Smoke wood combinations


 
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Jim_W

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Are there any known combinations of smoke wood that do not work well together? What I have to work with is hickory, apple, pecan, maple, oak, and cherry.

Do yall use combinations or stick to one type? (per cook I mean)
 
Jim, I am also interested in the combined wood theory. Some meats naturally go better with certain wood. Red meats-more strong, light meats-lighter smoke.
Can you actually taste the difference?
I like my cow and sow with hickory. I like my bird and fish with fruit.
If combining the wood creates a milder smoke, why not just use less wood?
I guess my palate just is'nt ejucated!
 
My palate isn't really refined enough to be able to distinguish the actual flavors of different types of smoke in meat. I can smell the difference, but I actually did blind-test myself once and couldn't reliably taste the difference. I'm not a wine sniffer either. :-/

That said, I can tell a "harsh" flavor from a "mild" one, but there's several woods that fall into each category for me. The top of my "harsh" column would be mesquite, then hickory. Oak and pecan fall into the middle, followed by cherry, alder and apple down in the "mild" zone.

I like to match single woods with specific meats, for example hickory with pork shoulder, oak with brisket, pecan with pork ribs and tenderloin, cherry with chicken and alder with fish. The reason I stick with single woods is so I can tell if I like or don't like a combination of meat and smoke - if I mix the smokes and don't like the result, I can't really tell which component of the smoke I didn't like.

Sometimes I will try to "cut" a harsher wood with a milder one, say if I only have hickory and apple for ribs or pecan and apple with chicken. That works pretty well (for the most part), but I don't so it for flavor so much. I also try not to pound the meat with too much smoke, I like to have a constant stream of sweet-smelling bluish smoke coming from the top vent. If the smoke smells good, then it'll probably taste good...but if the smoke smells acrid I might pull some wood out, depending on how crazy I'm feeling. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
It's funny how you categorize the woods - I don't know about others, but I've never found Cherry to be mild. Sweeter than hickory and mesquite, but definately not mild like apple.
 
Actually, all the woods in my post were in order. Cherry is slightly less harsh - to my taste - than oak or pecan, but definately stronger than apple or alder. At least it smells that way on the food, I tend to smell anything I cook or judge before I eat it to see if it has a pleasant aroma. That's just me, I'm sure I look like an idiot at the Royal sniffing the ribs!!! /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

I also think cherry - like sassafras - gives an interesting color to the product, a little darker than "normal," whatever that might be, but I could just be using nasty cherry wood too...

I forgot to mention sassafras, I like that quite a bit on ribs, it's another "middle of the road" smoke for me. I've also tried mulberry and grape vines, I wasn't too excited by them...actually I just couldn't taste much difference.
 
Dwain, you are right on using your nose. 80% of taste is based on smell. If you question this, pour a good red wine in different glasses. A glass that captures the the smell or nose will taste different than one that doesn't.
 
I used to love hickory, now it kind of makes me retch. Being a texan I do have a soft spot for mesquite, but for grilling rather than smoking. Mesquite grilled game and fish can be really great.

To answer your question I'm sure mesquite + hickory would be disgusting, at least in percentages high enough that you could taste both.
 
One of my favorites is Cherry and Hickory. When mixed it smokes with a completely different flavor than the two woods by themselves.
 
Hey, Dwain, I was just reading "Barbecuing & Sausage Making Secrets" and they say "DO NOT use sassafras, pine, spruce, or any other evergreen type wood." [emphasis in the original]

I believe it has something to do with the oils in the wood (tho i doubt they're poisonous or anything), but they don't say why they don't recommend it.
 
Actually using pine/evergreen woods will make you rather ill. The effects may not be permanent, but I'm not volunteering for the cause! /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

As for sassafras. This has been widely debated. Some swear not to go near it. Others say it has some wonderful qualities as a smoke wood. My wood supplier loves using the stuff in his smoker. He's been promising me a sample, but I haven't run low on wood yet. As soon as I get my hands on some and try it out I'll post the results here.
 
You know, I didn't even know that Sassafras was an evergreen. I guess I figured that if Chigger Creek and Fairlane Wood were selling it to smoke with, it must not be poisonous...actually, I just looked it up on the web, Sassafras is a deciduous tree, not an evergreen, so I'm not certain what your book is referring to...? http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/saal.html

I've used it for ribs several times, and one of my team members swears by the stuff and loves it. I've never had any problems, other than what I mentioned - it does tend to make the meat even darker than normal smoking. I like my ribs a nice dark mahogany, and sassafras can make the ribs a little dark if you're not careful. It does have an extremely nice flavor.
 
Yeah, I think the book was just poorly edited, which is why it sounded like sassafras was an evergreen. As for pine, I just found a recipe for mussels cooked in pine needles which I'm eager to try, so go figure...!
 
Russ,

Agree. Cherry is the "sleeper" wood.

I had the mistaken notion that Cherry would produce a mild smoke flavor like apple...... WRONG!

-Albert
 
I have found that wild cherry is my favorite for chicken, and oak or pecan (or both) for pulled pork.

And now that I think about, I think I'll throw a few yardbirds in this weekend. /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif
 
I have combined most of the fruit woods, apple, cherry, peach ect and found no difference whether they were alone or together.
I have found that combining fruit woods with hickory or oak makes for a different experience. Not as strong as the hardwood alone, yet more definition than a fruit wood gives on it's own.
My personal opinion on mesquite is that it should be left for grilling not smoking. There are several members here that disagree with me on that subject...
I have never combined two strong flavored woods together, probably because my family likes the milder tastes and sneaking in Hickory with my Apple wood is as bold as I think I can get away with....
 
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