I’ve seen many lists of wood chips and what foods go well with them and it’s always struck me that this is approaching the problem for the wrong side. The wood chip is choosing the food and in my book it’s the food that chooses the wood chip! So when you see my list at the bottom of the page it’ll be written in a way that hopefully will allow you to decide on your barbecue recipes first and let the flavouring follow. To be honest, hickory takes a lot of beating (especially on ribs) but there’s an incredible variety of wood chips to choose from these days that it’s worth playing around a little.
Before I get to the list here’s the scientific bit first. The idea behind smoking is that wood burns when heated but by reducing the oxygen available to the fire, the wood smokes rather than burns so by adding wood chips to your barbecue smoker, a beautiful range of flavors can be imparted to meat or fish. The best wood to use is what’s describes as green wood which essentially means that it’s not fully dried out and this is because green wood burns at a higher temperature, it makes more smoke than aged wood and it lasts for longer. When buying wood chips in a bag it’s important to soak the wood for 30 minutes to get moisture into it before popping it on the coals.
One last tip from me before the list:-
If you have a charcoal BBQ grill rather than a smoker, try wrapping some wood chips in aluminium foil and then puncture the foil with a knife point. Pop the foil pack in hot coals and see what you think but do try with one of the stronger smokes otherwise you’re unlikely to notice any difference.
The following chips are good with all kinds of meat so it’s good have some in stock:-
- Acacia – a strong smoke
Almond - sweet and nutty (as you’d expect)
- Apricot - mild and sweet and an interesting alternative to Hickory (just a little milder)
- Cherry – sweet & fruity
- Cottonwood - a very subtle flavour, worth a try but not my favorite
- Grape Vine - beautifully aromatic and sweet if you can get hold of it
- Nectarine – again similar to hickory but sweeter and quite mild just like the Apricot
- Peach - slightly sweet flavour
- Pecan – strong smoke similar to oak but just a little more gentle
- Plum - similar to hickory but milder and sweeter
For red meat try the following:-
- Grapefruit – a good medium smoke with a fruity note
- Lemon – again medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
- Mesquite - strong and earthy so try it with beef
- Mulberry - beautifully sweet apple flavour
- Oak - really heavy smoke so definitely one for beef
- Orange – another fruity one with medium smoke
Lamb of course is a red meat so any all in the above category can be used but I’ve got one recommendation dedicated to lamb:-
- Lilac – it’s light and subtle with a floral hint
Pork:-
- Alder - supremely sweet
- Apple - sweet with dense fruity smoke
- Birch - strong and earthy
- Grapefruit - medium smoke with a fruity hint
- Hickory – the original pungent smoky bacon flavour ready for your ribs
- Lemon - medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
- Maple - strong and earthy
- Mulberry - beautifully sweet apple flavour, pork and apple goes so well together
- Nectarine - similar to hickory but sweeter and quite mild and still good for ribs
- Oak – a really heavy smoke so go easy
- Orange - medium smoke with a light fruit hint
- Pear - Another one with a slightly sweet flavour
- Plum - similar to hickory but milder and sweeter, compare it with Nectarine
Most wood chips have now already had a mention further up but that doesn’t mean they don’t go well with Poultry:-
- Alder - sweet
- Birch - strong and earthy
- Grapefruit - medium smoke & lightly fruity
- Lemon - again medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
- Mulberry - sweet apple flavour
- Orange - more medium smoke with a light fruit hint
- Pear - another one with a slightly sweet flavour
Game, generally strong smokes for strong flavoured meats, but there are some exceptions:-
- Alder - sweet
- Apple - sweet with dense fruity smoke
- Maple - strong and earthy
- Mulberry - beautifully sweet apple flavour
- Oak - really heavy smoke
- Pear - sweet flavour compare it with Alder
- Walnut - very heavy smoke and can be bitter so put it with a strong well hung meat
Fish sometimes works well lightly smoked and sometimes it’s good to go for a really heavy smoke
- Alder - sweet
- Apple - sweet with dense fruity smoke
- Ash - light and distinctive flavour, it burns fast so ideal for fish
- Lilac - light and subtle with a floral hint, fantastic on seafood
- Oak - really heavy smoke
I’ve got two recommendations for Vegetables both of which are strong and earthy:-
Hopefully that’s given you a few ideas to try at your next barbecue, just don’t forget to soak them before putting them on the coals. Happy smoking!
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