• working on DNS.. links may break temporarily.

Best wood?

H

Hail2Michigan

Found some matches.
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
jacksonville, florida
I have a competition in 2 weeks (27th) I am trying to break in and learn how to cook on this new smoker I had made. I usually run Apple and Hickory mix smoking. However this new smoker is a bit larger and I tried using pecan and hickory mix. If you guys could offer some advice on what wood I could use for mainly pork shoulder and ribs, that would be great.
 
I use pecan, hickory and mesquite for beef.....I try and add some fruit wood in with hickory for pork (although the apple/cherry/any fruit is hard to find here). I like straight mesquite for chicken.

Just my preference YMMV.

Joel
 
 
Personally I am a big fan of oak. Burns nice and hot which keeps the fire coals going. If I am doing only pork I will use apple for the duration of the cook where nothing is foiled or wrapped and then go back to oak. I always feel its best to use what is readily available, which for me is oak and I will supplement in whatever fruit woods I feel are best for the meat.

Pecan seems to be "in" wood right now that I see a lot of people using on comps and home cooks. Id love to give it a whirl but I don't see it around much.
 
Mahoney86 said:
Personally I am a big fan of oak. Burns nice and hot which keeps the fire coals going. If I am doing only pork I will use apple for the duration of the cook where nothing is foiled or wrapped and then go back to oak. I always feel its best to use what is readily available, which for me is oak and I will supplement in whatever fruit woods I feel are best for the meat.
Click to expand...

Same here. I almost always use a mix of oak and apple, especially for pork.

Of course, it helps being in apple country where you can get a cord of seasoned apple for just $150.
 
I use straight apple for pork myself, but I'm a weirdo about the woods I use on particular meats.
 
Oh boy. Obviously it's all about taste. But, there is an official Brethren answer to this question.

"Any wood is good for smoking as long as it's cherry."

Live by that. :becky:
 
Up here in the north some of the fancy woods we can't get, however I find that apple and oak work good for the pork shoulder, 4 apple to two oak, cherry with oak works good to but with cherry you got to watch how dark it makes the meat.
 
I am not a competition cook but I personally like 50% hickory and 50% either apple, cherry, or pecan. There is something about the smell of pecan smoke that is intoxicating so I tend to gravitate towards pecan.
 
I think finding that personal mix of woods that matches your style and that matches the flavor of your sauces is the key. Some people swear by only hickory, other will only use peach, etc, but all of these are going to be equally delicious if used properly, just different. Experiment a bit to find what you like and are comfortable with. I think most people just go with whatever is plentiful in their area. Just remember if you use some lower BTU woods to mix in some higher BTU woods to keep your fire burning even and clean.

BTW, I really like the apple/hickory mix, why are you changing from that just because you have a bigger smoker? Just curious...
 
Hail2Michigan said:
I have a competition in 2 weeks (27th) I am trying to break in and learn how to cook on this new smoker I had made. I usually run Apple and Hickory mix smoking. However this new smoker is a bit larger and I tried using pecan and hickory mix. If you guys could offer some advice on what wood I could use for mainly pork shoulder and ribs, that would be great.
Click to expand...

If I could expand on what was said above; the type(s) of wood and the amount of smoke you put on your BBQ varies GREATLY. There is no 1 solution that works best for everyone on every smoker. What works great for me may not work worth a **** for you. Add in how these smoke flavors mesh with your rubs, injections, techniques (some work better with foils IMHO than others), and you have an extremely unique situation. This is why we practice, practice, practice before we compete. Some dont, and unfortunately they're usually destined to be in that bottom third if not DAL...
 
smokeinthenoke said:
I think finding that personal mix of woods that matches your style and that matches the flavor of your sauces is the key. Some people swear by only hickory, other will only use peach, etc, but all of these are going to be equally delicious if used properly, just different. Experiment a bit to find what you like and are comfortable with. I think most people just go with whatever is plentiful in their area. Just remember if you use some lower BTU woods to mix in some higher BTU woods to keep your fire burning even and clean.

BTW, I really like the apple/hickory mix, why are you changing from that just because you have a bigger smoker? Just curious...
Click to expand...

Yea pretty much, I have liked the result I got from pecan, I like apple the best truthfully. But apple is harder to come by. Also some people are telling me Black Jack wood is good??? Not sure of that, but I am looking to see what gives me the BEST results I only have 2 weeks really to test so we shall see
 
i use apple with a touch of hickery. It just works for me
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

cayenne
Oak types for stick burner fuel question....
Replies
14
Views
698
PGarSD
P
F
My experience with beef belly
Replies
0
Views
142
Fsonicsmith
F
W
Noob-ish Stick Burner Question
Replies
10
Views
721
Seefyre
Seefyre
J
Farewell cook on the New Braunfels
Replies
7
Views
471
JCBII
J
Headgear
I May Have Ruined Some Wood!
Replies
19
Views
1K
Headgear
Headgear
Back
Top