Distinguishing different wood flavors?

[smokngun]

I've been smoking for over 20+yrs. And have used everything from a charcoal to stick burner, pellet and gasser smoker. I've catered several weddings and parties so I know a couple of things but not claiming to be a know it all. I don't know if it's just me but from the beginning I don't really notice a difference between ribs smoked with apple wood or hickory or cherry. While there a subtle differences to me it's not really noticeable. Its almost like a Sommelier where they tell you what to look for in different wines (this one has a blackberry undernote with a bit of spice) too me it tastes like red wine. I guess what gets me are some people (mostly) with the pellet smokers and talking about using blends brings out different flavor profiles or how Applewood really brings out the pork flavor. I just don't taste it. IDK I don't have a refined palate so maybe its just me. Just a rant as I am bored.

 

[mike243]

I can taste the difference on any of them, the blends are also good, hickory straight out don't taste like any thing else, also mesquite is very distinctive. Apple is pretty mild and there's a bunch of wood I haven't tried, also I am going to say any wood that's been kiln dried will lack the same flavor of some that was dried naturally. I wood hazard a guess that pellets are considered to be kiln dried to some extent due to the way they are made.

 

[chef jimmyj]

I agree with Mike. There are some woods that are distinguishable, Hickory, Apple and Mesquite and I'm sure there are others I've not tried like Pimento Wood, Beech and Pine. But when you start Blending...Regardless of the types blended or the percentages, it All pretty much taste the same to me. Meat smoked/cooked with Hard Wood. Now Cherry does lend a noticeable mahogany red color to meat...JJ

 

[Blues1]

Not sure my taste is developed enough to tell the difference. I use a red oak, white oak, and hickory blend now. Still pretty new at all this, so need to get more cooks in before I try some straight hickory to see if I can tell.

 

[BandCollector]

smokngun

Perhaps this might help by sparking your taste buds and subconscious.

I hope this helps,

John

Wood For Smoking​

ALDER - Very delicate with a hint of sweetness. Good with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds.

ALMOND - A sweet smoke flavor, light ash. Good with all meats.

APPLE - Very mild with a subtle fruity flavor, slightly sweet. Good with poultry (turns skin dark brown) and pork.

ASH - Fast burner, light but distinctive flavor. Good with fish and red meats.

BEECH - The wood of the Beechnut produces a mild, somewhat delicate smoked flavor. Since it is a hardwood, it remains longer for smoking before it turns to ash. Similar to, but not as sweet as hickory, more like pecan.

BIRCH - Medium-hard wood with a flavor similar to maple. Good with pork and poultry.

CHERRY - Mild and fruity. Good with poultry, pork and beef. Some List members say the cherry wood is the best wood for smoking. Wood from chokecherry trees may produce a bitter flavor.

COTTONWOOD - It is a softer wood than alder and very subtle in flavor. Use it for fuel but use some chunks of other woods (hickory, oak, pecan) for more flavor. Don't use green cottonwood for smoking.

CRABAPPLE - Similar to apple wood.

GRAPEVINES - Tart. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity. Good with poultry, red meats game and lamb.

HICKORY - Most commonly used wood for smoking--the King of smoking woods. Sweet to strong, heavy bacon flavor. Good with pork ham and beef.

LILAC - Very light, subtle with a hint of floral. Good with seafood and lamb.

MAPLE - Smoky, mellow and slightly sweet. Good with pork, poultry, cheese, and small game birds.

MESQUITE - Strong earthy flavor. Good with beef, fish, chicken, and game. One of the hottest burning woods.

MULBERRY - The smell is sweet and reminds one of apple.

OAK - Heavy smoke flavor--the Queen of smoking wood. RED OAK is good on ribs; WHITE OAK makes the best coals for longer burning. All oak varieties reported as suitable for smoking. Good with red meat, pork, fish and heavy game.

OLIVE- A medium strength smoke, similar to pecan

ORANGE, LEMON and GRAPEFRUIT - Produces a nice mild smoky flavor. Excellent with beef, pork, fish and poultry.

PEAR - A nice subtle smoke flavor. Much like apple. Excellent with chicken and pork.

PECAN - Sweet and mild with a flavor similar to hickory. Tasty with a subtle character. Good with poultry, beef, pork and cheese. Pecan is an all-around superior smoking wood.

SWEET FRUIT WOODS - APRICOT, PLUM, PEACH, NECTARINE - Great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork and fish. The flavor is milder and sweeter than hickory.

WALNUT - ENGLISH and BLACK - Very heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter woods like almond, pear or apple. Can be bitter if used alone. Good with red meats and game.

 

[Bytor]

Hey Bandcollector, great summary!

I pretty much have always blended either with my stick burner or in my smoker. I just recently bought a bag of 100% apple and I was able to tell a subtle difference in the smoke flavor. I wouldn't mind trying out other types on their own to get a better understanding of the flavors they impart.

 

[gary s]

Good Info.

Gary

 

[Bearcarver]

I've been smoking for over 20+yrs. And have used everything from a charcoal to stick burner, pellet and gasser smoker. I've catered several weddings and parties so I know a couple of things but not claiming to be a know it all. I don't know if it's just me but from the beginning I don't really notice a difference between ribs smoked with apple wood or hickory or cherry. While there a subtle differences to me it's not really noticeable. Its almost like a Sommelier where they tell you what to look for in different wines (this one has a blackberry undernote with a bit of spice) too me it tastes like red wine. I guess what gets me are some people (mostly) with the pellet smokers and talking about using blends brings out different flavor profiles or how Applewood really brings out the pork flavor. I just don't taste it. IDK I don't have a refined palate so maybe its just me. Just a rant as I am bored.

I agree with you:
There isn't enough difference in flavor of Species IMHO to worry about even thinking about it.
The main difference is the strength of various woods, which is why I use Hickory about 90 to 95% of the time, because I enjoy a hardy smoke flavor.

Bear

 

[zwiller]

Blessed/cursed with a good nose and taste buds and believe I can distinguish woods are used for smoking. That said, telling the difference between say apple or plum or other fruitwoods would be tough. I don't really buy into certain woods bringing out certain flavors of the meat per se but agree in general stronger flavored woods are for stronger meats and vice versa. I think most people can develop their senses but need some basic training.

chef jimmyj Piemento : https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...-for-a-group-buy-for-piemento-pellets.285408/

Pine was interesting. Not sure if you saw it but ran a loin on 50/50 oak and pine. Was actually worried it would be a fail and creosote bomb but surprisingly pine is VERY subtle. That said, I felt it gave the loin a unique flavor albeit subtle. Goal is to cold smoke one a crazy long time like the germans do once. They run like 100hrs.

Beech is VERY close to oak close enough that I have not ordered more. I would say it is a touch stronger than oak but less so than hickory.

If you want some to fool with let me know.

 

[texomakid]

Great thread and nice list added from BandCollector . My opinion about different woods for cooking & smoking has changed over the last decade for sure. It's hard to beat hickory so there's a good reason why it's the most popular (as well as availability.)
There are a few on that list of woods I've never considered to use in the past but I'm curious now. See how this works? It's a sickness!

 

[Braz]

I can't tell much difference either. I attribute it to 40 or so years worth of Camels.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

I can't tell much difference either. I attribute it to 40 or so years worth of Camels.

Yup! That will do it.

 

[bbqbrett]

Great thread and nice list added from BandCollector . My opinion about different woods for cooking & smoking has changed over the last decade for sure. It's hard to beat hickory so there's a good reason why it's the most popular (as well as availability.)
There are a few on that list of woods I've never considered to use in the past but I'm curious now. See how this works? It's a sickness!

I agree, hickory is my go to but I try different woods. Didn't see peach on that list but it is really good for chicken and pork.

 

[Bearcarver]

I can't tell much difference either. I attribute it to 40 or so years worth of Camels.

Yup---38 years of Lucky Strikes & Marlboro don't help much either!!

Bear

 

[tallbm]

I'll throw my 2 cents in.

I can tell the difference between a number of woods and then there are some I can't.
ALSO, what really helps me distinguish different or unique wood flavors is the pairing of the wood with the meat.

For example, smoking beef with Mesquite is an amazing flavor to me cannot be rivaled and is much different than other woods. Smoking chicken with Mesquite again is very very good too BUT seems less pronounced than when Mesquite is used on beef.

I like Hickory BUT it makes everything taste too much like bacon to me if I use 100% hickory so I can definitely distinguish the flavor. On the other hand if I blend Hickory at about 60-70% with another wood or woods then the whole flavor profile changes and is great without giving me "too much bacon" flavor taste.

Oak to me is the most general middle of the road safe smoke flavor out there to me. It is used a lot in Texas bbq and is a good flavor but is like frozen pizza good vs the brick oven hand made pizza good to me so I can distinguish it from other woods.

Now Maple on the other hand has become my safe, general, middle of the road option that is the subtly surprising flavor and always seems to delight me. It's like I repeatedly underestimate it and in true underdog fashion it pleasantly surprises me EVERY time hahaha.

With Alder I get a kind of refreshing almost sweet woodsy flavor form it BUT I only ever use it on my Salmon Lox or I use a blend bag I bought a long time ago that is mostly alder and a little mesquit end i doctor it with more mesquite for stuff like my smoked meatloaves haha. With the meatloaves it is like a muted mesquite but I can't really make out the alder.

Now Pecan has been a big let down for me. It is smoke flavor and ok but never enough for me so I guess I'll just start blending it with something. I do 100% pecan when I'm taking a smoked dish somewhere and I don't know how much smoke people do or don't like and I don't want to use my maple up on that audience hahhaa

Finally, Cherry.... I wish I could tell you more but I can't ever get 100% cherry to freakin stay lit hahhaa so I blend it I think I get some hints of difference but honestly I can't pin point it. I like how it changes the flavor when I do a Mesquite and Cherry blend BUT I just don't know how much it is contributing vs muting the mesquite flavor. Why mesquite with cherry? So I can go at least 50% cherry and ensure it stays lit since mesquite burns hotter than other woods hahhaa.

Anyhow thats all my feedback there.

 

[smokngun]

Thank you to everyone who has responded. I agree with everyone that there are a few woods ( Mesquite especially) that is definitely a standout with taste recognition. BandCollector thank you for that list. From that I will list all the types of wood I have tried over the years. Alder which to me is very mild, but yet the #1 wood in all of Trager pellets. Apple, Cherry, Grapevines, Hickory, Maple, Mesquite, Oak, Orange, Peach, Pecan and even Sassafras. I'm not saying anyone of these woods are bad, I guess it is probably geared towards the pellet crowd on don't waste your money on blends and if you want to blend buy 100% pellets and mix them yourself. For my stick burner I have an 1/8 cord of oak with a couple of bags of hickory and pecan. Hickory is my go to 100% but Oak is my backup.

 

[zwiller]

Oak to me is the most general middle of the road safe smoke flavor out there to me. It is used a lot in Texas bbq and is a good flavor but is like frozen pizza good vs the brick oven hand made pizza good to me so I can distinguish it from other woods.

I agree with pretty much all you said but you must be burnt out on oak being Texan. Oak is absolutely my fave...

 

[noboundaries]

How a person "tastes" makes a difference, too. A small percentage of the population are either super-tasters or non-tasters. Most are normal, or nominal, tasters. Age, behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, etc), and physiological factors can impact tasting ability.

My wife is a super taster. She can literally tell if I've used water in my smoker or not. I've tested her without her knowledge and she was right 100% of the time. She won't eat meat that was wet smoked "because it's too smoky." That said, she loves dry smoked meat smoked with mesquite.

I find beef and pork smoked with mild woods kind of boring. They work fine on poultry, but so do stronger woods. Cherry does add color to poultry.

Mesquite, hickory, cherry, and oak are what I use most.

 

[Bearcarver]

How a person "tastes" makes a difference, too. A small percentage of the population are either super-tasters or non-tasters. Most are normal, or nominal, tasters. Age, behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, etc), and physiological factors can impact tasting ability.

My wife is a super taster. She can literally tell if I've used water in my smoker or not. I've tested her without her knowledge and she was right 100% of the time. She won't eat meat that was wet smoked "because it's too smoky." That said, she loves dry smoked meat smoked with mesquite.

I find beef and pork smoked with mild woods kind of boring. They work fine on poultry, but so do stronger woods. Cherry does add color to poultry.

Mesquite, hickory, cherry, and oak are what I use most.

Yup, I think I was a Super-taster my first 63 years of my life. Very sensitive taste buds.
Then I had my Open-Heart Fiasco that included 9 hours of open-heart surgery & a Small Stroke. After 28 days in the hospital I came home. I had thought the Hospital food was tasteless, and hardly ate a thing there, losing 31 pounds in those 28 days.
Then I started eating good food at home, but it too was tasteless. Even my Prime Rib & My Bacon was tasteless. It didn't matter what I ate or drank---It was all lousy!!

7 months later I finally got my tasting ability back, but no longer a Super-Taster.
I would say I now have normal tasting ability, except I no longer enjoy my 2 favorite drinks---Black Coffee & Beer.

Bear

 

[noboundaries]

Thanks for sharing, Bear. Glad at least some of it has returned. With time, hopefully more. We know someone who is a great cook and has lost all taste and smell. Time will tell there, too.