best wood for smoking meat


This is the fun part, really. Focus on clean combustion, steady temperature control and quality ingredients and youll end up with a great BBQ product every time. Take care not to use too much wood, especially with stronger-flavored woods. Once again, eCommerce comes through in the clutch. Others swear by fruit woods apple, cherry and peach among others. If youre only just starting, So youve cooked the perfect brisket, its got a beautiful black bark and that trademark jiggle that tells you its been cooked to perfection. Its better to use mesquite for hot and fast cooks. A great way to infuse flavor into your food, flavored wood is available in many different flavors and several different forms. Hickory, oak, maple, pecan and alder are all hardwoods. If the wood isn't too resinous or green, let it season before you use it. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. We may earn commission from the links on this page.

If youve walked through the meat department in your local grocery store anytime in the past 6 months, youve probably noticed that meat prices have increased substantially.

It imparts very strong flavors.

However, each type of wood has its own unique flavor characteristic. 2 for Service, When it comes to using different smoking wood to enhance the flavor of your food, you can either use. Fish and seafood, such as scallops or shrimp, take on a moist, plump texture when smoked appropriately. Using smoke as a flavor ingredient means you can experiment with different wood and meat combinations until you find your match made in BBQ heaven. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. GET RECIPES & TIPS DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Get BBQ guides, recipes, and out free digital cookbook sent straight to your inbox. They are preferred during long cooks because they add better flavor to meats. And don't just tear off a green branch and stick it on the coals, either, for much the same reason. For example, a handful of wood chips is often enough for a short smoking session. As always, the best wood for smoking food is the wood that you, your family and friends like best.

For example, starting a turkey with a few chunks of hickory and finishing with a split log of apple will give a deep, earthy flavor foundation while the apple takes the bird across the finish line and keeps it from being too smokey to taste.

Other fruitwoods work well for turkey, like apple or peach, but cherry has the right balance of depth and subtlety to it sitting in between heavy hickory and lighter apple.

Youll be surprised to see how easily you can get smoking wood from local timber or tree service companies. Pork butt has a lot of intramuscular fat and connective tissue that takes a long time to break down. 1 for Sales In a pinch, theyd be fine for charcoal smokers too. Think of smoking woods as existing on a spectrum from mild to strong. Big box sporting goods stores like Academy Sports, Dicks Sporting Goods and Bass Pro Shops also carry smoking wood, but in smaller capacities than youd be able to get from a wholesaler. Remember though, everyones flavor profiles are different, so with all things in BBQ, test it out! Hickory, oak, maple and then alder which is the softest of the hardwoods.

You can also use pellets as you would chips for short bursts of smoke when you need it.

Lets look at the differences.

That being said, don't overthink it. If you use a wood with lighter smoke flavor, the pork will cook fine, but you wont have as much smoke flavor might as well cook it in the oven.

Then keep on it and get cooking!

Hardwoods burn hotter, longer and have less resin than softwoods.

Apple and peach will infuse into the meat quickly, but wont overpower it.

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Logs are specifically great when youre cooking with solely wood. Yes, that means this may be an imprecise science, and some experts say that it doesnt matter what wood you use, it is all about process. They're great with pork, and strong enough to stand up to beef and game meats. The top choices for brisket are oak and hickory.

Smoking Meat Geeks is all about bringing people together that enjoy food as much as I do. The strongest smoking wood is going to be mesquite. The login page will open in a new tab. If youre feeling lumberjackish, theres always the option to chop your own wood, but there are somethings to keep in mind. Make sure to not use too much wood, especially with stronger wood types. Soaking your wood chunks or chips is not necessarily needed. The tube is then broken off into smaller pieces about an inch or so long. Let us know what you smoke with in the comments below. Apple and cherry are the most commonly used fruit woods.

Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm It is heady and thick and can quickly become overpowering.

It provides a subtle touch of smoke while not penetrating too deeply into the meat and ruining your bird. A lot of ink (and possibly blood) has been spilled about which wood works best with which food. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories.

While fruity smoking woods can come off as too mild, some hardwoods can come off as too strong. But it is more intense than the fruit woods so you have to be careful with that you use it on. The short list includes: Alder: popular in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest for salmon and other seafood, Beech: popular in Germany and Scandinavia for pork, Hickory and pecan: popular in the American South and lower Midwest for all meats, seafood, and vegetables, Mesquite: popular in the American Southwest, Texas, and Hawaii for beef and seafood, Oak: popular in Texas, California, Europe, and South America for all meats, seafood, and vegetables, Apple: popular across the U.S. for all meats (especially bacon), Cherry: popular in the upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest for pork and poultry, Allspice wood: indispensable in Jamaica for cooking jerk, The Best Things To Eat And Drink On Disney's Wish, This New Jersey Deli Uses Pickles Instead of Bread, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. Color is the key indicator here as your ribs will get a dark mahogany color and tack up nicely on the surface. Oak has flavors that are good with beef, especially brisket and sausages. A slightly less intense smoky flavor still gives great results, but too much smoke can cause food to taste bitter. Higher sap content can not only ruin your food, it can ruin your smoker. The first thing to consider is what kinds of wood to use, based on how overpowering the smoke they put out is. Mild, sweeter woods like apple or peach are the best options for smoked fish. Depending on what type of food youre planning to smoke, youll want to pick the wood that most closely matches its flavor profile.

And for the truly advanced, there's nothing wrong with a little mix-and-match. They are generally cut in 18in 24in segments, perfect for an offset smokers firebox. Smoking wood is available in four different forms; pellets, chips, chunks or splits (small logs). Smoke is smoke.". Mesquite is the most intense smoke flavor you will find. We understand that we are seeing the trees and not the forest in this case. Apple has a mild, sweet & fruity profile. I have always been a believer: do what you love and youll never work a day in your life.

This is also very nuanced, so you want to be sure you have a solid understanding of smoke and combustion first. Once you get a clean, oxygenated combustion, you can simply add new logs to the coalbed for fresh fuel. SmokedBBQSource is supported by its readers. Restaurant recommendations you trust. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.

When you want a simple, mild smoke flavor, go with alder, pecan or maple. They follow that order with how strong the flavors are that they impart. For you to see a difference in soaking vs not soaking wood chunks you would have to soak them for several days. It's important to have a clean burning fire and much of that starts with air flow. For example, when it comes to smoking heavier meats, like beef and pork, hardwood is recommended. That is the question.

Usually only reserved for large chunks of beef.and people from Texas. Cooks that take hours to finish like pork shoulder, brisket, wings, pork belly and ribs. Maple wood gives a more subtle, sweet smoky flavor that is perfect for mild, light and sweet smoking. Mesquite: Mesquite is the most intense and concentrated, earthy smoke flavor you will find.

If you wanted to kill two birds with one stone and chop down that pesky tree in the backyard to keep your smoker well-fed this summer, keep in mind that some woods just aren't meant to smoke food.

See our full list of wood to use when smoking turkey. Yes, hickory will burn differently than apple, and subsequently, the smoke differs, but so long as you have clean combustion and steady oxygen intake to feed the fire, youll have a solid smokey flavor that acts as an ingredient in and of itself.

Wood comes in various forms for smoking: logs, which you use in stick-burners (the offset barrel smokers used at restaurants and on the competition barbecue circuit); fist-sized wood chunks; and wood chips (the most common form of smoking fuelavailable at supermarkets and hardware stores). It is good on pork, lamb, beef and dark poultry like duck and other gamey meat. Hard woods burn slower, longer and hotter than softwoods.

Also, where you purchase your meat can tell you a lot about the meat. Alder imparts flavor similar to fruit woods, a little more sweetness and a bit more delicate, and works well across the spectrum of smoking including seafood.

Pecan wood is kind of a hickory-light, imparting an almost identical flavor profile but milder. What fruit woods have in common are delicate flavors that will work with virtually any meat or seafood. It can be a invaluable wood to smoke with**if you do it in moderation.

He sees even veteran barbecue competitors fall prey to almost magical thinking, like pit masters for Georgia who insist that throwing peach wood on the coals can trick your tastebuds into thinking the ribs you're sinking your teeth into came from a pig raised at Tara. Your email address will not be published. Why you shouldn't worry about matching wood, Western BBQ Smoking Wood Chips - Variety 4-Pack Bundle, What is Going On With Meat Prices? Wood chunks and splits are good for longer smokes. Great For: Lamb, Dark Meat Poultry, Game, Beef. If this article was helpful to you, please be sure to share. It is a good all around wood. Fruit woods are perfect for that. They burn up quicker than chunks so they are great for using on fish, poultry and smaller cuts of meat that dont need to be cooked as long like steak, burgers, or sausage.

Can be overpowering if too much is used. Its best when used to smoke large cuts of beef and pork. Chunks range in size from a plum upwards to a grapefruit, and are generally placed on hot burning coals to initiate clean combustion and smoke.

If the chart tells you not to use apple with lamb or says oak can only be used on beef then feel free to ignore it.

A whole packer brisket can be quite an intimidating cut to slice through, and the way you slice it actually affects the, To inject, or not to inject. Both of these woods will impart a deep, noticeable smoke flavor into pork ribs that is the sign of true BBQ.

Bon Apptit may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. "In general, you shouldn't smoke for more than half of the cooking time," Purviance says. There are a multitude of woods out there, they all can be burned with varying results. Hickory is the most prevalent wood for industrial smoking, and is included in the preferred hardwood choices along with oak and maple.

Its great to use when smoking beef and pork low and slow.

Pork responds very well to the smoke of hickory, and to maple. These both give off steady heat and a strong, penetrating smoke that melds well with the tough beef fibers as they soften.

It imparts a heavy smoky flavor, most often used when smoking pork, fish, sausages, brisket and red meat. Finally, there's the strongest wood of all, and it's in a category all its own: mesquite. It is ideal to never have to add any charcoal or wood during your cook so you wont disrupt the process.

"You'll find that it has a better aroma and burns a little slower for you," Purviance says. Mesquite is widely used in Texas.

Pellet smokers burn pellets of compressed hardwood sawdust; electric smokers use coarse sawdust or sawdust disks; stovetop and handheld smokers burn straight hardwood sawdust.

But should you really worry about matching different wood flavors with what youre cooking? Softwoods are full of sap and resin, giving off a more acrid smoke and causing that flavor to inhibit the foods it cooks. People also tend to forget that smoking isn't just about adding flavor, it's also about adding an appealing hue to the meal. The best woods for smoking come from deciduous treesespecially from nut trees, such as hickory, pecan, and oak, and fruit trees, like apple and cherry.

I have always been a believer: do what you love and youll never work a day in your life. Chips are mainly reserved for gas or electric smokers. Readad-freeon your phone, tablet or print out and spill BBQ sauce on them.

Fish and seafood are the most delicate proteins on this list, so youll need to be extremely aware not to oversmoke lest you risk ruining the meal. "It really doesn't make a difference," he says.

Not many people come in looking for splits thats why we dont carry them. This article is dedicated to understanding how these characteristics can enhance the flavor of your meat, once you dial in the other basics of smoking meat. "Wood smells and tastes like wood for the most part.

"There's a little bit of wishful thinking there," says chef Jamie Purviance, author of Weber's Smoke: A Guide to Smoke Cooking for Everyone and Any Grill.

Columbus, OH 43214 However that flavor can be intensified over longer periods of time. Brisket is a forgiving meat in terms of smoke penetration, so as long as your fire is clean, your brisket should turn out just fine from a quality standpoint.

From best practice tips, smokers, accessories, and everything you need to know for your best BBQ! Though smokiness can lend a diabolic richness to food that can transform a decent hunk of flesh into a transcendent repast, too many grillers have forgotten that when it comes down to it, their guests want to eat meat, not smoke. The strongest smoking wood is going to be mesquite. Ext. Good for mixing with woods like alder, oak or apple. Much like turkey, chicken takes on smoke quickly and easily. All thats left now is to slice it up. Soaking wood chips will help them last a little longer, but since you are only using them for shorter cooks it is also not needed. Here are some of the most popular wood flavors and their flavor characteristics: Alder: Alder wood imparts flavor similar to fruit woods with a more delicate sweetness.

Check out our Big Green Egg page here! And if you watch a lot of TV shows like BBQ Pitmasters you could be excused for thinking that injecting your meat is an essential part of cooking barbecue. Please have your Model # and Serial # available when contacting us. Unless you have a kiln readily available to you, leave this to the professionals. Also, very strong, mesquite gives you a good flavor quickly, but mesquite can become bitter fast too. Be sure to read the labels, though, as most pellets are a combination of different types of woods. It is great for and primarily used on fish but can also be used on white meat poultry. It can in fact get too much of a good thing, so be cognizant of that. Adding wet wood chips to a lit grill will also lower the temperature causing you to have to wait longer to get it back up to your desired temperature. This is one of those debates that has raged on for years and will likely continue for many more.

Other retailers and locally owned outdoor outfitters may offer a smaller selection of smoking woods. Wood can be air-dried or kiln-dried. Theyre good on white meat, poultry and pork.

The wood you choose when smoking meat is only one of several factors that will effect flavor. Regional preferences are largely based on regional availability, but the commonality you see here is that common BBQ cooking woods are from hardwood trees. More intense than the fruit woods, it has a smoky, spicy flavor and is great on beef and pork but can be too heavy for chicken. There is a minute bit of space, stationary air that surrounds objects. Your best bet might be searching online, but it probably wont be cheap with shipping. Address: You want avoid resinous woods in particular.

Follow our simple instructions to get that extra smoky flavor to your Pellet Grill BBQ by using a smoke tube. Lets delve into a few options. But pear, peach and mulberry, along with wood from citrus trees are out there in specific regional markets. Whole logs or split logs are great for bigger smokers and fireboxes. Its ideal for smoking pork and poultry.