Barbecue Tricks

Smoking wood for barbeque is a must if you are cooking low and slow.  The only question is “what kind of BBQ wood do you use?”

The answer is a matter of taste and what’s available.   In the South East the mainstay is Hickory.  In Texas it’s all about Mesquite.     Some swear by Oak or the sweet smell of Apple wood.   To make it even more complicated others will mix a combination of woods or use aged oak whiskey barrels!

Here’s a quick guide on where to start when you’re picking wood.

	Cooking Wood Chart
Acacia	Mesquite Family – Strong	Most meats, beef, vegetables
Alder	Delicate with a hint of sweeness	Fish, pork, poultry, light meat game birds, great with Salmon
Almond	Nutty & sweet smoke flavor, light Ash	Good with all meats
Apple	Slightly sweet, but dense, fruity smoke flavor	Beef, poultry, game birds, pork and ham
Apricot	Milder flavor and sweeter than Hickory	Good on most meats
Ash	Fast burning, light but distinctive flavor	Good with fish and red meats
Birch	Medium hard wood with a flavor like Maple	Good with pork and poultry
Cherry	Slightly sweet, fruity smoke flavor	Good with all meats
Cottonwood	Very subtle in flavor	Good on most meats
Grape Vines	Aromatic, similar to fruit woods	Good with all meats
Grapefruit	Medium smoke flavor with a hint of fruitiness	Excellent with beef, pork and poultry
Hickory	Pungent, smoky, bacon-like flavor, the most common wood used	Good for all smoking, especially pork and ribs – Most popular in the South
Lemon	Medium smoke flavor with a hint of fruitiness	Excellent with beef, pork and poultry
Lilac	Very light, subtle with a hint of floral	Good with seafood and lamb
Maple	Mild smoky, somewhat sweet flavor	Good with pork, poultry, cheese, vegetables and small game birds
Mequite	Strong, earthy flavor	Most meats, especially beef, most vegetables – Most popular in Texas
Mulberry	Sweet smell and reminds one of apple	Beef, poultry, game birds, pork and ham
Nectarine	The flavor is milder and sweeter than Hickory	Good on most meats
Oak	The second most popular wood, heavy smoke flavor, red oak is considered the best by many Pitmasters	Good with red meat, pork, fish and heavy game
Orange	Medium smoke flavor with a hint of fruitiness	Excellent with beef, pork and poultry
Peach	Slightly sweet, woodsy flavor	Good on most meats
Pear	Slightly sweet, woodsy flavor	Poultry, game birds and pork
Pecan	More like Oak than Hickory, but not as strong	Good on most meats
Plum	Milder and sweeter than Hickory	Good on most meats
Walnut	Very heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter wood, like Pecan or Apple. Can be bitter if used alone or not aged	Good with red meats and game
NOTES:	New Variation: Whiskey Barrell – Aged Oak from Jack Daniels barrells

That name may be a bit confusing… beef Brisket has always been a Texas thing. Mesquite, slow slow smoked, a tradition down there.

Here’s a Barbecue Tricks version of the brisket that tastes great with HICKORY smoke and a bit of sweet heat to give it a southern twist.

We used a Brinkmann Gourmet Electric smoker that keeps the smoker a low 225 degrees and also used a combination of chunk and chipped hickory for smoke.

Brisket is an all day affair… so using a true smoker (with a good drip pan) will really save you some peace of mind. Electric smokers are offensive to purists (no charcoal?!) but if you keep it smoking with pre-soaked wood chips (in a foil pouch) you can’t tell the difference.

Start the night/day before by separating the FLAT portion of the brisket from the tip. Trim away most of the excess fat (down to about 1/4 of an inch covering the flat). This will cut the cooking time way down and give you more smokey surface area. Continue by rinsing clean and rubbing a 5 to 10 pound brisket with a simple RUB. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until morning. It should “cure” 4-12 hours for best results.

Give yourself extra time for the smoker and restrain yourself from lifting the dome lid more than you absolutely have to. Lifting the dome lid will add at least a half hour to the entire process every time you release the already low heat. Hopefully the smoker has a side door to replenish chips and drip pan liquid.

Remove your meat, unwrap and allow to slowly come to room temperature (about an hour). Start your smoker and give it 40 minutes to heat up.

Place the meat – fat side up – over the drip pan to avoid messy drips.

After smoking 5 or 6 hours we enlisted our Barbecue Trick: sprinkle the brisket liberally with brown sugar and paprika. Place it upside down (fat side down) on aluminum foil and coat the other side. Check the internal temperature. Wrap tightly with foil and put back on the smoker.

The entire smoking process will vary but our Flat cut was finished (internal thermometer to 190 degrees ) in about eleven hours (opening the lid only once). The Point cut took an additional 2 hours to get to internal 190 degrees (the lid was often opened for testing).

One you remove from the smoker you STILL will want to wait another 40 minutes to allow the meat to rest and retain coveted juices. Remember YOU NEED TO ALLOW A LOT OF TIME for this entire process. Back time from meal time and make sure to include an hour for “heating up the smoker” and getting the chill off the meat. Plus another hour for the final “rest”.

It’s an all day affair. Our tested brisket started as a 10.5 lbs piece of meat but when the flay was separated it was two approximately 5 lbs. pieces. Flat took eleven hours on the smoker. The point was thicker and a bit bigger and took thirteen.

It’s also important to note that -IF YOU CAN WAIT- some say it’s best to refrigerate and re-heat the next day for the best results (good luck with that waiting!)