Cherry wood is great for smoking. Photo by Harald Zoschke
Almost any hardwood can be used for smoking; avoid any wood with resin, such as pine. My favorite wood for cooking pork is apple and maple wood, while I generally use hickory and a small bit of mesquite for beef. If I’m smoking fish, alder is an excellent choice.
Depending on the cooker you have, you can use chunks, chips or pellets. If you have an offset cooker or a ceramic cooker, you’ll probably want to use chunks. For a gas-fired grill, pellets and chips are a good choice. Now comes the debate…to soak or not to soak? Some say soaking the chips just makes them smolder and it doesn’t produce much flavor. Others say if you use dry chips all you’ll get is a hot fire for a short time. I don’t have the answer, but if I’m smoking in a gas-fired grill I use dry chips in a cast iron smoker box. If I’m using my Grill Dome ceramic cooker, I use dry chunks. You’ll have to try it both ways and see which you prefer.
What kind of wood with what kind of meat or poultry? Again, it’s a personal preference but a friend of mine – Candy Weaver at BBQr’s Delight – (her company, bbqrsdelight.com, produces 14 varieties of wood pellets for smokers) offers these suggestions:
|
Wood |
Food |
Description |
| Alder | Fish, Poultry, Pork, light meat Game birds (traditionally used in the Northwest to smoke salmon) | Produces the least heat. Sweet, delicate flavor |
| Apple | Pork chops, Ham, Poultry,Sausage, Vegetables | Denser than alder; Sweet, fruity smoke |
| Cherry | Good with all meat and fish | Sweet, fruity smoke that darkens meat |
| Grapevines | Beef, Lamb, Pork,Sausages, Vegetables | Tart, rich, aromatic |
| Hickory | Beef, Pork, Poultry, Game, Cheeses, Ribs, Burgers, Lamb | Bacon-like flavor; most commonly used wood by competition teams; adds a strong flavor |
| Maple | Cheese, Pork, Poultry,Game, Vegetables | Smokey, mellow, and slightly sweet |
| Mesquite | Beef, Pork, Poultry,Game, Vegetables | Spicy, distinct smoke; burns hot, good for quick grilling, not long barbecue; one of the strongest woods |
| Mulberry | Beef, Pork, Ham, Poultry,Game Birds | Sweet, tangy, apple-like flavor |
| Oak | Beef, Lamb, Sausage,Game birds | Heavy smoke with no aftertaste; very popular |
| Orange | Pork, Poultry, Fish,Game Birds, Cheese | Tangy citrus smoke, gives food a caramel color |
| Pecan | Lamb, Pork, Turkey, Fish,Steaks, Game, Cheeses | Nutty and sweet with a mild aftertaste; a subtler version of hickory |
| Sassafras | Beef, Pork | Musky, sweet smoke; mild and tangy |
| Sugar Maple | Pork, Ham, Poultry,Cheese, Game Birds | Mild, sweet, light smoke |
Here in New England, some cooks also use seaweed (Rockweed) for flavoring lobsters and shellfish (think traditional clam bake).
Be careful when using wood for smoking. Too much smoke produces bitter-tasting food. Generally speaking, you’ll only want to add smoke flavor during the first couple of hours of cooking, and then let the meat finish cooking with charwood and no smoke.
Smoking Pellets
This info is from the BBQr’s Delight website: Pellets are a unique form of natural wood. When pellets are made, all of the air within the cellular structure of the wood is evacuated, thus concentrating the wood into a very dense form, much denser than the natural tree. As compared to other wood flavor enhancers, pellets will yield a more intense smoke more quickly, which seals the food, locking in natural moisture and adding smoke flavor exactly when it’s needed.
Only 1/3 of a cup of pellets is needed for most cooking events. As compared to other forms of smoking wood, you’ll need 5-10 times the weight of wood to achieve the same results as pellets. The cost per use is much less for pellets than any other form of wood.
Since pellets have been processed from sawdust by pressure which generates heat, any contaminants present in the wood are eliminated. This process produces a sterile smoking wood product of consistent quality. Pellets are easy to use since you do not soak in water prior to use. It’s easy to blend wood flavors with pellets and easily repeat successful cooking results.
