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Fruita wood

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CincyEgg
CincyEgg Posts: 119
in EggHead Forum
I'm gonna get a 15 lb box of wood chunks from fruita this week and wasn't sure what type of wood would be the best all around for my common grilling foods.

I would say pork and chicken make up about 75% of my cooks so I wasn't sure if I should go for a sweeter tasting fruit wood like apple or maybe going the other way and trying a different one like pecan. 

Curious to get some of your opinions on wood selection.
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  • onedbguru
    onedbguru Posts: 1,647
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    For pork/chicken, I like hickory, cherry, apple, maple. not necessarily in that order). I have not tried peach or other fruit woods.  

    For beef/chicken is hickory or mesquite. 
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  • pab
    pab Posts: 273
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    I just got a 30# u-pick em box from Fruita. 20# peach 10# pecan. Used mostly for pork and chicken.
    Nerk Ahia LBGE
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  • Killit_and_Grillit
    Killit_and_Grillit Posts: 4,326
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    I like the smell of peach while it's cooking and my preggo wife prefers the mild flavor. 

    I use pecan a lot. Apple for bacon. Cherry for chicken and pork when I am doing presentation. 

    I usually stay away from heavy smokes unless it's beef which I rarely cook.

    I do a bunch of wild game and it absorbs smoke like a freshly laundered shirt holds onto body glitter from a stripper. Even a little is too much sometimes.   ;);):)

    "Brought to you by bourbon, bacon, and a series of questionable life decisions."

    South of Nashville, TN

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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 16,989
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    I use pecan, peach, sugar maple, white oak and traces of hickory and apple.
    Pecan or oak for beef, peach for pork and chicken, sugar maple for seafood, and the others, whenever.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • CincyEgg
    CincyEgg Posts: 119
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    Sounds like I should lean towards cherry or peach. It says on the fruita site that cherry can turn poultry too dark though. Probably not too much of a difference between the two I guess.

     
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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
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    I really like white oak with a little cherry on birds, orange/oak on slow smoked birds, cherry on hot n fast birds and oak on anything beef. 

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • bhedges1987
    bhedges1987 Posts: 3,201
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    If your using it for small chicken and pork cuts get their SWEET cherry.  Not wild cherry.

    Kansas City, Missouri
    Large Egg
    Mini Egg

    "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf


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  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
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    Out of all the woods I have tried, cherry holds the #1 spot.  Burning it in a firepit is intoxicating.  There are times I stay outside and enjoy the aroma of cherry from the KBQ......so good.

    I prefer a milder smoke profile, so I use it on everything, beef, pork, poultry, even trout...the perfect balance.  I'm with Q, the hue is an added bonus, and not limited to chicken.


    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

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  • Focker
    Focker Posts: 8,364
    edited June 2017
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    bhedges1987 said:
    If your using it for small chicken and pork cuts get their SWEET cherry.  Not wild cherry.
    Why not?
    Same genus, Prunus.
    I have used black cherry and wild cherry, both smell just fine by my unrefined smokenose.  
    Let's bust this myth wide open.
    Brandon
    Quad Cities
    "If yer gonna denigrate, familiarity with the subject is helpful."

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  • GrillSgt
    GrillSgt Posts: 2,507
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    Love red oak for beef but I've been hooked on pecan for everything else lately. 
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    Agree cherry gives poultry the best color.  I would also recommend orange wood for low and slow poultry.
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • buzd504
    buzd504 Posts: 3,824
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    YukonRon said:
    I use pecan, peach, sugar maple, white oak and traces of hickory and apple.
    Pecan or oak for beef, peach for pork and chicken, sugar maple for seafood, and the others, whenever.
    Alder is also nice on seafood.
    NOLA
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  • CincyEgg
    CincyEgg Posts: 119
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    Sounds like I'll be ordering some cherry. Appreciate the input from everyone. Fruita's selection is a little overwhelming.
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  • CincyEgg
    CincyEgg Posts: 119
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    I couldn't pick, so i just ordered 50 lbs of the Cherry, Apple, Peach combo and 15 pounds of hickory. I only have one hobby in the summer, so i might as well go all in.
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  • Wylecyot
    Wylecyot Posts: 203
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    Pecan and Cherry were my go-to's but I've been using almond as of late.  Good all-purpose wood. 
    Large BGE, Medium BGE, Kamado Joe Jr, 36" Blackstone Griddle Blackstone Tailgater and Roccbox owner/operator from Los Angeles
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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,144
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    Since the 150 year old hickory tree went down In Our backyard, we've been hickory all day...
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • dstearn
    dstearn Posts: 1,702
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    I always order their Post Oak. You can also order the assortment and experiment with different woods. Post Oak is my go to favorite for beef.
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  • Meeeshigan22
    Meeeshigan22 Posts: 306
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    dstearn said:
    I always order their Post Oak. You can also order the assortment and experiment with different woods. Post Oak is my go to favorite for beef.
    It's become my go to as well. I have maybe a dozen different varieties that I have played around with but probably go post oak a majority of the time unless I'm doing fish or pork ribs.
    Highland, MI

    L BGE, Primo, and a KJ Jr
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  • Kayak
    Kayak Posts: 700
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    I gather mine from the yard - Oak, Maple, Peach, Apple. Wacked all the grapevines and have their trunks cut up in storage. Lately I've been sizing up the unproductive cherry tree - maybe another year...

    Bob

    New Cumberland, PA
    XL with the usual accessories

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  • CincyEgg
    CincyEgg Posts: 119
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    Question about getting wood from your own trees...

    How long after you cut the pieces off that you want are you able to use them as smoking wood? I have some maple and oak trees in my yard that could definitely afford to be trimmed down.
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  • Kayak
    Kayak Posts: 700
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    Some say you can use them right away, others say to wait a year. Depends on the thickness, and your desperation.

    Bob

    New Cumberland, PA
    XL with the usual accessories

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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    edited June 2017
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    CincyEgg said:
    Question about getting wood from your own trees...

    How long after you cut the pieces off that you want are you able to use them as smoking wood? I have some maple and oak trees in my yard that could definitely afford to be trimmed down.
    I don't usually use it right away, but only because I typically have plenty on hand. I wouldn't hesitate to do it though, and have plenty of times. And yes, it's okay to leave the bark on. Try some green and see if you like it.

    Either way, split and cut to chunk size now. The smaller the pieces the faster they will season. Keep it dry and leave it where it will have plenty of air flow. Don't store it in plastic bags! 

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Jellyworm
    Jellyworm Posts: 96
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    My go to wood is Pecan but also use oak, apple and mesquite 
    Large BGE
    Houston, TX
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  • OhioEgger
    OhioEgger Posts: 903
    edited June 2017
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    CincyEgg said:
    Question about getting wood from your own trees...

    How long after you cut the pieces off that you want are you able to use them as smoking wood? I have some maple and oak trees in my yard that could definitely afford to be trimmed down.
    We actually did this experiment many years ago, although not with BBQ. There was a wonderful old beech tree in town that lost some limbs in a windstorm. My friend picked a few up and put them aside to dry out for a year.

    One year later, he cut another branch off the same tree so he could compare, and ran both batches of wood through a chipper.

    He was a serious homebrewer, so he used the beechwood to smoke some grain to make rauchbier. He smoked one batch of grain with the old wood, another with the new.

    Brewing two batches of beer on the same day, he was able to make a direct comparison. When he brought the two beers to a club meeting he asked us to compare them, not telling us which was which.

    As it turned out, most of us preferred the older wood, but there really wasn't a big difference. 
    Cincinnati, Ohio. Large BGE since 2011. Still learning.
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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 16,989
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    buzd504 said:
    YukonRon said:
    I use pecan, peach, sugar maple, white oak and traces of hickory and apple.
    Pecan or oak for beef, peach for pork and chicken, sugar maple for seafood, and the others, whenever.
    Alder is also nice on seafood.
    Concur. 
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • CincyEgg
    CincyEgg Posts: 119
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    Couldnt be happier with Fruita's customer service and how quickly they got this wood shipped from Colorado to Cincinnati.

    I ordered it late Tuesday evening and they had it shipped out via FedEx the next afternoon. Excellent chunks from each variety I ordered and well labeled to avoid any confusion since one of the boxes was a combo.
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