Just starting w/ egg... what one or two smoke woods do you recommend?

Unknown

Will start with mostly chicken, burgers, steak, salmon maybe some ribs.... I think I'll wait a bit before I start with the overnight cooks. Are there one or two basic smoke woods that I should get that fits with all types of meats?

Pig Sooie

Nardi,[p]In my opinion, pecan and most fruitwoods are good all-purpose smoking woods.

Unknown

Nardi,[p]If picking two, I'd probably go with mesquite and hickory.[p]That said, others here have been at it a lot longer than I have and will likely have better suggestions. I admittedly have not tried them all.

Car Wash Mike

Nardi, I think cherry and apple would be a good start.[p]CWM

Unknown

Nardi,
My staples are Hickory and Apple.

Nature Boy

Nardi,
Cherry and maple are real good.. Then other fruitwoods and hickory and Oak. Pecan is killer.[p]The fruitwoods are generally milder, so they are generally the choice with poultry and fish. Even briskets can soak up the smoke, so milder woods like cherry are good. Pork butt can handle a nice dose of smoke, so stronger woods like hickory are often used. Sometimes in conjunction with fruitwoods. Play around. But definitely get some cherry, pecan and sugar maple.[p]Beers
Chris

Car Wash Mike

Nature Boy, When I visited Chigger Creek a couple months ago and picked a big load of lump and woods. My friend, and banker insisted I get him 10 lbs. Pecan. He says he uses the heck out of it. What do you use it on? His comments were everything.[p]
CWM

Wise One

Nardi, here is a good summary of woods. Lots of choices.

[ul][li]Bill Wight's Discussion of Smoking Woods[/ul]

StumpBaby

Nardi,[p]Ahhh..if only you were so lucky as I am...[p]You see...late one night..in the middle of a long cold winter...Baulah had come down with a cough something awful..we could hear her making sounds like our dog done after eating grass..I told poppa first I thought I understood why people say dog is mens best friends..on accounta after dinner (momma always took good care of our dogs..givin em all our table scraps)..our dog would go out and chew on some grass..sorta helpin poppa out with the mowin a bit..but shure as shootin...not more'n five minutes later..that dog'd be spittin up dat chewed up grass..like you read about....sorta feedin it..to make it grow even more. [p]Poppa told me it was a vicious cycle..and he said it prolly was more true that the dog was a womens best friend..since it had such vicious cycles..her sure did laugh at that... I think poppa sometimes is mean..he pokes fun at momma cause she never learned how to ride a bike..and she blames the bike for all the falls she took. I told poppa that momma sure would be better off if'n she didn't have such a large cranium..on accounta we could probably find a better helmet for her..that sure looked painful..what poppa called that road rash. I sure hope mommas chin hair grows back soon too..she sure don't look right without it. Poppa says, that if'n momma didn't have such a large cranium..she prolly wouldn't need a helmet..on accounta she could balance like normal circus folk...sometimes poppa sure is smarter than he looks.[p]So, momma went down to the mercantile and got a whole case of them tongue depressors..so's she can be checkin Beulahs throat out real good like..and sure enough..over a period of three weeks..late every night..just after Beulah snuffed the candles in her room..we could hear her coughin..and momma would go in there with her tongue depressors..and check on Beulahs throat. It became obvious..after them three weeks was up..that momma was gettin nowhere with Beulahs problem.[p]They finally went down into the big city..with Beulah..and found one of them there eye, ear, nose, and throat doctors (I told poppa that this is what we needed..a doctor what had all his senses with him..so's he can really detect the problem..and that maybe momma woulda done better..if'n she didn't have them cauliflower ears and giant bulging eyeballs..I sure didn't tell poppa this cause his whoopins in public were only slightly less than non public ones.. but .. sometimes..momma looks like a giant stepped on peep toad)[p]That doc sure was smart..cause he took only two looks down Beulahs throat..and done found the problem..poppa was so happy with this..he done showed the doctor his fingers .. which..unknown to us..looked like they had the same problem...and sure enough the doctor claimed that both Beulah and poppas injuries were the result of burns. We sure didn't know what that was from..but the doctor..maybe just not wantin to shame Baulah and poppa ..done told us to keep an eye on her to maybe see what would be doing that burning. Later that night..I snuck in on Beulah..I seen just what was happenin..and that's the night I realized what they mean by monkey see monkey do..cause Beulah was puttin her candles out in the strangest of ways..and when I asked her..she done told me she seen the same sorta thing when she was peekin in on momma and poppa late one night.[p]I didn't know how the heck momma was doin that and not gettin them same burns as Beulah..till I done checked it out myself..and all I can say is that .later that same night..in a matter of two minutes...I learned that momma ..prolly cause of them bulging eyes..missed that candle by a long shot..and poppa ..prolly not wantin to embarras momma..just at the exact moment momma missed that candle..reached over and snuffed out the real candle with his fingers..thereby burning his fingers. Tuth be told..I think ther're times when folks don't mind bein burnt..and I think poppa ..judging by the look on his face..sure was happy to help momma..and not make her realize her mistake at all..and I told Beulah..since they both seemed to be happy..no harm done..and we should just let them be..and not tell momma bout her missin the real candle.[p]After seein that..Beulah..sure stopped puttin out the candles like that..I think she realized that until she grew up..and started loosin her eyesight..best to put out the candles by hand..like poppa done. Now, after all is said and done..I done found myself with too many wooden tongue depressors..so..I started to use them in my egg..to smoke just bout anything..and I can tell you..that although I never used to love heavy smoke..so's I'd maybe throw one or two of them on the fire at a time..it sure did impart a nice flavor.....one day...I went into the barn..and I seen grampa..and (this is when I realized sometimes it's best not to interrupt folks when they is doing something what really seems to interest them)..I seen grampa in the barn..standin in front of a lineup of grammas prized antique corn husk doll collection..screamin at them and spankin them with one of them there wooden tongue depressors..and I can tell you right then..I knew I had to go real heavy on the smoke as much as possible...gramma sure complained bout the smoky meals for the next week or so till them there depressors were all burnt up...and I now know what poppa menas when he says..sometime yah gotta sacrifice..for the good of the group.....I sure hope nobody done saw grampa doin that other than me..[p]I tell you...some days..mommas moonshine..sure does work wonders..[p]Ahh..the life of a Stump[p]

BBQBluesStringer

Nardi,
Check your sources, but I would use hickory because it's usually a lot cheaper than some of the fruitwoods, largely because I only find them in the Q-boutique stores. Hickory will give you the smokey flavor that most people have come to associate with barbeque, so it's appropriate for the ribs, chickens, burgers, and maybe even the steaks. Salmon would definitely snuggle up to apple or pecan.[p]If you go with misskeet, do so sparingly. A little goes a long way in my opinion.

KennyG

Car Wash Mike,[p]I've got to agree with your friend! Pecan is a great general purpose wood that's appropriate for most of your Egg cooks. I use fruitwoods only on seafood, pecan on almost everything else.[p]It's especially good on brisket, turkey and ribs (got some going as I type) IMHO.[p]My thanks to the Wise One and JJ for providing me enough to heat my home for the next couple of winters (if I had a wood stove).[p]K~G

Earl

Nardi,
Good Morning:[p] The best advice i can give it to start real low with the wood at first & then move up to larger amounts. Chicken is like a sponge & will take in the smoke far more that you may like. So just use one to two chunks of whatever wood you wish to try & then next cook add more. Hickory, maple, oak & mesquite are stong tasting woods. Them comes apple, cherry, apracote & so on. I may not have them in order so others will have to jump in as well.[p]Earl

BlueSmoke

Nardi,
I admire your restraint. If I were just starting out, and wanted to stay with one or two woods, I'd go with a mild (like pecan) and a strong (like hickory). Then start slow, just a chunk or two per cook till you decide how strong and how smokey you prefer.[p]Ken

Unknown

Nature Boy,this is kenny...hey whats up hhahahahah my friend lee says hi[p]