Recipes

Recipes · Informational

Smoking, Wood, Flavor Chart

Informational · Smoked Foods

Directions

  1. Acacia
  2. These trees are in the same family as mesquite. When burned in a smoker, acacia has a flavor similar to mesquite but not quite as heavy.
  3. Good with most meats, especially beef and most vegetables.
  4. Alder
  5. A sweet, musky smoke that is the traditional wood of the Northwest.
  6. Good with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds. Traditionally used in the pacific Northwest to smoke Salmon
  7. Almond
  8. A nutty and sweet smoke flavor, light ash.

Good with all meats

  1. Apple
  2. Slightly sweet but denser, fruity smoke flavor. Serve chutney made from the same fruit to accentuate the flavor even more.
  3. The strongest flavor of all the fruitwoods. Beef, poultry, game birds, pork (particularly ham)
  4. Apricot
  5. The flavor is milder and sweeter than Hickory. Serve chutney made from the same fruit to accentuate the flavor even more.

Good with most meats

  1. Ash
  2. Fast burner, light but distinctive flavor.

Good with fish and red meats

  1. Avacado
  2. Unknown

Supposed to be good for all meats.

  1. Bay
  2. Medium floral smoke with hints of spice & cinnamon
  3. Good with most meats and veggies
  4. Beech

A mild, much used wood like oak

  1. Great for whatever you care use it with, good with meat and seafood.
  2. Birch
  3. Medium hard wood with a flavor similar to maple

Good with pork and poultry.

  1. Blackberry
  2. Much like the woods provided from fruit trees, the small diameter trunks of the Blackberry bush provides a slightly sweet and delicate flavor.
  3. Good for grilling poultry and other meats, such as small game birds like grouse, pheasant, partridge, and quail
  4. Butternut
  5. Strong smoke, like walnut, bitter when used alone
  6. Good on red meats like Beef, Pork, Venison and other game meats. Can easily overpower poultry
  7. Carrotwood
  8. Unknown

Supposed to be good for all meats

  1. Cherry
  2. Slightly sweet fruity smoke that’s great with poultry (turns skin dark brown)
  3. This smoke is a mild, sweet and fruity smoke which gives a rosy tint to light-colored meats; Good with all meats
  4. Chestnut
  5. Slightly sweet nutty smoke flavor

Good with most meats

  1. Corncob
  2. Although not considered to be a true wood. The heart of the cob that holds the kernels is the fuel section of this alternative for wood. It is ground into small granular bits that can be added to a smoking box or it can be combined with other woods such as woods from fruit trees, to impart several flavors. The Corncob provides a sweet flavor that may overpower the food if too much is used to season the food as it cooks. Begin by trying small amounts until the desired flavor is achieved.
  3. It is often used as a smoking chip when grilling foods such as poultry, fish and small game birds.
  4. COTTONWOOD
  5. It is a softer wood than alder and very subtle in flavor. Use it for fuel but use some chunks of other woods (hickory, oak, pecan) for more flavor. Don’t use green cottonwood for smoking.
  6. Use it for fuel but use some chunks of other woods (hickory, oak, pecan) for more flavor. Good for all smoking, especially pork and ribs.
  7. CRABAPPLE
  8. Similar to apple. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity

Good with poultry, red meats, game and lamb

  1. Fig
  2. Mild & fruity like mulberry - Boston butt & ribs

Good with all meats.

  1. Fruitwood
  2. Medium fruity sweet smoke

Good with all meats

  1. Grapefruit
  2. Produces a nice mild smoky flavor

Excellent with beef, pork, fish and poultry

  1. Grapevines
  2. Tart. Aromatic, similar to fruit wood. The flavor is milder and sweeter than hickory
  3. Great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork and fish
  4. Guava
  5. Flowery fruity taste similar to apple

Good for all meats,

  1. Hickory
  2. Sweet to strong, heavy bacon flavor. This great flavor works well with pork, ribs, hams, poultry, and beef. These chips should be soaked for 1-2 hours to prevent a bitter taste
  3. The most common wood used. Good for all smoking, especially pork and ribs.
  4. Jack Daniel’s
  5. Made from the mellowing charcoal used to make Jack Daniel’s that smooth sipping whiskey. This is a STRONG, sweet smoke flavor with an aromatic tang
  6. It’s good for cooking Beef, Pork, Poultry and Game meats.
  7. Kiawe
  8. Hawaiian Mesquite of sorts although somewhat milder

Good on pork, beef and fish

  1. Lemon
  2. A tangy, citrus smoke. Medium smoke flavor with a hint of fruitiness. Medium smoke flavor with a hint of fruitiness

Excellent with beef, pork and poultry

  1. Lilac
  2. Very light, subtle with a hint of floral

Good with seafood and lamb.

  1. Lime
  2. Medium smoke flavor with a hint of fruitiness

Excellent with beef, pork and poultry

  1. Maple
  2. _Mildly smoky, somewhat sweet flavor. Maple chips add a sweet, subtle flavor that enhances the flavor of poultry
  3. and game birds. Smoke a pork roast with them for a sensational taste experience_
  4. Mates well with poultry, ham, cheese, small game birds, and vegetables. Wonderful for smoked turkey!
  5. Mesquite
  6. Strong earthy flavor. One of the most popular woods in the country, mesquite is a scrubby tree that grows wild in the Southwest. Sweeter and more delicate than hickory, it’s a perfect complement to richly flavored meats such as steak, duck or lamb
  7. Good with most meats, especially beef and most vegetables
  8. Mulberry
  9. A mild smoke with a sweet, tangy, blackberry-like flavor
  10. Good with Beef, poultry, game birds, pork (particularly ham)
  11. Nectarine

The flavor is milder and sweeter than hickory

  1. Good on most meats, great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork and fish
  2. Oak (White and Black Jack)
  3. Most versatile of the hardwoods blending well with most meats. A mild smoke with no aftertaste. Oak gives food a beautiful smoked color
  4. Good with red meat, pork, fish and big game. RED OAK is good on ribs. Especially good with beef brisket.
  5. Olive
  6. The smoke flavor is similar to mesquite, but distinctly lighter

Delicious with poultry

  1. Orange
  2. A tangy, citrus smoke. Medium smoke flavor with a hint of fruitiness. Orange gives food a golden color. Produces a nice mild smoky flavor

Excellent with beef, pork and poultry

  1. Peach
  2. Slightly sweet, woodsy flavor, milder and sweeter than hickory
  3. Good on all meats, great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork and fish
  4. Pear
  5. A nice subtle smoke flavor much like apple. Slightly sweet, woodsy flavor

Good on Poultry, game birds and pork

  1. Pecan
  2. Sweet and mild with a flavor similar to hickory but not as strong. Tasty with a subtle character an all-around superior smoking wood
  3. Try smoking with the shells as well. Good for most things including poultry, beef, pork and cheese. Pecan is the best for that beautiful golden-brown turkey
  4. Persimmon
  5. Medium smoke - great for Boston butt & ribs

Excellent with beef, pork and poultry

  1. Pimento
  2. Also referred to as Allspice, Jamaican Pepper, Myrtle Pepper, or Newspice. This wood adds a natural and somewhat peppery flavor that may also include flavors of several spices combined, such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, similar to the flavors provided when allspice is used as a seasoning to enhance the flavor of various foods
  3. It is a common wood often used in grilling Jamaican foods such as jerk chicken. Often used for grilling poultry and fish
  4. Pistachio Nut Shells
  5. If you like the taste of pistachio nuts, why not?

Allegedly not so hot with fish

  1. Plum/Prune

The flavor is milder and sweeter than hickory

  1. Good with most meats, great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork and fish
  2. Sassafras
  3. A mild, musky, sweet smoke with a root beer aftertaste

Especially good on beef, pork and poultry.

  1. Seaweed
  2. The seaweed is washed to remove the salt and air or sundried before use. It provides a somewhat spicy and natural flavor to the foods being smoked or grilled
  3. Commonly used for smoking shellfish such as clams, crab, lobster, mussels, and shrimp
  4. Walnut (Black)
  5. While pecan is hickory’s milder cousin, black walnut is the strong one. Often mixed with lighter woods like almond, pear or apple, can be bitter if used alone. An intense smoke that is slightly bitter like walnuts. Can easily overpower poultry
  6. Good on red meats like Beef, Pork, Venison and other game meats. Can easily overpower poultry
  7. Walnut (English)
  8. Very heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter woods like almond, apple, pear or pecan. Can be bitter if used alone
  9. Good on red meats like beef, pork, venison and other game meats
  10. Whiskey Barrels
  11. Made from whiskey soaked oak barrels
  12. Nice