Just realized I was way too precious about my wood chunks

For years I babied hickory chunks like they were gold, always going with the perfect dry stack from the big box store. Then a buddy in Nashville showed up with a bag of wet, bark-covered chunks he got for free from a tree service and threw them straight on the coals. The smoke was dirtier but the flavor on the pork butt was deeper than anything I'd made with the clean stuff. Now I grab whatever's cheap and let it sit in the sun for a day, honestly the fussy approach was holding me back. Anyone else quit overthinking their fuel and get better results?

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mark_thomas22d ago

Funny you say that, I had the exact same wake-up call with oak last summer and now I just grab whatever's on sale. The messy batches have turned out some of my best cooks, so you're definitely not alone there.