Which wood chips

[hinoon]

Got all my ordering done from Waltons, now to make sure I have all my ducks in a row before I start my maiden voyage. I have the jalapeno spice mix, the eca, the colagen casings the mixer, the stuffer, the carrot binder, etc… Now I just need to know what wood is good to use in the smoker and how long and when to hit it with smoke. Also have been reading to keep the door open on the smoker. Just opening the vents on top of my Masterbilt is not good enough?

[Jonathon]

hinoon I responded to the door opening in the other post but just to keep everything together I will hit it here too. If your smoker won’t start as low as 120° then you might want to crack your door to be able to achieve that low of a temperature. Once you are past those low smoking phases you should close it. Whether or not to leave it open for the initial drying phase will be a matter of testing, I find that opening top and bottom vents is enough.

As for what wood to use for snack sticks there is some good information in Meatgsitics University Using Different Woods but with a snack stick you can use a strong smoke like hickory or a softer smoke like any of the fruit woods.

I generally don’t add smoke until the second hour when doing snack sticks or summer sausages, it usually best to let it dry for that initial hour but I have also done it where I start the smoke right away and that did not create any real issues.

Hope that helps!

[sstory]

hinoon I prefer a more mild smoke flavor, so like Jonathan mentioned, apple wood is a really great choice. If you are doing natural casings (or not smoked colagen casings), you can add a little cherry wood which will give the meat a nice mahogany color.

[hinoon]

Jonathon Thanks. You are the whip when it comes to this stuff. I am really excited to start making my own sausages and snacks.