Just replenished my firewood supply after the recent crappy winter and out of the two cords about half is cherry. I've read that cherry is a good smoking wood. Does anyone have experience using it?
I mostly cook with charcoal. The smoke wood I use is cherry, almost exclusively. The only other wood I use is oak, and that is with beef, and only until it's gone, because I don't want to let it go to waste .
I use charcoal to fuel my fires, too, but I can't remember the last time I DIDN'T use cherry wood chunks along with charcoal, and usually some apple or peach wood, too. I love that stuff. Like others have said - its great with pork and poultry. Imparts a nice color to the meat as well. I wish I had a cord of cherry wood in my backyard, I have to buy mine in the bag at Menards or online.
And would this be a specific type of cherry?
Yoshino cherry is the stuff around D.C. monuments.
There are other flowering cherry types. Weeping cherry.
Black cherry grows large and in charge.
Cherry wood that actually produces cherries is another thing altogether.
So - does it matter?
Wild Black Cherry produces cherrys too. Usually only Racoons, Squirrels and wine makers utilize them though. At present (well for the past 4 yrs.) I smoked exclusively with cherry. I love it, but also love to mix it with Hickory too.
I use Black Cherry with pork and chicken all the time. Usually add some pecan with pork and sometimes add apple with chicken. With beef I like peach, pecan, and oak (sometimes hickory).
I'm fairly new to smoking and mainly use oak and cherry.they have both been great but when I do chicken I only use cherry it comes out with great color and not to smoky.