Smoking Wood Tips

Smokinlicious is pleased to announce that we have added an eighth hardwood species to our product line.  Beech is now available in gourmet wood chips, double and single filet wood chunk, wood blocks and heartwood logs for purchase!

Here is the smoker’s introduction to this species

>> There are ten different varieties of Beech available around the world, but we will generally harvest American Beech or Red Beech(Fagus grandifolia Ehrh).

>> The heartwood is dark to reddish brown.

>> American Beech has been a popular choice for charcoal making because it burns so long.

>> Beech and Oak are part of the same wood family(Fagaceae), therefore, Beech is similar in flavor to White Oak.  It is considered a medium to bold flavor.  In our opinion it should be used mostly with beef, pork, venison and other wild game versus poultry.

We hope you try and enjoy this great addition to our hardwood family of products.  Remember all barbecue, NO bark!

While we attended the “Big Pig Jig” in Georgia we noticed a significant amount of competing teams using the fire wood approach to cooking. The wood they were using for the smoking process was covered in bark! We discussed not only the health concerns but also the effect of the bitterness that bark imparts on the food. Some teams swore by its use as an added flavor additive to their cook product while others were very much unaware of the health concerns.

We all have allergies, no matter what part of the country we live in, the biggest contributor to this is the pollen from plants that are caught in the bark of the trees. This pollen is in the bark portion of the tree and will be released only during the burning process! Therefore this pollen will be either imparted into the foods that are being cooked or in the air. There are creatures of the world that use the bark of the tree for their home, which will be released only during the burning process. Likewise they will have an effect on the taste! While all teams are looking for the edge to win! My team and myself could not believe that the fire wood approach was so widely used!