Smoking Wood to Charcoal Ratio

Q: What is the ratio of charcoal to wood in the firebox? Do you soak the wood? What temperature do you maintain when cooking brisket?

A: As far as the ratio of wood to charcoal.. in a charcoal smoker I generally add about 5 or 6 2x2 chunks with about 7 to 10 pounds of charcoal. Depending on what you are smoking, you may need to replenish the chunks once they burn up.

You may also find it easier to put a large handful of wood chips in a large piece of foil. Close up the foil and poke about 6 to 10 holes in the top and lay it right on top of the coals for excellent smoking performance.

I generally do not soak the wood but many people do.. it all comes down to your preference. In my opinion, soaking the wood will help to keep it from catching fire if you are just going to throw the wood chunks/pieces in with the charcoal.

Smoking temperature for almost everything you smoke including brisket will need to be about 225 degrees. The only exceptions are fish and chicken. Fish is generally smoked at much lower temperatures while chicken should probably be closer to the 250-275 degree range to help crisp up the skin a little.

You can figure on about 1.5 hours per pound when smoking brisket at 225 degrees.

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