In article . com,
raeannsimpson wrote:


So how do you mid-westerners smoke things up? Using my plain ol' Weber,
I twist up some hicory chips in some aluminum foil, and add water to
them and just let them sit. Then I fire up the coals in one of those
chimney thingies, put a can of water on the lower grill and, when the
coals are ready, pour them out next to the water, drain the water out of
the wood chips and toss the foil containing the wood chips on to the
coals, put on the meat and close the vents on the lid to about half.
Then I wait as long as I can. When doing ribs, I use real charcoal
because it burns longer.

I don't know about mid-westerners, but we usually put the chips right
in the grill (no weber, unfortunately). We use hickory, mesquite, or
whatever happens to be on sale.

Dry chips or wet? Don't have wild hickory trees here in California. Buy
the chips dry in little plastic bags. To get them to smoke, instead of
burn, I gotta soak them before use.

With ribs we will use a marinade/basting sauce but chicken is usually
just fine as is. Left-overs (aka: planed-overs) will either find their
way in to a salad or a tortilla or both.

Chicken is good plain - if not dried out, but marinade helps with the
moisture a little for the white pieces. And I agree with you on the
left-overs - also makes pretty good chicken potpies!

With chicken, we usually eat the thighs plain and put the breasts in
salads. Some times I put a sauce on the breasts but not usually. Chicken
breasts can get awfully dry, like trying to swallow sawdust, but that's
where the fruit of the vine comes into the picture or, something like
celery remoulade or, slaw salad.

Always willing to learn.
ME TOO!
Right back atcha.

- Billy
Coloribus gustibus non disputatum (mostly)