Fueling the Fire!

   Great grilling is achieved by the temperature of the fire! Sounds kinda obvious, but many do not realize that having just a fire, throwing some meat over it, and calling it dinner is not a very effective way of doing things. Besides that, the taste is poor!

   Let's talk about the types of fuel for your fire. The obvious is charcoal. Charcoal is great for your everyday backyard grill out with friends. Burgers cook well on charcoal, as do brats and hot dogs. No real selection to worry about here, unless you want to try one of the types with a Mesquite wood in it or a Hickory in it to add a different type of flavor. Usually the things you are cooking here are not on the grill long enough to absorb enough of the smoke flavor to really make a difference in taste.

   Now if you are going to take your grill use a bit more seriously, going to smoke a brisket or a pork butt, throw the Kingsford out. It usually falls a bit short when it comes to long and high cooking temperatures. You can try the Kingsford Competition briquettes, but they still fall just a bit short for my liking. If cost is something you are worried about, grab a bag of lump charcoal. It can maintain the temps that you will need for your smoking. Using lump charcoal, you are going to have to use wood chips or chunks to get that delicious flavor in your meat though. Lets say we are smoking a pork butt. I would use hickory, and either an apple wood or a pear. The hickory is a mainstay in smoking meat in the midwest, and is one of the easiest hardwoods to get your hands on. Now some people like to use oak, but I am not one of them. I love that Hickory smell! Once teh fire gets roaring and the smoker is at the temperature you want (before putting the meat in), place your apple or cherry chunks on top of the hickory. The mixture of a fruit wood and the hickory is amazing, and your taste buds will thank you for it.


   Lets look at a few samples of types of wood to use, so you don't go getting all over achiever style on us and ruin a $30 pork shoulder.  Let's go over the types of woods that a midwesterner is more likely to use in the grilling other than the list of all woods and what meat should go with what.

• Apple- Nice fruity smoke flavor. Good with beef, poultry, ham and salmon
• Cherry- Kind of sweet, good smoke flavor. All meat and even some seafood.
• Cedar- Has a strong smell to it, used mainly for salmon. ( I prefer planks)
• Grape vine- Fruity, usable with almost any meat.
• Hickory- My fave! Great aroma! Delivers wonderful flavor and is used for all meats, but best on ribs and any pork!
• Maple- medium smokiness, and smells sweet, gives you the feeling there is syrup around somewhere. Good wen used with pork and yard bird ( chicken).
• Mesquite- Has a certain zing to its smell. Warning, only use this in the beginning for about 2-3 hours of smoking. It can ruin a piece of meat and be very bitter tasting if cooked all the way through the smoke.
• Oak- Huge flavor. Beef, pork and fish.
• Peach- Semi sweet. Good with the basics, beef pork, poultry.
• Pear- Another semi sweet wood. This one os better with Poultry and pork.
• Pecan- A bit milder than my friend Hickory, but a bit sweeter as well. Goes with just about anything you wanna smoke!
• Walnut- Needs to be used with a fruit wood to cut the bitterness. Red meats and game of all types. 

   What I do is a 3 step method for my wood. I use my Hickory and my fruit wood at the beginning for 3-4 hours. Then use just plain Hickory until the last 2 hours of smoking, then I add the fruit wood again to finish.

   There you go folks! I hope this helps everyone out and that these tips will help you make some better selections in your fuel type!