Wood splits are typically 18 inches in length, though you can and do get lengths anything from 12 to 24 inches, particularly from people that cut their own to match the size of their smokers’ firebox.

Common softwoods include pine, fir, cedar, and spruce. You can tell an evergreen by its needle or scale-like leaves. Go for the Hardwoods Thin blue smoke is nothing more than smoke that contains as little ‘unburned’ solids in it as possible. Wood pellets, wood chips, wood chunks, wood splits or logs, and sawdust are all types of wood that can be used for smoking, and they are used in different ways depending on the type of smoker and the desired level of smoke flavor.Moisture content: Wood pellets should be dry and well-seasoned, as wet or green wood can produce too much smoke and make your food taste bitter. Look for wood pellets that have a moisture content of less than 10%, as these will burn more efficiently and produce less smoke. Chips are mainly reserved for gas or electric smokers. They sit in a small, perforated smoker box and sit on top of the burning element. They are usually soaked beforehand to extend the length that they smolder although this has been proven to be unnecessary. Any wood that has started to rot or shows mold or fungus. Burning these can create smoke with toxins. But consider cooking meat on a barbeque as 2nd gear – are you ready to crank things up several notches and go into 5th? This is the equivalent of smoking meat instead of grilling it.

You need to discover what’s best for you on your specific BBQ, using the wood you have available in your specific location and climate, to suit your own tastes. You do this by experimenting and taking notes. Chunks are convenient because you can size them to fit any firebox, whether that’s in a large firebox or in the bottom of a Big Green Egg or Weber Smokey Mountain.Second, start small and aim to under-smoke because over-smoked food is inedible. It’s bitter, acrid, and horrid. So start with a low amount of smoking wood, and increase it over subsequent cooks until you get it right. Fill your water pan three-quarters full with cold water, then place it directly above the heat source. Once you get a solid feel for different types of woods and how their unique smoke properties affect specific proteins, you can start to mix and match smoke profiles with different foods. Buy one from each group, use these for some time until you get used to using them, and getting the right strength of smoky flavor you like on the different foods you cook. Softwoods are full of sap and resin, giving off a more acrid smoke and causing that flavor to inhibit the foods it cooks. Common cooking woods

Leaves — 12 to 22 inches long, having 5 to 11, 5 to 8 inches long leaflets 2 to 5 inches wide. They can have an ovate, broadly elliptic, or obovate shape, with a pointed tip and toothed margins. Shiny dark green topside, pale underneath with soft hairs. They turn yellow in Autumn and have an aromatic scent when crushed. For kamado ceramic grills, water smokers (such as the Weber Smoky Mountain), ugly drum smokers (UDS), smaller offset smokers, most smokers that burn charcoal, and also charcoal grills. So how are hardwoods and softwoods defined? The simplest explanation I could find and that I’ll paraphrase and add to comes from Horizonwood.com:

Lumpwood Charcoal

Peach trees grow between 10 and 30 feet high, with a trunk just 5 to 8 inches wide, with a wide crown with flat to upward pointing branches. Almost all cooking wood is considered hardwood, and for good reason. Hardwoods burn hotter, longer and have less resin than softwoods. The quality of meat, rubs, and cooking temperature affect the final taste far more than the type of wood used. Leaves — Large, compound deciduous leaves – 3 or more little leaves (called leaflets) sprouting on one stem, yellow-green above, pale green underneath; they turn golden/rusty-spotted brown in Autumn and give off an aromatic scent when crushed.

Harry Soo, a well-known barbecue expert and owner of Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ, talks about wood as follows:If milder is more your taste, fruit woods like apple and cherry work fine here as well as maple and pecan. Brisket is a forgiving meat in terms of smoke penetration, so as long as your fire is clean, your brisket should turn out just fine from a quality standpoint. It really depends on how heavy of a smoke flavor you prefer that will dictate which type of wood you use. Best wood for smoking turkey Most of the organic compounds, sugars, and lignins eventually burn away, leaving simply carbon — often known as char or charcoal — behind. Both of these woods will impart a deep, noticeable smoke flavor into pork ribs that is the sign of true BBQ. It’s important to note that if you want a smokier flavour, soak your wood chips in water for 30 minutes before adding them to your smoker.