Smoke and Food – What Smoking Wood Pairs Best with Which Food

Alright, ladies and gents….I probably should have started this site with a write-up on one of the cornerstones of BBQ; the wood and the flavor it imparts on its target. Well, I didn’t, but I’m making up for that now. Whether you’re smoking fish, or doing a brisket, the wood you use will play a major factor in your final product’s taste. So, let’s get right into it…..we’re going to go through some your wood choices, the characteristics of each kind and some pairings, both traditional and experiential.

 

 

 

Alder - light flavor that contains a hint of sweetness

• Traditional use: smoking salmon
• Other uses: poultry and game birds
• Notes: I’ll add some Alder chips to the grill just about anytime I’m grilling fish

Almond - a nutty, sweet flavor

• Notes: similar to pecan

Apple - mild, fruity flavor with a slight sweetness.

• Traditional use: pork
• Other uses:  poultry
• Notes: I’ll often use apple with hickory for ribs, or apple chips with a pork loin or chops

Apricot - mild, sweet flavor

• Uses:  fish, poultry, pork

Birch - mild, slightly sweet flavor

• Uses:  poultry, pork
• Notes: similar to maple

Black Walnut - very heavy  flavor

• Uses: red meat
• Notes: BE CAREFUL - Should be mixed with lighter woods. i.e. fruit wood, and can impart a bitter flavor

Cherry - mild, fruity

• Traditional use: ham
• Other uses:  poultry, pork, beef.
• Notes: I use an even mix of cherry and hickory when I’m BBQ’ing a whole hog or a pork shoulder

Citrus - lemon, grapefruit, orange, nectarine – light fruity flavor

• Uses:  fish, poultry, pork and beef

Grape Vine – medium flavor, with a hint of fruit

• Traditional use: red meat, lamb seafood (used in the wine countries around Europe and on the west coast of the US)
• Notes: I’ve tried grape vine wood on fish, beef, venison and lamb, it adds a complex flavor

Hickory - strong, slightly spicy flavor

• Traditional use: ribs, pork shoulder, brisket…almost anything
• Notes: This is the staple for southern BBQ, and a staple for me…I use it primarily for brisket, pork shoulder and turkey. It gives you the rich smoke ring.

Maple - like fruit, sweet flavor

• Traditional use: fish
• Other uses: poultry, pork, beef.

Mesquite - very strong, spicy flavor

• Traditional use: south west – brisket, chicken
• Notes: burns hot and fast, good for grilling – I use it for south west flavor on beef and poultry

Oak - Strong but not overpowering

• Uses:  sausages, beef, lamb and fish
• Notes: Smoked products develop light brown to brown color, depending on the length of smoking. I use half hicory and half oak for my brisket

Peach - mild, sweet flavor

• Uses: fish, poultry, pork

Pear - light and sweet

• Uses: poultry, pork
• Notes: smoked color dark – red

Pecan - milder version of hickory

• Uses: red meats, poultry, pork, seafood
• Notes: You have to try pecan if you like smoke flavor. I use it on everything, especially lighter meats when I want a strong, but not overpowering smokey flavor.

Plum - mild, sweet flavor

• Uses:  fish, poultry, pork

Many of these woods might be hard to find based on where you live, but you can generally find anything online, where I purchase some types of wood chips and chunks at least once a year. For my inventory, I always have the following:

Chunks/logs: Cherry, Oak, Mesquite, Hickory, maple – I primarily BBQ brisket, pork shoulder and ribs or smoke salmon, each of which take hours and need a good volume of wood.

Chips: apple, hickory, pecan, grape, mesquite, alder, oak, maple – these I use for grilling and my Cameron Smoker.

Experiment, and play with combination. Find the wood – food combination that you like best.