wood for smoking pork

[rollin smoke]

What would be the best wood used for smoking pork? I've tried apple and it was great! Mesquite was pretty good with ribs I did last weekend. But what would be the best all around wood for pork???

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I like mesquite/hickory for shoulder pork cuts, as the heavy, earthy flavor and aromas from mesquite seem to match-up well with the heavier pork shoulder flavors, while the hickory adds a little sharpness or bite to the overall flavor profile. For pork ribs I'm partial to apple/pecan or apple/cherry...have even used the trio and like it as well...the apple and cherry offer up a nice sweetness, while the cherry is has bit heavier overall flavor and background. Pecan has a pungent aroma and slightly nutty flavor that can really take your combination smokes to another level...I've tried it a few times solo with pork ribs and poultry and it always seemed to be lacking something, maybe just a bit too light of flavor for my tastes, but you could try it and see what you think. Pecan is a nice addition to your smoke woods arsenal, if you haven't tried it yet. I use pecan/apple and sometimes a cherry trio with poultry as well, depending on what I'm trying to bring out with my dry rub (I use many different rub blends, and frequently experiment with new ones).

Eric

 

[rollin smoke]

Sounds like the options are limitless. To be honest I've never tried mixing the woods but I definite will this weekend. I have some mesquite and apple out there. I definitely want to find some pecan. Might have to chop a limb off my dads tree! Haha! I wish there was a store half way dedicated to grilling and smoking around Savannah.

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Almost any safe smoke wood is an option, it's personal preference.
That's a big part of the fun, trying new woods.



~Martin

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Sounds like the options are limitless. To be honest I've never tried mixing the woods but I definite will this weekend. I have some mesquite and apple out there. I definitely want to find some pecan. Might have to chop a limb off my dads tree! Haha! I wish there was a store half way dedicated to grilling and smoking around Savannah.

Limitless...that's quite true.  Pecan is a rather unique wood for smoke...I haven't found anything with my somewhat limited resources that compares with it yet. Though I do need to do more checking on availability for some woods I haven't tried. Speaking of resources, search for fruitawood.com...I haven't visited their site for awhile now, but they usually have a really tempting selection to choose from, and if I recall correctly, free shipping in the US. Before I smoked food, I lived just 70 miles away from their store for over 5 years. Now, I live in another state...small world, huh?

With a little forethought, you can use a wide variety of combinations of smoke woods to bring out the most from your meat or poultry, and match-up with your dry rub, wet rub, marinade or brine/cure's savory spices. Say you have a dry rub with some heat from cayenne or chipotle on chicken...a sweet & heat profile...use a bit of hickory along with apple (or whatever your favorite fruit wood is) to add more bite to the smoke to follow suit with the rub, while the apple or other fruit wood adds a sweeter, lighter smoke to enhance the poultry flavor. OTH, lets say you have a mild and slightly sweet rub for baby backs...pull some apple and pecan, or plum and maple together to keep things smooth and sweet, with enough back-bone for a decent flavor without over-powering the dry rub and natural flavors of the meat. Shoulder cuts can be played with much more, as they have a fairly strong flavor, so you can mix heavy, sharp and mild/sweet smoke in varying combinations with little risk of having an over-powering smoke flavor. Dry rubs for shoulder cuts can have stronger background flavors as well, btw. Limitless options, indeed. Just keep the smoke coming on slow and steady.

Almost any safe smoke wood is an option, it's personal preference.
That's a big part of the fun, trying new woods.



~Martin

Exactly correct. My experiments with smoke woods are very similar to what I do with dry or wet rubs, brine/cures or marinades, in that I'm only limited to what I have on hand at the time. On occasion, I have used 4 to 5 different smoke woods in combination...it's pretty amazing what subtle differences in aroma and flavor your senses can detect. And, once you find that seemingly perfect smoke that you never knew existed, you may begin to ponder more possibilities with the same cut of meat, or other cuts/species. For me, when I'm in my groove, it's like a never-ending quest for the ultimate smoke...where meat, spices & herbs and smoke are joined together to give an unforgettable dining experience. And then, the journey begins all over again when you change something on the next round, just to see what it really can do to the overall flavor profile. For the backyard smoker, where you have less control of all the variables than a professional does in a more controlled environment, even if you don't deliberately change anything, every smoke will offer something slightly different than the last, so you can imagine how things can change when you are actually trying to create different flavors with every smoke.

Eric