Just realized I've been using way too much wood for my brisket smoke

John Thompson · 2026-04-01T13:40:05.051323+00:00

I switched from a full log every hour to just two fist-sized chunks at the start, and the flavor got way cleaner. Anyone else find less smoke wood actually works better on long cooks?

dylan_anderson6mo ago

Honestly I feel like people overthink the wood thing sometimes. Tbh as long as you have some smoke flavor and the meat is tender, you're doing fine. It's not like a tiny bit more or less wood is gonna ruin a whole brisket. Ngl I've used way too much before and it still turned out okay.

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terry_owens436mo ago

Tiny bit more or less wood" is the part that makes sense to me.

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tessa8686mo ago

The part about too much wood still being okay is where I disagree. Over-smoking makes the meat taste bitter, like licking an ashtray. It's a harsh flavor that ruins the texture too. Once that creosote builds up, you can't fix it no matter how tender the brisket gets. A clean blue smoke is the goal, and that needs way less wood than most people use.

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