Has anyone tried pecan wood with apple wood? I love pecan but have never tried the apple. I imagine that apple would add a mild, sweet flavor!
I've used pecan/apple, pecan/cherry, and all three in trio...great on pork shoulder cuts, chops, loins and ribs. For beef, the pecan/cherry blend seems to carry itself a little better than with apple,,,apple seems a bit too sweet in the background for the stronger flavors of most beef cuts, but for the milder cuts would do fine.
Apple/pecan is very good with poultry, but if you want to kick it up a little, add a touch of hickory...not a lot, maybe 10-15% of your total smoke wood...gives just a little sharpness up front, the apple coming in soon after with a nice sweet flavor, then pecan bringing up the rear with that wildly enticing aroma and flavor...nice combo for birds.
Oh, pecan/cherry/hickory has a great snappy flavor from the hickory, a deeper fruit flavor from the cherry and that pungent aroma and slightly nutty flavor you love so much. I've used this with pork shoulder cuts and most beef...GREAT with brisket!
If you have hickory, cherry, apple and pecan, you can do some pretty awesome blends of smoke for just about anything...I've even gone as far as pecan/cherry on a few milder fish such as tilapia or cod...light smoke of course...not at all what you would expect from hot-smoked fish, but unique and interesting, in a good way. I don't have alder for fish, so I played with smoke more than once.
Play the fields with your smoke woods, though...you may have different tastes than myself and many others, but what I mentioned above is based on my personal experiences.
Great smokes to ya!
Eric