[dmbeebe1981]

Hey guys-

I'm very new to this site (about 2 hours:) and new to using a smoker. I have a question about smoking wood.

I've heard that some people soak their wood in water and pat them dry before they burn it in the fire box. Why would anyone soak the wood in water? Is there any benefit to doing this?

[SmoknAZ]

My opinion only but wood chips yes for short smoking time meaning grilling. Large chunks sticks no.

[dmbeebe1981]

That was my thought too. I have a backyard pit style smoker. Nothing fancy. I use small wood chunks over hot coals. I thought about trying it for myself and see what happens. My thinking is that it would add a little moisture to the chamber making the meats a little more tender. I'm still a rookie at this so I'm not sure if I'm on to something or not.

[Three4Que]

Soaking chunks and larger does nothing.  Even after soaking overnight the water doesn't get in to the wood very far.  I think it was Alton Brown of "Good Eats" that showed this.  If you want to soak wood stick with chips as they have less area to penetrate.  And then I'd only do this for grilling or when you want a light smoke versus longer smokes with the chunks.

Hope this helps.   

[grizmt]

I soak my chips/shreds when I use my smoker but that's only because I have a gas fired upright backyard smoker with a small wood box. I use a combo of soaked and dry chips to retard the burn rate.
When I've used regular stick burners if I wanted to retard the burn I'd use green wood along with dry wood. As has been said above, there's really no use to soaking chunks or larger.

[azkitch]

Virtual Weber Bullet website soaked chunks for many hours, liquid penetrated about 1/16" or less...That'll evaporate in about 20 minutes in the fire. But here in Phoenix, it'll evaporate from the water to the firebox...

[Mark]

I usually soak everything, big and little, before tossing it in my Kamado. Since it's more of a direct heat source beneath the meat, wood will catch fire before I can shut the lid to control the smoke. Damping it down lets it steam off for a bit while I load it up with a drip pan, meat, etc. Plus it keeps the smoke out of my eyes while doing so!