How to Grill with Wood Chips

How to Grill with Wood Chips

1. Choose your wood flavour.
   Pick flavours that’ll compliment the food you grill. Generally speaking, poultry pairs well with sweet, fruit-flavoured wood chips, whereas pork and beef are better suited for more intense, savoury-flavoured wood chips.
2. Choose the size of your smoking wood.
   Smoking woods come in a variety of sizes, ranging from chunks to logs to simple smokes. But, when grilling, we recommend using chips since they smoke quickly and are easy to manage. If you’re cooking something low and slow, then chunks would be your best bet.

3. Select your grilling method. Your method of grilling with wood chips will differ based on the type of grill you use. Read on to identify the best method for you.

   • Charcoal Grill: Heat coals with the half-time charcoal starter. Then, pour the coals into your grill and place the smoke pack on top for a quick smoke, best suited for chicken and fish. For longer smokes, set up a fuse burn with charcoal and wood chips or chunks.
   • Gas/Electric Grill: Place wood chips in the pack or smoke box and place over direct heat. Once the chips begin smoking, move them to the cooler side of the grill and add your food.
   • TRU-Infrared™ Grill: Place chips directly onto grill grate.

Here are a few additional tips: How much wood do I need? For long smokes, add a packet of chips every 30 minutes to keep the smoky flavour going. About 2-3 handfuls of chips placed on direct heat will smoke for about an hour. Should I soak my chips? It might be tempting to soak your wood chips to prevent them from burning up faster. This will only add time to the process and take away some of the smoke intensity because the wet chips steam before smoking.If you are worried about the chips catching fire, place them in a foil packet. Don’t lift the grill lid. Keep as much smoke as possible sealed in the grill to help flavour your food.