If there is one subject in the BBQ world that people do not agree on than it must be the subject if you should soak wood chips or not.
I wrote about all the types of wood for smoking in this article but did not add my opinion about soaking or not in there.
Related post: https://bettergrills.com/how-to-add-more-smoke-to-a-pellet-grill/
There are two camps in this situation. One that says yes to soaking and the other that say definitely not to soak your wood chips.
I think both have there pros and cons and in my opinion it depends on the type of cooking you do.
On a long low and slow cook you can soak. However, for a short cook I would not soak the wood chips.
My Opinion
In my opinion the first thing that soaked wood chips do it release steam. After that they start to burn or smolder and release the smoke.
That means in a longer cook the chips still have time to get that smokey flavor in your meat. But for a short cook all you get is the steam.
I have tested this and found almost all my wood chips till in tact in a short cook.
That is, however, in my grill and maybe your grill or type of grilling is different and your wood chips react different.
Wood Chip Dry Versus Wet Test
I found a video from someone of YouTube and he tested it on two grill with the same set up.
The outcome of the test is about the same as I found in my test. I just did not find what he called “dirty smoke” as much as he did.
I always try to keep my smoke to have a nice light color and not too much smoke.
If you have an opinion or experience feel free to share it in the comments below.
Robert Chill
Robert Chill loves to cook on BBQs and grills and uses all types of recipes and techniques to cook some awesome food. With his experience, he can share many reviews, tips, and ideas on how to use any grill. You can read more about him here