Not Feeling the Cherry Love...

[Its_Raw]

Usually smoke with oak, but bought about half a rick of cherry with the oak last delivery. Doing an all cherry rack of ribs today and I'm frustrated a bit with the wood. It seems ashy as small, wispy flakes of ash are on the meat and floating out of the open door of the firebox. I am also burning quite a bit of it to stay at 250. (No wind, 70 degrees and low humidity.) Does not seem to hold predictable temps like oak. Either way, just venting and wondwr8ng if the juice is worth the squeeze with cherry.

 

[chopsaw]

I use cherry for color . Red oak or hickory to run the smoke .

 

[processhead]

I like the flavor of the smoke from cherry, but I use it as an adjunct to charcoal for primary heat. So I many not be seeing the level of ash you are.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Use cherry as a mix with your main cooking wood. About 2/3 cooking wood to 1/3 cherry. The cherry will bring nice color and a good pink ring. Or that’s how I use it.

 

[Its_Raw]

Color and smoke ring the only benefit? Does it tastes any different and can people really tell the difference?

 

[JLinza]

Im with SmokinEdge . But as far as flavor, I think its much more subtle flavor, its ok if you want a lighter smoke flavor.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Color and smoke ring the only benefit? Does it tastes any different and can people really tell the difference?

Meathead at Amazing Ribs, doesn't think anyone can tell the diff in taste between different woods . He says smoke is just a small part of the overall flavor, i.e. the meat, the rub, the sauce , etc.

I agree. There's times that smoke flavor itself gets hidden.

 

[Its_Raw]

I'm giving this a go as a trial run of just cherry. See if anyone notices a difference. If not, I'll go back to 100% oak.

 

[ifitsdeadsmokeit]

I have not had much luck running all cherry. I dont look for it anymore since have to mix with oak or hickory which masks the little bit of flavor it can provide. My fav three are apple, oak, and hickory. Cant stand mesquite.

 

[whistlepig]

Cherry is my favorite. Especially for pulled pork and poultry.

 

[jcam222]

I've smoked probably 75% of the time with cherry for years with no issues.

 

[civilsmoker]

Cherry is my fav for open fire cooking and shorter cooks. For longer cooks I prefer a blend of oak and cherry. It does burn faster and with a lighter smoke profile, ie because it burns quicker it’s usually easier to have more constant TBS.

As far as tone one can taste…. Mesquite and hickory put a different tone of smoke….my wife has commented in the past on how sweet the smoker smells when cherry is burning…..but she doesn’t have kind words for the above….lol….

 

[Jim_C]

I am 100% apple these days. Apple seems to play well with all the proteins. Some woods, like hickory and mesquite can seem a bit overpowering with proteins like fish and poultry. But that's just my taste. Others may not agree.

 

[1MoreFord]

Here's a listing of BTU values for various woods.
This is a general listing of woods. Not a listing of BBQ woods.
As you can see, cherry has a low BTU value.

BTU Ratings – Frrewood Resource

firewoodresource.com

 

[SmokinEdge]

Here's a listing of BTU values for various woods.
This is a general listing of woods. Not a listing of BBQ woods.
As you can see, cherry has a low BTU value.

BTU Ratings – Frrewood Resource

firewoodresource.com

But it brings the best color.

 

[whistlepig]

And cherry chunks mixed in with my B&B Oak charcoal briquettes on my MB 560 gives me plenty of good smoke flavor.

 

[miller51]

I agree that some of the wood is similar, but think mesquite and hickory have more distinctive flavors that are more prevalent. I prefer cherry, but also like apple and oak as similar less "heavy" flavors in my humble opinion. I've not experienced the issues you had and who knows, maybe it was the particular batch of wood, but I get it, we all have our favorites...

 

[mneeley490]

Meathead at Amazing Ribs, doesn't think anyone can tell the diff in taste between different woods . He says smoke is just a small part of the overall flavor, i.e. the meat, the rub, the sauce , etc.

I agree. There's times that smoke flavor itself gets hidden.

I disagree with most of Meathead's opinions, and this is one of them.
Every smoking wood brings its own subtle flavors to the party. There was a time when I could identify what wood was burning by the smoke smell alone. Try smoking a rib roast with just cherry and see how much difference there is in flavor and color than other woods.
When I smoke bacon, I use about 70% corn cob and 30% cherry. Gives it a sweet, smokey flavor, and a great mahogany color.

 

[Smokin Okie]

I disagree with most of Meathead's opinions, and this is one of them.
Every smoking wood brings its own subtle flavors to the party. There was a time when I could identify what wood was burning by the smoke smell alone. Try smoking a rib roast with just cherry and see how much difference there is in flavor and color than other woods.
When I smoke bacon, I use about 70% corn cob and 30% cherry. Gives it a sweet, smokey flavor, and a great mahogany color.

I agree with Meathead.

And I'll edit to add, I was very brief with Meathead's reasoning. He goes a lot deeper in his new book and on his site.

 

[mneeley490]

I agree with Meathead.

Ok, to each their own. But if that were true, why wouldn't we all just be using one type of wood for everything? Why would pellet companies sell several different types and proprietary blends?
It would be like saying all wine comes from grapes, therefore all wine tastes the same.