Ya'll ever had a Hickory smoked hamburger?
If you have any live Shagbark Hickory trees around, peel off all the bark you you can reach and bring it home. Snap/break it into small pieces maybe 2", w a hammer or pliers about 4/6 cups and soak it in water overnight . Dump the chips out of the water and let them dry an hour or so. Make lots of burgers (80/20) about 1/4 lb and refridgerate till you're about ready to smoke them, then remove the grate from a charcoal grill w a lid and cover it w all the burgers that will fit on it w a lil space between them. A Weber kettle is perfect but any charcoal grill w a lid and vents/removable grates will do. Build a hot bed of coals across the entire bottom of the grill, 3 or 4"s deep. When it's ready scoop up the drained bark w both hands, as much as you can hold w cupped hands, and drop them in a pile in the center of the coals and put the lid on w all vents wide open. Let it sit for a few/5 minutes until the smoke is thick and spewing out of the vents like a house on fire. Carefully remove the lid( the smoke is hot and steamy} put the pre loaded grate over the coals and cover the grill, all vents open. After 3 to 5 mins. lift the lid and turn the burgers quickly, helps to have 2 or more peeps flipping them, be careful of flareups. Put the lid back on for 3/5 mins and done, yank the grate off and set it down or dump the burgers on a platter etc. This method is great for feeding a crowd as you can load up the grate again and do at least 2 or 3 or more batches, scattering more bark on the coals if the smoke wanes . This makes a great/juicy burger w a very different taste and a bright red smoke ring that some folks mistake for raw meat. Good w a slice of onion,cheese and mustard or anything else you like on a hamburger.
