Roast chicken is beautiful when grilled over the right wood shavings. This is the best technique for enhancing the flavor profile of your smoked meats. Applewood, pecan and hickory can take your birds to a new level of fragrance. Learn how and when to use it with our guide to the best woods for grilling chicken.
No list of the best meats to smoke would be complete without chicken.
There’s a wide variety of different parts of the classic bird YOU can smoke, from beautifully smoked chicken thighs to delicious grilled quarters .
Different chicken cuts have different compositions, meat density and fat content. This means that the types of wood they complement will change from one cut to another.
In this guide, I’ll review the best wood chips for smoking chicken and list which part of the poultry goes best with which.
So, let’s get into that.
In general, many tend to combine sweeter woods from fruit trees such as maple, cherry or apple. Where better to start than with one of the grilling world’s treasured incense sticks?
Applewood
The top of this list is one of the recognized types of wood chips for smoking chicken, and with good reason.
Applewood has a subtly sweet and fruity flavor that is slightly milder than other fruit-based roasted woods(e.g. cherry, maple, walnut).
Its subtle flavor might be too delicate for pitmasters wanting something stronger, but its delicate flavor profile makes it perfect for pairing with a good BBQ chicken seasoning .
Maplewood
Think “maple” and pork, so you’d be forgiven for assuming maple wood is fat or tastes sick. I’m happy to say it doesn’t, and it pairs beautifully with smoked chicken.
Maple is a favorite among grill fans who want something spicier and sweeter than applewood, but not something as rich or heavy as pecan or cherry. It imparts a light, sweet flavor to the chicken that doesn’t overpower the natural flavor of the chicken.
Cherrywood
Cherry achieves a similar sweetness to other fruitwoods on this list, but what really sets it apart from the rest is the beautiful color it paints your birds with. Cooking over cherry wood for a few hours will give your chicken a lovely deep red finish.
Cherry is delicious when mixed with deeper, heavier hardwood species. Enhance by blending it with some hickory to add an extra smokiness.
Pecan
If you like your incense a little richer, walnut is for you. What sets it apart is not only its strong flavor but also the natural nutty flavors that lie behind its sweet flavor profile. Wood is popular with Turkey, but for my money, it goes just as well with chicken.
A word of warning: lots of fruitwoods can be paired with hints of walnut or oak to give it a slightly earthier quality. It is recommended to avoid this with nuts. It has a much more distinct flavor than any other fruitwood, so you don’t really need it. Mixing it with something strong like hickory could result in a flavorless meat.
Hickory
If you don’t like the sweetness, an old traditional wood will do. Hickory has always been one of the most trusted smoking woods in the grilling world. It has a nutty flavor that pairs well with so many meats, and chicken is no different.
Hickory is readily available and a great entry-level wood if you are new to grilling. It not be as strong as other earthy woods like mesquite, but it can still be mighty overwhelming if you use too much. This could mean there is a layer of bitter smoke clinging to your chicken. No thank you.
If this is your first time grilling with hickory, I would play it safe and start with just a piece or two. If the taste doesn’t quite match, just add a little more next time.
Get the Fire Right
You can have the best cut of chicken in the world and the perfect selection of wood shavings, but if you don’t get your grill to smoke properly, it will all go to waste.
When grilling, you want to make sure your meat is exposed to the smoke long enough to preserve the aromas and flavors of the wood.
This can be a challenge when grilling over charcoal, as the smoke from the embers can overpower the wood. However, if you find the right balance, you have the perfect smoked chicken.
Watch The Temperature
The principles of low and slow are critical to a good grill. As the name suggests, the meat is cooked at low temperatures for several hours to slowly bring it to the perfect temperature. The reason for this IS that the slow increase in heat allows the fat in the meat to melt and infuse it with extra juices and flavor.
To get this right, whenever YOU maintain a constant temperature in the smokehouse while controlling the airflow to maintain a cooking temperature of 220°F/105°C for at least 2 hours.
Writer & content creator. BBQ fanatic!
