Smokinlicious® Smoking Wood Tips

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN $3.99 WOOD CHIPS FOR SMOKING AND THE SMOKINLICIOUS® BRAND

 

 

If you’ve ever looked at the wood chips for smoking products available at most discount retail stores, you’ll notice that they seem to have consistent pricing in the $3.99 or less bracket. Yet, you look at the SmokinLicious® brand and come up with a price that’s close to twice the cost. What’s the deal with the price difference?

There are many factors involved in determining the retail price of wood chips many of which I’m sure the average consumer hasn’t considered. What exactly are you paying for when you select a specific wood chip brand?

Let me give you some insight.

Wood Chips for Smoking- Let’s Start with the Raw Material

The raw material is by far the largest cost factor with selling wood chips for grilling, smoking, and cooking in general. I’ll make the comparison to cotton purchased by a t-shirt manufacturer. There are grades of cotton. Higher grades of cotton go into more expensive cotton clothing. Purchase a $5 t-shirt and you’re guaranteed a lower grade cotton was used. This means you likely won’t get more than a year of consistent wearing and washing out of that $5 t-shirt!

The same is true for wood chips. There are 8 different grades of wood or lumber for purposes such as cabinet making, flooring, construction, and pallets. Only one culinary wood company specifically purchases raw lumber material for cooking wood manufacture only. That would be SmokinLicious®.

Other companies will do one of three things; have a primary business in one of the areas listed above and use the waste product for producing the wood chips, or, purchase another company’s waste product to market as a wood chip grilling and smoking wood, or, have the company with waste product package a private label brand of grilling and smoking chips and deliver to a centralized distribution warehouse for the brand, something commonly done by equipment manufacturers who feel a need to offer a wood chip to go with the equipment.

Cleanliness of the Manufacturing Process

Another key factor in cost is the handling of the material during the manufacturing process. Now I understand that we are talking about wood and not a food item. However, if you are using a wood to add flavoring to food through smoke vapor from burning wood, then I see the wood as an ingredient. As with any ingredient, I would prefer to use something that is clean and pure since I will be eating this.

Since I’ve already pointed out that many companies use materials that are labeled as waste wood, you have no idea how the waste material was collected, stored, moved, and processed. You also don’t know what’s in that waste wood (treated lumber pieces, a mix of woods, some softwoods) or how old that material is which directly affects the moisture level. Remember, moisture is needed to smolder the wood and produce smoke vapor.

SmokinLicious® is the only culinary wood manufacturer that is Kosher certified, attesting to the steps taken to ensure the culinary products are clean, clean stored, and preserved.

Wood Chips for Smoking- Varieties and Availability

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COOKING WOOD WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW Click To Tweet

 

I’m going, to be frank. When having an opportunity to search through social media photos of various foods cooked by fire and smoke and seeing a reference to the wood, I get uncomfortable. There doesn’t appear to be the same concern for the choice of wood as there is for the rub, cut of meat, quality of meat, choice of equipment, and sauce.

Why is it that the wood used to flavor the foods grilled and smoked is an afterthought?

Rating Scale for Cooking Wood

Recently, I ran across an article in Reader’s Digest that focused on the dangers of wildfire smoke, especially for those living in areas of the United States that are hit repeatedly by these events. What struck me the most was the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index: good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous. This guide is used to recommend evacuations of locations, use of HEPA filtration to allow people to remain in an affected area, and as a method of gaining valuable data post-fire on the effects, smoke has on plant life. There is considerable data available from tree bark which has long been known to absorb pollutants.

This got me thinking about hardwoods used for smoking, grilling, and overall cooking of foods. There is no regulatory agency that oversees wood used for cooking. Despite efforts to get the Food Safety and Inspection Services division to recognize the risks associated with cooking with wood, no governmental agency has stepped up to offer regulations in this area such as established inspections of equipment and wood.

Why Kosher is important for Cooking wood!

As the manufacturer of all the products sold under the brand SmokinLicious®, we struggled with what steps to take that would demonstrate our commitment to only offer hardwoods that are considered safe for cooking. Although we stressed that we are bark-free (an important step to reduce the exposure to toxins locked in the bark layers), that we only manufacture from the heartwood (an area of the tree that is known to be resistant to insects and decay), and that we manufacture each cut to the wood for the end cooking product, we simply desired some validation of these steps.

Since we’ve always considered the wood another ingredient to cooking, we decided to explore the options from the food perspective. What certification could we apply for that would demonstrate that we are a food-related item? Kosher certification was the perfect place to start!

Certification Means?

For us, the steps we’ve taken to obtain Kosher certification via VA’AD HAKASHRUS OF BUFFALO verified our commitment to keep our manufacturing facility at the highest standard possible. People are drawn to kosher food for various reasons including quality, a healthy lifestyle, food safety, and allergy security. By securing this certification, we can demonstrate to the public that our products satisfy the food quality and safety requirements they should strive for daily. As such, our customers don’t have to settle for an unregulated product that frankly, could contain pretty much anything in the package because, as pointed out, there is no system of check on wood cooking and smoking products.

The SmokinLicious® Cooking Wood Index

Taking a page from the Environmental Protection Agency, I thought it would be helpful to develop an index to use for hardwood intended for cooking. Our grading system is based on toxicity factors of a wood, ease of lighting, sustained burn, coal formation, smoke production, and heat level. Our index is: Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor, Unhealthy.

Excellent: Alder, American Beech, Ash, Cherry, Hickory, Pecan, Maple, Apple

Good: Persimmon, Red Oak, White Oak, Mesquite

Fair: Birchwood, Chestnut, Walnut, Peach

Poor: Aspen, Basswood, Poplar, Sycamore, Butternut, Cottonwood, Elm, Willow, Dogwood

Unhealthy: Buckeye, Hackberry, Gum (Sweetgum)

We hope you will find this guide useful. Use it as a means of sorting through all the types of wood offerings to make an educated decision, to look for key information on the packaging that will confirm you are making a safe decision. After all, why take any additional risks when it comes to the health and safety of your family.

Making you an informed consumer through valuable articles like this one. Hope you enjoyed this blog about cooking with wood! Leave us a comment and subscribe for more great recipes, techniques, tips, and the science behind the flavor, that’s SmokinLicious®.

Products discussed in this Blog:

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore®

Charwood

Additional reading:

-WHAT WOOD TO USE FOR SMOKING: A PRIMER

-BEYOND PRICING: THE TOP THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN PURCHASING COOKING WOOD

-Is It Fresh? Here’s Why You Need to Know

-10 THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE PURCHASING WOOD FOR COOKING, GRILLING & SMOKING

Wines to pair with your smoked Meat is important but not easy!

Great Sustainable Wines To Pair With Your Smoked Meat Guest blog by — Kylee Harris is an events planner and writer who is a strong advocate of allergy awareness.

She has also expanded her mission to stress the importance of food safety not just in events, but in her community. She also has a great eye for current interests and finds great ways to tie wood fired foods and sustainable food practices together.

Back in 2015, only 6% of consumers said that their first choice of wine would be a bottle that is produced in a sustainable way. This figure has been steadily rising. The 2018 American Wine Consumers Survey even showed that customers are willing to pay $3 more for a sustainable option. They want an environmentally-conscious wine that has been made from ethically grown grape varieties. The farming process is pesticide free and even bottling the wine is done in a way that won’t cause harm to the environment. It has even been suggested (although not proved as yet) that sustainable, organic wine can prevent a hangover. You’re more than welcome to test out this theory – and even better, you can pair the wine with some delicious smoked meat.

Wines to Pair- Maple-Smoked Pork Chops

Pairing your wine with smoked meat, is all about complimenting the delicate smoky flavor of the wood used. Maple-smoked meat will naturally have a slightly sweet and fragrant taste. This can be achieved by using maple woodchips in your barbecue or smoker. In order to contrast the sweet maple taste and the white umami flavor of pork, you should pair your meal with a sharp and zingy white wine. Benziger Family Winery

in Sonoma county have a few delicious and fresh Chardonnay options, including the Coelo Chardonnay and the West Rows Chardonnay. Perfect for a barbecue on a hot summer’s day with friends and family. Don’t forget you can also buy sustainable wines by the can – this makes it so easy to keep cool when you’re having a garden party. Everyone can help themselves.

Wines to Pair- White Oak Smoked Venison

The strong and almost pungent aromas of white oak are best paired with a dark, gamey meat that can hold its own. Duck breast, pigeon and venison are good choices. The white oak adds a complimentary bitterness that balances well with the rich flavors. A hearty sustainable red wine is a good option with smoked white oak. Silver Oak Vineyard in Napa Valley have a fruity and dark Cabernet Sauvignon that pairs beautifully with White Oak smoked dark meat. New York’s sustainable Red Tail Ridge Winery offer a tangy Teroldego,

which is similar to Syrah that is a great partner to White Oak smoked venison.

Wines to Pair- Alder-Smoked Seabass

The mild flavor profile of alder makes it the perfect wood choice to smoke fish with – particularly slightly salty seabass. The taste of the alder itself adds a slightly sweet taste to the fish, even if it is only smoked for a short amount of time. Pairing alder with a sustainable wine is easy. A good Prosecco or sparkling wine will work well – look for something dry and fresh. Left Coast Cellars in Oregon have a lively Blanc de Noir

that is perfect with alder. It adds citrus notes of lemon and pineapple, which complement the taste of the smoke and the fish well.

There are an increasing number of vineyards and suppliers in America offering truly sustainable wine. Pair something tasty and delicious with your smoked meat and enjoy a great meal.

More blogs you may enjoy:

–Sip ‘Em If You Got ‘Em: Smoked Whiskey Cocktails And Meat

-HOW TO MAKE THE BEST SMOKY COCKTAILS

–How To Maintain A Safe Kitchen Environment

Charcoal Smoker Grills and SmokinLicious®- for great wood fired flavor! Click To Tweet

Charcoal Smoker Grills–For those that have followed us for years, you know we are proud that almost from the start of our Company, we were committed to providing a guide for equipment to cooking wood product match. We refer to our guide affectionately as “Match Your Cooker”.

In this article, we are covering our recommendations for charcoal-wood burning grill equipment; these are grills that capable of using charcoal and wood for authentic charcoal grilling. As there are always new equipment lines and models released, our plan is to provide regular updates. We also encourage you to send us a message when you don’t see a manufacturer or model listed.

For now, we introduce you to our wood master’s guide to SmokinLicious® cooking woods for specific smokers.

Barrel Smoker Logs-

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Barrel Smoker Log/ Full Cut Log:

Aztec model: Commercial Grills

Gaucho Grills models: Supremo Free-Standing, Grilling Inserts

¼ Cut Wood Logs

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® ¼ Cut Wood Log:

Aztec model: Home Grill

Engelbrecht Grills & Cookers: all models

Gaucho Grills all models

Kalamazoo models: Outdoor Gourmet, K75OHS Hybrid Fire Grill

M Grills model: B2, M16, A10

Pitts & Spitts models: Traditional Charcoal Grill, Adjustable Charcoal Grill

Unfileted Wood Blocks

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Unfileted Wood Block:

Gaucho Grills all models

Pitmaker model: BBQ Grills 48

Pitts & Spitts models: Traditional Charcoal Grill, Adjustable Charcoal Grill

PK Grill & Smoker

Single Filet Wood Chunks

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Single Filet Wood Chunks:

American Muscle Grill

Dyna-Glo models:

Grillworks 36

JedaJeda Charcoal Grill BBQ

Kalamazoo Charcoal Smoker Cabinet

Pitmaker models: Tailgater, BBQ Grills 30

West of Memphis Ironman 3

Double Filet Wood Chunks

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Double Filet Wood Chunk:

Alfresco Grills: Models with Solid Fuel Insert

Arteflame

Aussie models: Walk-A-Bout Portable Charcoal Grill, Americana Sizzler Charcoal Grill, Americana Traveler Portable Grill

Camp Chef model: Wood Fire Cook Wagon

Char-Broil Models: Kettleman Tru-Infrared Charcoal Grill, Kamander Charcoal Grills, CB940X Charcoal Grill, American Gourmet Charcoal Grills, Charcoal Grill 580 & 780, Charcoal Barrel Grill, CB500X Portable Charcoal Grill, American Gourmet® Portable Charcoal Grill, Deluxe Gas & Charcoal Combo Grill

Char-Griller Grills & Smokers models: Super Pro™ 2121 Charcoal Grill, Deluxe Griller™ 2828 Charcoal Grill, Traditional Charcoal Grill, Outlaw™ 2137 Charcoal Grill, Pro Deluxe™ 2727 Charcoal Grill, Wrangler™ 2123, Wrangler™ 2823, 14822 Premium Red & Black Kettle, Legacy Charcoal Grill, Grand Champ™ 8100 Charcoal Grill, Patio Pro® 1616 Charcoal Grill, Patio Pro® 1515 Charcoal Grill, Duel Function™ 5030 2-Burner Gas & Charcoal Grill, Duo™ 550 Gas & Charcoal Grill, Dual Function™ 5072 Gas & Charcoal Grill, Double Play™ 5650 Gas & Charcoal Grill

Cobb all models

Dancook 1900 Charcoal Grill

Texas Pit Crafters models: BBQ King BI, PM 200/200S BI, PM 500/500S BI

Tremor Breeze Smoker

Grande Sapore® Wood Chips

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Grande Sapore® Wood Chips:

Aussie models: Walk-A-Bout Portable Charcoal Grill, Americana Sizzler Charcoal Grill, Americana Traveler Portable Grill

Camp Chef models: Wood Fire Cook Wagon

Char-Broil: CB500X Portable Charcoal Grill, Portable Charcoal Grill, Portable Kettle Charcoal Grill, American Gourmet® Portable Charcoal Grill

Cobb all models

Minuto® Wood Chips

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Minuto® Wood Chips:

Earth Oven

Eco-Que: Portable Grills

Fire Magic Charcoal BBQ Smoker on Stand

Orion Cooker

Piccolo® Wood Chips

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Piccolo® Wood Chip:

Orion Cooker

We hope you view this guide as a helpful resource for selecting the perfect culinary wood for your equipment. As always, our Wood Guide Team is ready to answer your additional questions and further assist you with the perfect grilling and smoking experience!

SmokinLicious® products in this blog:

Smoker Logs

Wood Blocks

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore®, Minuto® & Piccolo®

-“MATCH YOUR COOKER” – SMOKERS LIST-OUR WOOD MASTERS GUIDE

-“MATCH YOUR COOKER” – CERAMIC AND KAMADO GRILL: THE WOOD MASTER’S GUIDE

-WOOD BURNING PIZZA OVENS: THE WOOD MASTER’S GUIDE

Forest Fresh Hardwood is a perfect fit for ceramic smokers and grills. Click To Tweet

 

For those that have followed us for years, you know we are proud that almost from the start of our Company, we were committed to providing a guide for equipment to culinary wood product match. We refer to our guide affectionately as “Match Your Cooker”.

In this article, we are covering our recommendations for ceramic and komado style grilling equipment; these are grills that are made from ceramic, clay, terracotta or crushed lava rock that allow the grill to reach extremely high temperatures – usually at or above 750°F! They are also capable of using charcoal and wood either independently or in combination.

As there are always new equipment lines and models released, our plan is to provide regular updates on this listing. We also encourage you to send us a message when you don’t see a manufacturer or model listed to ensure it is added to the list (email drsmoke@smokinlicious.com).

For now, we introduce you to our wood master’s guide to SmokinLicious® culinary woods for ceramic and komado grills.

Single Filet Wood Chunks for Ceramic Smokers & Grills

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Single Filet Wood Chunks as the charcoal area allows for larger wood pieces:

Big Green Egg models: 2XL, XLarge

Char-Griller Akorn model: ceramic kamado

Grill Dome® models: XL

Kamado Joe Big Joe™ 24”

Komodo Kamado® 32” Big Bad

Louisiana Grills K24

Primo Ceramic Grills models: Jack Daniel’s Edition Oval XL 400, Primo Oval XL 400

Double Filet Wood Chunks for Ceramic Smokers & Grills

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Double Filet Wood Chunks to maximize oxygen flow:

Bayou Classic Ceramic Charcoal Grill

Big Green Egg models: Large, Medium, Small

Blaze™ 20-inch Cast Aluminum Kamado Grill*

Broil King® Keg™ models: Keg™ 5000, Keg™ 2000

Cal Flame® Kamado Smoker Grill

Caliber Pro Stainless Steel Kamado Grill*

Char-Griller Akorn: models: Kamado and Kamado Jr.

Char-Broil Kamander® Charcoal Grill

Coyote Asado Ceramic Grill

Gourmet Guru Grill Ceramic Kamado

Grill Dome® models: XL, Large, Small

Hanover® 19-in. Ceramic Kamado Grill

Kamado Joe models: Classic II™ 18”, Big Joe™ 24”, Stand-Alone™, Joe Jr.™

Komodo Kamado® models: 32” Big Bad, 23” Ultimate, 21” Supreme, 19” Hi-Cap Tall, 19” Hi-Cap Table Top, 16” Hi-Cap Table Top

Louisiana Grills models: K13, K18, K22, K24

Monolith Grills BBQ Guru Edition models: Classic, Le Chef

Pit Boss Grills models: K22 Ceramic Charcoal Grill, K24 Ceramic Charcoal Grill

Primo Ceramic Grills models: Primo Oval LG 300, Primo Oval JR 200, Primo Kamado All-In-One

Vision™ Grills models: XL

Grande Sapore® Wood Chips for Ceramic Smokers & Grills

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Grande Sapore® Wood Chips for those who prefer a wood chip product rather than chunks:

Bayou Classic Ceramic Charcoal Grill

Big Green Egg models: MiniMax, Mini

Blaze™ 20-inch Cast Aluminum Kamado Grill*

Broil King® Keg™ models: Keg™ 5000, Keg™ 2000

Cal Flame® Kamado Smoker Grill

Caliber Pro Stainless Steel Kamado Grill*

Char-Griller Akorn: models: Kamado and Kamado Jr.

Char-Broil Kamander® Charcoal Grill

Coyote Asado Ceramic Grill

Gourmet Guru Grill Ceramic Kamado

Grill Dome® models: XL, Large, Small

Hanover® 19-in. Ceramic Kamado Grill

Kamado Joe models: Classic II™ 18”, Big Joe™ 24”, Stand-Alone™, Joe Jr.™

Komodo Kamado® models: 32” Big Bad, 23” Ultimate, 21” Supreme, 19” Hi-Cap Tall, 19” Hi-Cap Table Top, 16” Hi-Cap Table Top

Louisiana Grills models: K13, K18, K22, K24

Monolith Grills BBQ Guru Edition models: Classic, Le Chef

Pit Boss Grills models: K22 Ceramic Charcoal Grill, K24 Ceramic Charcoal Grill

Primo Ceramic Grills models: Primo Oval LG 300, Primo Oval JR 200, Primo Kamado All-In-One

Saffire Grill and Smoker**

Vision™ Grills models: XL

Minuto® Wood Chips for Ceramic Smokers & Grills

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Minuto® Wood Chips:

Saffire Grill and Smoker

We hope you view this guide as a helpful resource for selecting the perfect culinary wood for your equipment. As always, our Wood Guide Team is ready to answer your additional questions and further assist you with the perfect grilling and smoking experience!

* Although considered a komado grill, this brand is not made with any ceramic, clay, terracotta, or crushed stone.

** This brand is only designed for use with wood chips and includes a patented smokin’ chip feeder.

SmokinLicious® products used in this blog:

Wood Chunks- Double & Single Filet

Wood Chips- Grande Sapore® & Minuto®

-WOOD BURNING PIZZA OVENS: THE WOOD MASTER’S GUIDE

-TOP TOOLS TO OWN FOR CHARCOAL GRILLING

-THE WATER PAN EXPLAINED FOR GRILLING & SMOKING