Many BBQ enthusiasts have heard it before: you need to wet smoking wood before using it. Especially with wood chips, it's often said that soaking them in water creates more smoke or a better flavor.
But is that really true?
The short answer: most of the time, soaking smoking wood is unnecessary and often less effective.
Why people wet smoking wood
The idea behind soaking smoking wood is that wet wood would burn slower and thus produce smoke longer. In theory, that sounds logical, but in practice, it works differently.
When wet smoking wood is on the barbecue, something else happens first: the water must evaporate before the wood can even begin to smolder. Instead of smoke, you primarily get steam.
This steam does not contribute to the flavor of your dish.
Why dry smoking wood often works better
Good smoking wood is always carefully dried. This allows the wood to start smoldering immediately upon contact with heat.
This ensures:
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stable smoke production
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a cleaner smoke flavor
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less chance of bitter smoke
When using wood chips in a smoke box or smoke tube, they can smolder controllably and produce smoke directly.
Also check out our wood chip collection if you want to try different wood types.
When soaking smoking wood CAN be useful
Although usually unnecessary, there are situations where some BBQers still soak their smoking wood.
For example, when working with wood chips directly on coals. Soaking the wood briefly can make it burn a little slower.
However, many BBQ enthusiasts prefer to use accessories like a smoke box or smoke tube, so that chips can smolder controllably.
What about smoke chunks?
With smoke chunks, soaking is almost never necessary.
Chunks are larger pieces of wood that naturally smolder slowly when placed among the coals. This allows them to produce smoke for a long time without needing to be soaked first.
Read more about this on our smoke chunks collection page.
Conclusion
Soaking smoking wood is an old tip that is still widely shared, but in most cases, it is unnecessary.
Good, dry smoking wood produces stable smoke immediately and provides the best flavor. By using the wood dry, you generally get cleaner and better smoke development.
Want to experiment with different flavors? Check out our smoking wood sample packs.