Flavoring Wood
Regulating Heat
To obtain your favorite smoke flavor, experiment by using chunks, sticks or chips of flavor producing wood such as hickory, pecan, apple, cherry, or mesquite. Most fruit or nut tree wood may be used for smoke flavoring. Do not use resinous wood such as pine as it will produce an unpleasant taste.
Wood chunks or sticks 3" to 4" long and 1" to 2" thick work best. Unless the wood is still green, soak the wood in water for 30 minutes or wrap each piece in foil and tear several small holes in the foil to
produce more smoke and prevent the wood from burning too quickly. A lot of wood is not required to obtain a good smoke flavor. A recommended amount for the Vertical Smoker is 5 to 6 wood chunks or sticks. Experiment by using more wood for stronger smoke flavor or less wood for milder smoke flavor.
Additional flavoring wood should not have to be added during the cooking process. However, it may be necessary when cooking very large pieces of food. Follow instructions and cautions in the “Adding Charcoal/Wood During Cooking” section of this manual to avoid injury while adding wood.
To maintain or increase temperature, fully open air vent dampers on sides of smoker box. If increased air circulation does not raise the temperature sufficiently, more wood and/or charcoal may need to be added during the cooking cycle. Follow instructions in “Adding Charcoal/Wood During Cooking” section of this manual.
NOTE: Dry wood burns hotter than charcoal, so you may want to increase the ratio of wood to charcoal to increase the cooking temperature. Hardwood such as oak, hickory, mesquite, fruit and nut wood are an excellent fuel because of their burning rate. When using wood as fuel, make sure the wood is seasoned and dry. DO NOT use resinous wood such as pine as it will produce an unpleasant taste.
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