BARBECUE WOOD FOR YOUR HYBRID GRILL

TYPES OF WOOD TO USE IN YOUR HYBRID GRILL

BBQ WOOD

On the subject of BBQ woods, I have found the best results to be from nut and fruit bearing trees, cut down and aged from six months to two years. Like Oak, Hickory, Mesquite, Pecan, Peach, Pear, Apple, Apricot, Alder and Maple to list a few. These are the best types to use for cooking. Here in Texas, the choices of good BBQ smoking wood are pretty much Mesquite, Hickory, Pecan and Oak. Sometimes wood over two years old can produce a dirty taste in your barbecue and never use wood that appears to have any white, blue or greenish mold on it as it just won't taste good. Barbecue wood can be cut down whole, and split after five or so months of seasoning. I recommend splitting about a week or so before barbequing or grilling with it.

Under no circumstances should you ever use green wood for smoking in your Hybrid Grill or any other smoker. It will produce a bitter taste. Nearly everyone agrees that the wood should be well-seasoned, as green wood tends to produce a bitter creosote that can ruin barbeque. Also don’t use any pine. I heard about a fellow that cooked with the heart of pine, promptly promoting some of the nastiest red rashes all over the skin of the victims and making them sick. Stay away from pines and cypress. I don't care for cedar either but, some folks like cooking on cedar shakes or shingles.

if you can find it, try apple or cherry chips soaked in water, placed on your charcoal when you cook duck or goose in your Hybrid Grill. It will give your smoked bird a sweet taste. It isn't easy to get apple or cherry wood in Texas so, a lot of folks will use pecan which has some sweetness in it. Pecan is also really good with pork and ham. Pecan wood (not the shells) burns just a little bit hotter and quicker with mesquite being one of the hottest and fastest burners around. Some folks use a couple of handfuls of pecan shells that have been soaked in water overnight. This also imparts a sweet smoke flavor.

Hickory is a traditional wood of choice for many folks in Texas and the US. However, oak is also commonly used, and both are good, strong, full-bodied woods. There is nothing in the world that says you have to use just one type of wood when smoking BBQ. You can use a mixture of your favorites and some people use a different wood depending on what type meat they are smoking. Many professional cook teams use a 50/50 mix of hickory and mesquite for beef

My all around favorite is Post Oak. The smoke imparts an awesome flavor into your barbeque and it burns at a medium heat for a real long time. You have to get to know your BBQ pit and the wood your going to use to become a gourmet BBQ chef. As we get into some of the finer tips for grilling and smoking with your hybrid grill, you'll see that I prefer using only charcoal and wood that I place into a coal state with a separate fire.

Different schools of thought exist regarding in what state (pre-burned coals, split logs, or whole logs) the wood should be added to the BBQ pit, and what color the smoke produced by the burning should be--a barely perceptible blue, or a clean white smoke. Again, my favorite is well seasoned split oak that I have started in another fire pit or barbecue grill. I'll wait till it burns down to coals and use a shovel to add the coals as needed through the easy access backdoor of the Hybrid. White smoke is slightly more bitter than the sweeter blue smoke that you see coming from your Hybrid Grill.

Preferences on cooking wood are as varied as individual tastes. One of the key things to think about when barbecuing is how much flavor from the wood do you want in the food? For beef, you can't beat oak! Another great wood combination for beef is a 50/50 mix of hickory and mesquite. There are many competition cooks who swear by this one. As for chicken, try a 50/50 mix of oak and pecan wood. I think straight pecan can be too strong a flavor for chicken, but cut it down a little with oak and it's great.

Fish?... I mostly grill fish on my Hybrid Grill and don't smoke fish often. It really all depends on what type fish you're cooking and your personal preferences.

Think of the wood as nothing more than a BBQ seasoning. Not everyone likes a lot of pepper, some folks like things spicy or salty (I like it all), the same issue goes with flavors imparted by wood. The best thing you can do is to try several different kinds of wood for a particular type of meat and figure out what your preference is.

Part of the fun of BBQ grilling and smoking with your hybrid grill is experimenting. You'll find that some of the woods are not your favorite, or just don't do much for you, but I can guarantee you'll still enjoy the process, celebration and eating of your experiments. Barbequing is just plain fun!