Next wood purchase

[whitetailfan]

OK folks, here's the deal - my parents gave me cash for a new 48 pack for Christmas, which read "for a new flavour wood".  Well you can't disobey your parents right? (at least that's the line I'm feeding my kids), plus I want to try something else anyway.  So I'm looking for input on what flavour to get.

I currently own hickory, maple, and pecan.  I'm thinking oak, cherry, or apple, none of which I have tried.  I have easy access to pork, beef, chicken, and some wild game.  Seafood is scarce and $$$$.

Here's the catch: If you respond you have to tell me why, ie, provide a cut of meat, or even better, an actual recipe for the first outing with the new flavour pucks.

Thanks all, now what's for dinner?


<font color="green">whitetailfan</font id="green">
"Nice Rack"
Lethbridge, AB

[IKnowWood]

OK, 48 pack.  so something as a taste of something..  

I have the other woods myself and I think that I would say:

Oak - Good on cheese, it does have a good aroma but it is a bit mild for me.  I would pass on it.  Maybe later as you explore on ideas.  I did Oak on some New York Sharp White Cheddar and it was good for a couple weeks.  Smoked for 1 hour.  But I tried Oak on Hot pepper and it was just bad.  On Jarsberg it did nothing to it, not even aroma.

Cherry - I have some great results on Nuts.  Salted Pistachio's smoke for 1.5 hours is great.  Also good for cold smoked Bacon and just great on warm cooking a steak before grilling.  Warm smoke a steak for 40 minute (2 pucks).

Apple - This is my best suggestion.  I used it on Apply City Baby Backs from S & S and I loved it.  My Father-in-law uses it on Pulled Pork and prefers it.  I will try it very soon myself.  I have used Apple on Chicken and it is OK.  Great smell and great residual meat aroma.  I would go for Apple.  I would also think a Prime Rib Roast would be good with Apple as well.  Nuts might be great also.

[Phone Guy]

I would also suggest the Apple. I use it for Cheese and Bacon. Fruit and pork is a natural combination. I don't remember if you make your own bacon or not but I would suggest  This

[bsolomon]

I would tend to agree.  Oak is a fine choice, but i feel it is comparable with either maple or pecan, so you probably wouldn't notice a big difference using it instead of or in combination with anything else you listed.  Apple would be distinctly different from what you listed as having, and it works well on any kind of pork, and I think it is excallent on poultry, especially if you are using somehting like an apple cider brine, for example.  Cherry would be more similar to Apple, but it can be a bit tart by itself, so I would say Apple would be moe versatile.

[Oyènkwara]

Whitetailfan,

Here is my advice, however I must say I'm a new bradley owner (actually new to smoking all together) so this is not based on much experience. Please take with a grain of salt....[:D]

A few weekends ago I smoked two whole chickens using apple wood. I brined the birds using Iceman's recipe here:

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2655&SearchTerms=whole,chicken,5,gallon,bucket

I did use Gordon's advice for Kosher salt and turbinado sugar. After the brine I dried the birds then rubbed them with McCormick Grill Mates Chicken Rub (both under and over the skin where possible)

Smoked with 7 apple pucks (as well as 3 "bubba pucks")

They came out awesome! I gave one to my neighbor and he and his wife raved about it. He brought over a couple more chickens that I'll be smoking this weekend (I'm going to try Pecan this time for variety)

Anyway, I'll throw in another vote for apple....

tom

[BigSmoker]

Apple for me if I had to pick.  Mix it with the pecan for a nice flavor on just about anything.  Oak would be my second chioce.  I love it on beef brisket.  Cherry will give chicken a beautiful color and it pretty good too.  Enjoy which ever one you choose.

Jeff



Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

[Oldman]

Seeing how I smoked most of my life with Oak  I like it the best. IMO it has a good bottom end taste. Try my T-shirt method with it on a boston butt.

Olds

[Thunder Fish]

Apple Cherry/Cheese Chicken    m    mmmm mmm mmmmmm mmmm
Terry

[Fuzzybear]

I'ma big fan of the "fruit" flavored biskits!. (note:  Maple is not a fruit)[:D]

Apple for chickens
Maple for pork
Cherry for curiosity

I'm doing a pork butt right now and am using 2 hours of maple and 2 hours of hickory.

Two weeks ago, I used maple for summer snausages.

Prior to that, apple for chicken on a throne (cans filled with apple juice)

"A mans got to know his limitations"

[JJC]

I'd have to go with apple, too.  Terrific on birds, good for pork, excellent for cheeses, and if you ever do get ahold of some fish, you don't currently have anything that you can use.


John
Newton MA

[JJC]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Oyènkwara</i>
<br />Whitetailfan,

Here is my advice, however I must say I'm a new bradley owner (actually new to smoking all together) so this is not based on much experience. Please take with a grain of salt....[:D]

A few weekends ago I smoked two whole chickens using apple wood. I brined the birds using Iceman's recipe here:

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2655&SearchTerms=whole,chicken,5,gallon,bucket

I did use Gordon's advice for Kosher salt and turbinado sugar. After the brine I dried the birds then rubbed them with McCormick Grill Mates Chicken Rub (both under and over the skin where possible)

Smoked with 7 apple pucks (as well as 3 "bubba pucks")

They came out awesome! I gave one to my neighbor and he and his wife raved about it. He brought over a couple more chickens that I'll be smoking this weekend (I'm going to try Pecan this time for variety)

Anyway, I'll throw in another vote for apple....

tom
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Welcome to the forum, Tom--always great to have a newbie.  There's an incredible amount of good advice here and on the susanminor.org Forum that Olds has set up (it's stickied as "Members Recipes" at the top of each Forum here).  What part of NY are you from?  I'm trying to keep a list of Northeast BSers in case we ever decide to get together sometime!

John
Newton MA

[IKnowWood]

Just to update, I tried Apple for the first time this last sunday for 5 hours on a 6 lb Butt and it was wonderful.  

Just got to figure out what I am going wrong on the timing.  Took me 19 hours for smoking the 6 lbs.  5 hours smoke and rest at 200 degrees using and ET probe and meat probe.   I did not open it other than to repalce the water once.  And I smoked in my Garage with normal temps and no wind.  hmm.  A challange.

Apple tasted great on the Pork however.  Best effort yet.

also I did some Maple nuts on Saturday that taste great.  The smell of the smoke as it was cooking was incredible.  Made my hungry for some Pancakes with Maple syrup however.

[GrillinFool]

I would have to say that apple is my favorite. I mix apple and hickory alot too. I like mello sweet flavor usually but on big pieces of brisket you cant beat oak. The real big benefit of the bradley is being able to use wood flavor as an ingredient, much more then any other method of cooking.

If you arent trying all the pucks, (except special blend in my opinion) you are missing out on the best part of the BS. I mix and match almost as much as I do with seasoning in my rubs.

The Grillin Fool [8D]

[IKnowWood]

I agree, the aroma becomes part of what you make.  I did some nuts recently and others I gave them to said just that.  The smell started them in the journey of the nut, the spice started before tasting.


Hmmm.  three-dimensional eating.  , Smell (the aroma), Feel (as its in your hands and/or mouth, and Taste (the finish).  With nuts it truly comes out this way.  the aroma is much more natural and intense.

[icerat4]

I like alder its seems to go well with most of the stuff i had done.Apple would be my second choise.I did order 48 packs of all flavors from chez and i havint tried the others yet.I will give you an update with my opinion later.