To begin with, what type of wood takes the credit of mouthwatering taste of meat? In other words, it is not a simple question to determine what type of wood is considered the Best Wood for Smoking.
The answer is it is the wood which enriches barbecue meat with a tasteful smoked flavor. Each type of wood has its properties which it passes to the meat for incredible taste.
Moreover, the type of meat selects the type of wood. For heavier meat, certainly, you need to opt for hardwood and for lighter meat you can go for softwood as hardwood comes from a dense tree and takes some time to grow. It is strong enough and doesn’t ruin the taste of meat time and again by creating smoke.
Further, in the case of softwood, it starts releasing black smoke early because it does not come from a dense tree. Softwood passes taste like a campfire and create more ash as compared to the hardwood.
Essentially, in the case of softwood, you need to check the firebox time and again in respect to infuse more wood stuff in it. It demands a lot of struggle while smoking and gives the meat an uneven taste and flavor.
Table of Contents
Types of Wood for Smokers:
To eliminate the best Wood for Smokers the best taste of meat without any doubt, it can be said that the type of smokers determines the type of wood. There is a great versatility of smoker in the market. Each of them accepts different wood from one another.
They vary in regard to specification, so they need wood according to their requirement. There are four different types of woods that are best for barbecue and smoked meat. These are mentioned as below:
Chunks:
Charcoal and chunks are the best wood for smoking. These are the small pieces that burn efficiently and do not create smoke in bulk to provide a bitter taste to your food. These are the best wood to smoke meat. It would help if you placed the chunks over the coal. After a short while, they will catch fire and start burning. They, due to their size, burn nicely to give extraordinary taste to your nourishment.
Notice one thing that these chunks are the only best wood for smokers small in size.
Logs:
Logs are the big pieces of wood. Their specification is this once after catching fire; they do not stop lighting, which is the particular essential fact in balancing the temperature.
These are the best for offset smokers who have a large cooking room and need high temperature for cooking. As these logs do not need to check time and again, so can maintain the heat. For more than a half-hour, they can maintain heat and do not stop burning.
The offset smokers containing separate firebox takes logs as wood.
Chips:
Chips come in the list of best wood for smoking. It is softy and best for propane and gas smokers. It does not demand hard work to light. Due to light in weight, it burns easily. It produces light smoke and cannot maintain heat for a long time. It is the softwood and gets burned too fast totally may fail for cooking heavier meat.
Pellets:
Pellets as the best wood come in the list of best wood for smoking. Various types of designer construct pellet smokers who accept pellet as fuel smoker. Some smokers are available in the market, which generates cold smoke.
Best Hardwood for Smoking:
Hardwood gives better results for BBQ and meat smoking as compared to the softwood. It is easily available across the United States. Every region has its type of hardwood according to the prey for cooking. The type of meat specifies the type of wood. Generally, these below mentioned are the hardwoods that you will use for smoking or barbecuing.
Oak:
Oak is the Best Wood for smoking. For the beginners, it will give the best results for lambs, beefs sausages or brisket.
There are various ways to use hickory. It is the best wood for smoking meat. It will give an efficient taste, but if you put it in a large quantity, it will spoil your taste and leave your meat with a bitter taste.
For smoking ribs, pork and red meat hickory is the best choice.
To smoke light meat like poultry pork maple gives outstanding results. It creates a gentle smoke essential for nourishment and ensures a delay smoked taste.
It is reckoned the best wood for smoking due to its strength and unique type of taste. It is best for grilling meat and performs wonderfully.
It is almost hard to find a sweet flavor as pecan offers. Pecan wood is used for roast and ribs to gain the best result; it should be used with another wood.
Moreover, the addition of other wood creates balanced heat and temperature, maintaining the sweet flavor, a distinction of pecan.
It gives a different flavor. It is mild and gives mouthwatering taste like a mellow. Apple wood might take a few hours to smoke the meat.
With these types of Wood people use chicken and pork etc.
It gives a lighter taste—people interested in seafood use alder as the best wood for smokers.
Cherry is the best wood type for chicken and turkey etc. The combo of cherry and hickory gives outstanding results. It will give a too delicious taste that you will love.
Best Wood for Smoking Different Meat:
Now, we will discuss the best wood for meat that you plan to smoke. To select the type of meat plays a vital role in adding taste and flavor. The marvelously smoked meat will praise you a lot among your guests.
Best Wood for Smoking Brisket:
For smoking brisket, oak and cherry combination is the Best Wood for a classic BBQ taste.
Best Wood for Smoking Turkey:
For attaining outstanding results for smoked turkey, we will recommend you to use the pair of hickory and apple. It passes a classic taste to the turkey.
Best Wood for Smoking Ribs:
For smoking ribs, we recommend you to use fruitwood like apple, peach and cherry. Ribs are thin and take a lot of smoke. So, strategically, we recommend you use light flavored wood to infuse ribs with a strange taste.
Best Wood for Smoking Chicken:
As chicken comes in the category of lighter meat. So, don’t go behind hardwood as it will spoil your meat with heavy smoked taste which is not worthy to enjoy.
For lighter meat, you need to choose light wood for the soft light taste.
So, strong woods like Mesquite and Hickory are not good for smoking chicken.
Best Wood for Smoking Fish:
To cook fish does not demand a lot of heat. It just needs a delicate temperature to maintain it’s delicate taste. So, woods like maple, alder and pecan are the best ones. Maple is the mind-blowing option for fish, pecan and alder also passes good taste.
Best Wood for Smoking Pork:
The combination of different types of wood like fruit woods, oak and hickory give the best results. Pork’s pair of shoulders stay for a long time on the smoker, and you can enjoy the taste of various types of smoke.
Best Wood for Smoking Cheese:
Mild wood varieties are the best option for smoking cheese. We recommend you to use woods like apple cherry, maple or pecan.
From Where to buy Wood for Smoking:
To buy something is a difficult task, to buy wood is something strange as well. In case of smoking meat or barbecue, once you decided what type of wood for what type of flavor you want.
The next question is from where to buy the wood? It is extremely difficult to find logs, but your interest in quick research will surely help you out. You will find any local BBQ supplier of wood.
You need to buy the wood that is local and regional, and you will pay less for it. Most of the BBQ Supplier stores have chunks to sale. You easily can get it from them.
Chips are also available on grocery stores. They are small and don’t occupy a large place. Chips can be found alone. They are easy to stock.
Wood pellets enjoy brand distinction. You can order online through a local dealer, and some of them are available at grocery stores or BBQ pro shop.
Bottom Line
We hope after reading this chunk of information best wood for smoking, you would have got an idea about the usage of wood. It is a pride for us to serve you out bringing such type of information.
Don’t forget to check out our review on the best offset smokers 2021