Hickory Stronger Than Pecan, or Not?

HeSmellsLikeSmoke said:

Not that it is a big deal to me, but I wasn't aware of this so I have been trying to find what the two kinds are. So far, in my tree identifier and in Wikipedia they seem to be one and the same species. Can you point me in the right direction?

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Google Pecan. Click on the images and look for a pic with a dime in it for comparison size to a wild pecan. That's pretty typical for what I remember.

Also look at the first couple of lines in the wikipedia entry for pecans under the cultivation heading there. While the pecans are related it's now a relatively distant relation. Just as Stewart and Paper Shell pecans are both pecans they sure don't look alike anymore. I always thought the wood would be similar but never tried any tests.

I cook almost exclusively with 3 types of woods: apple, pecan and hickory. I only burn chunks over charcoal, but no way in my humble opinion is pecan stronger. Where I live, the people I've cooked for tend to think hickory smoke flavor is "overpowering" and would probably pull their tongues out if they tasted mesquite. Not saying I agree, just my experience.

One fact: Pecan is hickory. There are a bunch of different species of hickory (Carya ssp.), and pecan is one of them. Some are stronger than others.