Aromatic Smoking Woods

Aromatic smoking woods are actually a very desirable form of seasoning because they add sumptuous flavor without adding any fat or calories. The wood smoke alters the taste of the food, resulting in a distinctive new flavor. As you master the art of smoking, you will learn how to mix and match the foods and woods for the most compatible combinations. You will also find personal favorites that your family especially enjoys; keep a record of those combinations, but remember experimenting is half the fun when it comes to smoking.

There are many types of wood that are appropriate for smoking, but hardwoods are the most desirable. (Softer woods such as pine or cedar should never be used because they contain high levels of tar and resins that will coat the food and impart a bitter flavor.) Fruit and nut tree woods like apple, cherry, maple, pecan, oak and hickory are traditional favorites of famous pitmasters and backyard barbecuers alike. Since each type of wood reacts differently with each type of meat or food, the flavor combinations that result are endless. It pays to get acquainted with the wood flavors so you know which ones are pungent and pair best with more distinctive meats, poultry and fish and which ones work best with the milder flavored meats or vegetables.

Jack Daniel's®

Jack Daniel's wood chips enjoy a lot of cache because they are immediately associated with the quality whiskey of the same name. You may think The Jack Daniel's Tree only grows in the hollers of Lynchburg, Tennessee where the distillery is located. The fact is, Jack Daniel's chips are made from the staves of the Jack Daniel's whiskey aging barrels. The wood is thoroughly soaked with the whiskey after years of aging, which gives it a very unique, distinctive flavor. Once the barrels can no longer be used for whiskey storage, they are turned into chips to enhance barbecuing.

Jack Daniel's chips are a good choice for flavoring any steak. These chips pair well with many of the same meats that oak chips do — beef, veal, pork and poultry.

Sweet Maple

Maple trees grow throughout the United States, Canada and most of Europe. The trees are best known for producing maple syrup, so it should come as no surprise that the wood has a slightly sweet edge to it and produces a mildly smoky flavor. If the label says "maple," it will provide the ultimate in sweetness.

Maple chips are a good choice for chops, steaks, ribs, marinated cuts of chicken, ham, cheese, game birds, and teriyaki beef, as well as vegetables and fruits. Mixing maple and apple is delicious for cooking pulled pork or pork ribs.

Apple

Apple trees are one of the most widely cultivated trees and can be found all over the country. Apple wood is probably the most familiar and the most popular of the specialty fruit woods used for smoking purposes. The wood used for chips is generally gathered from pruning the trees or comes from aging apple orchards that need to be replaced with new trees.

Apple smoking chips provide a natural sweetness that's mild enough to use with fish, shellfish and poultry. Yet pork tenderloin, pork chops, sausages, ham and bacon are also delicious when cooked over apple wood. It can also be substituted for Hickory in all your BBQ recipes calling for a lighter smoked flavor.

Cherry

Cherry trees grow throughout the U.S. in moderate climates. Another wood with a distinctive sweetness, cherry differs because it tends to darken the meat. The smoke will actually add a slightly rosy tinge to foods.

Cherry smoke is very mild with a slight fruity cherry flavoring. Mixing Cherry chips with Hickory chips for smoking ribs results in EGGcellent flavor. Cherry chips are lovely with duckling and game birds, and are also well matched with almost any meat including beef tenderloin, pork, poultry, and lamb.

Vintage Barrel Chips

Vintage Barrel Chips are oak chips that are made from a variety of recycled wine barrels. Using the barrel wood provides a fragrant wine-infused oak flavoring which is fairly assertive. These chips enhance pork tenderloins, poultry, veal, beef and vegetables.

Mesquite Chips and Chunks

Mesquite is a shrub or small tree that grows abundantly in the deserts of the Southwest. Most ranchers consider mesquite to be a weed and they expend considerable effort trying to eradicate it. When using mesquite as a primary fuel, it provides a much hotter fire than most woods, making it suitable for grilling as well as smoking. Texans and other Southwestern barbecuers in general are fond of the Mesquite flavor, though it has become popular all over the country.

Mesquite is one of the strongest smoke flavors. The chips can add a tangy light or heavy smoke flavor, but when cooking over mesquite for hours the flavor can become excessive, infusing the meat with a harsh, acrid taste. Be cautious about the amount of mesquite smoke you expose food to until you experiment and become familiar with the results.

It is best suited for large cuts of beef such as brisket. Many prize-winning pitmasters wrap the meat in aluminum foil after a few hours exposure to mesquite, or they add the mesquite some hours into the cooking period to limit the depth of the flavor.

Big Green Egg has Mesquite available in both chips and chunks.

Alder Chips

Alder trees grow mostly in the Northwest where they reach heights of up to 100 feet. Alder was used by American Indians for smoking, often in the form of alder planks. Perhaps best known in the Pacific Northwest where it is the favorite wood that pairs naturally with fresh salmon, it provides the least heat of all natural woods.

Alder has an inherent sweetness and a delicate flavor that is beautifully suited for the slow cooking of fish, shellfish and pork. However chicken, lamb, game birds and game also take well to this mellow wood. To further enhance the flavor, Alder chips can be soaked in wine or fruit juice as an alternative to water.

Hickory Chips and Chunks

Hickory trees grow throughout the Eastern United States in moderate temperature zones. Hickory is synonymous with barbecue, the single most popular wood and the choice of many blue-ribbon barbecue teams. The pungent aroma alone makes most mouths water.

Both Midwesterners and Southerners lay claim to famous hickory-smoked food with ribs and burgers probably heading the list.

Hickory enhances any red meat such as brisket and pork butt or shoulder, as well as turkey and chicken. It is excellent for slow smoking hams. The robust, woodsy flavor calls for discretion because it is easy to over smoke foods. It can be tamed a bit by combining a small amount of the hickory with a more delicate fruitwood such as apple or cherry.

We have Hickory available in both chips and chunks.

Pecan Chips

Pecan trees can grow to be 150 feet or higher and the oldest Pecan trees are over 150 years old. Texas and Georgia are the largest producers of the cherished rich, edible nut that is the primary product these trees yield, but the wood has also become prized by outdoor chefs for adding flavor to their barbecue fires. Pecan burns somewhat cool. Recognized by a roughish bark and hard but brittle wood, pecan trees are actually part of the hickory family.

The mellow, rich flavor is described as subtle by some who decree it suitable for even chicken and fish. Others consider it pungent and recommend it for most any meat. In fact, it is quite versatile. When you smoke turkeys with pecan wood you get a burnished brown bird that enhances any Thanksgiving table.