We all know for a fact that smoke is the essence and soul of BBQ. It is also a well-known fact that hardwood chunks will make your food taste much better than normal, doesn’t matter you are using an electric smoker or a grill. You will find a lot of ways for generating flavorful smoke while making BBQ. You can use wood chunks themselves as a fuel in case of direct grilling. They have the advantage over woodchips that you don’t need to presoak them in water before use.
Wood chunks are also preferable over woodchips because they continue delivering smoke even after chips are long gone. Here we are providing you with some efficient ways to use wood chunks on different apparatuses.
How to Use Wood Chunks in an Electric Smoker?
In order to use wood chunks in an electric smoker, you need to prepare it first. Preheat the smoker first keeping in mind the instructions given by the manufacturer. The second step will be to place 1 or 2 wood chunks in the fuel pan just above the heating element. Now, start the smoking process and watch it while the electric smoker is doing its job.
Just in case, if you are using Bradley-style smoker, it has a little different method. You need to place the wood chunk directly on the heating element in such a smoker. This smoker is famous for more smoke than you get even with sawdust disks.
Just a head’s up, it is better to find and use the best rated electric smokers to have the desired results.
How to Use Wood Chunks in a Charcoal Grill?
When you are using a charcoal grill, you need to understand the requirements and limitations related to it. You can go for both indirect and direct grilling while having a charcoal grill. For both these methods, there is a different type of wood chunk smoking method associated.
For indirect grilling, you need to add 2 to 3 chunks of wood you like to each mound of lit charcoal. It will automatically start producing smoke. It is up to you how much wood you use as you can replenish as needed when the smoke ceases to flow. For direct grilling, you have to place 2 to 3 wood chunks directly on the coal bed and grill the food over them.
You just have to fill your chimney starter with wood chunks and light them as you light charcoal. When you see the embers turning orange, place them on the bottom of the grill. Insert the grate and you are started direct wood grilling in this simple way. Wood chunks have a great advantage over charcoal that it takes a little time to burn compared to charcoal.
How to Use Wood Chunks in a Gas Grill?
Some gas grills have a smoker box with a dedicated burner. For these gas grills, you need to place 2 to 3 wood chunks in the smoker box with dedicated burner and set it on high. Replenish the wood chunks as needed and you’ll be fine.
There is a second method to use wood chunks in a gas grill which is over burner method. In this technique, you have to set up your grill for direct and indirect grilling using the instruction manual provided by the manufacturer. Now, lift the grate and place 1 to 2 wood chunks directly over each lit burner. Return the grate and add the food. If you are using direct grilling method, you need to add food directly over the wood chunks. In second scenario, you need to add food between the wood chunks for indirect grilling.
