A Description of Flavored Wood Chips

Wood chips can add flavor to barbecued foods.

Foods cooked on outdoor grills absorb some of the flavor of the smoke that comes off the fire source. To impart special tastes into foods, particularly meats, fish and poultry, cooks frequently add naturally or artificially flavored wood chips to the fire.

Natural Wood Flavoring

Wood chips from common hardwood trees are often preferred for their distinct flavors and slow-burning aspects. These include alder, apple, oak, hickory, pecan, cherry, hickory and mesquite. To add complexity, some people mix several types of chips.

Artificial Flavorings

Wine and hot sauce are commonly used to soak and infuse wood chips and chunks, and some flavorings are absorbed through curing wood chips in old wine barrels. The intensity of these chips' effects on the food varies by product and how long the food is cooked.

Unsuitable Wood Flavorings

Avoid woods that infuse foods with unpalatable or medicinal flavors. These include spruce, pine, fir, cedar, sycamore, redwood, cypress, eucalyptus, elm and liquid amber.

Tips

Soak wood chips in water for about a half hour before adding them to the fire. This makes them burn slower and produces a heavier, more invasive smoke.

References

• Virtual Weber Bullet: A Description of Flavored Wood Chips
• Sam's Grill Club: A Description of Flavored Wood Chips