The best wood chips for smoking meat depend on both the meat and the desired smoke flavor. Apple and cherry add a mild sweetness, while hickory, oak, and mesquite create a stronger smoke flavor that pairs well with beef and pork.
The right wood can make a big difference no matter what type of smoker or grill you’re using.
Key Takeaway
If you’re just getting started, stick with oak, hickory, apple, and cherry wood chips. Together, these four woods cover almost every type of meat you’ll cook and are easy to find in most stores.
Quick Wood Chip Flavor Chart
| Wood Type | Flavor Strength | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | Medium | Brisket, beef, pork, poultry |
| Hickory | Strong | Pork shoulder, ribs, brisket |
| Apple | Mild | Pork, chicken, turkey |
| Cherry | Mild | Pork, chicken, turkey |
| Pecan | Medium | Pork, poultry, beef |
| Mesquite | Very Strong | Beef, game meat |
| Peach | Mild | Pork, poultry |
If you’re just getting started, I recommend buying a variety pack instead of committing to a large bag of a single wood.
Eddie’s Tip! I use oak, hickory, apple, and cherry for most of my barbecue.
Best Wood Chips for Smoking Meat
The following wood chips are some of the most popular choices for backyard cooks and are a great place to start when learning how different woods affect barbecue flavor.
Oak
Use in: Red meat and wild game. also used a lot for pork and fish.
Oak might be called the king of wood for smoking since it is probably the most used wood for this.
Can you imagine a brisket without the oak taste?
Hickory
Hickory is more popular in the southern and Midwestern states. It gives a strong taste and flavor to our meat, and that is why you should be a little careful not to make the smoke too dark by letting in more oxygen. Darker smoke is caused by less oxygen and can make your meat taste bitter.
Apple
Use in: pork and especially ham and poultry. Apple gives a mild flavor and adds a taste of sweetness to the meat, in my opinion.
Peach
Use in: Pork, beef, and poultry
Cherry is great for pork and will add that mahogany color to your meat that we like to see.
I like to mix this sometimes with some hickory and oak for a little stronger taste.
Cherry
Use in: Pork, and to be honest, it can be used in about any other meat, like chicken, turkey, and fish.
The flavor is a little sweet, but it is great for the softer kinds of meat.
Mesquite
Use in: Beef, fish, turkey, chicken, and game meats like deer.
Although I love the taste and flavor of Mesquite. I do not use it for long smoking sessions myself. The reason is that I think the taste is too strong then.
I use it for shorter sessions and many times even for just grilling. This gives that nice mesquite taste in things like chicken and pork chops. Many restaurants use Mesquite because of the oily way it burns. It burns very hot also.
Jack Daniels
Use in: Steaks, pork, beef, and brisket.
The taste is very personal, and some people like it, and others don’t. It probably depends on what you expect of it. Give it a try and let us know in the comments. I have never used them before.
Pimento
Use in: Poultry or for making jerky in a dehydrator.
This is also a wood I have never used. I read that you should prevent the wood from catching fire since this will give a bitter taste to the meat.
Pecan
Pecan wood is closely related to hickory but produces a slightly milder and sweeter smoke flavor. I often recommend pecan to people who enjoy hickory but find it a little too strong for their taste.
Pecan works especially well with pork, poultry, and beef. It adds a rich smoke flavor without overpowering the meat and is also a good choice for longer cooks such as pork shoulder and brisket.
If you’re looking for a versatile wood that sits somewhere between hickory and the fruit woods, pecan is worth trying.
I have found a great post that might help you find even more about smoking with wood. You can find it here: https://www.smokedbbqsource.com/smoking-wood-guide/
How to Choose the Right Wood Chips
I recommend matching the strength of the wood to the type of meat you’re cooking.
- Stronger woods such as hickory and mesquite work well with larger cuts of beef and pork.
- Milder fruit woods like apple and cherry are often a better choice for chicken, turkey, and fish.
Best Wood Chips For Smoking – My Experience
I hope this article, which, by the way, got a little longer than I originally planned, gave you a little more insight into what wood chips for smoking are and how you can use them for cooking some great meat.
Besides wood chips, there are also wood planks that you can use on your grill or smoker for fish, and I wrote an article about plank fish that will tell you exactly how I do that.
Still have not found what you are looking for? Have a look at these Amazon wood chips for smoking.
For a full breakdown of smoking basics: → Smoking Meat Basics
You can find the best recipes by going to my home page and starting to look for the best smoker recipes for your way of grilling.
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Eddie van Aken – The Grilling Dutchman
Eddie van Aken is the founder of The Grilling Dutchman, where he shares practical BBQ tips, smoking techniques, recipes, and grill reviews based on real-world experience. After years of cooking on pellet grills, charcoal grills, smokers, and kamado cookers, he focuses on helping backyard cooks get better results with less guesswork. Learn more about Eddie van Aken. Learn more about Eddie van Aken.