In fact, I would highly recommend you never try grilling on a smoker. For those looking to have that level of ease but the flavors of charcoal and wood at your fingertips, those equipment manufacturers are to be considered. But how often? It depends on what, I hear you ask? Important: The Wood Chips Are For Smoke Only, Not Heat! Most electric smokers have a small wood chip capacity, so you need to top them up regularly. Step 3. So, it really depends on how big your chip tray is and how many wood chips it can hold. In fact, you can cook meat in a smoker without the use of wood chips at all. Thirdly, make sure you only add the amount of chips that the tray can hold. Don’t forget to refill the wood chips … smoker wood chips in a foil pouch placed over a hot burner or directly on a heat bar/diffuser smoking wood chips in a smoker box placed on the grill grate with the heat under it smoking wood chunks in a smoker box (these will be small pieces about … Keep adding smoking wood to the smoker for about half of the total cook time or until the meat reaches 140° F. If you are having trouble with the wood chips or chunks burning up too quickly, simply soak them in water for about 30-60 minutes before you are ready to use them. Click bait to sell a useless product. When smoke diminishes, add a bit more. Short answer: I don’t Wood chips are so thin that they combust fairly rapidly, providing a small, limited application of smoke to the cooking chamber. Next time you come to cook this same meat, you can refer to your notes, make an adjustment of smoke either up or down, and make new notes. Don’t get distracted, get in and out quick! (Note: Never add more than ½ cup of wood chips at a time. With its convenient size, you can take it anywhere, and being 5 inches by 8 inches it can fit in most smokers and grills. Most people want to know the frequency in which you should add chips to your propane smoker. You should have a piece on the hot coals and then stage some on unlit coals that will ignite during the cooking process and keep the flavor going. Examples of this include placing a wood chips in an electric smoker, or adding some chunks of wood to your lit coals. It also covers how to learn on your particular model of smoker how often you need to replenish chips after learning through experience your particular models burn time. Because it is what gives foods that smoky flavor and distinct texture and appearance. The quantity/quality with the right kind of wood, wood that is “moisture managed” produces the best smoke possible. Nowadays, as the art of smoking has become more popular and hardcore, people tend to do away with their smokers original chip tray and invest in a 3rd party smoke box. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. No matter how smokey you like your food, or what you’re smoking, there is little point smoking over 6 hours, which is why we only recommend smoking your food between 4 and 6 hours as a maximum. The wood you use to add smoke flavor to your meat comes in many shapes and sizes, such as chips, chunks, pellets or sawdust. From what you’re smoking, how smokey you like your food, your particular model to how much smoke your chip tray will give you. Hey, I’m Emma Braby, a contributing author here at FoodFireFriends. Considering all of the above factors, let’s finally talk about how often to add wood chips to your electric smoker. Try smoking for 90 minutes. Too much smoke can cause the meat to taste bitter, and sometimes it makes it impalatable. Adding the Wood Chips: With a Built-in Smoker Box: If your grill has a built-in smoker box, place the chips in the box and, if the smoker box has a lid, secure it.Close the grill and allow the chips to preheat 5 to 10 minutes. With a consistent cooking fire or heat source, the familiar phrase “less is more” is your guide on how much wood to add when using chips or chunks. Just get ready to make a substantial investment as these models do not come cheap. To make easier understanding of the amount of wood needed, I will be referencing by ounces in my breakdown lists. I would suggest when you first use your smoker, whatever you are cooking, use only a small amount of wood chips and add smoke for the first hour only. It’s important to give your smoker that first dry run, to work out exactly how much smoking time it gives you. Opening the door will release heat, and therefore the temperature will drop, which means you’ll have to wait longer for that delicious food! If you’re smoking fish or small bits of chicken, then you would add a small number of wood chips at the start, then won’t have to add any more wood chips to the smoker simply because the meat cuts are so small, they cook quickly (before the initial wood chips have stopped smoking) and don’t require as much smoke. It’s highly rated online, and the only real adverse comment was that it can take a little longer to get going compared to other smoke boxes, but once you get it going, the mouthwatering results are definitely worth it! There are a few things to remember when adding wood chips during a cook. The wood chips do not ignite or burn, they only smolder, and it is the smoldering that produces the smoke. I like to write about current BBQ trends, juicy recipes and to let our readers into tricks and tips that I’ve learnt along my BBQ journey. You don’t have to use their pellets, and it is designed so that you can use pellets or sawdust, but just bear in mind this might affect smoke time. For a brief look at the dizzying array that is available, you can check out our buying guide to the best electric smokers. “It’s up to you” and be done with it. If it produces 2 hours of smoke, but you want to smoke your food for 4 hours, then you simply fill it up again halfway through. Have you got any secret smoking tips? The box also aids in capturing ash. 7 Easy Steps to Smoking With Wood Chips on a Gas or Electric Smoker. It’s time to add the wood chips for smoking. How often you need to add wood to your smoker depends essentially on the following factors and the general rules: The type of smoker you are using. You also may find adding a heat insulator like bricks or stones works well to attract and use radiant heat. Never add fresh wood chips to ones that are still smoldering. Some people add one or two cups of chips on top of previously used chips each time. Or maybe you’ve discovered an amazingly obscure wood chip flavor and meat combo that your electric smoker takes perfectly too? Do let me know, and I will add it to the article. As always, your suggestions on other article topics are always welcome. From what you’re smoking, how smokey you like your food, your particular model to how much smoke your chip tray will give you. The reason for this is because it’s important to regulate the smoker’s temperature so the unit doesn’t warm up excessively and burn too much fuel. Short answer: I don’t Wood chips are so thin that they combust fairly rapidly, providing a small, limited application of smoke to the cooking chamber. 10 ounces with additional needed during cooking, 8 ounces with replenishment needed as they reduce to ash, 8 ounces with replenishment needed multiple times, 8 ounces with replenishment needed at least once, smoker wood chips in a foil pouch placed over a hot burner or directly on a heat bar/diffuser, smoking wood chips in a smoker box placed on the grill grate with the heat under it, smoking wood chunks in a smoker box (these will be small pieces about 2×2-inches) place on a grill grate with the heat under it, smoker wood chunks directly on a heat bar/diffuser (3-4 pieces) with the heat on medium. Here’s how: Pick the wood chips flavor that will compliment your food (such as cherry, hickory or mesquite).