How to Use Wood Chips & Pellets in Your Smoker
from http://www.smokegrillbbq.com/

Why Are Wood Chips Important In Smoking Meat?

Smoker wood chips actually impart different flavors on the meat or fish you are cooking. This means that it is another flavor element that you need to be aware of if you want to be an expert smoker. Also, it is important to know which smoker wood chips you can pair together to create delicious smoked recipes. Many beginner smokers always ask what type of smoker wood to buy and what is the difference between them. The most popular and commercially available wood chips on the grill and smoking tour today are: oak, hickory, mesquite, pecan, apple, cherry, and alder.

Smoker Wood Chips Comparison Chart

The chart below will help you compare different types of wood chips against one another. It was also created to teach you which smoker wood chips can be grouped together. Most smoked recipes call for mixing two types of wood together, but it is not uncommon to use up to three types together or even a single wood for smoking your meat.

Types of Wood Chips	Uses of Wood Chips	Flavor Profile
Alder Wood Chips	Alder wood chips are known for cooking fish and poultry	Light with a hint of sweet flavor. Great mixed with apple wood chips
Apple Wood Chips	Apple chips are great for beef, poultry, salmon, trout & other fish	Dense wood with a sweet smoky flavor. Tastes great mixed or alone
Cherry Wood Chips	Cherry chips are great for beef, pork, or salmon	Mild and fruity smoke flavor. Great mixed with other woods like hickory or mesquite
Grape Wood Chips	Grape wood chips taste great with chicken or other poultry	Sweet berry flavor great mixed with apple wood chips
Hickory Wood Chips	Hickory is a versatile wood chip great for smoking all meats, especially pork and ribs	Hickory is the most popular smoking wood with a bold and robust flavor
Maple Wood Chips	Great for smoking steak, cheese, vegetables and small game	Mild and sweet flavor. Easy to mix with any wood, especially hickory and apple
Mesquite Wood Chips	Most meats, especially beef	Bold earthy flavor that is a great mixing wood with any other type of wood chip
Mulberry Wood Chips	Mulberry chips are taste great with ham and chicken	Sweet and berry finish with a gourmet taste
Oak Wood Chips	Red meat, pork, and fish	A dense wood that burns long and slow. Oak chips can be paired with any type of wood
Peach Wood Chips	A great wood spice to try with different type recipes	A rare soft wood that has a sweet smoky finish. Can be mixed with any type of wood
Persimmon Wood Chips	Red Meats	Strong Pine flavor with a smooth finish that is not too smoky
Pear Wood Chips	Poultry, game birds and pork.	A subtle yet sweet flavor that is great paired with Apple wood chips
Pecan Wood Chips	Great paired with all types of meats	Similar flavor profile to Hickory with a mild flavor that can be paired with any wood
Plum Wood Chips	Most meats and fish	The flavor is milder and sweeter than apple wood and great for mixing with other wood profiles
Walnut Wood	Red meats and wild game	Heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter woods like pecan or apple

Smoker Wood Chips, Wood Chunks, or Wood Pellets?

Choosing between different types of wood chips and sizes can be overwhelming if you haven't smoked meat before. There are over 30 types of wood and 3 commercially available sizes of wood you can use with your smoker or grill. These 3 sizes come in the form of chips, chunks and pellets and are all used for different purposes when smoking meats. The main difference when comparing these sizes are the amount of time they will smoke and smolder during your grilling process.

Wood Pellets:

Wood pellets come in small pea or rod sizes. They are great for adding a quick smoky flavor to any small piece of meat that you are grilling. You can add wood pellets directly to the coals for smoking, but you will constantly have to replace the wood pellets and it will be hard to keep a continuous smoky flavor throughout the cooking process. Using this techique, wood pellets are most often used for chicken breasts or wings, steaks, or pork chops.

Wood Chips:

Wood chips are about the size of a large coin and the most popular of the three sizes. Chips are most often used for smoking small cuts of meat or fish. They are not an ideal size for long smoking sessions because they burn out and do not last as long as wood chunks.

Wood Chunks:

Wood chunks are the largest of the 3 sizes of smoker wood and are ideal for smoking large cuts of meat. Whole poultry birds, beef ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and other large cuts of meat are perfect for wood chunks. Wood chunks sometimes come with the bark still on, which imparts a rich smoky flavor that you can't replicate with chips or pellets.

How To Use Wood Chips In Your Smoker or Grill

Another common question asked about BBQ wood chips is how to use them in your smoker during the cooking process. The answer to that may be fairly simple, but there are different ways to incorporate them into your smoker. Many BBQ enthusiasts encourage you to soak your wood chips between 1 to 2 hours prior to using them. The logic behind this is it will prevent your wood chips from flaring up and burning out quickly. You can soak your chips in any type of liquid you want ranging from beer to apple juice to just plain water.

Most smokers will agree using a smoker box or a wood chips packet is beneficial to the cooking process. These devices have holes in the top that allows the smoke to rise out and flavor the meat. They also keep the heat of the charcoal away from direct contact with the wood and allows the wood to smoke for a longer period of time. These devices are perfect for using wood chips, but wood chunks or pellets can be applied directly on your heat source with no problem.

You can add wood chips or chunks directly to the coals to create smoke. Soak the chips or chunks for an hour or two in water or other liquid so they do not just burn up but create smoke.

For the Indirect Cooking method (low and slow cooking), you can make a ring of 4 - 5 charcoal briquettes around the edge of one-third to one-half of the grill. Sprinkle 1 cup wood pellets or chips on top up againt the side of the grill. Light one end of the briquettes, which will burn the briquettes and the pellets slowly creating smoke and heat for a longer time.

 

Wood Chip Smoker Box: Wood smoker boxes are available in most barbecue sections in your local hardware or specialty BBQ store. These are typically made of metal and can last a few years if you do not leave them outside to rust after you finish smoking your meat. In place of a smoker box, you can use foil packets as below.

 

 

 

 

Another style of smoker boxes lets you start the chips or pellets at one end, or both, and it slowly burns through them in a zigzag pattern.

 

 

 

Foil Wood Chips or Pellets Packet:

A foil wood chips packet is a cheap and quick way to accomplish the same thing as a box. They can are made by wrapping a couple layers of aluminum foil in a pouch and dropping your wood chips in. Simply poke holes in the top of the pouch and you are good to throw it on the smoker. You may need to make 2 or 3 of these wood chip pouches depending how long you are planning on smoking your meat.

By using a foil pouch, we’re controlling the amount of oxygen that is introduced to the wood. Less oxygen = less chance of fire, which is why you should create just a few small holes in the pouch. Just enough oxygen gets inside to create a steady slow burn.

Use the Heavy Duty Foil, if you have it, because its extra sturdiness holds up to the smoldering wood chips without breaking or tearing.

1. Cut off 1 foot of foil from the roll and fold in half.
2. Fold both sides in twice about 1/2 to 3/4 inch to create an edge on the packet. This will create a pocket.
3. Open the packet on the open edge that was not folded in and pour 1/2 to 1 cup wood chips or pellets in depending on the size packet you want. Spread the chips or pellets out so you have a flat packet.
4. Give this last open edge two or three folds. Do not fold too tight as the packet will puff up a bit as it heats and creates smoke.
5. Pierce with a toothpick or fork to create a few holes to allow the smoke to release. The level of smoke your pouch releases will depend on the number of holes you create in your foil. More holes = more smoke. But be careful, too many holes or large holes will increase the oxygen flow, which can cause your wood chips or pellets to catch fire, instead of slowly smoke. And the hotter the grill, the faster the chips will burn up.
6. Place the smoke packet on the grill over the coals. After a few minutes, the smoke will start to appear. This is good for cooking something like boneless chicken breasts. For something quicker, like hamburgers, you can place the packet directly on the edge of the coals.

These smoke foil packets are excellent for both hot and fast grilling and low and slow grilling. Next time, you plan to grill up burgers, steaks or chicken, throw in a smoke foil packet. They’ll add a beautiful smokehouse flavor to burgers, steaks and chicken. If you’re doing a long cook, like a pork butt or roast, make a few packets. As the first one starts to fizzle out, carefully remove it from the grill and add another packet. Continue this swap out, throughout your cook.

A handful of wood chips in a foil pouch lasts 40-45 minutes. You can give the pouch a little shake to get about 5 minutes of extra smoke. The pellet pouch lasts about an hour, with the strongest smoke happening in the 15-45-minute window.