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I havent done venison but my fave for the other three are a mix of apple and hickory. Probably more apple for the chicken than hickory but for pork and beef prob a 50/50 mix of apple and hickory
Pork--Pecan
Beef--Cherry
Chicken--Apple
Venison--Pecan or Cherry
Of course that's just my tastes and different people will have different tastes
If I could only have one wood it would be Pecan then Oak followed by Cherry then Hickory, Apple
Testing a new dish/meat - 60% Hickory, 20% Cherry, 20% Maple Favorite All Purpose Can't Go Wrong Wood - 100% Maple (yep Maple NOT Oak)
-This is for a middle of the road wood that I would use on anything or for people who don't want too strong but still want good flavor
To avoid any confusion, I use Hickory, Hickory, Hickory, and Hickory.
I couldn't discern one species from another, and can only distinguish the strength of the Smoke. The strength of Hickory has always been my favorite.
I have never smoked venison. My favorite all around has to be pecan. Oak is currently gaining ground though. Hickory and cherry are a really nice mix for pork. For chicken I like Apple or cherry. Sometimes a combination of both fruit woods. When I do vortex chicken I like a little mesquite. The short cook time gives a nice open fire flavor to the chicken.
G