# Cherry wood, I am beginning to think never again...



## viper

So far, I have smoked cheese and chicken in cherry.  Typically I use mesquite for everything.  I really feel the cherry leaves an off flavor that I just do not like...  this is cherry in a bag from the hardware store so I cannot be sure of species, curing, etc.  I do know I do not like it.  I am wondering about apple, peach, etc, or if I just do not like anything but the authentic taste of hickory or mesquite.


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## les3176

Apple and peach are both great woods, Some people have their favorites and flavors that they like. Everyones taste is differant, i happen to really like cherry and tend to lean away from mesquite. Give the apple and peach a try they are a very light sweet smoke that goes good with most meats.


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## forluvofsmoke

Hmm,

I've used alot of cherry in the past 8-9 months, and just brought another bag of chunks home today. Cherry has been a good overall smoke wood for me so far...hickory/cherry is good for brisket and other heavy/deep flavored meats, while cherry alone is still good for most applications. Cherry isn't a strong smoke like hickory or mesquite, so if you want the cherry flavor and aroma, but a bit stronger, use some hickory along with it for more of a bite.

Cherry doesn't seem to carry itself very well with really spicy dry rubs, IMO. With my cherry spiced/cured beef brisket, which was a pretty zippy recipe of brine/cure and a lighter dose of heat and spiciness for the dry rub, the cherry smoke was there as more of a back-ground flavor (but that's what I wanted in this case). With milder dry rubs such as my red bell pepper rub, which is a very simple and basic blend, the cherry smoke seems to be more prominent, but still lends to a milder overall flavor profile. I've also used cherry in a few hot smokes for fish, and it was equally tasty.

Apple is great with pork ribs and poultry when using a milder rub as well.

Main point being, fruit woods in general give a milder and sweeter smoke. If you want a strong flavor, the fruit woods aren't what you want to use. In combination with something else, now that can give you a nice sweet background with more punch right up front...it's all in how you use them and what you want your smoke to taste and smell like.

Eric


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## virginiasmokesignal

Viper, I am not sure of all the woods that you can smoke with as I basically use hickory from my own trees or specific manufactures for meat's and I sometime will use other woods with hickory depending on what I am smoking.  However, I have been buying a commercial cheese in several varieties such as Sharp Cheddar, Mild Cheddar, Swiss, and Pepper Jack Smoked with Apple wood.  My family and I love this cheese and more particularly the flavor and texture of this cheese.  I have never smoked cheese but when I do I certainly will use Apple.  I don't know that this will be much help but when you smoke your next batch of cheese try some apple wood and let me know how you like it. Keep up the good work!

Your SMF Friend,

Barry


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## viper

I would not say the cherry is "sweet",  I would just say "off", like creosote off but not bitter.  Maybe the cherry and chicken was a bad match. I have realized that whiter meats are like a clean slate for flavors.  Maybe hickory will be a better match.  I am still interested to try peach wood.  I have heard it is nice for about everything but never tried it.


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## richoso1

Mesquite is my favorite, but I do mix it with apple and sometimes cherry wood chunks. When I smoke cheese, I often use cherry or apple sawdust. It's all good my friend.


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## tjohnson

viper said:


> So far, I have smoked cheese and chicken in cherry.  Typically I use mesquite for everything.  I really feel the cherry leaves an off flavor that I just do not like...  this is cherry in a bag from the hardware store so I cannot be sure of species, curing, etc.  I do know I do not like it.  I am wondering about apple, peach, etc, or if I just do not like anything but the authentic taste of hickory or mesquite.


Viper,

Elaborate a little more please...

What smoker do your use?

Are you attaining the TBS?

Using Chips or Chunks?

Soaking First?

I use Apple for just about everything, because I have "Tons" on if on hand.    Maple and Cherry are very mild woods to smoke with and I've smoked cheese with Cherry.  You may have smoked your cheese too long or with too heavy smoke...Who Knows??

Hickory and Mesquite are quite strong when compared to the Apple , Cherry or Maple.

Todd


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## pintobean

If you can get some peach, try it out. It's very light and_ very _sweet IMO. I had one of my peach trees die, and have been using it to flavor my smokes. I love it. I'm fearing the day it runs out!


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## SmokinAl

I'm just kind of a hickory guy, but lately I've been mixing it with oak, & pecan. The 3 together seem to be just right for my taste.


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## viper

Has anyone done cheese with something other that fruit wood?  Real curious to see if something like hickory would work well or cause over smoke real easy...


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## eman

I have had the same off taste w/ cherry . But after looking at my log book It was because i had poured the smoke to the meat alot longer than i normally do.

 Now i mix a little cherry w/ pecan and it's great.


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## pintobean

viper said:


> Has anyone done cheese with something other that fruit wood?  Real curious to see if something like hickory would work well or cause over smoke real easy...




A cheese with a stronger flavor would probably hold up better to the heavy wood smokes like Hickory/Oak. Maybe a mixture of say half hickory half maple, or half hickory half fruit wood would give good results.

Hmm, now I have something to try!!


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## ellymae

I am a fan of cherry, hickory, and oak. I use cherry for just about everything and have been happy with it.


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## venture

Hickory has always been my "go to" wood, but I often like to mix in others or use others depending on what I am smoking.

With the AMNS, I have had great cheese smokes with maple and cherry mixed.

Keep experimenting with your set up and you will find what you and your family will like best.

Good luck and good smoking!


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## tjohnson

Viper,

BBQ and Smoking is a lot of "Trail and Error".  God knows I've made lots of errors!

Try Mesquite or Hickory and see if you like it.

I like Mesquite on Chicken, but would be too heavy on cheese for my tastes.

Also, I usually smoke my cheese for 2+ hours.  Next time, I'll smoke for around 1 1/2 hours for a little lighter smoke flavor.

Todd


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## Bearcarver

Viper,

I use at least 80% Hickory, but Cherry is my number two, when I don't want it as strong as Hickory.

When smoking cheese, it is very easy to put too much smoke on it, making the outside a little moist, with creosote flavor. I think the same thing can happen with chicken.

However that could happen just as easily with Hickory as with Cherry. I think the bad flavor you're talking about has more to do with the amount of smoke than the type of wood used.

Also, when smoking cheese, make sure the surfaces are dry, or you will get a greasy yuck on the outside.

Bear


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## walterwhite

I've been doing some smoking wood tests and my most recent test was with cherry. I felt it was pretty subtle with beef, pork and chicken (but still good) and found it "OMG" good with salmon and tilapia. All of my meats were unseasoned save a little oil because I wanted to see what flavor the smoke imparts.

My cherry was from an ornamental that someone cut down and advertised on craigslist (free firewood.)


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## cabin fever

I'm with you viper on just not being a big fan of cherry wood. I used cherry for the first time a few weeks ago on a pork butt for my WSM's maiden voyage and while I don't think it gives an "off" taste, I wasn't all that crazy about it either. I certainly don't hate it by any means and I'll definitely use what I have left, but so far I'm strictly a hickory kind of guy until I find another favorite anyway.


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## duanes

I'm with you Viper, I tried Cherry and for me, there is a very subtle unpleasant after taste.  The first time I used it, I thought maybe it was reacting with the rub so I smoked a few potatoes (fairly neutral flavor) and went light on the smoke.  I could still taste it.  Only one other person in my family could taste it too, but I decided there are other woods just as good that work for me.


viper said:


> I would not say the cherry is "sweet",  I would just say "off", like creosote off but not bitter.  Maybe the cherry and chicken was a bad match. I have realized that whiter meats are like a clean slate for flavors.  Maybe hickory will be a better match.  I am still interested to try peach wood.  I have heard it is nice for about everything but never tried it.


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## cliffcarter

This is what the "Guide to Smoking Woods" wiki has to say about cherry-
[*]*"CHERRY - Mild, fruity, but slightly bitter if it comes from chokecherry trees. Good with poultry, pork and beef (turns skin brown)."*[*] [*]I take it that some of the posters to this thread disagree that it is "mild".[*]I find that the wild cherry(aka black cherry) that I use has a very pleasant, sweet, floral smell that is just as strong as hickory. I do not consider cherry smoke to be mild at all. IMHO it is easy to over smoke mild foods like cheese or chicken if you use cherry.


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## scarbelly

forluvofsmoke said:


> Hmm,
> 
> I've used alot of cherry in the past 8-9 months, and just brought another bag of chunks home today. Cherry has been a good overall smoke wood for me so far...hickory/cherry is good for brisket and other heavy/deep flavored meats, while cherry alone is still good for most applications. Cherry isn't a strong smoke like hickory or mesquite, so if you want the cherry flavor and aroma, but a bit stronger, use some hickory along with it for more of a bite.
> 
> Cherry doesn't seem to carry itself very well with really spicy dry rubs, IMO. With my cherry spiced/cured beef brisket, which was a pretty zippy recipe of brine/cure and a lighter dose of heat and spiciness for the dry rub, the cherry smoke was there as more of a back-ground flavor (but that's what I wanted in this case). With milder dry rubs such as my red bell pepper rub, which is a very simple and basic blend, the cherry smoke seems to be more prominent, but still lends to a milder overall flavor profile. I've also used cherry in a few hot smokes for fish, and it was equally tasty.
> 
> Apple is great with pork ribs and poultry when using a milder rub as well.
> 
> Main point being, fruit woods in general give a milder and sweeter smoke. If you want a strong flavor, the fruit woods aren't what you want to use. In combination with something else, now that can give you a nice sweet background with more punch right up front...it's all in how you use them and what you want your smoke to taste and smell like.
> 
> Eric


I love Cherry with Chicken and cheese. I agree that Apple is great with a lot of smokes and my favorite is Pecan.


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## Bearcarver

Wow, this is the first time I ever saw a bunch of people complaining about Cherry.

Any Cherry I ever used was great !  Not as good as Hickory, but second best in my book.

Maybe it's only good to us "Smoke-Hounds"???

Oh Well,

Bear

PS: Cherry is even better to work with in a Cabinet Shop----It makes the whole shop smell wonderful for days!


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## cliffcarter

I, for one am not complaining about it, I use it always on pork. My contention is that it is not a "mild" smoking wood. If I were characterizing  the smoking woods I would use "mild", "medium" and "strong" with maple being "mild", cherry and hickory being "medium" and mesquite "strong". JM2C.


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## Bearcarver

cliffcarter said:


> I, for one am not complaining about it, I use it always on pork. My contention is that it is not a "mild" smoking wood. If I were characterizing  the smoking woods I would use "mild", "medium" and "strong" with maple being "mild", cherry and hickory being "medium" and mesquite "strong". JM2C.


That's not too far from how I would rate them.

I would say:

Mesquite----Super strong

Hickory------Strong

Cherry-------Medium

Everything else I've used so far------Mild

However there are quite a few I haven't tried yet, because Hickory seems to cut in front of the line nearly all of the time.

Bear


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## jirodriguez

Viper - I had the same problem with fruit woods in general when I started using them as well. I found the solution was to use less chunks at a time. With mesquite and hickory I was used to putting 5 or 6 fist sized chunks in my WSM at the start of the cook, but when I did that with cherry or apple I got thick white smoke that did make creasote. After a couple of failed attemtps I was about to give up on fruit woods till I tried putting only one or two small pieces on at a time. That was the trick - I think there are more volitiles to burn off in the fruit woods, so they have a tendancy to produce a thicker smoke that can quickly turn into bad smoke if you have to much wood on at one time. But by backing off and using only a couple of chunks you keep the smoke thin and blue, just add 1 chunk or so every hour for the first 3 or 4 hrs. and that seems about perfect.'

Also cherry is awesome on salmon!


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## sqwib

I use cherry on my GOSM and as Fuel on my Reverse flow and have never had any problems, however as far as it being mild...I would agree with the others that it can impart a strong flavor and if your'e not careful you can oversmoke.


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## gotarace

I love cherry..that and hickory are my 2 go to woods. I'm with Johnny though..too much of a good thing can be bad with any wood you choose.


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## steve k

Both my Polish grandfather and my father used Cherry to smoke our old family recipe Kielbasa.  Our version of this Polish sausage is heavy on the garlic and is primarily pork, with some veal.  It has a heavy flavor that is just to die for when mixed with the not over powering cherry wood smoke. I have tried the sausage with hickory, and wound up tasting more hickory than sausage.  Three generations of my family vote for cherry wood for this heavily seasoned cured pork sausage.  

I use apple wood for smoking poultry, especially turkey, and non-cured pork roasts, ribs, brined pork chops soaked in apple juice and any lighter flavored meats.  Hickory smoked beef brisket is a favorite, and I think hickory and beef go well together.  I think if you parallel apple (and other light fruit woods) to white wine, hickory to heavy red wines, and cherry to white zinfandel, you might have a good guide for what woods to use with what meats. I'm not sure that a wine guide will work with this crowd on this site, and may get me banned, but use it if it seems helpful.  

I picked up a bag of Oak chips made out of old Jack Daniels whiskey barrels the other day, and haven't used them yet.  I was wondering if any one else has tried these and on what meats.  They sure do smell like Jack Black.  Not sure my teenage daughter or wife will like the flavor.  Then again, my wife is Irish.  

For those of you who have used wood cut from your own apple trees, etc., how long do you let the wood season before you use it with good results?  Is a year long enough?


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## ak1

IMO, a year is plenty good!


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## jirodriguez

AK1 said:


> IMO, a year is plenty good!


Also depends on how you cut your wood. If you stack it in large rounds then a year might not be enough, but if it is split and stacked then you should be fine. I had some apple from my folks trimming their trees that took 1 1/2 yrs. to dry well. I had left it in rounds about the size of a fore-arm. A good indicator of dryness is when you see cracks forming on the ends of the cuts.


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## Bearcarver

It takes approximately one year per inch of thickness to dry wood to 12% to14% moisture content.

That would be wood set out in the open, separated by criss-cross stacking (air flow)---not thrown on a pile, or stacked tightly.

For a reference of how dry 12% to 14% moisture is, kiln dried cabinet grade hardwoods are sold at 8% moisture content, and construction grade lumber (2 X 4s, etc) should be no more than 19%. Mold can grow on wood above 20% MC.

Bear


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## garand555

I've not tried cherry, but I really do like peach.  The smoke smells wonderful all on its own.  It's almost a sweet toasty aroma.  Then again, I have peach trees that get pruned every year.


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## steve k

I have a couple of Peach trees that get pruned every year.  I'm going to try some of the cuttings this year, they're dead already, I don't even need to let it dry out.  I may never buy wood again.


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## viper

I have switched to Apple and took care of my problem.  Either the specific chips that I bought or Cherry in general does not agree with me.  I am already getting itchy to try cheese with apple.  That off flavor of cherry I think threw me a bit..


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## beer-b-q

I have done cheese with several different types of wood and I believe Cherry is the best one I have tried on it to date.  The one thing you have to watch with cheese is not to OVER SMOKE it...

On Brisket and Pork Butt and Ribs I like Hickory or Mesquite.

On Poultry I use either Hickory, Cherry or Pecan...

These are My Tastes,  as they say "Different Strokes For Different Folks..."


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## tyotrain

love cheery mix with apple..


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## rowdyrawhide

I have cherry wood from a local fruit farm, and I love the taste it gives, I use it on every thing.  That said I only use it for the first 3-5 hrs of smoking then I just use lump after that.  I also don't use it as the only heat source, I use lump for the main source of heat and throw some chunks of cherry in with it.  I love it on beef and pork especially.  It is stronger than apple in my experience.


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## rivet

JIRodriguez said:


> Viper - I had the same problem with fruit woods in general when I started using them as well. I found the solution was to use less chunks at a time. With mesquite and hickory I was used to putting 5 or 6 fist sized chunks in my WSM at the start of the cook, but when I did that with cherry or apple I got thick white smoke that did make creasote. After a couple of failed attemtps I was about to give up on fruit woods till I tried putting only one or two small pieces on at a time. That was the trick - I think there are more volitiles to burn off in the fruit woods, so they have a tendancy to produce a thicker smoke that can quickly turn into bad smoke if you have to much wood on at one time. But by backing off and using only a couple of chunks you keep the smoke thin and blue, just add 1 chunk or so every hour for the first 3 or 4 hrs. and that seems about perfect.'
> 
> Also cherry is awesome on salmon!


Reference cherry wood, have got to agree with JL Rod here; use less of it and it is a great smoking wood.

I've found it to be the best for turkey....something about the turkey meat (as opposed to chicken) just takes to cherry wood and is outstanding. My wife loves it and makes (hah!) me smoke a couple turkeys a year this way (outside the holidays). Chicken is good too, but an 8 to 12 pound turkey with just some salt and pepper outside and some (not a lot) cranberries or other fruit tossed inside makes for the best bird.

The cherry wood gives it a beautiful mahogany color too.

Not a big fan of cherry wood with beef, though. Haven't figured out why, just yet. Maybe beef is just too rich and dark to go with a rich and dark flavour of cherry. I dunno, I love some mesquite on beef and that's rich and dark!


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## flash

ellymae said:


> I am a fan of cherry, hickory, and oak. I use cherry for just about everything and have been happy with it.




Cherry and oak mix for me.


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## jlmacc

I myself love applewood with my poultry and pork.I have a couple trees that keep me supplied.Hickory would be my second favorite,and getting ready to try pecan for the first time here real soon.


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## duanes

I am updating my experience/opinion of Cherry wood.  My only prior experience was with "Cowboy" brand chips in my GOSM.  I recently bought a bag of "Lumber Jack" 100% Cherry pellets.  Although I can't say it is my favorite wood, I smoked potatoes and onions for 3 hours (on smoke setting) and later smoked 2 whole chickens at 350.  All tasted good without the off flavor I experienced in the past.  The potatoes and onions were stronger in flavor than the chickens as expected.  I don't know if the off flavors I experienced with my GOSM were due to the method, amount used, brand, type of cherry tree that was chipped, etc.,. but with pellets/brand, it was good.


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