Are you looking for the best wood to smoke chicken on the market as you are a smoked food lover? Oh, yes, you will certainly answer. What kind of meat do you prefer? The answer will be different for everyone. But chicken is definitely one of the favorite types of meat for smoking. Do you want the taste and aroma of your smoked chicken to delight you and your loved ones? Here, we’ll break down the best chicken BBQ wood. You will discover the world’s most popular smoked woods such as apple, oak, hickory, cherry, maple, and more.
Contents
Review of the best wood to smoke chicken in the table
Apple wood: Excellent wood for smoking chicken
Most people prefer to use apple wood for smoking any part of a chicken; it is the most popular and beloved of all woods used. Apple wood chips make the chicken taste a whole lot better when they are used for smoking it because they impart a sweet and fruity flavor. The aroma of the apple tree is perfect for the delicate taste of chicken meat.
Try apple wood shavings from this company for smoking chicken. Apple wood PREMIUM WOOD harvested in the forest, natural, 100% untreated. The large volume of 4.5 liters (1.3 kg) is enough to smoke for hours and smoke a lot of delicious food
Oak Wood: Preferred best wood for smoking chicken
Our smoking recommendations for oak wood used to apply to turkey. But oak wood is also great for smoking chicken. This wood, when smoked, gives the poultry its characteristic smoky flavor and reddish hue, which gives it an amazing look as turkey and chicken meat is naturally white.
Although the taste of oak wood is stronger than maple, cherry, apple, it is still softer than other woods such as hickory, acacia, black walnut, etc. Thanks to this, Gwernyfed Wood is ideal for delicate chicken flavors and gives meat perfect delicate balanced smoky and mild flavor.
The best oak wood for smoking chicken, we recommend the company Gwernyfed Wood. Pieces of wood are ideal for charcoal grills, open fires, and large smokehouses, adding a persistent and distinct flavor to every part of the chicken you smoke.
They are collected in our own environmentally friendly forest, 100% without any additives. The volume of 4.5 liters (1.3 kg) of wood chips will be enough for you to smoke a lot of delicious food for hours. Oak chips go with every bbq meat, fish, and heavy game. It has a heavy smoky flavor that mixes well or is good on its own.
Cherry Wood/ Gwernyfed Wood
Cherry is versatile and great for all meats and fish, especially chicken. Cherry, as a woody fruit tree species, imparts a slightly sweet fruity smoke flavor and it goes well with chicken and gives the chicken white a beautiful reddish hue. The mild aromas of cherry wood smoke are ideally combined with the delicate aroma of chicken. Don’t be afraid that wood smoke will dominate your chicken’s aroma.
Recommended cherry wood chips for smoking chicken from Guvernifed Wood. The quality of the chips is excellent.
Collected from our own forest, 100% natural without additives. The wood is aged but does not rot or age, and has a beautiful rich flavor, making it ideal for chicken.
Whiskey Oak Smoking/100% Natural from freshly chipped whiskey barrels
These wood chips envelop the chicken with a deliciously soft smoky oak scent with a hint of whiskey. According to many positive reviews, these chips can be safely attributed to the best wood chips for smoking chicken.
These chips are produced by the company Guvernifed Wood from recently used oak barrels used for aging whiskey, natural chips, and no additives.
- The wood chips add a unique smoky flavor to the chicken meat that makes them one of the best wood chips for smoking chicken. Smoky oak flavor with a hint of whiskey infuses these spicy wood chips, which are stronger than apple wood but lighter than hickory.
- The chips work well with an electric grill, gas grills, charcoal grills, water smokers, or any personal smoker box or an aluminum foil pocket. Infrared grills also make use of these wood chips, which can be added directly to the grate.
- Smoked chicken takes on a delicious flavor when smoked with these wood shavings, which catch fire quite quickly.
This wood is a perfect match for a smoking whole chicken, chicken breasts, drumsticks, thighs, wings, ham, and any other cuts from a whole chicken.
Napoleon 67002 Maple Wood Chips
Perfect for chicken lovers who like a slightly sweeter flavor than apple wood. In addition to imparting a sweet, light flavor to chicken, maple wood imparts a slightly stronger flavor than apple wood, but without overcoming the natural flavors of the chicken. This makes maple wood a great choice for chicken lovers who prefer a strong flavor yet not heavy like pecan or hickory.
Our recommended best maple wood for smoking chicken is Napoleon 67002 smoking wood chips. These wood smoker shavings are made from pure natural maple hardwood. They have no added dangerous chemicals; hence, you are assured of a chemical-free, healthier, cleaner-burning fire and smoke going to your poultry meat.
Before starting, for best results, the wood chips must be soaked in water for 30 minutes. These woodchips also match well with seafood, pork, vegetables, and cheese, in addition to chicken.
Hickory: Favored best wood for smoking chicken
Why do we think hickory is one of the favorite woods for smoking chicken?
There are several reasons for this. This is primarily due to the fact that Hickory has a distinct, richly smoky flavour that is subtly sweet, robust, and goes very well with chicken, turkey, pork (especially bacon), and beef. Also, hickory is an extremely popular and readily available smoking wood, making it one of the best choices for beginners.
This wood is considered to have a strong aroma, although not as strong as other earthy species such as mesquite. If you use too much hickory wood to smoke your chicken at once, it may be too heavy. The flavor of the wood can easily overwhelm the natural flavor of the chicken. You must keep this in mind and be careful not to exceed the recommended dosage.
If you want amazing results when using hickory for smoking chicken, try mixing hickory wood with some fruit trees like apple or cherry. This is because the nutty smell of the hickory goes well with the fruit tree when used to smoke chicken or turkey.
Jack Daniels Wood chips
Very fragrant oak wood made from original whiskey barrels. Ideal for meat, fish, and poultry. Try it, you will be satisfied with the pleasant scent of this wood smoke.
The recommended wood for a smoking chicken is ideal for meat, fish, and poultry. Suitable for all types of grill. These wood chips are durable and cut into sizes that fit well in the grill or smoker for outdoor enjoyment.
Recommendations for choosing the best wood for smoking chicken and what to consider when choosing.
The scent of wood for
Even though chicken, just like any other poultry, has a delicate flavor, the stronger flavors you choose can easily overpower it. Smoking wood chips, chunks, or pellets will influence the flavor and smell of your cooked chicken at serving time. The three categories of woods based on flavor intensity are:
Lighter woods: Smoking chicken is done with these most often. They pose no risk of overpowering the flavor of chicken with their light taste profile. Mild/light flavored woods include fruit-woods like apple, maple, cherry, and alder.
Medium flavored woods: If used with some caution, these can also be used to smoke chicken. Unlike elders, maple, or apple, they don’t have a strong taste or are too light, so they offer a good balance between taste and flavor. These woods include Pecan, oak, and hickory wood
Strongly flavored woods: A bird’s delicate taste may be overwhelmed by the strong flavor of these food items. Therefore, you need to proceed with extra caution when using these. Mesquite wood is one example.
Tip: To balance the effect of these types of woods, mix the strong scent of the wood with a lighter one.
Wood chips size
The wood used for smoking can take on different configurations depending on whether we are referring to a real appliance (grill, charcoal stove, or smoker box). It is also possible to have entire wood logs for giant outdoor grills and pits.
Wood chunks are 3-4 inches in size and this burns longer and provides more smoke than wood chips. Wood chunks also mix well with charcoal.
Wood chips, on the other hand, are small shavings. These should be considered as a last resort because they have a short burn life compared to chunks. Chose wood chips if you are planning on smoking for a few minutes. Chose wood pellets for smoking if you just want to do a light smoke on your chicken.
FAQ
What type of wood is best for smoking chicken?
When smoking for the first time, stick to the light fruit woods such as apple, cherry, or maple if you don’t want to go wrong. Smoking chicken with these woods is the best since their light sweet fruity flavor will not overpower the delicate flavor of the chicken. Then you can experiment with medium-tasting smoked woods such as pecans, oak, and hickory. These woods give the chicken a wonderful flavor, especially when combined with light woods.
What are the best wood chips for smoking chicken?
How long does it take and what temperature is needed when smoking chicken?
When smoking poultry (chicken, turkey) or any other meat, it is important to monitor the temperature. Slow smoking is the key here, as this allows the chicken to be sufficiently exposed to wood smoke to give the meat an adequate rich smoke flavor. And always try to maintain a constant temperature (200 and 225 ° F) in the smoke chamber. Try not to exceed 280 ° F temperature, reporting wood chips as needed. The time it takes to get the chicken ready will depend on the thickness of the chicken. Ideally, aim for 45 minutes per pound of smoked chicken. This would mean it would take about 3 hours to smoke a 4-pound chicken in a smokehouse maintained at 225 degrees.
Do I need to wrap the chicken in foil when smoking?
Yes and no. It can be wrapped and held in foil for a while, this helps to make the chicken more juicy and tender. However, if you leave the chicken wrapped for too long, it can lose moisture.
VERDICT
Let’s summarize all of the above. We now know that choosing the right wood for smoking chicken will greatly affect its final flavor. The best wood in our opinion for smoking chicken is detailed in this article along with some tips and answers to frequently asked questions. Do not forget about the smoking method you use and how you use it, it will also be key to determining the final result of smoked chicken. Always use lower temperatures for a longer period of time to ensure that the chicken is sufficiently exposed to wood smoke to give the meat an adequate rich smoke flavor. The choice is yours!
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