There’s been a debate about whether or not you need to soak your wood chips before using them in a smoker for as long as people have been smoking meat. There’s good arguments on both sides of the debate and I’ve tried it both ways.
The idea of soaking the chips is to make them smoke more and stop them from flaring up. But do you really need to soak them. Does it really make a difference if you soak them first. Or is it best to just put them in your smoker dry.
If you think about it when they make charcoal they burn wood in a low oxygen environment so that it only leaves carbon behind. So if you keep the air flow down in the smoker then you really shouldn’t have flareups.
The wood should just smolder and turn into carbon and then ash. If you want to know more about how charcoal is made you can read my article “What is Charcoal“
Using Dry Wood Chips
Like I said I’ve tried it both way’s and I have to say I like using dry chips over ones that have been soaked. Using dry chips seams to add more of the woods flavor to the meat. Also it saves you the step of having to wait for them to soak.
When you soak the chips you’ll notice the water changes in color. This is some of the minerals leaving the wood. These same minerals are what add the flavor to the meat when they start to evaporate out of the wood in your smoker.
So by soaking the wood first your lowering the amount of flavor that the wood can add to the meat. You’re literally dumping it down the drain. When you use dry chips you’ll notice the smoke has more of the blue tint your looking for when smoking.
That’s because there’s little to no water in the wood. When you have white smoke it’s because it has a lot of water vaper in it. Just like when you burn wood that hasn’t been seasoned yet.
Last even if you soak the wood first it’s going to dry and burn sooner or later. Your just delaying it from happening. Most charcoal smoker say they can be ran on wood and have something that separates the heat from the smoking chamber. So even if the chips do catch fire you still won’t have a direct flame on the meat.
You would just need to make an adjustment to the heat to account for the extra heat being made. Like closing the intake air or turning the propane down. I’ve had this happen in my offset smoker and closing the air vent a little bit did the job.
But in my vertical smoker and in my kamado cooker I haven’t ever had a problem with the chips catching fire. I think this is because both of these smoker seal much better then my offset does. That means I have better control of the air and can maintain a low oxygen environment.
Soaking Chips
Now lets look at the other side of the debate and see what soaking chips does for you. Like I said earlier soaking chips does make them hard to burn. So if your new to using a smoker it might be easier to learn how to use it if you soak the chips.
But if that’s the case there are other ways to stop wood chips from burning besides soaking them. If you would like to learn a few ways to stop wood chips from burning. Then you should read my article How To Stop Your Wood Chips From Catching Fire When Grilling.
How long do you soak wood chips before smoking?
It’s always best to read the packaging the chips come in and see what it says for soaking if it says anything at all. If there’s no instructions on the packaging then I’ll only soak the chips for a half hour to an hour.
Wood chips are small and thin. The water will penetrate them pretty fast. There really isn’t a need or benefit to soak them for much longer then that.
Can you soak wood chips too long?
I feel that yes you can over soak wood chips. When I first started smoking meat I didn’t know how long to soak chips for. So I put the chips in water the night before I needed them.
They soaked for about 10 to 12 hours. It was apple wood chips and the water they where in had turned red. When I got done smoking the meat didn’t have the flavor I had hoped for.
After that I did some asking around and researching online and found out about not soaking. I also found most people that do soak only do so for around a half hour. So the next time I soaked for a half hour and using the same cut of meat and the same rub I got a much better flavor.
What can you soak wood chips in?
Something else I came across when looking to see how long to soak wood chips was that some people like to soak there chips in other liquids besides water. It never even occurred to me to use something besides water.
But it seams like it’s another way to add flavor to what your smoking. After doing some reading I found that people sometimes use different alcohols or juices to soak there chips in.
Alcohols
Beer
Soaking your wood chips in beer will infuse the flavor of the beer into the wood. When you use the chips for smoking it will pass the flavor onto the meat.
It’s best to use a beer that’s going to pare well with what your smoking. Most people like to use a good craft beer when trying this method of soaking chips. Remember it’s going to pass the flavors of the beer a long to the meat so even though it’s hard to waste a good beer it will be worth it.
Wine
This it the same idea as using beer for soaking. Think about it sometimes you’ll see on a menu what wine pares well with what meats. In this case your just adding the flavor of the wine right in to the meat.
Not that you still cant have a glass of wine with your food. But if your someone who doesn’t drink this is a good alternative.
Bourbon or Whiskey
Just like with beer and wine your passing the flavors onto the meat being smoked. But when it comes to bourbon and whiskeys you might not need to waste them to get there flavors into the wood.
Yes some people do soak there chips in bourbon or whiskey. But both bourbon and whiskey are aged in wood barrels. If you look around you can find wood chips that are made from said barrels. This not only saves you the half hour of soaking the chips but it also saves the alcohol from being wasted.
Other Liquids
Apple Juice and Apple Cider Vinegar
You can use both apple juice or apple cider vinegar for soaking wood chips in. Really you can soak your wood chips in any flavored liquid to infuse them with extra flavor.
But what it comes to apple juice or apple cider vinegar save them for other things and just use apple chips. I never tasted a real difference in the meat and apple chips are easy to come by.
Conclusion
There you have it that’s my take on both sides of the debate about whether or not to soak wood chips. I don’t think the debate will ever end and people will always use chips both ways.
That’s fare sins there really is some benefits to both ways and one way might work for some people but not others. Whether you decide to just throw chips in to your smoker dry or soak them first is up to you. The best thing to do is give both ways a try and see what way works best for you.
Either way as long as you keep a close eye on your temperature your going to end up with great smoked meat. So in the end does it really matter as long as the food is good and you have fun making it.
As Always, Happy Grilling!