Pairings

BilZol

Anyone pair different types of wood together for smoking? Normally if I do pork I'll put some apple and cherry together. For beef I've done hickory and pecan. Poultry normally gets pecan and cherry. Sometimes I just grab a little of everything. I don't use any more then if I went with one type. Don't like heavy smoke. 
I got a shipment in from Firecraft the other day that included a bag of peach and a bag of maple, I've never tried either. 
Any rule of thumb on combining different wood?
Right now I have apple, cherry, hickory, peach, pecan, and maple on hand. 

lousubcap

I will use cherry with Jack Daniels chips/chunks for brisket and also with pecan for poultry for the color aspect.  Beyond that, my taste buds are not refined enough to pick out the subtleties.  However, I have recently acquired some plum and find it imparts a noticeable profile with chix.  FWIW-

BilZol

lousubcap said:

I will use cherry with Jack Daniels chips/chunks for brisket and also with pecan for poultry for the color aspect.  Beyond that, my taste buds are not refined enough to pick out the subtleties.  However, I have recently acquired some plum and find it imparts a noticeable profile with chix.  FWIW-

Can't say that I do either. I kind of got the idea from my sister who sent me a cheese/fish smoking recipe that used a four pellet blend. I can smell the difference in the smoke when it's hitting the good smoke stage. I have one neighbor that is about 90% right about what I'm going to put on the egg based on the smell. I dunno if I can really taste it though. 
How are the whiskey barrel chips? I might include some on my next order. They also have mollberry and oak. Wasn't sure about them. 

Carolina Q

haha, it would take me 10 years to go through that much wood!! I have used hickory, oak, pecan, cherry, maple, mesquite and apple. Combined oak and hickory a couple of times, but no other combos. Except hickory, it all tastes pretty much the same to me anyway and more often than not, I don't use smoke wood at all.

A year or two ago, when home depot was changing smoke wood brands, they had a fire sale (no pun intended) on the outgoing brand. I bought several varieties because they were cheap. Except the hickory (for pulled pork), I don't think I've even opened the bags.

lousubcap

@BilZol - The JD chips/chunks (chips are abundant in the stores around here-chunks only found from Firecraft anymore) are the easiest source of oak I can find around here.  Thus I use with brisket.  When you first open the bag there is a great aroma and that just sets the scene for the cook.   I would toss some in your next order if you have room.

BilZol

I have to admit that the bags are twice as big as I expected but it's all good. If I get a couple three years out of them I'll be happy. We do cook on the grills a lot. I never thought I'd go through 40-60lbs of lump a month when I started down this road. 

BilZol

@lousubcap I'll be sure to do it. There's always room after you hit a hundred bucks with them. I like free shipping. 

BilZol

Maybe I'll just be a smoke chunk snob and come up with lines like "Oh, you only use one kind of wood? How quaint." when I can't really tell much difference if any. Lump threads are getting old hat, we need a change. I could start weighing the chunks too. 
More maybe start an exchange program so we can each decide we can't tell much difference ourselves??

fishlessman

routinely mix fruit woods with nut woods, i shoot for 2 parts fruit, i part nut. maple i leave on its own, love the smell of maple. if i want more smoke flavor i sneak in a very very tiny amount of mesquite

Focker

On hand:
In chunks, pear, peach, cherry, apple, maple, JD barrel, hickory, pecan, grape, persimmon.

In sticks, wild cherry, black cherry, apple, mulberry.

In chips, cherry, hickory, apple, pecan.

I don't pair woods together, but pair the size of the wood with the size of the fire.

Sticks for the stickburner.
Chunks for the Webers.
Chips for the eggs, and snake method on the Webers.

My favorite is free wood, or wild/black cherry.  Strictly for the reddish hue it can put on Que, and it's aroma when burning down. 

Cannot decipher between woods burned, and flavor in end product.  

BilZol

Focker said:

On hand:
In chunks, pear, peach, cherry, apple, maple, JD barrel, hickory, pecan, grape, persimmon.

In sticks, wild cherry, black cherry, apple, mulberry.

In chips, cherry, hickory, apple, pecan.

I don't pair woods together, but pair the size of the wood with the size of the fire.

Sticks for the stickburner.
Chunks for the Webers.
Chips for the eggs, and snake method on the Webers.

My favorite is free wood, or wild/black cherry.  Strictly for the reddish hue it can put on Que, and it's aroma when burning down. 

Cannot decipher between woods burned, and flavor in end product.  

With that variety and selection pairing would be passé, you could coordinate. 

Focker

BilZol said:

Focker said:

On hand:
In chunks, pear, peach, cherry, apple, maple, JD barrel, hickory, pecan, grape, persimmon.

In sticks, wild cherry, black cherry, apple, mulberry.

In chips, cherry, hickory, apple, pecan.

I don't pair woods together, but pair the size of the wood with the size of the fire.

Sticks for the stickburner.
Chunks for the Webers.
Chips for the eggs, and snake method on the Webers.

My favorite is free wood, or wild/black cherry.  Strictly for the reddish hue it can put on Que, and it's aroma when burning down. 

Cannot decipher between woods burned, and flavor in end product.  

With that variety and selection pairing would be passé, you could coordinate. 

I very well could.  But I don't give it much thought nowadays, same goes for charcoal.  Usually it is a last minute split second decision.  I have nothing against pairing.

It's either RO lump or Kingsford briqs on the cheap, and grab one bag of whatever wood I feel is best.

YukonRon

I use peach, pecan, sugar maple, cherry, apple hickory, and oak upon occasion. I have used blends with these chunks.
I can tell a difference in the flavor, as I do like a smoky taste to my cooks.
My blends, (when used) is 2:1 or 3:1  (in fist sized chunks) with the above mentioned peach, pecan, sugar maple, cherry and apple with hickory.
My primary is pecan, peach and sugar maple with no blending. Cherry, apple and hickory are seldom used. Oak almost never, unless it is from wine barrels.