Choosing the right wood

[jeffj]

I am really a novice to this. Maybe there is another thread on this, but I didn’t find one. What wood do you use for a particular piece of meat? I think that this is probably varies with everyone’s tastes, but is there kind of a consensus on what works best with what?

The one time that I smoked some meat was some chops and chicken breast and I used mesquite. I would like to try something different. I have some more breasts to try and also wanted to try apple. Does that sound like a bad combination?

Lastly since chicken breasts dry out a little, has anyone tried using an injectable marinade?

 

[mr mac]

There's a link in the left margin that will lead you to the following:

Just remember, no sap woods! I smoke the chicken rubbed and right to temp and not a moment/degree past 167 and it always comes out nice and juicy!

 

[scpatterson]

He shot you right........Just pull it at the right temp on your chicks and it will be nice and juicy

 

[meat hunter]

Mr Mac posted some good info for you on woods. I know somewhere on here, there is a really detailed list of woods, including some exotics but I can not find it.

Apple wood would be a good choice on chicken. Also, if you want juicy poultry, I would say try to brine it sometime. I use the brine recipe on the homepage of this site, its for a turkey, but man o man does it make chicken taste great. I can not stand chicken breast. Im just not a white meat fan, but once I made chicken with the brine, I'd say the breast meat is every bit as juicy as a thigh.
As far as injecting, lots of us on here do it. Only limited to your imagination on that one. Mix up some things you think you might like and inject it, you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[jeffj]

Boy, getting used to a new website. Thanks for the help, I will go over there and check it out.

 

[mr mac]

We were all new to it at some point!

I was never a brine kind of guy until I tried it once on a turkey. Man, what a difference! I still mostly rub the smaller birds (Cornish/chickens, ducks and goose) but will always brine a turkey!

 

[alx]

I never brine.Never had a complaint.Not gonna say do not brine-seems ALOT of folks get great results.Pecan and fruit woods for me..I Cook em 300-340 degree.

 

[mballi3011]

Here's a link to the list of woods:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=50439
This is some of the most common woods used with smoking. Personally I like the fruit woods and some alder with fish. Mostly the lighter woods but that my 2 pennies.

 

[igolf2]

Really best to try each wood and pick your favorites - apple and cherry are mine but I'm a bit biased as my property is full of wild cherry and so I have an unlimited supply.

 

[pepeskitty]

Hey Jeff, if you want to try something with that chicken that is out of this world I would recommend this method by Chisoxjim. This chicken was the best I ever tasted. My wife, daughter, and son also agreed the best chicken ever.

So points to Jim for this one, here's the link. If you don't have a lot of chicken you might want to cut the recipe back some this will do two cut up birds.

http://smokingmeatforums.com/forums/...ght=buttermilk

 

[raceyb]

I see an awful lot of questions being asked that Jeff has taken the time to answer beforehand. If you look over to the left margin, there are a ton of links to smoking subjects. Some one just asked about smoking a turkey, so i pointed out the link.

In this case, woods are covered too, here is the link
http://www.smoking-meat.com/barbecue-woods.html

 

[meat hunter]

Ahhh, I knew someone would come thru on this one. Thanks mballi, I could not find it. Very good list of woods.

 

[jeffj]

Yeah, I know that there is a tremendous amount of wealth. I think the more that I read here the easier it will be to find the information. No mater the subject, we were all rookies once. Thanks for everyones patience with this rookie.

 

[fire it up]

Depends on what kind of mood I'm in when I toss the meat on, I love the smell and taste of pecan with a little hickory.
Cherry or apple are great with pork and poultry. White birch is another one I really like but is not so common.
Used to use hickory on lots of things but now that I have access to many kinds of wood I use is sparingly, did mesquite on my first smoke and didn't care for it so much that I just burned the rest as firewood.

 

[richoso1]

you've gotten some very good guidelines, remember that the final taste is what you're after. Dont be shy, try different woods, and do consider mixing hardwoods with fruitwoods. You might come out with a very pleasant smoke flavor. Good luck my friend. it's all good.

 

[raceyb]

Well said. It's a matter of personal taste. Experiment and see what ya like. I'll save you a little trouble though, not all nut trees are good smoking wood. Stay away from pine tree wood.