Best wood for smoking chicken in 2022 – Sweet flavour wood

When smoked so, overcorrect wood chips, grilled chicken is stunning. It’s the most effective method for enhancing the taste and texture of your smoked meat. Applewood, pecan, and hickory may all give a new dimension of flavour to your poultry. In this article the finest woods for smoked chicken, you’ll learn which wood you have to use and when. 

There are several portions of the poultry standard that may be smoked, ranging from exquisite smoked chicken breasts to delectable BBQ quarters. Various chicken sections have varied compositions, meat density, including fat intake. As a result, the sorts of wood that complement them will vary from cut to cut.

In this guide, I outline the finest wood chips for smoked chicken, as well as which parts of the bird pair well with which. If you want the best wood for smoking chicken using sweet flavour wood that delivers enhanced sweetness then you must come to grillforbbq.

Let’s get started.

In general, many individuals like to pair sweeter woods with fruits, such as maple, cherry, or applewood. So what better way to get started than with a few of the barbecue biggest and most popular smoking woods?

Different types of woods for smoking chicken

Here are the different kinds of best wood for smoking chicken.

Applewood for chicken smoking

This list begins with one of the best famous wood chip varieties for smoked chicken, and also for an excellent purpose. Applewood has to have a mellower flavour than most other fruit-based burning woods, with a gently sweet and fruity flavour (e.g. cherry, maple, and pecan).

Its sensitive flavour profile gives it great for pairing with a delicious chicken BBQ rub. Its faint taste may be too light for pitmasters that want anything bolder, but its delicacy flavour profile gives it ideal for pairing with a nice chicken BBQ rub.

Maplewood wood for smoked chicken

If the words “maple” and “pork” spring to mind, you may be excused for supposing that the maple wood has a thick or sickening flavour. I’m happy to report that it was not the case, and it pairs nicely with smoked chicken.

Maple is popular among BBQ enthusiasts who desire something heavier and richer than applewood but not as thick or weighty as pecan or cherry. It imparts a mild and sweet scent to chicken without overpowering the inherent qualities of the meat.

Cherrywood for smoked chicken

Cherry reaches a similar level of sweetness as most of the various fruitwoods on our table, although what truly sets it apart is the stunning colour it imparts to your poultry. A couple of hours of cooking time over cherrywood will give your chicken a gorgeous rich crimson colour.

Cherry tastes great when combined with darker and heavier hardwoods. Try combining it with some hickory to give a hint of smokiness.

Pecan wood for grilling chicken

If you prefer a more robust smoking wood, pecan is next for you. Not only does it have a robust flavour, but it also has unique nutty scents that lay behind such a sweet flavour profile. The wood is excellent with turkey, but I think it works just as well with chicken.

 A note of warning: Many fruit kinds of wood can also be blended with a little hickory or oak to provide it with a more unpleasant taste. It does have a lot stronger taste than just about every other fruit wood, but that doesn’t require it. Combining this with something spicy, such as hickory, may produce meat that tastes bad.

Hickory wood to smoke chicken

If delicacy is still not your thing, an old fashioned wood will suffice. Hickory has long been regarded among the most reliable barbeque smoking woods. It does have a nutty flavour that complements a wide range of meats, including chicken.

Hickory is widely accessible and makes an excellent beginner wood whether you’re fresh to barbecue smoking. It is not as powerful as some other rustic woods like mesquite, and it might be overwhelming if used in excess. This may result in a stack of bitter smoke covered in black on top of your chicken. No thanks.

If any of that is your first experience smoking using hickory, I’d come down on the side of safety and just use one or two pieces at a time. When you miscalculate the taste, simply add a bit more the next time.

Pellets for smoking chicken

Pellets are exactly what their name implies. Simple wood pellets in any preferred wood. These are ideal for tiny grills and smokers, as well as shorter smokes.

Best wood Chips for smoking 

Wood chips for chicken are larger than pellets, therefore, burn for a longer period. They would also be deployed in tiny grills and smokers.

Wood Chunks for grilling

Wood chunks, which seem to be bigger than chips, are the next. Depending on the model, they can range in size from about 2 inches in length to fist-sized chunks.

Wood Logs for chicken

Wood logs are enormous wood logs that are used in larger grills and smokers to generate a longer cooking duration.

What the Experts use for smoking and grilling

Around here, we know a thing or two about smoking and grilling. But we would still like to know what the major names in barbeque are up to.

Let’s take a look at what some of the biggest stars have burning in their smokes.

Malcom Reed

Malcom, like everyone, enjoys a nice beer can with chicken. His preferred wood for all of this sudsy concoction is cherry, which has a stunning colour and flavour. He also enjoys apple and fruit wood combinations, as well as other, heavier woods.

Steven Raichlen

The Smoke Project’s star picked pecan for his Smoke-Roasted Chicken with Horseradish Dip. He simply used a few bits to boost the flavour and Southern vibes of such a flavour-packed meal. In another variant, he used hickory – a strong wood for a strong recipe.

Susie Bulloch

What would grill hey person’s putting in her smoker? She advises her viewers that every fruitwood is suitable, but that apple, in especially, performs exceptionally well work. She applies her brown sweetener honey rub on a full smoked chicken, so they are logical choices.

Ted Reader

I believe Canada’s barbecue maestro chose whiskey oak with his Whiskey Barrel Smoked Chicken Thighs for various reasons. It’s an excellent example of combining flavorful elements and smoke.

Aaron Franklin

Aaron, including some of the BBQ champions, advises pecan for chicken. He accurately observes that the powerful, sweet flavour would have been too overwhelming for any smoke fully experiencing more than some few hours, placing it squarely in the — ahem — balance point for smoking chicken.

What tastes will you get from various types of wood?

Determine what type of wood is required for your arrangement so that you can determine however you choose your chicken to flavour. Chicken works nicely with woods that are sweet or fruity, including apple, maple, cherry, pecan, and oak. 

Harder woods, such as hickory and mesquite, might dominate the chicken and leave it to taste unpleasant, so avoid these. Apple and cherry wood generate a delicious smoke that does not overpower the chicken’s flavour. These are two of the main options for smoking chicken. Maple and pecan wood would also give your chicken a delicious aftertaste!