The Different Types Of Wood Used In Barbeque

A lot of smokehouse barbeque joints or smokehouse restaurants that are popping everywhere across Australia which clearly testifies that Australians truly love barbeque and other smoked or grilled meat at their plates. Barbeque experts reveal that the overall taste and smell of the barbeque is completely depending on the type of wood that is used for smoking it.

Yes, you heard it right, it is the type of wood, you might notice that a lot of smokehouse barbeque joints uses hickory in smoking that large slab of beef brisket, or that whole rack of ribs, that is because wood, not just hickory creates the much-needed smoke that is being emitted from burning logs, compared to another style of barbeque cooking styles from other countries depending on the different cultures.

Other countries refer barbeque as grilling but in the Land Down Under, barbeque is a completely different method in the cooking meat. Barbeque traditions always vary from location to location but in Australia, it is typically smoking the meat for a specific amount of time using different hardwood logs which are chopped into chips to emit smoke effectively.

Just like in Smokehouse Restaurant, Bar & Grill Melbourne, there are people specifically specializes in this type of cooking. If there is a chef in the kitchen, there is a pit master for the barbeque.

Pitmasters are known to be experts in barbequing different kinds of meat and they are also experts in the different type of smoking it and the specific type of wood that will be used for smoking. In this article, we talked to different pitmasters in Australia and asked them about the different kinds of woods that are used in barbequing meat and what are its distinct flavour and the aroma and the overall effect to the meat.

Since Australia is entirely huge, it has its own different geographical areas which have different traditions for barbequing a meat. These traditions always come about what the local flora can offer and also the availability of the wood used in smoking the meat. A lot of pitmasters traditionally, uses hickory, oak, mesquite, and grapevine cuttings to come up different flavours of the meat.

For those who thought that the spices, herbs and seasonings rubbed to the meat that tells what flavour will it taste after it is being smoked; you are totally wrong, if you will notice, each bite of a brisket or a rib, you will notice a smoky and woody taste of the meat which makes it very flavorful and appetizing, that is the effect of the wood being used in smoking the meat.

Below, we listed down the different types of wood and its different flavours to the meat.

Hickory- Probably the most popular type of wood for barbeque, it gives the meat a bitter and smoky taste.

Red Oak- It gives the meat a strong but overpowered taste and texture, this is best for lamb, and beef.

Mesquite- A lot of restaurants use this wood because of it burns faster and hotter which cooks the meat quickly. This is ideal for those who cannot wait to dive into the barbeque.

Grapevine cuttings- This type of wood is perfect for beef, fish, and poultry, which gives the meat delicate and very nice flavour.