Fruit woods like Apple, Orange, Alder, Cherry, Hickory, Maple, Mesquite, Oak, Black Walnut, Pecan, are the traditional smoking woods that give that great BBQ flavor when grilling food! Never use softer woods like pine or spruce. The sap from pinewood is used for turpentine and no one wants their barbecued steak to taste like that. Further, some woods have a poisonous sap. The bark from trees should also be avoided. It is really dead wood on the tree and it is the outer layer that is susceptible to fungus, molds and parasites. The inside wood from fruit and nut trees should be burned at a low temperature in the smoker or barbecue grill.
The real flavor comes from the smoke of these woods as it penetrates the food. Actually, it is not the smoke that is penetrating the food but flavor factors contained in the smoke. The smoke carries the flavor molecules to the food in the smoker and deposit them on the outside. These flavor molecules are carried into the food through osmosis. The larger the concentration of deposit on the outside the more it is absorbed into the food for flavor. The SmokePistol™ and GrillKicker™ are designed to continuously provide the right smoke to give that BBQ flavor to any smoked meat, fish or food in the grill.