Wood smoking flavor chart full#

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, you’ll have a solid smokey flavor that acts as an ingredient in and of itself.ĭirty smoke will make your food taste acrid and sooty. The quality of meat, rubs, and cooking temperature affect the final taste far more than the type of wood used. Though different types of woods do burn differently, you need not worry about the subtlety of smoke combinations. Why you shouldn’t worry about matching wood Be sure to read the labels, though, as most pellets are a combination of different types of woods. They generally come in bags of 10lbs up to 40 lbs. You can also use pellets as you would chips for short bursts of smoke when you need it. Some smokers use pellets as their main fuel source, utilizing an electric powered auger and thermostat to maintain the proper temperature. If they get wet, you’ll see they quickly revert back to sawdust form. Pellets have no artificial binders in them, so you can be sure they’re safe to use on food. The tube is then broken off into smaller pieces about an inch or so long. Pellets are made by taking wet sawdust and compressing it into a tube roughly the thickness of a pencil. Logs have their place, and you get more of a feel for the health and seasoning of the wood, but just make sure they fit into your smoker. They end up needing to be cut into shorter pieces, and by that time, you’re better off just rolling with wood chunks. The detriment to whole logs is that they don’t fit into most residential smokers. This keeps a steady stream of clean smoke on the protein throughout the cook without overpowering it. Once you get a clean, oxygenated combustion, you can simply add new logs to the coalbed for fresh fuel.

Logs are specifically great when you’re cooking with solely wood. They are generally cut in 18in – 24in segments, perfect for an offset smoker’s firebox. Whole logs or split logs are great for bigger smokers and fireboxes. They really only need 15 – 20 minutes of smoke and this is easily managed with a handful of chips. Wood chips are also convenient for delicate proteins that only need a few minutes of smoke – like fish or chicken. Throwing a handful of pre-soaked chips on the coals will give a fresh burst of smoke to the meat. In a pinch, they’d be fine for charcoal smokers too. They are usually soaked beforehand to extend the length that they smolder although this has been proven to be unnecessary. They sit in a small, perforated smoker box and sit on top of the burning element. ChipsĬhips are mainly reserved for gas or electric smokers.

Wood smoking flavor chart full#

You have more volume control than you would with full split logs. If you find yourself needing more smoke after a couple hours, you can throw on a few extra chunks to get your preferred smoke concentration. Let’s look at the differences.Ĭhunks are an all around convenient style of cut to use with most any wood or charcoal burning smoker.Ĭhunks range in size from a plum upwards to a grapefruit, and are generally placed on hot burning coals to initiate clean combustion and smoke.Ĭhunks are convenient because you can size them to fit any firebox, whether that’s in a large firebox or in the bottom of a Big Green Egg or Weber Smokey Mountain. Your smoker will designate which type of wood you should use – mostly based on the size of the firebox chamber. You’ll be safe using any of the hardwoods mentioned, but we always recommend going with what’s local to your area and has been seasoned appropriately to dry out any residual resin or sap. Regional preferences are largely based on regional availability, but the commonality you see here is that common BBQ cooking woods are from hardwood trees. Others swear by fruit woods – apple, cherry and peach among others. You’ll see a few common cooking woods on your BBQ journey.

Softwoods are full of sap and resin, giving off a more acrid smoke and causing that flavor to inhibit the foods it cooks. Hardwoods burn hotter, longer and have less resin than softwoods.

Softwoods are coniferous and reproduce by growing cones.Īlmost all cooking wood is considered hardwood, and for good reason.

Hardwood trees are deciduous and need to be pollinated in order to reproduce.

The terms hardwood and softwood refer to how the tree reproduces. Let’s look into which woods give off what type of smoke.

Though every style of smoker gives you smoke to cook with, not all smoke is created equal.

Why you shouldn't worry about matching wood.