Using Smoking Wood Chips
Wood smoking chips add a distinct flavor to foods being cooked on the grill or in a smoker. Wood chips can be purchased or cut from your favorite wood, with the most popular being apple, hickory, maple and mesquite. Wood chips can be used dry if using a very hot fire to smoke the food, but for slow smoking for the best flavor a bit of preparation is needed.
List:
Shallow dish or bowl
Spread 1/2 to 1 cup smoking chips in a shallow baking dish or bowl.
Cover the chips with water.
Allow the chips to soak for at least 30 minutes in the water.
Remove the chips from the water and scatter evenly over hot charcoal in the grill or smoker.
Words to the Wise:
The wet chips can help prevent flare-ups of flame while smoking the food.
Always cook foods to the proper temperatures for doneness when smoking meat on a grill. Use two thermometers, one to insure a cooking temperature of 225 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit in the smoker and one to test the internal temperature of the meat.
