) Adjust the vents to obtain desired temp
3) Add wood - typically chips for grilling and chunks for smoking
4) Quickly position the plate setter and then the grill (yep - lots of smoke to work through but only takes a couple of seconds)
5) Place meat on grill.

Hope this helps.

quote:

---

I'll work a couple chunks into the lump and add the rest on top of the coals.

---

i do 1 chunk at a time, don't need a lot of smoke.

if you can smell it, you're smoking with it

After you get it stabilized and just before you put the meat on. I also add some chunks through the two side gaps in the grating and push them into place with a steel rod as/if needed while cooking. I'm talking about the Egg specifically.

ETA: I almost exclusively use chunks not soaked in water. They smoke way way longer than chips so you don't lose smoke prematurely or need to add anything very often. The only time I use chips is if I run out of chunks in something or if it is a wood like Cherry that is a little harder to find chunks of.

quote:

---

I've tried to read as much as I could, but most everything I can find talks about temps, recipes, and length of cook....and not so much about the best way to start the fire. I can control the temp, but I'm not sure if I have the right kind of fire/smoke with the temp...if that makes sense. Any suggestions?

---

Primo Oval XL 6+ yrs, firebox divider, don't have to mess with plate setter, etc just start fire with electric starter for 8-minutes with lid open and intake vent wide open. Place cold seasoned meat on end away from fire, place two to three medium to large chunks directly in the fire and add some more lump on top. Shut lid and adjust vents to desired temp and smoke rolls for roughly an hour or more at 225, which is really all you need. Soaking chunks is not necessary, the wood will absorb very little moisture even if you soak it 3 hours or longer, chips are a waste of time unless you are using alder or similar to impart a light smoke to fish, etc. Lump varies a great deal, some needs to burn longer prior to placing meat in the smoker. For cooks over 3-hours I tend to mix low density lump with high density larger chunks, ie Royal Oak + Wicked Good, to maintain an even cook temp and longevity of the fire.

Can't say I notice "creosote" with lump charcoal, some S. American sourced lump may burn a little smokey early on. If you are using a mix of prior used lump and new lump I don't see that as an issue whatsover. If you are doing a low and slow you are better off closing the lid after 8-10 minutes and you have placed wood chunks, meat, etc in the cooker. Using an electric starter and cleaning the ash/debris out of the bottom grate for clear air flow I typical pull the starter at around 8 minutes and place wood chunk/s and additional lump in quantity to provide enough fuel with a decent margin of safety, ie can run a few hours past estimated finish time. Here is an example. You are right about waiting until the fire is raging to close and cook and it wastes your chunks and lump.

Existing lump from prior cook after clean out, this was after replacing a cracked firebox I kept cooking on for 4.5 yrs:




If you are using fire starters, chimney, whatever it is similar. Place the wood chunks on the glowing embers and add more lump on that. With the Primo I always place the meat on the grate first to avoid being smoked out by the chunks, you may have to do that last with BGE with no real divided firebox. No terribly right or wrong way to get it done, but I strongly prefer the first 45 minutes or so be at low heat, say 200, and letting a large blaze form defeats the purpose and takes more time. Hope this helps, best thing is make sure the bottom grate is clear and have good air flow which makes regulating the temps much easier.

I really do prefer high quality dense lump, like Wicked Good, mixed with less dense like BGE or Royal Oak lump which are both produced by RO, it keeps a consistent burn over a lonnngg time frame. Keep working at it, you'll find a happy medium/process and have good outcomes.

MOT - sorry if my suggestion turned out bad. When I first got my BGE and never having used lump before, I ruined several meats, etc. The main culprit was getting up to temp before getting a clean burn and placing the meat on the grill. The bad smoke would impart an undesirable flavor. My children would refer to the chicken as "burnt house chicken" because that's what it tasted like.

Maybe I over compensate but after learning what I was doing wrong, I've never repeated by misfortune again.

You can certainly get a roaring flame my way. But what's important is getting a clean burn (which I usually key off the color of the smoke).

If it seemed to take to long to 'cool down', I would suggest stirring the charcoals once/twice after lighting, then closing the lid (with some part of the cap open), and monitoring the temp. Continue to adjust the vents as req'd until you achieve your desired temp.

One the target temp is reached, open the lid, add in your wood (stir if needed), position plate setter, then grill, and finally place meat on.

I really enjoy learning from others hopefully they'll continue the discussion.