| One of the things that people often overlook when | | | | soaked before using them in the smoker so they |
| they start smoking meat and sausage is how much of | | | | produce an ample quantity of smoke. |
| the flavor in their final product is due to the species of | | | | - Birch is very much like maple in its flavor and is a |
| wood they use to generate the smoke. It can be a | | | | another good all-round meat and sausage smoking |
| significant factor. | | | | species. |
| The characteristic tastes and aromas generated by | | | | - Alder is a very abundant species in the Pacific |
| wood smoke are determined by the amounts and | | | | Northwest. The smoke is light and flavorful and has |
| kinds of certain sugar, protein, and phenolic compound | | | | been the traditional wood used to smoke salmon. It is a |
| molecules present in the wood species being burned. | | | | good general purpose wood for smoking almost any |
| Different species have different levels and | | | | kind of meat. |
| combinations of those molecules, so they produce | | | | - Pecan has a flavor typical of other nut woods like |
| different and distinctive flavors. | | | | hickory and walnut but is far milder. It's a good choice |
| It's important for us to know ahead of time what to | | | | for light meat like poultry. |
| expect so we can dial in just the flavors we want. | | | | Fruit Woods |
| Smoking wood species are generally categorized as | | | | - All fruitwoods are similar in the flavor of their smoke, |
| producing either strong or mild flavored smoke. | | | | which tends to be light and slightly sweet. Fruitwood is |
| Strong Tasting Smoke Species | | | | almost always a good choice for smoking. Some of |
| - Hickory is probably the best known wood for | | | | the better and more common species to use are: |
| smoking. It has quite a strong (almost acrid) taste so | | | | Apple |
| be careful not to over smoke with it. Hickory is | | | | - Cherry |
| especially good with beef and lamb because of the | | | | - Apricot |
| assertive flavor of the meat. | | | | - Peach |
| - Mesquite is one of the strongest flavored wood | | | | - Pear |
| species, and is used a lot for BBQ. Again, it can also | | | | - Plum |
| be good for smoking sausage made from stronger | | | | Wood Species to Avoid |
| flavored meats like lamb, beef and venison if you take | | | | - There are certainly wood species to avoid too, as |
| care not to over do it. | | | | these can impart a resin or turpentine-like taste to your |
| - Acacia smoke is much like mesquite in flavor, but not | | | | meat. They are almost all softwood species, and |
| quite as strong. | | | | include, but aren't limited to: Pine |
| - Oak gives off strong but mellow smoke. It is a good | | | | - Fir |
| all-round smoking wood and works well with most | | | | - Cedar |
| meat, including poultry and pork. | | | | - Cyprus |
| - Walnut Both black and English walnut give off heavy | | | | - You will also have less than sterling results with: |
| flavored smoke. Used alone they can become | | | | Sassafras |
| over-bearing, so it's usually best to use them mixed | | | | - Sycamore |
| with a lighter smoking species. | | | | - Elm |
| Milder Tasting Smoke Species | | | | - Eucalyptus |
| - Maple has an especially sweet flavored smoke that | | | | Give a bit of thought to the wood species you will use |
| works well with lighter meats like pork and poultry. | | | | before you start the actual smoking process, and your |
| - Ash is a fast burning wood with lightly flavored | | | | results will be much more predictable and repeatable. |
| smoke. Ash chips and sawdust need to be well | | | | |