How to use Wood Chips in an Electric Smoker

Any user of the electric smoker agrees what a struggle learning and using wood chips can be. This won’t matter a lot had wood chips played a minor role in determining the quality and flavour of your food. But unfortunately, that is not the case. Correct use of wood chips can either make or break your meat’s taste and parties.

Scared of that happening to you? Well, you no longer need to worry about this as we will make sure that you leave this site with every detail about wood chips and their use craved into your brain. So our amateur and professional chefs, continue reading to figure out how to use wood chips in your complex yet life saving electric smoking machines.

How to use wood chips in an electric smoker?

Step 1: Checking air ventilation

Knowing how hazardous build-up smoke can be, the first step before you start using wood chips is to make sure that your smoker is well ventilated. Do this by pulling the ventilation windows all the way down and check for any leaks in your door.

Once this is done, move on to the rubber and metal seals on your best electric smoker. If you use your machine in rugged surroundings, then your metal and rubber are prone to wrapping because of this wear and tear. This faulty seal will not only waste valuable smoke but hinder the air supply as well and might potentially start a fire.

Therefore, before using wood chips, remember to invest in good quality and reliable smoker cover.

Step 2: Loading wood chips in the machine

The next step is to load the wood chips into the included or integrated wood chip tray or loader. This might defer from brand to brand and while some electric smokers like the Masterbuilt Electric Smokers contain a slide-out loader, others will need you to insert the tray directly.
But how much wood chips do you need to load in your electric smoker? The answer to this ranges from one cup to maximum tray capacity, depending upon the intensity of smoke you require and thickness of the meat you are smoking inside.

Step 3: : Inserting and Locking your Wood Chip Container

As soon as you have filled your trays with wood chips, you need to insert them in their dedicated slots. After doing this, turn the handle until it has reached its unload mark and watch your chips fall neatly and precisely in place, right above your smoker’s heating element.

Step 4: Preheating your smoker

Now, your work is almost done and it is time for your electric smoker to do its job. After loading your wood chips and fitting them inside, plug in your smoker and set the temperature as per your requirement. However, don’t add your food immediately but instead let your machine heat up for about twenty to thirty minutes.

Using an internal thermostat, measure the temperature of your smoker after this time span and verify that it falls within twenty degrees of your required value. This value might vary depending upon other natural factors like the speed of the wind and surrounding climatic conditions but do not think about this too much, instead wait a little longer in these special circumstances.

Step 5: Smoking your food

Finally, the interior of your smoker has reached the value you need it to be. It is about time to place your meat on a baking tray and then inside the electric smoker and watch it cook deliciously. Grease and oil your racks along with the inside of the machine beforehand and season your smoker to get the most smoke out of it.

Depending upon what you are smoking, your electric smoker might need to run for hours and hours long. In most cases, one cup of wood chips last for about four hours so remember to check up and refill them from time to time, until your meat has been entirely smoked and prepared.

Final Thoughts

And voila, your smoker is ready to serve you the juiciest and tastiest food ever! Considering how wood chips are solely responsible for producing smoke in your electric smokers, you must learn their correct use and measurements before using your smoker at parties.

We hope that the aforementioned simple and comprehensive steps are sufficient enough to explain to you how to use your wood chips and the exact quantities they need to be used in your electric smoker. With this being said, we will be anticipating your reviews and experience while smoking various meats, with the right amount of wood chips and maximum smoke intensity!

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