Smoking (on grill) does wood type really matter?

[susieqz]

my very favorite spice is smoke. as time goes on, i spend less n less time making rubs n sauces.
mostly, i add salt n pepper n throw the meat in the smoker.
mind you, for chicken n pork, i tend to just brine them for a couple days.
only for hams do i inject lots of stuff in the cure. you gotta have brown sugar, or maple syrup, n cider to make a good ham.
if i'm gonna cure a ham for 10days n smoke it for30 hours, everything has to be just so.
you guys need to try smoking. it's tons of fun n a smoker pays for itself.
the cheaper cuts of meat tend to smoke better than expensive cuts
you can smoke an expensive pork loin, but it won't be as god as a cheap pork butt that has lots of connective tissue that makes it tough for normal cooking, but that melts into the meat smoking low n slow.

 

[snubbyfan]

When I'm grilling, I like to smoke a good cigar. Mostly I prefer medium to full body cigars with dark wrappers more than something like a light Connecticut.


I'll generally add some hickory and maple chunks to the coals to produce smoke and add some smoky flavor to the meat.


The amount of each depends on what I'm cooking.
Today I tried out some new grillin' tools sent to me by "The Ringo Kid" and grilled a coupla Omaha Steaks Gourmet Burgers. I added hickory and maple, mostly hickory, grilled 'em at around 300 degrees and they came out juicy and yummy.


Thing is we have 3 large maple trees in our yard and save the pruned limbs. I'll cut them into chunks and use that more with chicken.
For pork and red meat like bison and beef, I prefer hickory with some maple.
I've been thinkin' of trying mesquite.

I found out about cold smoking from Susieqz. When I get some stuff caught up, I'm thinking of getting a cold smoking kit, which includes different types of wood pellets and trying that.

 

[jack the toad]

I'm going on my 3rd year using a Treager pellet cooker/smoker. I don't recall the 7 or 8 flavors of pellets they offer and I can't tell much difference in the taste from apple, pecan, mesquite, hickory, oak, etc, etc. I guess I also have an unrefined palate.
The treager guy did tell me that the only flavored wood that was 100% was oak and mesquite, IIRC. The other woods were combination of oak and whatever the label says, ie; cherry, apple, etc.
I do like pellet grills but Treager is the only one I've used.

 

[soFlaNative]

2/1 apple to hickory at the same time.
Try it, you'll like it.

 

[misswired]

Combine your favorite chilli ingredients in a cast iron
Dutch Oven. Cook slowly, stirring often inside the smoker.
Smoky chilli is the boss!

Haven't tried smoky' soup yet....

 

[susieqz]

hey jack ,
traeger pellets are known all over the smoking community as being the worst there are. that's why you tasted no difference.
buy pellets from a good source n then you will taste a difference.
traeger tells you to use their pellets only, but other pelletswork fine n will give you the tastes you want.

 

[Mr.Harry]

You have to eat a lot of smoked food, and frequently, to pick up on the nuances between different wood flavors. I use to think there wasn't much of a difference between any of them until I started running a Restaurant with a big commercial smoker in it and using different woods on the same proteins, tasting it off everyday, and then I started to pick up on it. No question there are differences. Now, I can simply taste one of our wings or pull a piece of burnt end off a pork Butt, and know immediately if my sous chef has switched from hickory, to oak, or applewood or whatever. Side by side tasting/comparison of same protein with different smoke on it would surprise you, and I bet you too would notice in that format.

 

[cardguy]

For steaks, I use cherry and apple wood chips for smoking. Along with Lowery's low sodium seasoning and Obie-Cue's Steakmaker seasoning.

 

[REM 3200]

I'm told it's real hard on chain saws.

Yes it is. If you have a lot of acreage to clear you can get two moderate sized bulldozers
with a length of heavy chain hooked between them.
They will uproot the trees and then you can burn them.
I saw this done of the King Ranch years ago and it works very well.

 

[joe44va]

I suggest that you not use plywood.

 

[rich5674]

Hell no

I've been smoking chicken and pork for years and have tried all types of woods (I use chips) - mesquite, hickory, cherry, apple mainly. Last night I smoked a chicken with applewood - it was great but honestly I have yet to be able to tell the difference between wood types - they all pretty much taste the same to me. Now I don't have a dedicated smoker - just Webers (gas and charcoal) so maybe that's a reason - or maybe my palette is not refined

Anyone else feel this way? Just curious.

Lou

I'm not that picky but I basically go to nut woods with beef, fruit woods for pork. whatever for poultry. Cedar for salmon. Mesquite for firewood.

 

[gman51]

Personally I like hickory a lot more than mesquite. I tried using Chinese tallow and I only did it once. Yuck never again. I figured smoke is smoke but I beg to differ on that. I don't really care much for mesquite either.
But I don't really have a smoked thumb ,so to speak. I seldom get the meat to get real tender like some people can do. Supposedly smoked meat is not really healthy eating.

 

[susieqz]

well, it's entirely to yummy to be all that healthy.
to get it tender, all you have to remember is LOW N SLOW.
personally, i never smoke over the boiling point of water.

 

[ExcitableBoy]

Cuts like brisket, thick roasts and ribs require low 'n' slow to get tender. The key, though, is that the internal temp must reach around 203`F to break down connective tissue. Use an oven-proof meat thermometer stuck through the lid vent if your grill is not equipped with one, and aim for around 225`smoke temp. You can tell when the meat is done by "feel", or by experience. With ribs it's easy... when the meat peels back about a 1/4" from the bone tips it is done. (And don't forget to peel the "silver skin" from the inside of the ribs. It is inedibly tough and won't allow the smoke to penetrate sufficiently.)

Plan on 4-6 hrs cook time, at least, depending on the chunk of meat. You can get a lot of other things done while smoking... like having a good supply of beer to keep you occupied.

 

[Warren Sear]

...Thing is we have 3 large maple trees in our yard and save the pruned limbs. I'll cut them into chunks and use that more with chicken...

Snubbyfan, I also have a maple tree in my yard and I have thought about using pruned branches from it for smoking. When you use the wood, can it be green, or should it be dried for a time first?

 

[ExcitableBoy]

Snub must be busy with a rack of ribs and a stogie.

Use cured wood. I use a lot of soft maple off the trees in my yard, dried limbs that are taken down by heavy winds. Green wood will burn too cool and produce bitter creosote, ruining whatever you are attempting to smoke.

However, if you are trying to impart a certain flavor, say cedar for fish, then a handful of needles, still attached to smaller branches, is fine.

Let your taste buds rule your smoking. The best way to educate them is to experiment in small increments.

 

[snubbyfan]

Snubbyfan, I also have a maple tree in my yard and I have thought about using pruned branches from it for smoking. When you use the wood, can it be green, or should it be dried for a time first?

I let them sit and dry for about a year or so then cut them into chunks with a band saw.

 

[snubbyfan]

Snub must be busy with a rack of ribs and a stogie.

Use cured wood. I use a lot of soft maple off the trees in my yard, dried limbs that are taken down by heavy winds. Green wood will burn too cool and produce bitter creosote, ruining whatever you are attempting to smoke.

However, if you are trying to impart a certain flavor, say cedar for fish, then a handful of needles, still attached to smaller branches, is fine.

Let your taste buds rule your smoking. The best way to educate them is to experiment in small increments.

Actually we spent most of the day at the Y.
Tomorrow though, I got a coupla sirloins, a Sabor Cubana Maduro in Torpedo cigar, cold beer and bunches of hickory for the grill.

 

[ExcitableBoy]

Actually we spent most of the day at the Y.
Tomorrow though, I got a coupla sirloins, a Sabor Cubana Maduro in Torpedo cigar, cold beer and bunches of hickory for the grill.

Wish I could do the same, but I'm down for the count for at least another week. I got outnumbered by a few hundred yellow jackets and had to run for my life! No stings, but I found a divot that dropped me at full gallop. Smacked my knee into a big rock peeking above ground and did some damage. X-rays say nothing broken, but I have a helluva deep bone-bruise. Got a great fleshy rainbow from knee to instep, too. Don't know about cartilage until the swelling goes down. Can't even stand long enough to do the rack of ribs I've been jonesing about for over a week.

At least I can sit down for a few beers until then.

 

[rwsmith]

Or...

I suggest that you not use plywood.

Or formica. It just stinks a lot. Now I can tell the difference if something is smoked over old tires.