Smoking wood in the UKoak, beech, apple, cherry and what to avoid

On this page · 7 sections

1. Which wood for which meat
2. Chunks, chips, splits and pellets
3. Seasoning and moisture
4. Woods to avoid
5. Where to buy smoking wood in the UK
6. Storing smoking wood
7. FAQs

Tap a food to see which woods to reach for.

Chunks, chips, splits and pellets

The right form depends on the smoker.

• Chunks (roughly fist-sized) are the usual choice for charcoal smokers: kettles, bullets and kamados. They smoulder steadily on hot coals for a long time. Two or three per cook is plenty for most food.
• Chips burn quickly, so on charcoal they flare up and disappear. They suit electric smokers, gas BBQ smoker boxes and short cooks.
• Splits (small logs) are the main fuel in an offset smoker, providing heat and smoke together. They need to be properly dry.
• Pellets are compressed sawdust for pellet grills, and some smoke tubes. Use food-grade pellets made for cooking, not heating pellets, which may contain wood types or binders you don't want near food. Our guide to wood pellets in the UK covers this.
• Dust and fine sawdust go in cold smoke generators. See cold smoking at home.

There's no need to soak chunks or chips. Wet wood steams before it smokes, which mostly delays things and cools the fire. For more on the charcoal side of the fire, see charcoal for smoking.

Seasoning and moisture

Smoking wood needs to be dry. Freshly cut ("green") wood is full of water, burns poorly and produces thick, white, bitter smoke. Properly seasoned or kiln-dried wood burns cleanly and gives the thin, bluish smoke you're after.

The usual guidance for firewood in the UK is a moisture content of 20% or less, and that's a reasonable target for smoking wood too. Air-dried hardwood needs time to get there, often a year or more stacked under cover with air moving around it. Kiln-dried wood arrives ready to use. A cheap moisture meter takes the guessing out of it if you're seasoning your own; split a piece and test the fresh face, not the outside.

Very old, very dry wood isn't a problem, but it burns faster, so you may need an extra chunk.

Woods to avoid

Some wood should never go near food:

• Treated, painted, stained or varnished wood. That includes pallets, fence panels, decking offcuts, old furniture and building timber. Treatments and coatings release chemicals when burned.
• Softwoods, such as pine, spruce, fir and larch. Their resin gives a sooty, acrid smoke that coats food and tastes awful. Some cooks use them sparingly to light a fire, but never for smoking.
• Toxic or irritant species. Yew, laurel, rhododendron and leylandii are commonly advised against, and there are others. If you're not sure what it is, don't burn it.
• Mouldy or rotten wood. Mould tastes bad and may be harmful. Rotten wood smoulders badly.
• Unknown wood. Garden prunings from a tree you can't name, mixed offcuts from a skip, wood that "looks like oak". Not worth the risk.

Fruitwood from your own garden is great, as long as you know what it is and it hasn't been sprayed. Old apple prunings, seasoned for a year, are one of the small joys of owning a smoker.

Where to buy smoking wood in the UK

Bagged chunks and chips are sold at most garden centres, DIY stores and barbecue shops, usually labelled by species. Local log merchants and tree surgeons are another good source of oak, beech, ash and fruitwood, often much cheaper per kg, but ask what it is, how long it's been seasoned and whether it's been treated. Kiln-dried hardwood logs sold for wood burners can be split down into chunks, provided you know the species. Ash is widely available at the moment, partly because so many trees are being felled because of ash dieback; it smokes well and mildly.

Storing smoking wood

Store wood dry, off the ground and with air around it. A small log store, a slatted shelf in a shed or a sealed plastic box for chunks and chips all work. The roof keeps rain off; the open sides let air through so the wood keeps drying rather than going mouldy. Keep pellets and chips indoors or in airtight containers, because they soak up damp quickly.

Next time you light the smoker, try a single wood rather than a blend: two chunks of apple on a pork shoulder or oak on beef, so you learn what each one tastes like on its own.

FAQs

What is the most common wood for smoking in the UK?

Oak and beech are the traditional British smoking woods, used for everything from kippers to cheese. Apple and cherry are popular for pork and chicken.

Can I use wood from my garden for smoking?

Yes, if you know exactly what it is, it hasn't been sprayed or treated and it's been seasoned until dry. Fruitwood prunings are ideal. Avoid anything you can't identify.

Do I need to soak smoking wood chips?

No. Soaked chips steam before they smoke, which mostly delays things and cools the fire. Use dry wood and control smoke with the amount you add.

Is hickory better than oak for smoking?

Not better, just different. Hickory is stronger and more bacon-like; oak is cleaner and more versatile. Plenty of cooks prefer oak for beef and fruitwood for pork.

Can I use heating pellets in a pellet grill?

Use only food-grade pellets made for cooking. Heating pellets may contain softwoods or additives that you don't want in your food.