just need a bit of wood advice ............... please

hey peeps

well i bought some smoking chips from tesco and tried them the other day i soaked them for an hour and put them straight on the hot coals but the taste was unusual i mean it was edible but nothing to write home about so i reckon they no good.

is there a mild flavour that is universal as to which meat it can go with and also the posts ive read they all seem to use a rub of some kind is this needed with smoking as i didnt use any rub


once again many thanks

mat

lipsmacking wrote:hey peeps

well i bought some smoking chips from tesco and tried them the other day i soaked them for an hour and put them straight on the hot coals but the taste was unusual i mean it was edible but nothing to write home about so i reckon they no good.

is there a mild flavour that is universal as to which meat it can go with and also the posts ive read they all seem to use a rub of some kind is this needed with smoking as i didnt use any rub


once again many thanks

mat

First thing to remember is NEVER soak your wood! Wet wood is a bad thing when it comes to cooking for several reasons but most of all you get that damp wood taste that you found. The reason behind soaking wood is so that it doesn't go up in flames when you put them on the coals. The easiest way to prevent this it to make what's called a smoke bomb. Just wrap the DRY chips in a section of tin foil and then place on coals.

Flavor profiles-
Now this is where it gets interesting because we all like more on one thing and less of another. The best bet it simply to try making your own seasonings and just get after it. You can buy rubs but try making your own and working with small cuts and chicken before committing to a shoulder or brisket.

Hey,

I'll second the not soaking your wood argument. I started using hickory chips on the grill years back and I soaked them then but I guess the intense heat and open cooking environment cleared the wet wood taste. First time I tried indirect cooking on a kettle I soaked the hickory for the first and last time!

Dr_ky's smoke bomb suggestion is the way to go if using chips. You can buy smoking boxes but I think they're a waste of cash. Big chunks of wood are another option, this is what I'm using on the advice of others here. At the moment I've got some Weber mesquite and hickory chunks I got from a garden centre just outside Reading. There's also a place called Goulden Hardwoods near Andover who will do certain kinds of wood in chunks to suit you. What's that, about 30 miles for you? (they also do mail order) I've been in email contact with the guy there and am planning to get some wood from him when I get chance to get down there.

Here's a link http://www.smokingwoodsupplies.co.uk/index.html

As for wood varieties, you can google smoking woods and you'll find soem pretty good tables explaining which woods go with which meats, or look at Ian's table here http://www.macsbbq.co.uk/Wood.html

There are a myriad of seasoning options, rubs, marinades, bastes, injections. all have pros and cons and are to different people's tastes. I'm new to using the ProQ but I've been well into experimenting with marinades/seasonings for years and I still keep learning new things all the time One suggestion I'd make if you want to make your own rubs and you're not averse to using salt, start your rub with 1 part coarse sea salt, one part brown sugar and one part paprika, mix this together as the base of your rub then slowly build flavours up with spices such as cumin, dried chillies, oregano, pepper. You can stumble upon some real wonders.

Good luck with it mate, I'm sure you'll produce a lot of good grub while experimenting!

once again your a star steve

cheers

mat

Glad I can give you some info mate. When I joined the forum the guys on here fed me so much info. I'm happy to do the same.