What Is The Best Wood For Smoking Chicken? [ANSWERED]

If you plan to smoke chicken, you must ensure you get the best wood. The quality of the wood that you will use may have a significant influence on the success of the entire process. So, what is the best wood for smoking chicken?

When selecting the best wood for smoking, you will have many options. The apple, Pecan, Maple, Oak, and most fruity woods are excellent for smoking chicken as they do not contain a lot of resin. Nonetheless, apple is the best wood for smoking as its flavor profile perfectly pairs with chicken.

The trick for picking the best wood for smoking is to ensure that you select woods that can complement the flavor of the body. Some BBQ enthusiasts advise against using woods with a robust flavor, such as hickory or mesquite. Read on for more details on picking the best wood for chicken smoking.

How To Choose The Best Wood For Smoking Chicken

Choosing wood for smoking a chicken is an art that requires lots of research and consideration. If you rush to pick a random wood stick without any sought of research, the chances are that you may end up with undesirable results. To pick the best wood, you have several considerations to make.

Hardwood Or Softwood

When deciding on the best wood for smoking the bird, you will be confronted with two major types of wood; hardwood and softwood.

It is essential to understand that hardwood is best for smoking chicken while softwoods such as cedars are excellent for smoking fish. Softwoods are not ideal for poultry because they burn fast while emitting lots of sparks which can easily ruin your bird. Nonetheless, if you are after cooking dishes such as veggies, fish, or super slim cuts of meat, the softwood will not disappoint.

The Type Of Tree

When it comes to smoking poultry, it is essential to note that every tree has a different taste and scent. Therefore, if you want a specific aroma and flavor in your chicken, you must use a tree with the scent and flavor you want. The prevalent types of woods for smoking include hickory, apple, Pecan, Oak, cherry, and peach.

The fruit woods are more popular as they are known to enhance the flavor and the color of smoked chicken. Moreover, fruitwoods do not overpower the flavor of the chicken.

The Flavors

The kind of flavor you intend to achieve will significantly influence the wood for smoking you choose.

Generally, poultry perfectly pairs with fruity or sweet woods such as Oak, Maple, Pecan, cherry, and apple.

Notably, strong woods such as mesquite and hickory can easily overpower the flavor of the chicken. If you do not want your chicken to taste bitter, you should avoid them.

Best Wood For Smoking Chicken

The first step to finding the best wood for smoking poultry is to decide on the taste you want to achieve at the end of your smoking.

The cherry and the apple are the best wood to smoke poultry as they are known to offer an incredible flavor and taste. If you are looking for a sweet flavor, maple wood will be the ideal option for such an objective.

Best Wood For Smoking Chicken Breast

The best wood for smoking chicken breast should be a type of wood that is appropriate for smoking poultry. In other words, the type of wood that you can pick for smoking the whole bird can be very effective for smoking a chicken breast. However, you need to factor in the fact that the chicken breast is smaller than a whole chicken. Consequently, it will cook fast, and you need a type of wood that can deliver the desired flavor within a short smoking period.

The apple wood will still be the perfect option for smoking chicken breast. This is because the apple wood infuses fruity flavor into the smoked chicken, which is why it is an ideal wood for smoking different types of poultry. You will need to use high-density apple wood to get enough smoke for smoking your chicken breasts.

Additional reasons why the apple wood is ideal for smoking chicken breasts include;

• The apple wood is sourced in the US, and therefore you do not have to worry whether or not the chips are organic.
• Applewood is best for smoking chicken. Hence, you are assured of getting the desired results.
• It is budget-friendly, making it a perfect choice if you are on a tight budget.
• The apple is best known for its subtle and sweet taste that does not dilute the flavor of the chicken.

Best Wood For Smoking Chicken Wings

The type of wood that you will use for smoking will have a significant influence on the flavor and taste of your chicken wings. Thus, although the different woods, such as hickory wood, can give you a savory and Smokey flavor, the truth is that other types of woods can do better.

The Oak is the best wood to smoke chicken wings. While the Oak does not have a fruity or sweet flavor, it has an excellent quality smoke that will provide a classic barbecue flavor.

Besides, several other reasons why using oak wood to smoke chicken wings will be a great idea. They include;

• Chicken wings are smaller than other smoked meats, and this means that they cook faster. Therefore, when smoking chicken wings, you may not have enough time to attain the desired strong Smokey flavor. The Oak wood is perfect for delivering a reasonable amount of smoke within the shortest time possible. While other woods may deliver nuttier, fruitier, or even sweet flavors, they may not have enough time to deliver the desired amount of smoke.
• The oak wood is best for adding a deep brown color to the chicken wings, making smoked chicken appealing.
• They produce moderate heat with smooth, light smoke for an excellent smoking venture.
• The oak wood is pretty versatile as you can blend it with other types of wood, such as apple or maple, to achieve the desired flavor.

Tips For Smoking A Delicious Chicken

When it comes to smoking a delicious chicken for your guests or even family members, the caliber of the smoking skills will significantly influence the entire process. Besides ensuring that you purchase the best wood for smoking chicken, other numerous tips may help make a big difference.

1. Purchase A Good Quality Chicken

The process of smoking a delicious chicken starts with the quality of the chicken that you are going to purchase. When shopping for the chicken, ensure it is all-natural, cage-free, and has thin white skin. In addition, check the grading of the chicken to ensure it is of the right quality.

2. Brine The Chicken

Chicken is naturally lean meat. Therefore, brining the chicken before smoking makes it possible for you to smoke comfortably without interfering with its tenderness and juiciness.

3. Pat The Chicken Dry

Once you are done with the bringing phase, it is necessary to ensure that the chicken is dry before you start smoking. Drying the chicken is vital as it enhances the adhering of the smoke to the meat while preventing the chances of rubbery skin. Instead, it guarantees crisp and delicious skin.

4. Proper Seasoning

You must ensure that you season the chicken well for a delicious meal. However, you need to avoid over-seasoning the chicken as that quickly destroys its flavor.

5. Choose The Right Wood

When choosing the wood for smoking your chicken, you need to ensure that you settle for a complementary type of wood that will not overpower the flavor of your chicken. Mild fruit woods such as apple and cherry are great for smoking chicken.

6. Use A Digital Meat Thermometer

A digital meat thermometer is essential to know when the chicken is done. Overcooking or undercooking the chicken will not give you the desired Results.

Final Thoughts

Although chicken is one of the easiest yet most flavorful meat to smoke, the wood you choose will directly influence the flavor. Generally, apple wood is the best for smoking chicken as it is complementary and will hardly overpower the chicken’s natural flavor.