Pro tip: switched from hickory to apple wood and my pork butt came out way better

I did a side by side last weekend with two 8 lb pork butts on my offset smoker. One got straight hickory chunks, the other got apple wood chunks from a local orchard. The hickory one had that heavy smoke taste that kinda covered up the pork flavor. Apple wood gave a lighter sweeter smoke that let the meat shine through. Bark was crispy on both but the apple wood one had a nicer reddish color too. Anyone else found that fruit woods work better for longer cooks?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordang329d ago

Oh man I gotta push back a LITTLE on the hickory thing. Hickory IS heavy but if you mix it with something sweeter like cherry or apple it gets way more balanced without losing that classic smoke punch.

the_lee9d ago

Read something that said fruitwood balances out the strong smoke. Makes sense.