White oak when fresh gives a hint of sweetness in the smoke - a great pairing with long beef cut smokes, or a quick beer can chicken Cherry (maybe a regional thing for me) I find a bit too pungent/bitter, I use it only in moderation on lean pork tenderloin. Bark free hickory gives me the best all around results on pork ribs - chicken cuts
Alright. I just picked up a bunch of chicken and pork. When cooking with wood should I soak a few blocks in water and add them after I have a coal bed when I put the meat on? I've cooked over wood a lot but never with the purpose of imparting smoke.
Same hickory smoke - the nuts are the bitter part of the name. I don't soak smoker wood either. Just don't put a bunch of fine splinters that will catch on fire and burn your meat. I put all my odd ball end cuts split up in an old bird seed/dog food bag - never ending supply of those
Sounds good. I will be heading to a friend's cabin next month where that stuff grows rampant. Hopefully he hasn't burned the stuff we cut last year.
be cautious of wood that has mildew or mold growth - it can give you some off flavors. Not sickness related just one of those "uppity" smoker theories, most Pecan smokers only roll with bark free wood specifically because of molds imparting odd flavors in meat
I've never taken the bark off of my Pecan wood. Never noticed anything unusual about the flavor, but I keep it in the garage
You me and every other backyard smoker probably never notices any off taste from mildew/mold in their smoke wood - Pro cookers do Just Cautioning a first timer against using something that has been sitting(in who knows what conditions) for a year. Bark from my experience gives a lot of heavy smoke in short order - we're shooting for even slow cooking so a few pieces here and there to supplement the wood smoke is OK - too much and you are eating something that tastes like it was soaked in liquid smoke
His wood in storage stays pretty dry. I'll certainly check for any mold before I start cooking. Lots of hard maple, hickory, and black cherry up there for cooking. Also red/white/chestnut oak, black birch, ironwood, and a whole host of other desirable firewood species to boot.
