Old timer at my church said to soak wood chunks in water before smoking. Tried it on a pork butt last weekend.

He swore it made the smoke thicker and better. So I soaked cherry wood chunks for 2 hours. Put them on the coals and got nothing but steam for 20 minutes. No thin blue smoke, just white wet smoke. The pork butt turned out fine but it took an extra hour to cook and had zero smoke flavor. Has anyone else had that advice backfire on them?

3 comments

3 Comments

viola_ward23d ago

My 12 pound brisket turned into a sad sauna experiment (think wet dog meets steam room) after I tried the same waterlogged pecan wood trick. I actually sat on my cooler lid while waiting for that "thick smoke" to show up, feeling like a idiot watching my thermometer creep up slower than molasses in January. Ended up with a bark that had all the texture of boiled leather and about as much flavor as cardboard. Funny how their advice worked in the 60s when everyone cooked meat to boot leather, but now we know better.

the_lucas23d ago

Did the exact same thing with hickory once. Felt like a genius with my soggy wood chunks, popped the lid on my smoker and it looked like a laundry room after a dryer fire. White steam billowing out for what felt like an hour. I sat there staring at it thinking, "Well, at least my neighbors think I'm running a swamp in my backyard." The pork shoulder came out edible but it basically tasted like hot meat with zero smoke. I swear I could've gotten more flavor by holding the pork next to a campfire for a second. Old timers mean well but sometimes their advice belongs in 1955 with their tube televisions and lead paint.

jesse_williams6216d ago

Pulled a full on rookie move last month and soaked mesquite chunks overnight like I was marinating a steak. Tossed them on hot coals and my smoker turned into a fog machine at a Halloween party. Neighbor actually walked over and asked if I was trying to steam clean my grill. Ended up eating pulled pork that tasted like I'd boiled it in a pot with a wet log floating around. Still ate three sandwiches out of spite though.