BBQ Water Smoker

Smoking an excellent piece of meat on your water smoker depends on three things; heat, time, and smoke. There are different sources for heat, but they all must remain consistent. The time is dictated by the amount of heat and weight of the meat. You have a lot of options when it comes to the type of smoke you choose to flavor your meat with. While any wood can be used to produce smoke, you'll want to be careful what you select in order to get the flavor you desire.

There are many options for selecting your wood. You can purchase prepackaged chips or gather your own. One thing you don't want to do is use manufactured wood. This means no plywood scraps or treated lumber. You're probably better off steering clear of anything you find in a lumber yard. You'll also want to avoid anything with glue or nails.

Since you'll be using a water smoker, you aren't depending upon the wood to be your source of heat. In order to keep the wood chips from burning up quickly and possibly spoiling your meat, you'll want to soak them for at least two hours before hand. Another good option is to make a pouch out of aluminum foil. You can place the wood chips inside the pouch and poke holes in the foil. My preference is to place the foil pouch directly on top of the charcoal and change it out every time I add charcoal. If you aren't using a charcoal water smoker, you'll need to get the chips as close to the heat source as possible.

Any wood that is hard and does not contain sap can be used in your water smoker. If the tree makes fruit or nuts, then the wood is typically good for smoking. Different woods offer different flavors and characteristics. Below is a list of different woods and what you can expect from each.

Types of wood for smoking

Apple is very mild in flavor and gives food a sweetness. This is good with poultry and pork. Apple will discolor chicken skin (turns in dark brown).

Cherry has a sweet, mild flavor that goes great with virtually everything. This is one of the most popular woods for smoking.

Fruit, like apple, apricot or cherry, fruit wood gives off a sweet, mild flavor that is good with poultry or ham.


Hickory adds a strong flavor to meats, so be careful not to use to excessively. It’s good with beef and lamb.

Maple, like fruit wood gives a sweet flavor that is excellent with poultry and ham.

Mesquite has been very popular of late and is good for grilling, but since it burns hot and fast, it's not recommended for long barbecues. Mesquite is probably the strongest flavored wood; hence its popularity with restaurant grills that cook meat for a very short time.

Oak is strong but not overpowering and is a very good wood for beef or lamb. Oak is probably the most versatile of the hard woods.

Pecan burns cool and provides a delicate flavor. It’s a much subtler version of hickory.

You can also find other wood products around made from wine and whiskey barrels that impart a very unique flavor. I have a fondness for Jack Daniel whiskey barrel wood.

Woods to AVOID would include: cedar, cypress, elm, eucalyptus, pine, fir, redwood, sassafras, spruce, and sycamore.