You do not have to wait for Christmas or Thanksgiving to have a smoked turkey. If prepared well, a smoked whole turkey is the best meat to have throughout the year. For smoking turkey, you must use the right kind of wood. Do you know what is the best wood for smoking turkey or if you can use wood chips for smoking turkey?
Check related articles to choose the best smoker:
How Smoking Adds to the Taste
Smoking is certainly the best way to add taste and flavor to your food. However, the most important decision is selecting the piece of wood which will create the smoke. This is a difficult task because there are many different types of wood available.
The right kind of provides a mild or overpowering flavor to the wood. Thus, the entire taste depends on the wood you are choosing. So, your decision on what wood to use for smoking turkey plays a major role in how the cooked meat tastes.
If it is poultry, a strong-tasting smoke and the resultant bitter flavor can overpower the natural flavor and taste of the meat. Thus, it is always good to look for light-tasting woods. These include wood from different fruit trees like cherry wood. Cherry wood offers a mellow flavor and a distinct sweet smoke. On the other hand, those who love heavy harsher varieties can use mesquite.
Combining Two or More Wood Types
Those who love a combination of flavors without any predominant flavor can choose to combine one or more wood types.
Mesquite smoked turkey has a strong and intense taste which is the favorite of many. In case you need a good mix of flavors, combining diverse varieties of wood is also a good option. For example, if plum and maple are combined, one gets a smoky edge, with a mild flavor. There is little risk of getting any overpowering flavor.
Smoked meat lovers can combine peach, mulberry, nectarine, olive, and pecan as well which are great choices with poultry. A little bit of experimentation can help in finding what kind of wood to smoke a turkey, will be the best for you. Do not be scared or hesitant to combine and experiment with different woods for smoking. If you do not try new things, how will you know what the best wood for smoking turkey can be?
Are wood chips good for smoking Turkey?
People often debate about the better option for smoking turkey. Are wood chunks good enough or wood chips good? Which is the superior one.
Wood chips, as well as wood chunks – each of them, have its weaknesses and strengths. Thus, it’s tough to declare which one is better than the other. Thus, it’s left to the individual and the intended choice of wood.
Another question is if wood chips are used, then what are the best wood chips to smoke a turkey? When we consider the difference between using wood chunks and wood chips is one that involves soaking in water. If one uses wood chips, there is a need to soak them in water beforehand. In case wood chips are not soaked, they burn quickly and before getting the smoke, the chips are finished.
If using wood for soaking, there is no need to soak earlier. They are larger and last longer than small chips. Some of the best wood chips to smoke a turkey include mesquite and turkey. One can also use subtle fruitwood chips. One can also soak wood chips in wine, fruit juice, and water for that lovely texture and flavor.
What is the best wood to Smoke a Turkey?
There are a variety of woods available for smoking turkey and each offers a distinct flavor. Here are some of the best varieties available and how they influence the flavor.
Cherry Wood
Cherry wood for smoking Turkey is the choice especially among those who are looking forward to a sweet distinctive flavor. It does not provide an overpowering aroma or flavor to Turkey. Besides then, as you cook turkey on cherry wood for a long time, it gets a desired deep color. The bird gets an attractive and sumptuous look.
Those who desire to have a bit more can add a little complexity to the smoky flavor. They can add just a few chips of hickory which will add to the smoke. It also complements the cherry. Cherry wood chips are also suitable for smoking Turkey.
Applewood
Best known for its sweet fruity scent notes, Applewood will certainly provide a good fusion of flavors to your meat. Unlike other kinds of woods, applewood does not produce a strong and overpowering scent. Applewood is just perfect for all those who love to have lightly smoked wood.
Maplewood
If you wish to try anything new, you can try Maplewood. Maplewood can flavor your turkey excellently with its aromatic scent and delicious honey-like notes. Maplewood offers a distinct taste and flavor to smoked turkey. This is a delicious earthly aroma that helps in highlighting the natural taste of the bird.
Hickory
Hickory is a common wood recommended when there is a need to add more strength. Those who wish to get a stronger and pronounced scent in their meat can try hickory. This meat has quite a heavy flavor. It has a distinctive aroma which is excellent for smoking. Besides, hickory is one of the most versatile woods, that can produce a variety of flavors. This includes a sweet to savory flavor.
Final Thoughts
Smoking is one of the best ways to provide good flavors to your meat. However, the taste of the meat depends on a variety of factors. Remember, it is not just about the smoking technique but the choice of wood also has a big impact on the taste of the meat.
In a smoker, wood burns silently. In the process, it creates smoke and heat. This smoke slowly penetrates the meat. This flavor can be intense or mild and is dependent on the wood selected.
Select the best wood for smoking turkey and enjoy a deliciously flavored dish.
