What is your favorite go to wood and why?

[motolife313]

I really liked the maple I used last time possibly over the cherry but hard to say. My plum seemed really fruity. All these woods split pretty good to me plum was pretty strong tho over the cherry and maple. I wasn't super blown away be the Apple last time I tried just it. Apple can be super hard to split tho

 

[tallbm]

I really liked the maple I used last time possibly over the cherry but hard to say. My plum seemed really fruity. All these woods split pretty good to me plum was pretty strong tho over the cherry and maple. I wasn't super blown away be the Apple last time I tried just it. Apple can be super hard to split tho

I did some some ground venison Pastrami loaves and smoked with 100% maple and wow I was surprised by it. 

It was it's own flavor layer that wasn't weak but also wasn't too strong.  It is a great layer flavor that just blends in but is noticeable enough.

I also agree that it is great to blend with.  I have 65% Maple and 35% Mesquite blend that I like quite a bit.  The best way to describe it is Maple with a little more flavor influence on the meat and has made amazing smoked whole chicken.

I want to do another 10 pounds of ground venison Pastrami maybe mid next week but I am out of 100% maple.  I am debating on smoking with the maple + mesquite blend rather then going out and buying 20 pounds of maple pellets for this one smoke.  Man I wish I could find someone local to do pellet swaps with.  You know like in 5-10 pound lots so you don't get stuck with 20-40 pounds of one type of pellet you don't use much :) 

 

[motolife313]

What did u think about the Apple

 

[tallbm]

What did u think about the Apple

I have never used Apple alone but I think it is great doing 70% Apple and 30% Hickory on pork belly bacon as well as my 100% pork Feral Hog Franks!

When making pork belly bacon my first time I did 8 pounds with 70/30 Apple/Hickory and another 8 pounds 50/50 Cherry/Pecan.

They were both great but I felt the Apple/Hickory won out.

Many people say you cannot taste the wood flavor subtlety on bacon but I learned that if you cook the bacon soft or smoke it to 145F so you can eat on it right out of the smoker and you eat it without frying it at all then you can totally taste the wood flavoring and it's differences.  When you cook bacon crispy all bets are off.

I feel like the Apple/Hickory blend is more of a chicken'ish type flavor where the Cherry/Pecan blend was more of a beefy type flavor.  Interesting aye?

I have only had 1 pound of 100% Apple pellets to blend and play with so I haven't branched out too much with it.  Same thing with Cherry.

I do want to buy some apple soon though I could wait on buying cherry. 

 

[phatbac]

I have used apple alone and it has a nice mellow flavor in my opinion. I really like using pecan and cherry.mix.  pecan gives a nice nutty flavor and cherry gives some sweetness. pecan burns plenty hot and works well in the stick burner. 

Happy Smoking,

phatbac (Aaron)

 

[troutman]

Used about every kind of wood imaginable.  Depends really on the meat, length of cook and desired effect, you choose the right tool for the job.  Fruit woods seem to work well with pork and poultry.  Hickory, oak, mesquite work well with cuts of beef that need longer cooks.  Also found hickory to be a favorite for good hot burn and neutral smoke.  Again the quickest answer seems to be having a tool box full of choices, no one 'go to' favorite.

 

[bbqbrett]

My favorite is hickory. I really like peach as well though. It is fun to change things up though and try different combos though.

 

[browneyesvictim]

I agree totally with troutman. I couldn't have said it better. (But I would add Alder to the list- particularly for fish). But that doesn't mean you couldn't smoke any meat with any flavor of wood.

If the question was- "What one flavor of wood fits best with all types of meat"? I would have to say Maple. Apple is another good all-around smoking wood.

 

[gmc2003]

beef/pork = hickory

fish, paultry, and cheese = apple

I'm not sure why just flavors I like. Although I will smoke cheese with hickory sometimes.

Chris

 

[3montes]

I use oak red and white because not only is it abundantly available in my area but it is just the best wood to use. First off it burns long and hot and a nice bed of coals keeps things running at a nice even temp for a long period of time. It is a nice mellow smoke flavor that works well with any other flavor wood. I use a lot of apple when I can get it. Often times it's just straight up oak.

Only thing I don't like about maple is I get a lot of ash from it. Twice as much as oak I would say. When I open the fire box I always get some ash floating up out of it.

I've never used hickory or mesquite because that's just not available up here. I won't buy those bags of hickory or mesquite splits at Walmart of Home Depot. They are so dried out by the time you buy them up here there is no beneficial flavor to them. Yes wood can go stale.

 

[kcsmokefan83]

I've been really partial to apple, especially for pork, but I really enjoy hickory as well. I am trying oak for the first time this weekend and looking forward to it. Has anyone tried those bourbon barrel wood chunks? They look interesting but the reviews seem incredibly mixed.

Also seems to be very mixed feelings about mesquite. I haven't used yet but a lot of people say to stay away from it like it's the plague.

 

[phantom krankor]

I typically go for Hickory, since that's what I see at the store, and I smoke beef most often. I use a fruit wood for lighter meats.

It's a rule of thumb that works for me, but I'm not experience enough to have a strong preference either way.  Whatever I see on the shelf heh

 

[bluewhisper]

I'm working through a big supply of maple now so I don't really need to buy anything else. But I might get some chunks of hickory or cherry for a change. Apple has always been good.

I'm using oak for kindling. The neighbors' kids set up an oak plank approximately 12x10x2 propped up with sticks as a bike jump ramp in the middle of my driveway, and one day that plank was just g-a-w-n GONE. Match it with a hatchet.

 

[hardcookin]

I use a lot of cherry for pork & chicken, because it is prevalent where I am cutting my wood.
Usually for beef I usually use oak or hickory.
As mentioned different wood for different meat groups.

 

[bluesrhino]

In our testing-the-water smokes with a cheap, big-box smoker, we've cut up some apple and cherry that was available at local orchards. We much prefer the cherry. The ash and particulates of the apple was a turnoff. I've eaten a lot of mesquite smoked foods in Texas the last 30 years and like it with brisket only. Our favorite BBQ joints used pecan. I have a bead on a huge old pecan that will be felled this winter. We have two behemoth cherry orchard thinned piles that we will load into pickups next week. We're excited about winter smoking. Been reading all of the equipment reviews. You people are an awesome source of knowledge.

 

[tallbm]

I've been really partial to apple, especially for pork, but I really enjoy hickory as well. I am trying oak for the first time this weekend and looking forward to it. Has anyone tried those bourbon barrel wood chunks? They look interesting but the reviews seem incredibly mixed.

Also seems to be very mixed feelings about mesquite. I haven't used yet but a lot of people say to stay away from it like it's the plague.

It seems Mesquite is a tough wood to properly smoke with and people easily produce bad smoke with it.  I've seen people use it and they get a lot of thick white smoke from it.  I have always been quite fond of Mesquite wood but now with my setup I am blown away!

I have been using Lumberjack 100% Mesquite pellets on my Beef Brisket and Chuck smokes and wow I am blown away!  The AMNPS and the Lumberjack 100% Mesquite pellets produce the thinnest blue smoke (TBS) of any pellet I have seen.  I am finding that 7-8hrs of this Mesquite smoke is heaven on briskets!  With this perfect TBS I have NONE of the issues people report with Mesquite being so harsh and so strong.  Heck I can't even see the smoke most of the time coming out of the MES vent/damper.  I often find myself checking the AMNPS to ensure it is still smoking and when I pull it out of my mailbox mod it sure is but the smoke thins out so well I can't even see it come out of the MES at the top!

As others are stating, different woods for different meats and I agree.  I also urge people with the AMNPS to try Lumberjacks 100% Mesquite on some beef and prepare to be amazed and understand why we love it so much here in Texas :)

 

[troutman]

 
It seems Mesquite is a tough wood to properly smoke with and people easily produce bad smoke with it.  I've seen people use it and they get a lot of thick white smoke from it.  I have always been quite fond of Mesquite wood but now with my setup I am blown away!

I have been using Lumberjack 100% Mesquite pellets on my Beef Brisket and Chuck smokes and wow I am blown away!  The AMNPS and the Lumberjack 100% Mesquite pellets produce the thinnest blue smoke (TBS) of any pellet I have seen.  I am finding that 7-8hrs of this Mesquite smoke is heaven on briskets!  With this perfect TBS I have NONE of the issues people report with Mesquite being so harsh and so strong.  Heck I can't even see the smoke most of the time coming out of the MES vent/damper.  I often find myself checking the AMNPS to ensure it is still smoking and when I pull it out of my mailbox mod it sure is but the smoke thins out so well I can't even see it come out of the MES at the top!

As others are stating, different woods for different meats and I agree.  I also urge people with the AMNPS to try Lumberjacks 100% Mesquite on some beef and prepare to be amazed and understand why we love it so much here in Texas :)

A lot of people don't use mesquite because you really have to know how to deal with it.  Here in Texas it got popular 25-30 years ago and came out of the west Texas tradition of smoking and cooking over open fires, it was the wood that was abundant to the area.  It's a very dry wood and burns quick and hot.  It does produce a very distinct and heavy smokiness so you have to be careful how to apply it.  As a heat source it is hard to beat.  

Since that time central Texas BBQ has become all the rage and they use Post Oak which again is predominant to that area.  It burns with a milder smoke and is easier to predict.

Either way it's what you are cooking and how you are cooking it.  Use all the tools in the tool box.....Happy Smokin'

 

[bluesrhino]

Troutman, I couldn't agree more: mesquite is heaven on
Brisket! Sounds like you have your setup very nicely tuned.

 

[bluesrhino]

First time I tasted mesquite brisket was in the 1980's in
Smithville, Texas. I was calling crews for the KATY railroad
And a conductor friend threw a chunk down to the station
platform on the way past for my supper. Oh man, I was forever hooked on mesquite-smoked brisket!

 

[troutman]

First time I tasted mesquite brisket was in the 1980's in
Smithville, Texas. I was calling crews for the KATY railroad
And a conductor friend threw a chunk down to the station
platform on the way past for my supper. Oh man, I was forever hooked on mesquite-smoked brisket!

Wow that brings back memories, I live in Katy.  Now-a-days the railroad, which used to run into Houston and on to Galveston stops by the grain elevators near downtown Katy.  It's got a long history of being a narrow gauge line that first brought folks out to the "country" from in town and hauled rice and other grains down to the coast.  Got one of the original cabooses as a sort of museum in town.

Yea mesquite seems to have gotten a little bit of a bad rap but used properly it's still one of my all time favorites for beef.