The SmokEW
When it comes to smoking on your BBQ you are going to need to use some wood. Each wood has its own
flavour profile and work well with different meats. Smoking wood comes in different forms; chunks, chips,
dust, pellets and planks.
Chunks - Wood chunks are normally about the size of a tennis ball. Chunks last longer and are good for
your low and slow cooks as you will often only need to put them in once and the will last throughout your
cook.
Chips - Wood chips are good for your quicker cooks or if you only want a very light smoke flavour. People
often soak chips in water first to make them last longer. You can also use chips in a smoking box or by
wrapping them in tin foil and piercing some holes.
Dust - Wood dust is generally used for cold smoking due to the fact it smoulders gently and doesn’t generate much heat.
Pellets - Wood Pellets are mostly used in a pellet smoker or when cold smoking, they look a bit like rabbit
food :) Wood Pellets are made from compressed dust, you should look out for them being natural and also
they can often be a blend of woods so read the ingredients! You can use them in a similar way to chips.
Planks - If you look back at issue 2 of UK BBQ Mag there was a big article dedicated to cooking on planks.
They work really well with delicate foods such as fish because they provide with woody smoky flavour and
indirect method of cooking.
In this article I am going to talk about the smoking wood chunks that I received from SmokewoodShack
the other day.
Apple - Apple wood has a fairly light smoke. It is a fruit wood so has sweet characteristics.
Beech - Beech wood is again a fairly light smoke and imparts a mild flavour.
Cherry - Cherry wood is another fruit wood so has a slightly sweet flavour. Cherry smoke gives a pink tint to
your food, it is great for achieving a very good smoke ring.
Grape Vine - You can get both red and white grape vines. They are similar to other fruit woods. I recommend you use it quite sparingly as it can be quite tart.
Hickory - Hickory is one of the most popular smoking woods and my personal favourite. It is very versatile,
really sweet and has a bacon like flavour. Hickory is also a great wood to combine with other woods to
achieve new and amazing flavours.
Maple - Maple wood has a mild smoke with a subtle sweet flavour.
Oak - Oak is another great all rounder with a fairly strong smokey flavour. It is a stronger smoke than the
Apple or Cherry but lighter than the Hickory.
Pear - Pear has a similar flavour profile to Apple. It is often described as having a woodsy flavour.
Silver Birch - Silver Birch is not a hugely common wood to smoke with but is becoming more popular. It has
a mild to medium smokey flavour.
With smoking woods you can also blend them together, try taking your Oak or Hickory as a base wood then
combining them with a fruit wood such as Apple or Cherry.