More smoking questions....

I'm going to be smoking 3 more Boston Butts again this weekend, and I still have some more questions. I read somewhere that there shouldn't be alot of smoke coming out of the cooker. Last week I used Kingsford briquettes and Hickory chunks (with some apple chips, both dry-not soaked), and I got alot of smoke when I would add the wood. Should I soak the wood first before I add it to the coals?
I also bought a bag of lump (Cowboy brand) and was wondering if I could mix it with the Kingsford, or if I have to use it by itself. I didn't know if mixing the two would affect the taste of the meat in any way.
Thanks for all the help you guys have given me...I'm still learnin'!

Yes, smoke should the thin and light for the best results. Thick heavy dark smoke will deposit soot on your equipment and food. Sounds like the culprit was the chips. The only time I use those is when I'm grilling and want a little smoke flavor. Put some soaked chips in an aluminum foil pouch with a few holes in it or in a smoker box.

For smoking the chunks work best. Not a lot, just 1 or 2 at a time, depending on the size of the chunks.

Yes, you can mix Kingsford and lump. Lump burns hotter and faster than Kingsford, so you can mix them to help control your burn. It takes some experimenting to arrive at the combination(s) that work for you.

If you're just starting with lump, try grilling with it first. That'll give you a good idea on how it behaves when compared to compressed charcoal. Then, you'll have a better handle on it before you fire up the smoker.

Hope this helps.
Longmill

welcome to the forum grillerguy. use cowboy brand lump charcoal and mix in kingsford briqettes when i'm doing long smokes. i use ~ 1/3 briquettes - 2/3 lump.

it's easy to go overboard with smoke. if you see lots of smoke blowing out the chimney your using too much. generally i add one or two chunks of soaked hickory per hour.