For most smoking, hickory is the classic all-rounder, cherry is the safe sweet choice, and apple is the gentle one for poultry and fish. Pick the wood based on the meat, use hardwood that’s dry, and add smoke in small amounts. Most bad barbecue comes from too much smoke, not too little.
What is the best wood for smoking meat?
There’s no single best wood, but there are good matches. Strong woods stand up to big, fatty cuts. Mild fruitwoods suit lighter meats that a heavy smoke would run over.
If you want one wood to start with, buy hickory. If you cook a lot of chicken, turkey or fish, add apple. If you want something in the middle that colors the meat a nice mahogany, add cherry. That’s the exact trio in our 3-inch smoking wood chunks.
Which wood goes with which meat?
| Wood | Flavor | Good with |
|---|---|---|
| Hickory | Bold, savory, bacon-like | Brisket, pork shoulder, ribs, beef |
| Cherry | Mild and sweet | Poultry, pork, ribs |
| Apple | Light, sweet, fruity | Poultry, pork, fish |
| Oak | Medium, classic barbecue flavor | Beef, pork, lamb, brisket |
| Mesquite | Heavy and intense | Red meat, quick grilling |
| Pecan | Light smoke, sweet | Ribs and brisket, often mixed with another wood |
| Maple | Mild, lightly sweet | Poultry and pork |
Flavor is partly personal. Treat the table as a starting point and change one thing at a time so you know what you’re tasting.
Hickory: the one most people reach for
Hickory gives you that strong, savory smoke people think of as barbecue. It’s great on pork shoulder, ribs and beef. It’s also easy to overdo. Use a couple of chunks, not half a firebox, and try mixing it with a milder wood like cherry or apple if it comes out too sharp for your family.
Cherry: sweet, mild and forgiving
Cherry is a good wood to learn on because it’s hard to ruin food with it. It’s mild and a little sweet, and works on poultry, pork and ribs. Mixed with hickory, it takes the edge off.
Apple: for chicken, turkey and fish
Apple is the light touch. It adds a delicate sweetness to poultry, pork and fish. If you’ve ever had smoked chicken that tasted bitter or like an ashtray, a milder wood and less smoke is usually the fix.
Chunks, chips, logs or pellets: which form should you use?
It depends on your cooker.
- Chunks burn slowly and steadily. They’re the best choice for long cooks on a charcoal grill, a kettle, or an offset or kamado-style smoker. A few chunks on hot coals can smoke for a good while.
- Chips catch fast and burn out fast. They suit short cooks and gas grills with a smoker box, but you have to keep feeding them.
- Split logs are for offset smokers that burn real wood as the main heat source.
- Pellets are for pellet grills and need a pellet-grill-specific product.
If you cook over a live fire in a stick burner or a wood-fired grill, our 12 inch cooking wood is cut short for smaller fireboxes, fire pits and grills. Each medium box holds roughly 10 to 15 pieces.
Should you soak wood chunks before smoking?
No, and our smoking chunks are kiln-dried for exactly that reason. Soaked wood has to boil off the water before it can smolder, which makes steam and a dirtier, more bitter smoke. Start with dry wood and control the smoke with the airflow instead.
How much smoking wood do you need?
Less than you think. For most cooks on a charcoal grill, two to four chunks is enough. Meat takes on smoke most readily in the early part of the cook, so put your wood on at the start rather than all the way through.
What you’re looking for is thin, pale, almost blue smoke. Thick white smoke means the fire is starved for air or the wood is smoldering badly. Open the vents a little and let it burn clean.
How to smoke with wood chunks on a charcoal grill
You don’t need a dedicated smoker to get real smoke flavor. A kettle grill works fine for ribs, chicken and pork.
- Light your charcoal and bank it to one side so you have a hot zone and a cool zone.
- Once the coals are ashed over, set two or three dry chunks directly on them.
- Put the meat on the cool side, away from direct heat, and close the lid with the vent over the meat.
- Hold the temperature steady, around 225 to 275 degrees for most low-and-slow cooks. Use a thermometer you trust.
- Add one more chunk only if the smoke has stopped and the meat isn’t near done. Past the first couple of hours, extra smoke does little.
Common smoking mistakes
- Too much smoke. Meat that tastes bitter or acrid usually got more smoke than it needed. Cut the wood in half next time.
- Smothered fire. Closing the vents too far gives you dirty, smoldering smoke. Fire needs air to burn clean.
- Using one strong wood on delicate meat. Mesquite on fish is a good way to ruin dinner.
- Chasing temperature. Opening the lid every ten minutes lets heat and smoke escape. Trust the thermometer.
Woods you shouldn’t smoke with
- Softwoods like pine, cedar and spruce. They give off a lot of sooty, resinous smoke that tastes bad and isn’t meant for food.
- Painted, stained or treated lumber. Never.
- Wet or moldy wood. It smokes badly and can taste musty. Our boxes are described as USDA compliant, kiln-dried and mold and pest free.
Many wood-fired cooks keep a few woods on hand for different jobs. If you also cook pizza on a wood-fired oven, the principles overlap, and our guide to the best wood for a pizza oven covers that side.
Using hickory firewood for cooking
Our hickory firewood is a dense, hot-burning heating wood, with output similar to oak. Hickory is a classic barbecue wood, but for smoking we recommend the dedicated 3-inch chunks because they’re sized for the job.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best wood for smoking brisket?
Oak and hickory are the traditional picks. Oak gives a medium, steady smoke and hickory adds a stronger savory note. Many cooks use both.
What is the best wood for smoking chicken?
Apple or cherry. Both are mild and sweet and won’t overpower the meat or the skin.
What wood is best for smoking ribs?
Hickory for a classic, bold flavor, cherry for a milder sweet one, or a mix of the two.
Can I mix different woods when smoking?
Yes. Mixing is common. A bold wood like hickory and a mild wood like cherry or apple give you a balanced flavor.
Are wood chunks better than chips?
For long cooks, yes. Chunks burn slowly and steadily, while chips burn up quickly and have to be replaced.
Can I use regular firewood for smoking?
Only if it’s a clean, dry hardwood that hasn’t been treated, and only a small amount is needed for flavor. Bark and sap-heavy wood can make smoke taste harsh, which is why dedicated smoking wood is easier.
Do you ship smoking wood?
Yes, we ship nationwide, and during our seasonal sale shipping is free.
Where to start
Start with a box of the 3-inch smoking wood chunks and change one thing per cook. See everything we offer in cooking wood, or browse the full firewood category.
