Is your cooking missing that unique smoked flavor?

Barbecue's unique flavor comes from cooking with an open fire of charcoal and wood. Enhancing the flavor of the smoke by adding aromatic woods, or herbs and spices, to the charcoal gives any food a distinctive smoked taste. 

All wood chips should be soaked in water for at least 30 minutes before using. Just before putting the food on the grill, add the chips directly to the charcoal. One or two handfuls is about the right amount—for a stronger flavor, add more.

Each type of wood blends particularly well with certain foods. Below are some combinations that will add excitement to your next meal.

Fruit woods

Apple, cherry and peach wood chips work beautifully with poultry, game birds and pork. Serve a chutney made from the same fruit to underscore the flavor even more.

Sugar Maple

Sugar maple chips add a sweet, subtle flavor that enhances the flavor of poultry and game birds. Smoke a pork roast with them for a sensational taste experience.

Pecan

If you like a beautiful golden-brown turkey, pecan is the best. Try it with other poultry products, game birds and pork- for a delicate pecan flavor.

Jack Daniel's

Made from Jack Daniel's barrels. Adds a distinctive flavor to beef and poultry.

Woodbridge Vintage Barrel Chips

Made exclusively from recycled 100% American and French Oak wine saturated barrels, which for years have been used in the aging of fine wines. Upon completion of the aging process the five to seven year old barrels are hand selected for recycling into wood smoking chips.

Alder

Long a favorite of Pacific Northwest Indians for cooking fresh salmon, alder chips or chunks impart a delicate, wood-smoke flavor which enhances the natural taste of salmon, swordfish, sturgeon, rainbow trout, and other fish. Also excellent with chicken or pork.

Mesquite

One of the most popular woods in the country, mesquite is a scrubby tree that grows wild in the Southwest. Sweeter and more delicate than hickory, it's a perfect complement to richly flavored meats such as steak, duck or lamb.

Hickory

The most popular hardwood flavoring in use today, hickory lends a pungent, smoky, bacon-like flavor we associate with Southern-style cooking. Excellent with ham, pork, and beef.

Grapevine cuttings

Traditionally used in the wine-growing regions of Italy and France, grapevine cuttings give a more delicate flavor than hardwoods and are recommended for use with fish and poultry. When used dry, the grapevines produce a quick burst of heat and then smoke lightly to permeate foods with their sweet, wine-hinted flavor.

Herbs and Spices

The uniquely fragrant flavors of rosemary and basil give new life to grilled poultry and fish. Garlic cloves, citrus peels, cinnamon sticks and whole nutmegs can be added to the fire. Water-soak all herbs and spices, dried or fresh, before adding to coals. The seasoning should smolder and smoke, not burn, to a crisp.

Guava Wood

Guava wood has a subtle, semi-sweet aroma. The cut wood is seasoned naturally under the Hawaiian sun for 9-12 months, then hand-split, chipped and packaged to retain maximum flavor. Whether grilling or smoking fresh chicken, pork, fish, lamb or beef, guava wood will compliment each flavor differently.