I've seen many lists about wood chips and what meats best accompany them and it's always struck me that this is approaching the problem for the wrong side. The wood chip is choosing the food and in my book it should be the food choosing the wood chip! So when you scroll down to view my list it's written in a way that hopefully will allow you to decide on your barbecue recipes first and let the flavouring follow. To be honest, hickory takes a lot of beating (especially on ribs) but there's an incredible variety of wood chips to choose from these days so it's worth experimenting a little.



The idea behind smoking is that wood burns when heated but by reducing the oxygen available to the fire, the wood smokes rather than burns so by adding wood chips to your barbecue smoker, a beautiful range of flavours can be imparted to meat or fish. The best wood to use is “green wood” ie. wood that's not fully dried out because green wood burns at a higher temperature, it makes more smoke than aged wood and it lasts a long time. When buying wood chips in a bag it's important to soak the wood for 30 minutes to get moisture into it before popping it on the coals.

One last tip from me before the list:-

If you have a BBQ grill rather than a smoker, try wrapping some wood chips in aluminum foil and then puncture the foil a few times with a fork or the point of a skewer. Pop the foil pack in hot coals and see what you think but do try with one of the stronger smokes otherwise you're unlikely to notice any difference.

The following chips are good with all kinds of meat so it's good have some in stock:-

Acacia – a strong smoke

Almond - sweet and nutty (as you'd expect)

Apricot - mild and sweet and an interesting alternative to Hickory (just a little milder)

Cherry – sweet & fruity

Cottonwood - a very subtle flavour, worth a try but not my favorite

Grape Vine - beautifully aromatic and sweet if you can get hold of it

Nectarine – again similar to hickory but sweeter and quite mild just like the Apricot

Peach - slightly sweet flavour

Pecan – strong smoke similar to oak but just a little more gentle

Plum - similar to hickory but milder and sweeter

For red meat try the following:-

Grapefruit – a good medium smoke with a fruity note

Lemon – again medium smoke with a light fruit aroma

Mesquite - strong and earthy so try it with beef

Mulberry - beautifully sweet apple flavour

Oak - really heavy smoke so definitely one for beef

Orange – another fruity one with medium smoke

Lamb of course is a red meat so any all in the above category can be used but I've got one recommendation dedicated to lamb:-

Lilac – it's light and subtle with a floral hint

Alder - supremely sweet

Apple - sweet with dense fruity smoke

Birch - strong and earthy

Grapefruit - medium smoke with a fruity hint

Hickory – the original pungent smoky bacon flavour ready for your ribs

Lemon - medium smoke with a light fruit aroma

Maple - strong and earthy

Mulberry - beautifully sweet apple flavour, pork and apple goes so well together

Nectarine - similar to hickory but sweeter and quite mild and still good for ribs

Oak – a really heavy smoke so go easy

Orange - medium smoke with a light fruit hint

Pear - Another one with a slightly sweet flavour

Plum - similar to hickory but milder and sweeter, compare it with Nectarine

Most wood chips have now already had a mention further up but that doesn't mean they don't go well with Poultry:-

Alder - sweet

Birch - strong and earthy

Grapefruit - medium smoke & lightly fruity

Lemon - again medium smoke with a light fruit aroma

Mulberry - sweet apple flavour

Orange - more medium smoke with a light fruit hint

Pear - another one with a slightly sweet flavour

Game, generally strong smokes for strong flavoured meats, but there are some exceptions:-

Alder - sweet

Apple - sweet with dense fruity smoke

Maple - strong and earthy

Mulberry - beautifully sweet apple flavour

Oak - really heavy smoke

Pear - sweet flavour compare it with Alder

Walnut - very heavy smoke and can be bitter so put it with a strong well hung meat

Fish sometimes works well lightly smoked and sometimes it's good to go for a really heavy smoke

Alder - sweet

Apple - sweet with dense fruity smoke

Ash - light and distinctive flavour, it burns fast so ideal for fish

Lilac - light and subtle with a floral hint, fantastic on seafood

Oak - really heavy smoke

I've got two recommendations for Vegetables both of which are strong and earthy:-

Maple

Mesquite

Hopefully that's given you a few ideas to try at your next barbecue, just don't forget to soak them before putting them on the coals. Happy smoking!