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Why Size and Quality Matter when Choosing Your Wood for Food Smoking..
Chunks, Chips or Dust?
Everyone likes a bargain, but sometimes buying cheaper products can be a false economy which can work out more expensive in the long run, and the wood you use for food smoking is no exception.
Your Smoking wood should be free from mould, pesticides, rot, mildew and other impurities which can contain toxins. These nasties can impart unusual flavours which you certainly don't want transferring via the smoke onto your food.
If the smoking wood you are using is either "green" unseasoned or has too much moisture in your Smoking Wood this will produce too much smoke when burning and can impart bitter flavours during cooking.
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If the wood has been commercially kiln dried or has been dried out too much all the natural sugars and flavours can be destroyed so you will not fully benefit the great flavours that the wood naturally produces. Kiln Dried or dried wood will also burn more quickly therefore you will use a lot more wood, so basically either one will ruin you food and cost you more money in the long run.
You want you Smoking Wood to have the correct amount of moisture to produce a constant and reliable amount of smoke, but more importantly you want your wood to burn and produce the same amount of smoke as the last bag you bought, so you get consistency time and time again.
We go to great lengths to ensure we provide you with the best quality wood available, and source all our wood from sustainable orchards & forests, therefore we know where the wood has come from.
All our Smoking Wood is dried to specific parameters to retain it's natural flavours and sugars therefore retaining the correct moisture content to produce a constant and reliable burn. This process can take from 6- 18 months depending on the species. As wood is hydroscopic it can either lose or take on moisture depending on the environment and climate, that's why we test all our woods on a weekly basis to ensure it meets with out strict criteria.
In the quest to produce the best Smoking Wood in the UK we then cut the logs into sizable chunks, paying particular attention to remove any inpurities, crack or splits, and only use food grade oils in our machinery so there is no risk of contamination.
Out of every tonne of Smoking Wood we produce we discard about 5-10% as is does not meet our strict criteria, this wood is not wasted as it goes into our biomass boiler for heating.
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We stand by our company motto "Quality Smoking Wood Every Time"
The process of producing Quality Smoking Wood cannot be rushed and it is ready when it is ready! It takes a lot of time, money and effort so if you find Smoking Wood that is a very cheap or a real bargain there is a good reason for it! they are skipping a lot of steps. We proudly sponsor a number of BBQ Teams in the UK who use our products, their results speak for themselves.
Smoking Chunks are about golf ball to tennis ball, uneven size chunks. They tend to burn slowly, and often a few chunks is all that's necessary for cooking low & slow for any amount of time. Wood chunks are a slow steady source of smoke, and are in many ways the most desirable.
BBQ Smoking Wood Chunks
Smoking chips are great if you plan to smoke for only a short time. Smoking Chips are great for short and medium cooks, but for longer cooks, chunks are better. You can either place the smoking chips in a flat tin or wrap them in kitchen foil and pierce the foil a couple of times which allow the smoke to escape. Place the Smoking Chips on or near the hot coals. This method can also be used with gas BBQ's.
BBQ Smoking Wood Chips
Smoking dust is mainly used for cold smoking as it smoulders nice and slowly and doesn't create much heat. Smoking Dust can be used for BBQ'ing and hot smoking but you are better using either chunks or chips.
Try experimenting by mixing 2 dusts together like Oak & Apple for a mixture of flavours.
Cold Smoking Dust
How to Store Your Smoking Wood?
We have taken great care to supply you with the best Smoking Wood on the market, so it should arrive to you in perfect condition, however like all quality products the correct storage is also important.
As Smoking wood is a natural wood product there is still a certain amount of moisture in the wood so the correct storage is very important. You need to store the bags in a dry ventilated place like a shed or garage with good airflow, and ideally keep the bags opened to allow air to circulate, this will allow any condensation or moisture to evaporate. Do not keep the bags unopened in a warm place or they will go mouldy. The exception to this is Whisky Oak where it is better to keep all the fantastic whisky flavour contained.
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Natural wood products are hydroscopic which means that the chunks, chips or dust can absorb additional moisture in cold damp conditiona as well as lose moisture in warm dry conditions therefore it is always best to store your products correctly.