I have listed in the below table only the most commonly used woods and ones that I have bought and used myself. The e-book version of the Trees of Eastern North America (Princeton Field Guides) also came in handy. For smoking fish and seafood, alder stands alone as the very best. It is mild, well-balanced, not at all overpowering, and lends a great smoky overtone while allowing delicate fish flavors to shine through.

Everything you Need to Know About Smoking Wood - Smoked BBQ Everything you Need to Know About Smoking Wood - Smoked BBQ

Bark — Is purplish-gray and smooth in juvenile trees, but as it ages turns gray, with horizontal lenticels, and becomes more scaly and rough. The ideal way to determine the perfect wood for smoking meat is to experiment on the grill before risking endless hours in your smoker. Norway maple reaches up to 70 feet and a 2 1/2 inch diameter. Its darker bark and large, curled mustache samaras distinguish it from the Sugar Maple. It grows in moist woods, streams, and (sub)urban areas.

If you want to try soaking your wood chips in craft beer first, by all means go ahead. Part of the fun of learning about barbecue is experimenting with all the different methods. While it is important to give some thought to the type of wood you plan on using to smoke brisket, you should also consider the size. The size of wood you need will depend on the type of smoker and the size of the brisket that you plan to cook.

Best Wood for Smoking Brisket? - Smoked BBQ Source What Is the Best Wood for Smoking Brisket? - Smoked BBQ Source

Chunks – Small chunks of wood about the size of a fist. Generally used along with charcoal in smaller offset smokers and others (see below). Once ignited, it will last for hours. This makes it a good choice for larger sized briskets. If you’re cooking salmon then another way to use wood to enhance the taste is to plank it. This is where you take a plank of cedar that has been soaked in water, place the salmon on top of it and then put the wood on the grill. This will heat the wood, water and salmon. The salmon will almost steam instead of smoke from the steam released from the wood and the wood won’t burn because it’s full of water. This is a really interesting and fun way of cooking salmon and we’d recommend everyone try it out. Here’s a simple recipe. Leaves — Are 2 to 4 inches long, 1 to 2 inches wide, oval-shaped, have sharp double-serrated edges, and hand from a short hairy stalk. They are arranged on alternate sides along each branch. The top side of the leaves are dark green, with the underside being smooth, hairless, and pale green. Second, start small and aim to under-smoke because over-smoked food is inedible. It’s bitter, acrid, and horrid. So start with a low amount of smoking wood, and increase it over subsequent cooks until you get it right.

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Flowers — Can have male and female flowers on the same tree, or more usually be dedicated to a single gender per tree. Both male and female flowers are greenish-yellow, 1/3 inch wide, in clusters 2 to 3 inches across of 10 to 30 flowers. Each flower sits atop an individual, long and smooth stalk. The exception: If you are smoking on a gas or charcoal grill and need to leave it unattended for some time, you can soak some of your wood to get a longer smoking time. So how are hardwoods and softwoods defined? The simplest explanation I could find and that I’ll paraphrase and add to comes from Horizonwood.com:

7 Best Woods for Smoking Ribs [Hickory, Mesquite, Pecan] 7 Best Woods for Smoking Ribs [Hickory, Mesquite, Pecan]

Be sure to catch the scent of the smoke; if it is bitter or noxious, you should try a different wood. For kamado ceramic grills, water smokers (such as the Weber Smoky Mountain), ugly drum smokers (UDS), smaller offset smokers, most smokers that burn charcoal, and also charcoal grills. Avoid old wood that is covered in mold or fungus. Molds and fungi can contain toxins that, when released in the smoke and coated on your food, could make you or your guests ill. After the layers of flavor we apply to our BBQ, can you really tell the difference between meat smoked with ash, beech, or maple? Between meat smoked with apple or pear? Between meat smoked with orange or lemon wood? I certainly cannot, and nor can any of the dozens of people I have cooked for either — I have done such tests on people.

Applewood when used for smoking lends a mild, sweet, and fruity flavor profile when smoking meat. Note that apple smoke takes pretty long to permeate the meat, so you'll want to anticipate several hours of smoking before achieving the mellow flavors.

Hickory Firewood Logs For Sale UK: Druidswood

While some pitmasters still claim soaking chips is worth it, most agree that soaking chunks isn’t. Ultimately, you may need to experiment yourself to make a call on this one. But don’t lose any sleep over it. Should you use green or seasoned wood Fruit — Are red winged samaras with a single seed pod at the base, and a broad wing approximately an inch long. They come in pairs, hanging from long stalks. The exact makeup of the smoke you make on your barbecue will depend on the wood you have used, the temperature of combustion, the amount of available oxygen and the humidity. I have smoked with and without the bark, and I cannot tell the difference. So my preference is to remove bark that’s easy to do so, if it simply pulls away. But to just leave it on if it doesn’t easily peel away with little effort. Life is simpler that way. Pellets – Compressed sawdust from lumber re-purposed and used to provide heat and smoke in pellets grills. Generally made from 100% hardwood without any toxic chemicals they produce a nice clean smoke that imparts a subtle wood flavor.Walnut: Walnut is another fast and hot burner that creates a very smoky flavor. It’s somewhat similar to Mesquite and it’s probably better for grilling that it is smoking. It works well with mixtures of lighter wood if you’re looking to use it for smoking. A mix of Walnut and Apple creates a nice, heavy smoke flavor that isn’t too overpowering. Beef is an intensely flavored, dark red meat that benefits from and can stand up to a good hit of medium to strong smoke. Especially brisket! Season, or dry, the wood before tossing it on the fire. How dry is dry? Generally, well-seasoned wood is left with about 20 to 25 percent of its water.