Smoking With Woods

By: Ryan Sheen A quick guide to Smoking with woods

Smoking with Woods

Welcome to a quick guide on smoking with various woods.
We will cover the type of wood we use and sell here at The BBQ Store.
My preference and why I use the wood of choice

When begging the journey of smoking there are a lot of things to consider and selecting which wood to use when cooking a low and slow style bbq.

Things to take into consideration when selecting the woods are

Flavour profile
Strength of Smokey flavour
Protein choice
Desired Outcome

The woods that we will be covering in this blog are as follows

Hickory
Mesquite
Apple
Cherry
Plum
Jam
Pear
Pecan
Blends

We will also cover the styles of wood which come in

Chunks
Chips
Saw dust
Pellets
Logs

Styles of Woods:

There are a few styles of wood that are used for various reasons when smoking meats.

The most popular and my preference is Chunks, however this is not the only style I use.

Chunks are fist sized blocks of wood that are suitable for long smoking cooks using a charcoal base or even a gas heating. Best for Vertical/Bullet/Offset/Kettle Cookers. I Use these with a charcoal, Using one chunk every 20-40 Mins. Placing the chunk away from the Charcoal I use the metal grill to smoulder the wood ensuring that the chunk does not ignite or flame up. If this does happen and you can put it out that’s good, If not, Just move it to the charcoal and add another.
Chips are small nail sized pieces of wood which can serve the purpose of chunks but burn out quicker due to there lack of density. Can be used in the same way as chunks but require to be refilled more often. You can soak these in water which prolongs there burn time but is not required. To use this Charcoal smoker as them to either a smoker box/Cold smoker or create a Cup out of foil and place this near the solid fuel.
Sawdust, this is wood in its smallest form. I would recommend not using this like chips or chunks as it will burn out almost instantly. I do use this type of wood however in conjunction with our A-Maze-n Smoke Maze to create a “Cold Smoker” Which can be used for things like Fish, Dairy, Alcohol, Seasonings.
Pellets, these are a compressed sawdust of either one type or a blend of woods. These are designed to work in a pellet smoker or to be used similarly to chips (Do not wet these or they expand) to use these in a Charcoal smoker as them to either a smoker box/Cold smoker or create a Cup out of foil and place this near the solid fuel.
Logs, now these are used in what are called Stick burners or Offset smokers. These can come in all sorts of flavours, In Australia the most common is Iron Bark, this is commonly either triple or double split and is used to provide heat and smoke.

Thin, Blue smoke.

This is what we’re aiming for regardless of our wood selection we are aiming for a thin blue plume of smoke. Now this does sound strange but once you see it you know what I am talking about. You can cook with white smoke, It should settle itself down and get some blue smoke going. Please stop cooking if you have Black smoke. This is toxic and is harmful to your health.

Welcome to the Flavour section

Now with Woods we have our “Hardwoods” And “Fruitwoods”

Starting with Hardwoods

Hickory, this is a Stronger smoky type that can have scents of Bacon. This is a Common wood used with beginners as it can be used with Beef, Lamb and Pork.
Mesquite, this is a very strong smoke and is not to be used on delicate meats, with its strong earthy tones this brings out a lot of flavours put on the meat enhancing these with a smoky profile.

Moving on to our Fruit woods, The Fruit wood is my go-to for all smoking events. There are a lot of choices in the section and selecting the right one for you is all about experimentation.

Apple, starting out with a very subtle wood this is a sweet and light smoke that is suitable for Pork, Seafood, Poultry and dairy
Plum, this is a stronger fruit wood yet still quite subtle with its smoky profile this would be a great way to get into fruit woods. Suitable for Pork, Lamb and Beef this wood give you a stand out some ring on your Brisket and Beef Ribs.
Pear, this is a similar wood to the Apple in the way that it is a sweet and light smoke. I would use this with Poultry to give the meat a light smoke profile and not be to be overbearing to the natural flavour.
Jam, coming from the acacia tree this is a very interesting flavour profile. Giving the cook a very sweet and light smoke this is a scent like a raspberry jam. Amazing on Poultry and Pork this is a great way to get the sweeter tastes without going overboard.
Cherry, this is my go to fruit wood. I use this the most out of any wood. The scent is very distinct to cherry and I would recommend using this on everything. Beef, Pork, Lamb, Poultry, Seafood. This gives a great smoke ring to beef and is my favourite fruit wood.
Pecan, Light and nutty this is my second choice of woods and I mis this with cherry to give it a balance. This is a very nice yet distinct wood type which is best used for Pork, Poultry and lamb
Blends, This is something I would get you to try, Mixing different types of wood. Most Larger bags of Pellets are Pre blended and have taken the thinking out of it for you and matched the best types of woods.

Please take in mind that this is only a guide and I have also added my own personal preferences with smoking.

Please take this information and experiment with this to unlock your own flavour combination.

Just remember with BBQ there is no wrong way to do it if you like the taste.