Wood

[Varmint]

Mr. Meyer-

In addition to the endless debate about which region produces the quintessence of barbecue, there is a parallel argument regarding what type of wood to use in the cooking/smoking process. Here in North Carolina, pitmasters typically use either hickory or oak. Even then, there is a debate regarding how green the wood should be.

Recognizing that different types of meat work better with different types of wood, how did you ultimately decide which type to use at Blue Smoke, where you're making beef, pork, lamb and chicken? How green is this wood? Why these choices? If you had the option of affordably bringing in wood from other regions, what changes would you make? Finally, where do you get your wood and how much do you go through in a typical week.

Thank you for participating.

[cabrales]

Apologies if this highlights my ignorance about the smoking processes, but would the absence/presence of a cover or other device to trap the smoke or not be relevant?

Does the kitchen team member turn or otherwise move the relevant meats frequently during the smoking process? Is jus/saucing applied to applicable types of ribs or other meats periodically during the smoking process?

What role (if any) do you see bitterness as having with respect to smoked items?

[Danny Meyer]

I know that wood is the subject of huge debate among barbecue aficianados, and nowhere moreso than in North Carolina where some folks don't believe you need it at all! We'll experiment with almost any type (in any combination or blend) since we view wood (along with meat quality, spice, time, temperature, sauce - and how you hold the smoked meat) as the key variables. We've found that apple wood works best for us with pork ribs, whole chickens, chicken wings, and turkey. We prefer the more aggressive flavor of hickory with beef and lamb, and will sometimes use a combination of the two woods for pork shoulder, guanciale and bologna. Apple wood works with the kind of foods you'd drink Pinot Noir or Merlot with, and hickory is for food you'd have with Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah.

We have a good supplier for wood in upstate New York. You'd be surprised how many folks have called us wanting to sell extra apple wood from their farm. I'm not sure how much we use each day, but it's about 20% as much as we were going through before we installed the dampers in our smokestacks. We're now using less wood and ending up with much more smoke flavor.

Thanks for the question.