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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 woods such as pine as it will produce an
unpleasant taste.
Wood chunks or sticks 3" to 4" long and 2" to 1" thick work best. Unless
the wood is still green, soak the wood in water for 20 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 is
3-4 wood chunks or sticks. Experiment by using more wood for stronger
smoke flavor or less wood for milder smoke flavor.
Flavoring WoodAddingCharcoal/WoodDuring Cooking
Additional flavoring wood should not have to be added during the cooking
process, however, it may be necessary when cooking very large pieces of
meat. Follow the instructions and cautions below to avoid injury while
adding wood and/or charcoal.
Additional charcoal may be required to maintain or increase cooking
temperature.
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.
1. Remove dome lid by tilting it toward you to allow heat and steam to
escape away from your face. Use caution since flames can flare-up
when fresh air suddenly comes in contact with fire.
2. Stand back a safe distance and carefully open door.
CAUTION: When the smoker is in use, the door will be very hot. Wear
oven mitts and use caution when handling the door.
3. Use long cooking tongs to lightly brush off ashes on hot coals. Use
tongs to add charcoal and/or wood, being careful not to stir-up ashes
and sparks.
WARNING: Never add charcoal lighting fluid to hot or even warm coals
as flashback may occur causing severe burns.
4. When charcoal is burning strong again, close the door and replace the
dome lid.