FireCooker Forums

I’m not sure if they’re called wood chips or not…they’re like little bits of wood, such as mesquite, that you grill over and it imparts a bit of flavour and whatnot. They seemed to be pretty popular for awhile, but now I don’t see ads for them as much. Anybody use them, and can you tell us the advantages of doing so?

I’ve never used them, but that reminds me of some restaurants that advertise pizzas cooked in wood burning ovens. I wonder if they burn mesquite too?

Also, I’ve not used cedar, but I’ve seen salmon cooked on a cedar “plank”. If I’m not mistaken, I think you have to soak it in water first?

Mesquite gives an extra smokey flavour to your food, if you like it. I guess if you are cooking for a lot of people it is better to leave it plain in case anyone doesn’t like it.

Yes, you must soak that cedar plank before you cook the salmon on it, my fish-eating friends tell me. I’ve also heard of the wood-burning ovens for pizzas, but have yet to try one; sounds extra delicious to me!

I havn’t heard of this kind of chips…though I have tasted a few smoked dishes as they are called which a re supposed to be made using a similar techniques…if it the same thing i am not sure.

Outside of adding flavor, does smoking using wood chips raise the sodium content of the meat? I’ve always heard that smoked meats are higher in sodium, but that addressed meats that were Hickory smoked.

Do people with restricted diets have to be cautious with Mesquite smoked meats?.

that’s an interesting question twiceshy… mesquite does unfortunately have a high sodium content… i think the rule applies to all smoked meats..

stav - 08 June 2009 04:01 PM

that’s an interesting question twiceshy… mesquite does unfortunately have a high sodium content… i think the rule applies to all smoked meats..

Well, that’s good to know.

I also heard that you can’t use any wood from a tree that produces pitted fruit, like Peach.

I guess there are toxins in the wood.

Has anyone else heard this?

I’ve heard about the pitted fruit warning as well, but can’t remember where.

Can’t imagine what the wood would smell like while burning, but I also wouldn’t want my meat tasting like fried peaches!

not sure about that one Twiceshy, because what about things like cherry and applewood smoked?  I know you shouldn’t use pine or other conifers (fir, spruce, cedar etc) because of the resins, which would make a pretty toxic chemical smoke and flavour.

If you are doing barbecue then you have to have some smoke to go with it. Woods that are popular to use are hickory, oak,apple,pecan, and cherry. Since cherry wood is one of the ones to use I would say the whole pit question is not right. Cedar is popular in the Northwest U.S. and is usually used for fish, mesquite for beef(be careful with mesquite as too much can make the meat bitter tasting and ruin a good meal), the rest go fine with pork. let me say it again if you are barbecuing you need wood.

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