Smoking woods can be used as chunks, chips, pellets or sawdust to add flavour to your low and slow smoking cook ups. But which wood do you use for the meat you are cooking to get the flavour right? Here’s our guide to popular smoking woods and their uses.

Alder

Alder gives a mild flavour making it a good choice for white meats like chicken and fish. Alder is good for smoked salmon.

Apple

Apple is a go to smoking wood for many people and is another milder option that gives a sweeter flavour. It is good for lighter meats but works with just about anything. Apple is great for ribs and other pork cuts.

Cherry

Cherry gives a mild smoke taste. Cherry is popular for beef but can be used with just about any type of meat.

Hickory

Hickory produces noticeable smoke flavour that adds stronger taste to meats. This makes it popular for red meat cooks.

Maple

Maple gives a mild and sweet smokey taste. It can be used on veggies and most meats or even in cold smoking of cheese.

Mesquite

Mesquite is a very strong smoke flavour. Because of its strength it is best used on darker meats and should be used in moderation to avoid getting too bitter. Go for mesquite if you like strong smoke flavour.

Oak

Oak is a good general smoking wood and works for most meats with a mild flavour.

Peach

Peach is a mild and sweet flavoured smoking wood. It works well with white meats like pork and poultry.

Pear

Another fruit wood that leaves a sweet flavour. Again, pear works well with pork and poultry.

Pecan

Pecan is also a sweeter flavour but also has a strong smoke taste. It gives the flavour to the food fairly quickly which makes it good for shorter cooks. Pecan works well with chicken and pork ribs.

Plum

Plum wood is another mild smoke wood that gives a sweeter flavour. It works well with poultry, pork and fish.

Here is a handy quick reference smoking woods chart.