Before the different wood species for your smoking to discuss, I would like you talk a little about your carbon. There are two types of charcoal for commercial use: briquettes and lump. Briquettes are the ones made popular by a company whose name starts with a "K" and probably most of us grew up watching our fathers used. These are made of natural wood charcoal and pressed together with chemicals and fillers in a nice handy pillow shape. Actually, they wereinvented by Henry Ford! Do not like them. They contain stuff really do not want in your food. If you have the use of coal briquettes, made eye for those who are 100% natural with no such additives.
I prefer natural lump charcoal, and this is my recommendation. Lump of coal is nothing but natural pieces of burnt wood. It burns cleaner and hotter than briquettes and I think the taste is better. I know a lot of BBQ Champions use of the briquettes, butLump is simply an outstanding product. What kind of coal you use DO NOT use lighter fluid to start your fire! Use a fireplace or wood coal propane torch. Lighter fluid will taste your food such as lighter fuel, which I guess is OK if you have something like!
Now to wood. There are many types of wood that are popular for smoking is the most likely to be Hickory. My personal favorites are cherry, pecan, apple and hickory. Depending on where you live and what you have forestAccess to it is also maple, pear, peach, and grapes. There are a couple of forests, which would avoid me. Mesquite is a favorite for grilling steaks, but it is very strong and therefore does not lend itself to a long, slow smoking. Nussbaum is also a very strong wood, and if you want to use it, you should probably only a small amount and mix it with a lighter wood like pecan.
The best ones are around the oak and apple wood smoke, because they work well with beef,Poultry, pork and seafood. They are also easily accessible pretty much anywhere.
