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How to Pick the Right Smoker Wood Chips

Picking the right type of wood chips to use in your smoker can make or break the flavor of your barbecue. A common misconception is that any type of wood will do, and as a result many people often choose whatever wood is most readily available. A few of the more common and easy to find types of wood that will enhance the flavor of your barbecue are: mesquite, oak, hickory, apple, alder, pecan, maple, and cherry. Here is a breakdown of some of the strengths and weaknesses of each.

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Mesquite

Mesquite is known for having an extremely strong flavor and as a result is a quite popular smoke wood for many barbecue restaurants. This type of wood is not ideal for those who lack barbecuing experience because it burns hot and fast. It is considered to be best for barbecuing beef, though it will work for most any meat or vegetable.

Oak

Oak is another extremely versatile wood for smoking meats. You can use it to barbecue pretty much any type of meat. In terms of flavor it is a medium to heavy smoke flavor, though not as strong as mesquite.

Hickory

Hickory is by far the most popular smoke wood for barbecuing. It has a strong flavor that is adaptable to most any type of meat, though it is considered best for pork and ribs. Hickory is thought by some to be too strong for use alone, and advise mixing it with other types of wood in order to temper the flavor. If you do choose to use hickory alone, be aware of how much you use in order to avoid infusing your meat with a flavor that is too overpowering.

Apple

Apple is a very popular fruity smoke wood. It can be mixed well with other woods with good results. Using apple wood will give your barbecue a dense, fruity flavor. Recommended for use with pork and chicken.

Alder

Though alder can be used quite well with poultry or pork, it is most commonly used with fish, infusing it with a nice, light, sweet flavor. Alder is definitely far less dense and overpowering than many other types of wood.

Pecan

Pecan doesn't burn as hot as many other types of wood. It is considered to be fairly versatile, working with most types of meat, including beef, chicken, or pork. It gives your barbecue a slightly sweet and nutty flavor.

Maple

Another of the fruity types of smoke woods, maple is also considered to be pretty versatile and can be used with most any type of meat or vegetable. It is a dense wood, but gives a light, sweet flavor to your barbecue.

Cherry

Cherry wood goes great with chicken. It has a light, sweet, fruit flavor that does a great job complimenting poultry.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST BBQ SMOKER

 

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What kind of equipment do you need to get started with BBQ Smoking? There are a number of choices available at your local hardware mega-store. Each has pros and cons, but with practice, they can all provide good results.

The offset, barrel smoker (under $200) offers versatility and a huge space for cooking. A fire is built in a separate chamber, outside of the main cooking area and the hot smoke passes across the food in the cooking chamber and out via a chimney. If you build a fire in the main cooking chamber, you can also use this smoker as a charcoal grill. This kind of smoker requires a lot of babysitting to produce good results.

Electric smokers ($300 and up) are
shunned by professional pit-masters, but are much more practical for home cooks. Load the chamber with food, add wood to the smoker tray and turn it on. Temperatures are kept constant by a thermostat. The only two downsides are the price, and needing an electrical socket where you cook.

Propane smokers (under $200) are similar to electric smokers. A smoker tray holds the wood that will provide smoke, but instead of an electric heater, a propane burner is used. You won’t need an electrical socket, but you’ll be trading it for a propane
tank. Also, you need to control the temperature manually.

Bullet smokers (from $40 to $400) are an interesting breed. A charcoal fire is built at the bottom of the smoker and wood chips are thrown on to generate smoke. A water pan rests between the fire and the food, to temper the heat and add moisture.

A plain old kettle grill (about $100) can also be used for smoking, but you get the smallest amount of cooking space. Lit coals are placed on one side of the cooking chamber and the food is placed on the other side. Wood chips are tossed on the coals periodically. This setup works best for foods that require less cooking time, since maintaining low temperatures for long periods of time can be difficult.

If all you have is a gas grill, all is not lost. Turn on the burners on only one side of the grill and place the food over the un-lit side. You can use a foil packet of wood chips placed over the lit burners to generate the smoke you need.

Regardless of what you use to smoke your food, temperature control is key for consistent results. If your smoker has a thermostat, just set it and forget it. There are digital thermometers that allow you to place a probe inside your smoking chamber to monitor the temperature – more expensive models have remote readouts, so you can monitor temperatures from indoors. Your smoker may come with a thermometer built into the hood, but these are rarely accurate.  When all else fails, poke a digital instant-read thermometer through a vent hole. Unless a recipe says otherwise, you’ll want to keep the temperature between 200° and 225° F. Adjustments to the air-inlet and vents will allow you to raise or lower the temperature – more air equals more heat, less air equals less heat. Don’t close the vents all the way or you will smother your fire.

To create the smoke that bathes your food, you’re going to need wood to burn. The same hardware stores where you buy a smoker will have a variety of choices.  The most common woods for smoking are hickory and mesquite, but apple, cherry and pecan are often available. Hickory is the best all-purpose wood. Mesquite has a very strong flavor and it’s very easy to over smoke your food with it, so I avoid it. The fruit woods are very nice for smoked poultry. Wood is available in either chunks or chips and the smoker manufacturer will suggest which one is best for your smoker.

NOTE: Don’t buy a smoker that uses wood pellets or pucks to generate smoke. They are made from sawdust held together with nonkosher
gelatin. Rather, use wood chips made from chopping large chunks of wood.  I’ve smoked burgers, chickens, whole turkeys, and ribs. I’ve even been known to smoke vegetables now and then – aioli made with smoke-roasted garlic is divine. Starting with easier recipes such asBeer Can Chicken, you can work your way up to the more involved recipes, such asBarbecued Brisket.

Good barbecue is a skill worth perfecting.

Entrees

St. Louis Ribs: 6 bones / 4 bones

Tender succulent ribs rubbed in Michon's special seasoning

$18 / $15

Smoked Meat Platter

A taste of 3 Worlds! Hearty selection of Ribs, Brisket & Wings. Served with 3 sides.

$27.00

Rib Tips

Juicy smoked pork rib tips

$13

Turkey Breast

Hand carved turkey breast smoked to perfection

$13

Beef Brisket

Tender smoked brisket carved to order, served with au jus

$14

Turkey Ribs

One of a kind taste! Smoked Turkey Ribs cuts dipped in Michon's signature BBQ sauce

$14

Ribeye Steak 10 oz.

Juicy Choice cut Ribeye chargrilled to perfection

$21

Southern Fried Chicken

Mix of white & dark meat battered with Michon's special seasoning. Deep fried to golden perfection. Served on a spread of apple butter sauce

$13

Michon's Famous Smoked Wings

Michon's #1 seller. Jumbo Whole Wings smoked to perfection

$13

Southern Fried Whiting

Golden fried whiting served with homemade tarter sauce

$15

Crusted Catfish

Tasty golden fried catfish served with homemade tarter sauce

$14

Tilapia

Large filet of tilapia grilled or fried to perfection

$15

Chopped Pork

Juicy smoked chopped pork drizzled with Michon's signature BBQ sauce

Salads & Sides

Salads & Sides

Caesar Salad

 

$7

Crisp fresh romaine leaf lettuce drizzled with house Caesar dressing & topped with homemade croutons. add chicken $3

Iceberg Wedge

 

$7

Crispy fresh iceburg salad wedge frizzled with ranch dressing, topped with diced eggs, tomatoes & bacon crumbles

Gourmet Salad

 

$7

Crisp salad greens with blue cheese dressing, topped with walnuts and apple slices add chicken for $3

Sides $3

Michon's features homemade contemporary southern sides... to good for words!

Collard Greens

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potato Souffle

Cole Slaw

Black-eyed Peas

Baked Beans

Macaroni & Cheese

Potato Salad

Fried Okra

French Fries

House Salad