What Is The Best Wood To Smoke A Brisket? [Find Out Here]

Different woods have different aromas and flavors. Therefore, to smoke delicious brisket, you must be selective about the type of wood to use. Not every wood to smoke brisket is best, so you must be careful.

Hickory, Oak, Mesquite, cherry, maple, apple, and pecan are some of the best woods to smoke brisket. These woods take the lead when smoking brisket because they have a strong flavor, burn quickly, and can give a robust earthy flavor. Any of the woods mentioned above will not disappoint if you want a delicious brisket.

Since the type of wood you pick for smoking your brisket is essential in determining whether you get a perfect smoky flavor, you need to pay special attention to the entire process. Read on for more details on choosing the best wood for smoking brisket.

What Wood Is Best To Smoke Brisket

While there are many options, some woods are better than others. For instance, some have strong flavors while others have mild flavors. Thus, the type of wood you pick depends on your preference regarding the flavors.

Hickory is the best wood to smoke brisket. It has a complex profile that features a solid and savory flavor. The Hickory is the wood to use if you want to give your brisket delicious nutty notes. Moreover, the wood produces a lot of smoke, so you will not require a lot of wood chips to complete your smoking. However, it would be best not to overdo it, as that may leave your meat bitter.

Other wood with strong to medium flavors include;

Oak

The oak is premium and the best wood for smoking. It is best suited for smoking the brisket, and this is because it burns for a long time, making it possible to smoke the brisket for a long time. Further, the medium-potency flavor that comes from oak makes it a crowd-pleaser.

If you want a complex, layered taste profile for your brisket, you can blend the oak with other mild flavored smoke.

Mesquite

In addition to the oak and the Hickory, the Mesquite is another excellent option for meat eaters and smokers as it packs an intense flavor to the brisket. If you are a fan of Texas barbecue, the flavor and the scent from the Mesquite will be pretty familiar.

However, Mesquite has one weakness; it burns very fast. Therefore, to grill your brisket to perfection, you need to ensure you have enough to get the work done. Further, you need to know that over-smoking with the Mesquite is quite easy, and this can be worse as it will make your meat bitter. If you are not a smoke junky, blending the Mesquite with mild woods is a good idea to soften the smoke a little.

Best Wood Pellets To Smoke Brisket

Wood pellets are compressed cylinders of extruded woods used to infuse smoke into food. While there are several types of wood pellets, not all are great for use in food products. Hence, when shopping for wood pellets, you should do your due diligence before deciding.

Shopping For The Best Wood Pellets For Brisket

When shopping for the best wood pellets for brisket smoking, you should get them from local BBQ pro shops. A BBQ specialty store knows the best quality of wood pellets and is likely to have a wide range of wood pellets. Here are essential tips for purchasing the best wood pellets for brisket.

Reading The Label

The first step to making the right choice when shopping for pellet woods is to read the label. It is the right way to gather all the necessary information that you will need to make the right choice. To be able to select the best pellets, look at;

• Whether the pellet wood is pure or a blend of other types of pellet woods, all this information should be available from the pellets’ bag. Go for pellets that disclose 100% hardwood with the real tree species as the only source of the pellet inside.
• The pellets you want to purchase are mixed with fillers or oil. Besides the oil required during the processing to stick the pellets together, anything else is an additive.
• The price per pound – Another essential piece of information from the label is the price per pound. Checking the price per pound is necessary because it will help you avoid overpaying for the wood pellets.

The Dust And Sawdust

It is essential to check whether there is a lot of dust or sawdust at the bottom of the packet. Although the dust and sawdust at the bottom do not necessarily mean that the pellets are of poor quality, pouring sawdust into the hopper of your smoker can result in making problems. Such problems may include flameouts, temperature swings, and even hopper fires. Therefore, avoid wood pellets with a lot of dust at the bottom.

The Best Wood Pellets

The best wood pellets are the ones that work best in your smoker. Further, the best wood pellets are the ones you can comfortably afford. After extensive research and comparison, the cherry and the oak are our recommendations for the best pellets for smoked brisket. Here is a list of the top wood pellets for smoking brisket.

• Cherry – the cherry pellets are the best of the fruit woods, especially when mixed with oak. With the cherry pellets in your smoker, you are assured of great color and mild and fruity flavor.
• Hickory – is quite popular in Kansas City as they are ideal for thinner sliced briskets and sweet burnt ends.
• The pecan is an excellent choice as it is bold, has a clean burn, and has a nice flavor that is not likely to overwhelm the meat.
• Mesquites – Mesquite is the strongest wood pellet flavor, perfect for smoking brisket tacos.

The Best Wood Chips To Smoke Brisket

What type of wood chips should you get when smoking briskets? The type of wood chips you get will always directly influence the quality of your smoked brisket. You must know the flavor you want to choose the best wood chips. Generally, there are two types of smoker chip woods: savory and sweet.

Savory Woods

Hickory is the best option if you are looking for a savory flavor. It has a distinct smoky flavor that you will find. Besides the Hickory, the Mesquite is another great wood for savory flavors. However, it has a powerful flavor; therefore, you need to be careful not to overuse it.

Sweet Woods

Maple, apple, and cherry are the common types of wood chips if you are after a sweet flavor. The apple wood chips stand out from the rest in this category as they pair perfectly with any meat.

What Type Of Wood Is Best To Smoke Brisket

The suitable wood makes a huge difference when smoking a brisket at home. Although all the woods mentioned in this post can give you a great smoked brisket, the truth is that they are never the same.

The Hickory and Mesquite are the best wood for cooking brisket for a consistent flavor. However, it would help if you were careful as over smoking will lower the quality of your food. On the other hand, the oak is the best for smoking brisket for beginners and can also provide a great result.

Final Thoughts

Whether you are looking for wood chips, wood chunks, or wood pellets, the type of wood you pick depends on the flavor you want. Woods such as the oak, apple cherry, Hickory, Mesquite, and pecan are the top woods for smoking brisket. Settle for Mesquite and Hickory if you are after a strong flavor.