Wood for smoking

**MoeHS1** · 11-12-2019, 13:05

Hey guys. I have a reverse flow offset smoker that I bought off a member here on the forum. Have only used it twice now but I'm looking for a good source of wood. What types of locally available wood work best. The previous two times I used a combination of wood and charcoal but mostly wood. The first time my temperature stayed very constant. The second time it was running a bit low and I had to add a lot more wood. The wood was just some standard garage braai wood that I had lying around. I am based in Centurion, Pretoria so if anyone knows somewhere around here that would be great. I have seen a few websites which offer blue gum, acacia, saligna, redwood, sekelbos but I'm not sure what to buy.

**Toxxyc** · 11-12-2019, 13:10

For smoking, you generally want to use smaller, finer pieces of wood and not huge logs. Logs tend to burn irregularly, while with smaller pieces you can regulate the heat easily by adjusting how much fuel you have burning at any specific stage. Regular bushveld wood works very well for red meats and bigger pieces of meat, but if you're planning on smoking more delicate things like chicken or fish, the smokey flavour can quickly be overwhelming. For that I would really recommend a charcoal fire with wood like apple or hickory. Sources are scarce, so if you can find a source of good smoking woods, I would love to know. For now I'm smoking in the Weber using the Weber smoking chips. They work like a charm and a little goes a very long way.

**pigeonpie** · 11-12-2019, 13:16

My vote goes to Sekelbos for smoking, should be plenty available in your area. I’ve done a few smokes with it and it gives good flavor (in my opinion), is usually quite dry and tends to burn for a long time. Plus it’s often available in thinner sections like Toxxyc suggested.

**The Beast** · 11-12-2019, 13:21

Wood selection for smoking is more important than braaing. with a braai you have burnt away all the oils and are left with the charcoal that you braai on. With smoking you are releasing the oils and other volatile compounds in the wood and infusing that into your meat, etc.

Woods with lots of resin should be avoided, so most of your softwoods like pine, conifers etc.
What you are looking for is hardwoods with delicate flavors. That is why Oak and Maple make fine smoking timbers. I would use that as a platform and add a bit of the spicier woods to the mix to add flavor.

I'm not a smoker, neither am I a smoker, but I used to make some brandy(aged) and I have some experience with wood.
I have also built a wood gassifier and played with that a bit. There is a lot of volatile compounds in wood!

**Socrates** · 11-12-2019, 13:29

Fruit tree wood is my go to wood for smoking. A little bit goes along way.

Cherry and apple wood have served me well with pork and beef.

I tried hickory, but it was too strong for my taste. I've tried oak as well, but I can't figure out if I like it or not.

**Socrates** · 11-12-2019, 13:37

Fruit tree wood is my go to wood for smoking. A little bit goes along way.

I'll be careful with normal braai wood, or any other wood with resins. The meat may taste terrible, and you run the risk of an upset digestive system. :)

Cherry and apple wood have served me well with pork and beef.

I tried hickory, but it was too strong for my taste. I've tried oak as well, but I can't figure out if I like it or not.

It's important that your meat is dry when you start he process. The moisture inhibits the smoke from curing the meat.

**MoeHS1** · 11-12-2019, 14:14

Originally Posted by Toxxyc

For smoking, you generally want to use smaller, finer pieces of wood and not huge logs. Logs tend to burn irregularly, while with smaller pieces you can regulate the heat easily by adjusting how much fuel you have burning at any specific stage. Regular bushveld wood works very well for red meats and bigger pieces of meat, but if you're planning on smoking more delicate things like chicken or fish, the smokey flavour can quickly be overwhelming. For that I would really recommend a charcoal fire with wood like apple or hickory. Sources are scarce, so if you can find a source of good smoking woods, I would love to know. For now I'm smoking in the Weber using the Weber smoking chips. They work like a charm and a little goes a very long way.

I was not planning on using very large pieces. Anything longer than about 25cm won't fit in my fire box and I was looking for about a 5-10cm diameter. I do have some Weber wood chips that I was using before I got the smoker. I think its the hickory ones. Planning on doing some beef ribs this weekend and maybe some sausages.

**MoeHS1** · 11-12-2019, 14:22

Originally Posted by pigeonpie

My vote goes to Sekelbos for smoking, should be plenty available in your area. I’ve done a few smokes with it and it gives good flavor (in my opinion), is usually quite dry and tends to burn for a long time. Plus it’s often available in thinner sections like Toxxyc suggested.

I will see if I can find some Sekelbos and try it out

**MoeHS1** · 11-12-2019, 14:28

Originally Posted by The Beast

Wood selection for smoking is more important than braaing. with a braai you have burnt away all the oils and are left with the charcoal that you braai on. With smoking you are releasing the oils and other volatile compounds in the wood and infusing that into your meat, etc.

Woods with lots of resin should be avoided, so most of your softwoods like pine, conifers etc.
What you are looking for is hardwoods with delicate flavors. That is why Oak and Maple make fine smoking timbers. I would use that as a platform and add a bit of the spicier woods to the mix to add flavor.

I'm not a smoker, neither am I a smoker, but I used to make some brandy(aged) and I have some experience with wood.
I have also built a wood gassifier and played with that a bit. There is a lot of volatile compounds in wood!

From all the posts and videos I've seen from the US I know that Oak and Maple are highly recommended. The only problem is finding them here. I have not seen them for sale anywhere s whole pieces. I can only find chips.

**MoeHS1** · 11-12-2019, 14:29

Originally Posted by Socrates

Fruit tree wood is my go to wood for smoking. A little bit goes along way.

I'll be careful with normal braai wood, or any other wood with resins. The meat may taste terrible, and you run the risk of an upset digestive system. :)

Cherry and apple wood have served me well with pork and beef.

I tried hickory, but it was too strong for my taste. I've tried oak as well, but I can't figure out if I like it or not.

It's important that your meat is dry when you start he process. The moisture inhibits the smoke from curing the meat.

I have seen a lot of recommendations to use fruit woods as well but it is very difficult to find them here