uma_martinez•27d agoProlific Poster

Pro tip: Stop soaking wood chips if you want actual smoke flavor

Was at a comp in Kansas City last summer and watched a guy soak his hickory chips for two hours before tossing them on. His ribs came out pale with barely a smoke ring. I've been doing dry chips for about 5 years now and the difference is night and day. Soaking just steams the wood before it burns, so you get less smoke and more moisture. Anyone else ever run side by side tests with soaked vs dry on a long cook?

3 comments

3 Comments

carter.laura27d ago

Hold on now. Soaking wood chips has its place if you know what you're doing. The steam from soaked chips helps tenderize the meat on shorter cooks like chicken or fish where you want a lighter touch, not a heavy bark. Not everyone is going for a deep smoke ring on every single thing they throw on the grill. I've run side by side tests with pork butts and the soaked chips gave me a cleaner, sweeter flavor without that bitter edge dry chips can kick off if you're not watching the heat. Maybe the problem was that guy in KC wasn't controlling his fire right, not the soak itself.

kim.zara27d ago

Used to be on the dry chip train all the way. Thought soaking was just a waste of time and added moisture that didn't do anything. But you made a good point about the sweeter flavor on pork. I tried it on a rack of ribs last weekend after reading your post, and man, it really cut down that harshness I'd get sometimes when the smoke got too heavy. Might have to rethink my whole setup for shorter cooks now.

sean_torres7116d ago

Gotta love how something as simple as soaking chips teaches you the same lesson I keep learning everywhere, that rushing things or going too hard always backfires. Slow down a bit and the results come out way better than forcing it.