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Wood smoke gives barbecued or grilled meats its unique flavor. You get the smoke from putting hardwood between your charcoal and your meat so that the slow-burning wood sends its heavenly smoke up into whatever you're cooking.
Using wood to add flavor
You can add wood to your grill or smoker in a couple different forms:
- Chips are small pieces along the lines of mulch. Wrap them in heavy-duty aluminum foil and tear several holes in the foil to give the smoke a route out of the packet and onto your meat. You can also use a metal smoker box. A word of warning: Fish easily picks up a metallic flavor from the foil, so if you're planning to smoke fish, you may want to use wood chunks instead.
- Chunks are good-sized pieces of wood that are 3 or 4 inches across. Before you use them, soak them in cold water for half an hour to an hour. Drain off the excess water and then place the chunks right on top of your charcoal.
 | Avoid using softwood to smoke meat. Pine, fir, and other conifers smell great, but the resins, pitch and oils that create that great smell create a terrible-tasting soot when burned. Do yourself a favor and don't use softwood to avoid coating your culinary creation with foul soot. Any seasoned hardwood, however, is fair game. |
Flavor characteristics of woods
You carefully choose your marinade, your meat, your rub — and the decisions don't stop there. The type of wood you use to smoke meat affects the way it tastes.
Here's a rundown of the characteristics you find in different types of wood:
- Almond or pecan wood imparts a mild, nutty (surprise!) taste.
- Apple, plum, and cherry woods do what their fruits would: They give a sweet, fruity flavor.
- Hickory provides an intense flavor; be careful not to use too much.
- Maple is mild and versatile, and its smoke is a little sweet.
- Oak is a finicky option because it has a distinct flavor that can easily come across too strong.
- Walnut comes off as bitter if you use too much of it. Better to use it with restraint and with a milder choice, like one of the fruit woods.
- Mesquite is very strong,and, like walnut, can become bitter if you use too much or for too long.
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