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Most folks will never know the difference.
In the SE hickory is a staple.
Folks that have a lot of pecan[the milder hickory] use it.
If red and white oak are real plentiful,those folks use it on everything.
Some of the GA MIM cooks like the mildness of peach.
I kinda like apple with pork.
There are some color variations,as well as aroma and taste.
Just my weak $0.02
In the SE hickory is a staple.
Folks that have a lot of pecan[the milder hickory] use it.
If red and white oak are real plentiful,those folks use it on everything.
Some of the GA MIM cooks like the mildness of peach.
I kinda like apple with pork.
There are some color variations,as well as aroma and taste.
Just my weak $0.02
I voted other as I use a 50/50 mix of Hickory and Apple.
John
John
I really like alot of mild smoke. I know 'alot/mild' sounds like an oxymoron. I like apple with pork, but I really like white oak with pork. Not red or post oak. There is a difference. No bark on my wood, please. I prefer heartwood also. I like apple or white oak because both have that mild aroma and you can use alot of either without over smoking. My very favorite is French oak cubes that have been releasing their tannins and phenols while soaking in 5 gallons of homemade blackberry wine, dried in the sun and used to smoke up a large hunk of pig. OK I'm done now.
Wheelz, I voted Other because apple is my fave.
I use pecan because that is readily available here in Southwest Alabama and my bride thinks oak is too strong for her.
Agree with Donna on the Apple and the "other" vote, Alder is also sweet to pork. Pecan is my other favorite.
i like my 2/3rds oak 1/3rd pecan mix for pork.
colors right,taste is right and the customers get attracted because they are used to smelling only hickory and just have to ask what wood we use. my standard response is buy a pork sandwich and i'll give you the answer
colors right,taste is right and the customers get attracted because they are used to smelling only hickory and just have to ask what wood we use. my standard response is buy a pork sandwich and i'll give you the answer
i like to blend earth woods, fruit woods, and nut woods. at least one from each group, will send your taste buds to the moon. mostly my combo is apple, hickory, and mesquite. about 20/60/20 respectively. variations of flavors are great, but i stay with that percentage. sometimes i use pecan, cherry, walnut, oak, maple, alder. just not all at once..
i like to change up, and experiment. not a single customer had come up and said 'wow, different wood today.."
i like to change up, and experiment. not a single customer had come up and said 'wow, different wood today.."
oh yea, there is a palce in alabama called 'russel tractor' they are the southern source for traeger pellets. anyway, they dont use alder anymore as the base for the fruit woods. now they use hickory as the base. yippee! its much better......
1-800-248-8883. i believe this is correct.
1-800-248-8883. i believe this is correct.
I'm a big fan of the pecan when it comes to smoking lighter meats...gives me that hint of hickory without the hefty bite. But I also agree with most folks, it is always nice to add a little something extra to the pecan. Depending on the dish, I may add some cherry, apple, or citrus woods just for kicks.
I agree that Alder is a little too sweet for many meats, but it really does a nice job on the fish...
I agree that Alder is a little too sweet for many meats, but it really does a nice job on the fish...
I'm partial to peach with poultry, no bark on the wood, and a 50/50 peach/apple with butts. Ladies like it too.
I voted other, Apple,Oak are my favorites.
I use pecan all the time with everything.once in a while I will use some hickory or apple mixed with it.
Richard
Richard
Wheelz,
Living where red bay is the wood of choice for fish, I find that it makes a wonderful smoke for anything else. Smell a rubbed Turkish bay leaf and you get a whiff of what red bay will do for your pork. The wood gives a weaker smoke than the smell you get from the leaf.
Red bay is a different (but related) wood to the California Bay Laura tree. I like California Bay Laura leaves for cooking, but they have a more compounded flavor than Turkish or red bay leaves. Sometimes when we smoke lots of mullet in a box smoker, we add in a small limb with 20 or 30 leaves attached - just for flavor.
I know there will be questions about a box smoker, so here it is. A tin sided box with a wood frame, fire box in the bottom with a baffle, about six to eight 4X4ft or 5X5ft expanded metal shelves with wood frames. The shelves will smoke mullet that has been opened, head and all from top down to the stomach cavity, cleaned with scales left on, spread, salted and peppered and smoked at 190 degrees.
The commercial fishermen and smokers will use lots of wood and have to attend the fire at all times. I prefer my Cookshack AmeriQue, but I don't hot smoke 75 fish at a time.
smokemullet
Living where red bay is the wood of choice for fish, I find that it makes a wonderful smoke for anything else. Smell a rubbed Turkish bay leaf and you get a whiff of what red bay will do for your pork. The wood gives a weaker smoke than the smell you get from the leaf.
Red bay is a different (but related) wood to the California Bay Laura tree. I like California Bay Laura leaves for cooking, but they have a more compounded flavor than Turkish or red bay leaves. Sometimes when we smoke lots of mullet in a box smoker, we add in a small limb with 20 or 30 leaves attached - just for flavor.
I know there will be questions about a box smoker, so here it is. A tin sided box with a wood frame, fire box in the bottom with a baffle, about six to eight 4X4ft or 5X5ft expanded metal shelves with wood frames. The shelves will smoke mullet that has been opened, head and all from top down to the stomach cavity, cleaned with scales left on, spread, salted and peppered and smoked at 190 degrees.
The commercial fishermen and smokers will use lots of wood and have to attend the fire at all times. I prefer my Cookshack AmeriQue, but I don't hot smoke 75 fish at a time.
smokemullet