Making a brisket is a work of art and patience. It takes a lot of time and slow but steady cooking to make the perfect brisket. The tastes of brisket are enhanced when smoked by wood. Brisket in its raw form is filled with fat, and it is extremely tough. It takes long-duration fire exposure to break down a piece of meat like this.
Though, depending on the type of wood and how it has been processed, the flavor and flame differ greatly. For smoking the brisket, you need wood that is slow-burning, and that gives heat and smoke consistently throughout.
The meat, the kind of rubs, and the amount of smoke are all equally responsible for the dish’s final taste. Let’s look at the top 5 kinds of wood for brisket smoke, sorting your one worry to make the perfect brisket.
In a hurry? My favorite is this Weber 17148 Hickory Wood Chunks. See it at Amazon.
# | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Top Pick  | Camerons Smoking Wood Chunks CHECK PRICE | Approx. $29.99 | CHECK BEST PRICE | |
 | Bear Mountain BBQ Hardwood Pellets CHECK PRICE | Approx. $16.99 | CHECK BEST PRICE | |
 | Jack Daniel's Tennessee Smoking Oak Wood Chips CHECK PRICE | Approx. $40.00 | CHECK BEST PRICE | |
 | Weber 17148 Hickory Wood Chunks CHECK PRICE | Approx. $6.99 | CHECK BEST PRICE | |
 | Smoak Firewood Cooking Wood Chunks CHECK PRICE | Approx. $37.99 | CHECK BEST PRICE |
Top 5 Best Wood for Brisket Smoke: A Complete Guide
Camerons Products Smoking Wood Chunks (Hickory)
The wood from Cameron is one of the most used and trusted woods for cooking. The meat is usable for all kinds of fire indoors or outdoors.
These wood chunks produce a smokey flavor, quickly giving the meat the time to marinate properly. These are long burning wood chunks.
Hickory is one of the many flavors available in this particular company of wood chunks. All these flavors are extremely likable, the most famous being Hickory.
There is another upside to these wood chunks, which is that it is all-natural BBQ wood.
Pros:
• All-natural BBQ wood
• Once they ignite, they can burn for about 4 hours.
• Can be used on charcoal as well
• Has a strong flavor that works well with all kinds of meat
Cons:
• May take longer to ignite.
• If over-smoked, it will ruin the meat.
Bear Mountain BBQ 100% All-Natural Hardwood Pellets – Gourmet Blend
Bear Mountain BBQ offers a wide range of BBQ wood pellets for gas and charcoal grills. All ranges of flavors are available, which are all 100% natural hardwood.
The gourmet craft blends are a customer favorite. Their wood pellets work well with most of the grills.
The selling point of these hardwood pellets is the fact that they balance sweet, savory flavor giving the perfect smokey flavor to the meat and veggies.
It is extremely rare that one kind of wood chunk provides and suits all kinds of meat. These wood chunks provide an exquisite blend that makes all kinds of meat and veggies very tasteful and suitable for all taste buds.
Pros:
• 100% natural hardwood blend without any additives.
• It has a robust flavor with a flare for tenderness.
• Can be used with outdoor smoke pellets, gas, charcoal, or electric grill
• Varied bag sizes are available.
• These are low moisture for the perfect smoke.
Cons:
• The pellets are sometimes extremely long.
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey Barrel Smoking Oak Wood Chips
The Jack Daniels wood chips are made from white oak barrels used to age whiskey in. These are 100% recycled.
They are selected skillfully and selectively for consistent smoking. They provide a distinctive flavor from the Jack Daniels whiskey.
These Jack Daniels wood chips are tastefully built with accurate, equally measured wood chips. Everyone who is a fan of whiskeys will become a fan of these wood chips instantly.
Pros:
• Size is perfect for charcoal, or gas, or electric grills.
• Suitable for personal occasions as well as large gatherings
• Provides a distinctive whiskey flavor from the Jack Daniels’ old no. 7 whiskey barrels.
• Provides a mouthwatering flavor combination of whiskey and oak wood
Cons:
• The bag comes only half-filled.
• The chips burn way too fast.
Weber 17148 Hickory Wood Chunks
The weber wood chunks are made from 100% natural hardwood that gives a sweet and fruity flavor. It is slow-burning wood. It gives the perfect aroma at the time of releasing smoke.
These are one-of-a-kind slow-burning wood chunks that are exquisitely made to provide a new taste.
These wood chunks are for people who like to experiment with what they eat. It is also for people with sweet tooth. These chunks provide a fruity and sweet aroma to your meat.
Pros:
• Brings a refreshing palette of flavor to the dish.
• It is slow-burning, giving the time for the meat to roast properly.
• Good for people who like mild flavors.
Cons:
• These are not treated or coated chunks of wood.
• The chunk bags are filled with wood chips sometimes.
Smoak Firewood Cooking Wood Chunks
Smoak Firewood is USDA certified for safe grilling and roasting. It comes from kiln-dried wood. These are high-grade quality woods gathered and processed from the finest trees of the United States.
These chunks are thoroughly cleansed and processed at an optimum temperature for an optimum time period of 40 to 48 hours.
It also emits a smoke that is consistent and provides flavor throughout. The chip size is substantially good for a lot of grills. The quantity is also great.
These chunks have consistent moisture to give smoke through the smoking of meat.
Pros:
• The wood chunks are cleaned and processed.
• Burns slow and infuses the smoke and flavor consistently throughout the meat.
• Can be used directly from the bag.
• The quantity is substantial, and the chip size is that of a fist.
Cons:
• Overly priced for this kind of wood.
How to Buy the Right Wood for Smoking Brisket?
Finding the right wood for smoking briskets can be a bit tricky. Here are a few tips that will help.
Aroma:
Different woods inflict different aromas into the meat. Therefore, make sure that you like the flavor. For example, hickory gives a rich bacon-like flavor, while mesquite produces a spicy flavor. Make sure to check the type of wood used in your wood-pack and choose the one that you prefer.
Burning:
When choosing the wood, make sure that the wood is slow-burning and highly efficient. Always go for hardwood which burns slowly and provides an ideal temperature for a long time. Do not go for very small-sized pieces as they burn out quickly. Go for moderate blocks that go well with your smoker and burn consistently for a long time.
Price:
Nowadays, many wood companies are providing low-quality wood for high prices. Therefore, you must make sure that the wood you get is good-quality natural hardwood with reasonable pricing. One easy solution is to buy from reputed wood companies that offer quality products at the right price.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
How to choose the most suitable flavor?
The smoking of a brisket relies heavily on the taste of your own self. Choose complimentary flavors for your meat. Some meat only goes well with Hickory or Apple while others support a variety of tastes and aromas.
How much time does it take to cook a brisket?
Though the time varies from brisket to brisket, you should give at least one to one and half hours for every round of brisket when the temperature is set at 250-degree Fahrenheit. Charcoal grills serve the best cooking time.
How many kinds of wood are there, and what would be good for brisket making?
There are two types of timber – softwood and hardwood. Hardwood is preferable for brisket making since these are slow aging trees resulting in dense wood for slow-burning and smoking flavors.
There are certain kinds of hardwood:
Heavy Wood (Mesquite)
This is a fast-burning wood, and it burns extremely hot. It is also very oily wrestling in bitter taste if the meat is exposed to the fire for too long.
Medium Wood (Hickory or Oak)
Hickory is considered the best wood for barbecuing and smoking. It gives a clean and good burn. Oak is quite strong to handle heavy meats.
Fruit Woods (Apple or Cherry or Peach)
Apple has a mild flavor so cooking meat for a long time won’t be a problem if you want to achieve a strong flavor. Cherry has a beautiful flavor, and it also gives a good mahogany color after cooking. Peach has a flavor similar to that of Hickory, but this one is sweeter and milder.
Infographic: WHAT IS THE BEST WOOD FOR SMOKING FOOD?
Conclusion
The making of brisket is a task that requires a lot of attention, patience, and talent. From the choosing of meat to the selection of wood, everything matters when cooking a brisket.
You have to identify what flavor(s) you love and how much your taste buds can take in terms of smoke and flavor intensity. Only then will you be able to make the perfect brisket that you will want to share with generations to come.
