favorite types of wood

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

ddigitalpimp

Smoke Blower
Original poster
May 14, 2010
78
12
PA
ive come to the conclusion that i dont like hickory at all.  its too over powering on everything ive smoked with it.  i prefer some lighter flavors in my food and it seems like hickory takes over.  i am curious as to if anyone else agrees with me about hickory and can offer another smoke source that would be good as an all around choice for a bunch of different meats.

i smoked a rack of baby backs yesterday with mesquite chips and i enjoyed them much better than the last rack of spares i did with hickory.  the mesquite was not as potent (if you will) and it let the flavor of the meat, rub and sauce come out more than with the hickory.  i also grabbed a bag of apple wood chips to try with the next rack of ribs i smoke.

what is everyone elses go to for smoke?  i was thinking of trying oak maybe but im really not sure what i should try next. 
 
Personally i like hickory...and not mesquite.  If i am doing a longer smoke i tend to mix in some oak with the hickory chunks to lighten it up a little.  I did a 12 hour butt on hickory and red oak over the weekend and it was awesome.  Personally, i think oak is a good all around wood...and i think cherry is too.  I do all my ribs over cherry now and i love how they taste. 
 
i use hickory some and i really like plum and pecan
PDT_Armataz_01_34.gif
 
Cherry and maple, unfortunately I have none seasoned yet, so it's bagged hickory chunks. If hickory is too over powering you could use less, it is a fine smoking wood IMO.
 
cool.gif


Now I have used alot of different woods over the past year or so. Now my favorites are apple, cherry, and oak for most beef and pork smokes. Now for fish and shrimp I like Alder, maple, and maybe some pear woods. Now here are alot of woods out there I guess I'm just lucky to have some place that carries different maybe 10-12 kinds of woods. 
 
I'm wondering if you may be trying to put too much smoke or white smoke. Most people love hickory smoke and many restaurants use hickory. but if you don't do it right, your right hickory can ruin meat, which may be whats going on in your case. Which if thats whats happening, any wood you use will produce the same results. Have you been smoking long or are you still new to it?
 
You might try using a combination of Hickory and a fruit wood. I do that sometimes with Mesquite, depends on who I plan to serve my Q to.Chicken is great with 1 chunk of mesquite, and two of cherry.
 
Favorite wood is whatever I get for my favorite price. 

Free.

Using cherry now.   Buddy chopped down a tree. Works nicely.
 
I use mostly cherry or pecan on beef and pork. For poultry I use either apple or cherry
 
The 1st time I smoked with hickory, the smell gave my wife a headache. I had to extend the smokestack on my smoker by 3' to keep peace. Now I like in this order: Alder, Apple, Oak, Maple and then Pecan. As ypu can see, we like lighter woods.
 
I love hickory with longer pork smokes such as pork butts or shoulders, and I love mesquite for shorter (3 hours or less) smokes such as chicken parts and brisket (hot and fast method -- foiled after 3 hours).

I think that ribs and whole chickens would benefit more from a lighter wood such as Apple or Cherry, but I haven't tried that yet (I'm doing some ribs with Apple in the next few days).

Pecan sounds awesome for just about anything, but I don't have any (sadly), so I can't tell you for sure.

You'll just have to experiment and find out what works best for you and your family.
 
Personally, I prefer hickory.

Fer customers orders I use only Maple.  That seems ta satisfy everbody.

Apple is nice on poultry.

Hickory an mesquite er great on beef as lighter woods can get lost there.

Smokin be one a them personal choices, yall just gotta try different woods an different things an see what works fer yall.
 
I love Mesquite as it was the first smoking wood I used.  I had to learn how to not over power the meat with the smokey flavor & accomplished that with the help of perusing the forums here.  My wood of choice at this moment is hickory as it completely rocks, in moderation.  I agree with the consensus on the vets here.  Lighter woods for chicken & poultry & heavier woods for beef & pork.  It is all up to the taste of the chef however, so what ever you use, just remember to use it in moderation.
 
My favorite wood is mesquite. Now I know many don't like using it for long smokes but I have done a few briskets and a pork butt with only mesquite and never had that bitter flavor. Much like Caveman I had to learn to keep the smoke thin and blue but every smoke I have done is with mesquite. I know there are other flavors that will enhance the meat and I'll get to them eventually. 
 
In no particular order: I prefer Plum, Apple, Cherry, Alder and -- lately -- Ash (which is a member of the Olive family!!!!).  Alder is fantastic on poultry, but so are the fruitwoods.  Plum is stronger, so I reserve that for pork & beef. 
 
So far I've used:

hickory

mesquite

maple

cherry

oak

First two I've had to purchase chips/chunks, the others have been free in the form of logs.

All of 'em are good! My last smoke, 6 racks of babybacks and 2 chickens, used all of them - and it came out great.
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.
Clicky