Smoked sausages are versatile and can upgrade any meal and are also popular because of their intense, smoky flavor. Actually this flavor comes when actual wood chips burning during the smoking process and infuses into the meat.
Making a smoke sausages is not difficult to done and it doesn’t take much time to prepare but if not chosen the right wood you will get a bad result at end of the process. So you will understand now the importance of selecting the perfect wood to make this.
You probably already know about some wood including hickory, apple, mesquite, oak, cherry, acacia, pecan, and peach. But you need to know about specific wood to find distinct flavors according to the meat. In this article, we will discuss that.
Is wood is important to smoke sausages and why need different types?
This is an excellent question since it makes you wonder why you can’t utilize another smoke source to make smoke sausages. Wood contains some resin in itself and when you burn that wood they create smoke.
Likewise, different types of wood will provide varying flavors because different types of tress wood have varied chemistries and burning points. On the other hand, some people love Smokey flavor in their food so it’s best to use it only if you prefer a strong Smokey flavor.
Also, different types must need according to the meat type. Larger wood pieces or smaller smoking chips can be utilized in this recipe. For example, hardwood is excellent for heavier meats, such as beef and pork. For more delicate foods, like poultry and fish, a lighter hardwood should be used instead.
Types of wood for making smoke sausages according to the meat type
Here we have listed some different types of wood and we have also discussed their preferences to use for different purposes. So you have to read every single wood description attentively because different types of wood produce different smells some are strong, aromatic and others are light and sweet.
1. Hickory Wood
Hickory is an all-time favorite smoking wood because this hardwood has a sweet to strong taste that is almost bacon It burns hot and slow. It gives robust, meaty flavors to foods and is used largely to smoke pig shoulders and ribs.
Using hickory, try smoking whole chickens or turkeys, wild game, and larger portions of meat such as Texas-style beef briskets.
Consideration of using Hickory wood
It is not advisable to use smaller pieces of meat or poultry, because too much hickory might produce a bitter flavor and cause the meat or chicken to burn.
On the other hand, it is more potent than fruit woods, so you have to be careful with what you use it on. Also, keep in mind that Hickory isn’t recognized for being extremely resistant to mold or water, so stay away from these.
2. Apple Wood
Appletree wood is a great choice if you’re looking for wood that will enhance the sweetness of your sausages. This could give you that sweet taste that your friends speak about. However, they are mild enough to employ lighter dishes such as poultry, fish, and even pork.
Consideration of using Apple Wood
This wood takes several hours to continue the smoking process to add the flavor so start the cooking process before your family party or short party starts.
On the other hand, we already mention that this wood is suitable for lightweight meat or chickens. So use small pieces of meat or chicken to cook properly otherwise it will take a long time for using the large piece.
3. Mesquite wood
Prosopis, a member of the pea family, produces small, prickly trees that produce mesquite wood. As a result, the powerful flavor of mesquite wood can overpower chicken, pork shoulder, ribs, and fish that have a moderate flavor.
On the other hand in southwest Texas, mesquite wood is a favorite smoking wood for barbecue. Valley steakhouses love this slow-burning hardwood because it’s perfect for grilling and smoking.
Consideration of using Mesquite wood
To be used in an indoor setting, such as a fireplace, mesquite firewood is excessively smokey. This creates an uncomfortable situation when you are gossiping with your friends. For this reason, you should try to utilize it in outdoor campfires or wood-burning stoves.
It is not suitable for all types of meat, however, such as a wild game, beef brisket, duck, and lamb. Since larger meat or chicken chunks do not impart much flavor, it is important to use smaller, lighter pieces.
4. Oakwood
If you are cooking or smoking beef or lamb, this is the best hardwood to use. Because oak wood is versatile you won’t be disappointed when you use this oak wood on your chicken or beef. It will give your meat or poultry a rich flavor and light brown color.
For both heat and flavor, oak is ironbark for all red meat and also excellent with pork and chicken.
Consideration of using Oakwood
Even though oak is a powerful wood, it doesn’t seem to overshadow the taste and feel of the meat. This is the ideal hardwood to use when grilling or smoking large size meat like beef or lamb.
As an option, oak is appreciated for furniture, flooring, and cabinets because of its durability and workability, which makes it more expensive than other types of wood.
But in furniture company they using only important part of this wood to make furniture accurately. So look for the part that is not used because they sold out very low rice.
5. Cherry wood
If you want to add a fruity, sweet flavor to your sausages, cherry is one of the greatest possibilities, and it also gives the meat a little reddish appearance. When it comes to summer sausage flavor, though, both hickory and cherry wood chips should be used.
When you combine these two types of wood to smoke, you’ll get a superb combination of delicious and strong smells. Since cherry wood has a sweet, mild, and fruity flavor, it meshes perfectly with chicken, small game birds, lamb, pig, and sausage.
Consideration of using Cherry wood
Cherry is more expensive than other categories but does the same process as we say at oak wood consideration. Find the part that is not useful to make a furniture purchase at a low price.
Cherry wood is one of the most popular woods to burn in fireplaces because it produces less smoke and also burns at medium heat. So it will be good if you burn hickory and cherry together.
A final important consideration is don’t burn too much because burning much of this wood your sausage may taste like tart sausage.
6. Pecan wood
Pecan wood is an excellent choice for barbecue fanatics because it complements different meats. This wood is great for long barbecues, as it burns slowly, and gives meats a delicate flavor. Aside from smoked chicken, you can also cook a smoked lamb, smoked BBQ brisket, smoked spare ribs, smoked ham, pork loin, etc.
Consideration of using Pecan wood
Pecan is an excellent choice for light meat so if you use a large part of meat and chicken then it will take a long time to prepare. Another thing surely considers is using a moderate amount of this wood otherwise burning much can turn your sausage into a strange flavor.
Can I make smoke sausage in Oven?
Yes, you can make smoke sausage in the oven but, indeed, you can’t get a real taste that will you get in a wood sausage smoke cooker. However, you will also get a better taste ad flavor by cooking in the oven. Here we describe shortly process to make this item properly check it.
- Using a sharp knife, make cuts about half a finger or a full finger apart from one to another. With that, your sausage will cook properly and you will get a proper and tasty flavor inside every single piece. But don’t cut like slice pieces because it will taste strange after cooking.
- As a second step, place the sausages on a tray lined and coated with baking paper, which has special features, including a high degree of heat resistance.
Set the oven to the highest temperature (290 C/550 F) for around 30 minutes after the sausage is laid out and the coating is complete. After passing 30 minutes flip the sausages one-two times to roast evenly in the same period.
- To ensure your smoke sausage is complete to eat first remove the coated baking paper from the sausage. Then you will find their skin is golden brown when it is ready.
Some wood species that should be avoided to make smoke sausage
Here are some wood species you should avoid and most of them are softwood. Softwood smoke sausage tastes like paint thinner and transfers unpleasant smells that are sure to ruin your delicious sausage. So that woods we are going to describe try to avoid them.
1. Pine Wood
Pine and cedar should be avoided because their resin might damage the meat as well as your smoker if you use them. A high concentration of sap and terpenes in these pine trees will give you a strange taste and can make people sick.
2. Fir Wood
They are softwood, airy woods with more sap that burn too quickly, emit large amounts of smoke, and some claim that they can make you sick.
3. Cedar Wood
Cedar softwood is also too resinous like pine and can damage the meat and your smoker so try to avoid this wood.
4. Cyprus wood
Cyprus wood has resin that produces unpleasant tastes and soot and may also yield unpleasant tastes so you will not get pleasant results with this wood.
5. Sycamore Wood
Avoid sycamore wood because it imparts a poor taste to food and emits a foul odor when burned. As a result, you should be avoided.
FAQs:
- Question: What is the best wood for smoking pork?
Answer: Woods in the middle of the spectrum include hickory, maple, pecan, and oak. They pair well with pork and are robust enough to stand up to beef and game meats.
- Question: How do you dry sausage in a smoker?
Answer: Place your links on racks or hang them on smokehouse sticks. Place the hung or racked sausage in a location with sufficient air circulation and leave them to rest until they are dry to the touch.
- Question: What’s the best wood to smoke fish?
Answer: The best wood chips for fish are most likely alder. Alder smoke has an earthy sweet aroma and flavor that is ideal for smoking salmon and other fish, as well as shrimp.
- Question: How long do you dry sausage before smoking?
Answer: You can keep the drafter open while placing the sausage in a warmed smoker barrel at 130F. After the casings are completely dried, smoke the sausage for about 3 hours, turning them every 45 minutes.
Conclusion
Making smoke sausage is probably fun but smoke properly with the right wood is more crucial. On the other hand, you can’t find your preferable taste and flavor with some wood.
If you want sweet flavor in your sausage you must need cherry or apple trees wood or you want to smoke large types of meat like beef and lamb then hardwood like hickory, Oak, Pecan wood is suitable.
So we have selected different types of wood according to the different meat and chicken. Now it is your time to identify the wood that can meet your demand.
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