This guide is here to help make the best out of your smoking ventures and to stop people from making others eat their bad BBQ.

Commonly asked Questions:

Q: Should I soak my wood in water?

A: No and here is the deal with soaking/ not soaking wood:

First: Meat absorbs "most" of its smoke flavor within the first 10% of its cooking time. If you soak the wood it takes longer to start smoking, so by the time it starts smoking your meat may be 25% done and virtually no smoky flavor will penetrate into the meat.

Second: Even if you wait till smoke starts to appear before you apply the meat (you should always do this) you are still fighting a losing battle with wet wood. Since the wood is wet, it actually creates steam which mixes with the smoke creating a steam/smoke mixture. This stuff actually adheres to the exterior of the meat and then drips away or gives the meat exterior an overpowering smoke flavor. This steam forms a barrier not allowing any flavor to penetrate into the meat, also as it drips off, it washes away seasonings from the outside of your meat.

The reason that people say to soak your wood is so that it will last longer and will smolder/smoke instead of flaring/flaming up. This can easily be done by controlling the main factor that causes a flame, OXYGEN. By wrapping dry wood in tin/aluminum foil with small holes, it not only slows the rate at which the wood is used up but it also virtually eliminates flare ups by eliminating oxygen. Tin foil also helps draw heat around the entire piece of wood, creating a more even consistent burn. Also the foil holds heat so if you turn down your heat source the wood will continue to smoke longer than if it was unwrapped. Not to mention cleanup is a breeze, because you can easily throw away the small tin foil pouch.

So essentially is you soak your wood here are the steps:

1. Soak wood
2. Put wet wood onto heat
3. Wet wood dries out
4. Wet wood starts to smoke
5. Wet wood flares up
   
6. Wet wood is virtually instantly gone and No more smoke
7. Clean up a messy ash tray

Dry wood

1. Wrap wood in tin foil pouch with several small holes
2. Place on heat
   
3. Dry Wood begins to smoke(3 times faster than wet)\
4. Smoking for long time as the foil controls any flareups
   
5. Dispose of clean tin foil pouch

You can expect 1.5 to 3 times the life out of the same amount of wood used dry in a pouch over wet.......

Q: What makes kiln dried wood different than seasoned/naturally dried wood?

A: This is simple.  Once a tree is harvested, especially fruit trees, it begins to loose its flavor extremely quick.  Generally within 30 days of being harvested the wood will only have half of its flavor content left and it looses more and more as time progresses.  Six to eight months later there will be virtually no flavor left in the wood and it is pointless to smoke with.  Kiln drying is done immediately after harvesting (usually the same day) which locks in all the flavors and instantly stops the wood from loosing any flavor or decaying.

Q: What is the shelf life of kiln dried wood compared to seasoned/naturally dried wood?

A: Naturally dried/seasoned wood has a shelf life of about 6 months from the date it is cut down.  The problem with this is it takes about 5 months for it to naturally dry so when you receive it, it must be used instantly. Kiln dried wood has a shelf life of 3+ years (will last even longer if kept in a cool dark place).  A piece of 2 year old kiln dried wood will have more flavor than a 6 month old season piece of wood. 

Q: Why not smoke with green wood (wood that has just been cut down and has not been seasoned or kiln dried)?

A: Wood that is green has a lot of water in it that makes it unfavorable to perfect smoking conditions.  Because there is excess moisture in the wood, as it is heated it creates steam which adheres to the exterior surface of the meat creating a protective layer that blocks the smoke from penetrating the meat.  The excess steam will also wash away any seasoning you have applied to the meat.  Also when you try to use green wood you waste precious time trying to get wood to smoke (takes 5 times longer to smoke).  In the process the meat is already cooked or you wasted 2 hours waiting so you could put the meat on. 

Q: Can I smoke with wood that still has the bark?

A: Bark is the tree's dirty skin.  It has so many nooks and crannied that hold bugs, spiders, dirt, pollution and who knows what else.  In most cases it has a very foul flavor (to inhibit wild animals from boring in or eating it) and will NOT produce good tasting smoke.  Don't use it, it will ruin the flavor of your meat!

Q: Why shouldn't I buy the prepackaged stuff from my local stores?

A: The number one reason is you have no idea what you are really getting.  In a lot of cases they dilute everything with cheaper woods.  Unlike food products they are not required to list ingredients or the quantity of the ingredients.  If you purchase a bag of wood chips read the entire thing very closely because chances are it is only 25-50% of the wood you intended to purchase and the rest is a little bit of everything else they had lying around.  Most bags from your local stores give you the bug ridden, bark abundant and dirt incrusted wood chunks.  Remember the smoke from the wood is a seasoning/spice and you wouldn't put dirty spices on your expensive meat why would you use dirty wood.

FACTS

Trees hold water in an extremely pure state and when you harvest a tree it immediately begins to decompose.  After about a week the tree looses its hold on the ultra pure water and it begins to mixes the water with the flavors of the wood.  Once this has happened and the wood begins to dry out, not only is the water taken out but the flavors of the wood go along with it.  That is why kiln drying it before this happens is important so no wood flavor is lost and only pure water is extracted.

Here is an analogy.  If you wanted to keep an apple to use over the next few years how would you preserve it and its flavor?  There are only a few options.  Cook it and can it, deep freeze it, or dehydrate it.  Canning is the best option but lets say you wanted it uncooked for future use.  Freezing is great but you have to worry about freezer burn and then it will still only last a year or so.  Eureka, dehydrate it.  It will last for years and there is virtually no maintenance.  All I have to do is soak it in water to rehydrate it when I want to use it.  The exact same is true for wood from a tree.  It is/was a living organism just like an apple and decomposes in virtually the same way.  Water is what aids in decomposition so eliminate it and add it back when you need it.

View some of my current woods by clicking here Wood King Premier Smoking Woods