In the middle part of the spectrum are woods like hickory, maple, pecan, and oak. They're great with pork, and strong enough to stand up to beef and game meats. Purviance's personal favorites to smoke with are hickory and oak. It can be a invaluable wood to smoke with*—*if you do it in moderation.
Don't flip your meat!Smoking low and slow is an indirect cooking method, meaning the heat source is not a direct flame. Much like an oven, both sides should be cooked evenly. Flipping your meat means you're opening up your grill or smoker and that is generally not advised.
Softwoods. Avoid wood from conifers such as pine, redwood, fir, spruce, cypress, or cedar. These trees contain high levels of sap and turpenes, which results in a funny taste and can make people sick. Cedar planks are popular for cooking salmon, but don't burn the wood for smoke.
The average baby back ribs should take about three hours and 15 minutes. Your ribs will be exponentially better if you maintain the internal temperature at an even 225ºF and you keep the door closed at all times."
In this case 2-4 fist sized chunks of wood should be enough to create the right amount of smoke. If you are using an offset smoker, wood is the primary heat source.
Using Live OakSelect trees that are two-years-old or younger, as the wood still has a light and fresh flavor. Letting the wood sit out gives the wood time to dry out and cure, which makes it safer for cooking. Cut the wood into pieces that are small enough for your smoker or barbecue.
A full rack of ribs should be smoked for roughly 6 hours. During the first few hours is when the meat absorbs the most smoke flavor, so make sure that you are producing a good supply of smoke during this time. If you are using baby back ribs then the cooking time should be about 5 hours.
Keep putting wood chips in your smoker for half the cook time or until your meat reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit. If your wood chips burn too quickly, soak them in water for about 30-60 minutes before using them.
Mixing one-third strong and two-thirds light wood is also suitable for many meat smoking projects. Everyone's tastes buds are a bit different, so the best way to figure out what you like is of course to just try it. Less is better with smoking wood I have found since too much can make the meat bitter.
The Pecan tree belongs in the hickory family. This wood is great for long barbecues, as it burns slowly, and gives meats a delicate flavor. Also a wonderful smoking wood, but pecan tends to be pungent and is best used in moderation.
Smoke your ribs at 225° F for 3 hours. It normally takes about 6 hours to fully smoke a rack of ribs, so if you want to just smoke them, leave them in there for about 6 hours, giving them a liquid spray (apple juice, beer, even water) about every hour.
You can usually determine a wood piece as oak by running your hand across the piece. If it's completely smooth, chances are it's not Oak.
Thus many use blends of 20%-30% flavor wood to 70%-80% oak. Around the country steak houses often use oak for the mellow and it accents fine beef. Mesquite burns hotter than almost any wood,so will be used for short cooks that need high grilling temps.
As a species used for woodworking, it is hard and dimensionally stable. Teak, mahogany and mesquite are equally ranked as the most stable hardwoods in the world. It is harder than oak and maple. Long-lasting, it can withstand heavy weight and moisture changes.
One main difference between a live oak and a run-of-the-mill oak is that a live oak is evergreen — almost. It does drop some leaves in the spring but quickly replaces them to keep that photosynthesis thing going. Oak is pretty tough to begin with, but live oak wood is especially hard.
Within the white oak group is a species called white oak. Post oak, another species in the white oak group, is the same density as white oak, but is about 10 percent weaker and 20 percent more bendable. The hardness is the same in both. Processing for both is the same.
Seasoned pin oak is real good for smoking. Just make sure it is seasoned well. Pin oak is fine, some people use it by itself for a lighter smoke flavor, whereas others use with a stronger wood (like hickory) to slightly mellow out the stronger smoke flavor.
Some people claim that the bark can impart a slightly bitter flavor to the food, while others say that they don't notice a difference at all. If the bark comes off easily, then by all means remove it.
In truth, soaking your wood chips and chunks isn't necessary and here's why. Wood chips and chunks that have been soaked have to get rid of any moisture before they can produce smoke. The water on the wood will have to heat to 212°F (the boiling point of water) and will stall there until the water has been evaporated.
Apple has a very mild with a subtle sweet, fruity flavor. This smoking wood is ideal for poultry, beef, pork (especially ham), game birds, lamb and some seafood.
Do not soak your wood and it is not necessary to remove bark on woods from fruit trees, in my experience. Make the sticks into wood chips, and cut the bigger pieces into (roughly) fist-sized chunks. You will then need to season (thoroughly dry) your wood before using it for smoking.
