PSA: Stop soaking your wood chips before throwing them on the coals

I was over at a buddy's cookout last Saturday and watched him dump a bowl of wet hickory chips on some hot briquettes. He told me soaking them makes more smoke and adds more flavor. But all it really does is drop the temp of your fire and steam the meat instead of giving you clean blue smoke. I learned this from a pitmaster in Memphis last fall who showed me dry wood chunks burn cleaner and give a way better bark. Soaked chips just smolder and leave a bitter taste on the meat. Anybody else run into this myth with new grillers?

3 comments

3 Comments

karen3611mo ago

Why would dry wood give more flavor when wet wood steams all that smoky goodness into the meat, @jana_jones?

jana_jones1mo ago

Couldn't believe my eyes when my neighbor did the same thing last month. He argued his ribs tasted "smokier" but honestly they just tasted like wet campfire ash to me. Why do people think drenching wood in water makes it burn better when dry wood literally catches fire faster?

evan_green521mo ago

Oh man, I tried wet wood once and yeah, all I got was bitter smoke and regret.