Just toss 5-10 wood chips on the lit coals and close the lid. The wood will smolder and produce thin blue smoke.
When the smoke stops, add more.
But They Catch on Fire, Should I Soak Them?
No.
The idea behind soaking the wood is to prevent them from catching on fire and combusting.
I’ve personally tested this and concluded that it doesn’t hold water – I mean that literally and metaphorically – especially if you soak for 30 mins.
Regardless of your beliefs, what will happen is that the water will vaporize and then the wood chips will smolder.
BUT if you open the lid at any time, you now have the same potential for combustion as you did if you just put them on the fire from the get go.
I Still Don’t Want Them to Catch on Fire
Take some aluminum foil and put some wood chips in the middle.
Either crumple it around and leave an opening or make a foil packet and poke some holes in it.
Put that on the lit charcoal and close the lid.
OR buy a smoke device like a pellet tube, smoke box or a smoker maze.
The only issue with these devices is the smoke tends to be more “bitter” tasting as apposed to wood smoldering over a hot fire.
2 comments
Rock
Should I place the woodchips in water in my electric smoker
Dylan Clay
Hey Rock,
Absolutely not – putting water in the smoke tube will likely overfill the burn pot (where the chips are dumped into) and you’ll get water on your electric heating element. Even if you used minimal water, it’s the same scenario as soaking the wood chips in my article. All you’re doing is delaying the smoldering of the wood because the water needs to vaporize first.