Smoking meat is a time-honored way of preserving food. It started before we invented fridges and electricity and is still a common technique. But aside from helping your food last longer, smoking gives food a richer taste, color, and flavor. But not all smoking wood is equal.
Some types of wood have stronger scents that can drown the natural flavor of your food. So it helps to find timber that suits the dish you plan to prepare. So let’s begin by reviewing a few popular brands and options as we seek the best wood for smoking chicken.
1. Weber Apple Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken
In many parts of the world (but mainly Australia), Weber Grills are so popular that people say ‘Weber’ when they mean grill. It has become a generic term for that entire category of barbeque appliances. So if this brand is so good at roasting, you’re safe buying smoking wood from them. This particular model of Apple Wood is cut into chips and packed in a 2-pound bag.
It seems too small, but using the wood exclusively for smoking chicken can last a year or more because you don’t need much to impart sufficient flavoring. Some people are against wood chips because they burn up too quickly. But chicken cooks faster than beef or game meat, so this isn’t necessarily a flaw. Plus, wood chips are small and compact—1 inch by half an inch.
It also means you can use the chips on your stove top or barbecue grate. But only if you’re cooking outdoors; otherwise, the smoke can be hazardous. You can even use them over an electric cooker. But if you’re concerned about the origin of your wood chips, they come from trees grown in Mexico and the USA. The chips are processed and packed within the US.
Weber Wood Chips are a great addition to your smoking arsenal. They work well on chicken. But you can also use apple wood to smoke fish fillets, seafood, grilled vegetables, or pork ribs.
Pros:
- They come in wood chip form, so they catch fire quickly.
- The mild, light flavor of Apple Wood is ideal for chicken.
- You can use it both on a stove-top or charcoal grill.
Con:
It has some wood dust on it. So, you may have a challenge shipping it to California, given their P65 restrictions.
2. Montana Grilling Gear Sugar Maple Chunks
Sugar maple ranks high on the list of best wood for smoking chicken. It’s a moderate middle-range type of wood that enriches any latent sweetness in your dish. Montana Grilling Gear gets its sugar maple wood from trees that are 100% organic. These trees have zero pesticides, toxins, or environmentally harmful additives. They’re grown using sustainable farming tactics.
The smoking wood is cut into chunks to provide that desirable slow burn. You can light the pieces as a primary flame source. And what it means is you can use them to cook your chicken and any accompanying meals from scratch. But as smoking wood, these sugar maple chunks work best as an indirect heat source. It allows its embers to gently and efficiently flavor your poultry.
The wood chunks are packaged as a 10-pound bag though its shipping weight is 9.94 pounds. The bag measures 13 inches by 17.5 inches and is about 5 inches wide. You can load these chips onto a charcoal grate, wood hearth, or a dedicated smoking grill (the cylindrical type). Montana Grilling Gear products are cleaned to keep them low on dust and sparks.
This brand of smoking wood chunks is made right here in the USA. It has no toxins, pesticides, or harmful chemicals. It works best as an indirect heat source because this maximizes flavor.
Pros:
- These chunks are ideal both for cooking and smoking.
- They’re fully organic with no pesticides or chemicals.
- The chips are pre-cleaned, so they’re dust-free.
Con:
- The chunks have sharp edges that may slice the bag open during shipping.
3. Western Premium BBQ Wood for Smoking Chicken
Some home chefs swear by oak wood. And in Europe, oak-flavored chicken is a favorite. But oak wood is medium timber with a moderately strong flavor, so approach it cautiously. If you’ve tried it in the past and you liked it, Western Premium is a good source. The wood comes in chunks, so it burns slower and can double as a primary heat source.
This pack isn’t European Oak, though. It’s Post Oak, a tree that’s native to North America. It’s sometimes called Iron Oak, and Western Premium only harvests smoking wood from 100% organic and pesticide-free trees. The chunks come in a 5.74-pound package that’s a foot high and half a foot wide, so ensure you have enough storage space for your bag of wood.
These chunks are heat-treated to remove excess moisture. So, you won’t have any waste wood from evaporating fluids. All the smoke will be intensely flavored and compact. Heat treatment also prevents smoking wood from attracting pests and developing mold or mildew in storage. The pack has clear cooking instructions for various chicken smoking methods.
Post Oak wood is locally sourced and appreciated, so Western Premium is among the best wood for smoking chicken. The chunks burn gradually, providing a rich-bodied flavor.
Pros:
- You can burn the chunks solo or combine them with charcoal.
- Oak is suitable for chicken. But it’s moderate, so it works on beef and mutton too.
- Pieces burn longer and slower for better smoking results.
Con:
- Oak chicken is an acquired taste, so prime your palate before you buy a huge bag.
4. Camerons Maple Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken
Symmetry draws the human eye easily. But when it comes to the best wood for smoking chicken, rough cuts work better. They provide massive and more uneven surface areas for the flames to lick. And all of these characteristics result in better smoking. The shapes on Cameron’s wood chips also make it easier to lay them on your grilling grate or arrange them on your cooktop, leading to more even smoking.
The coarse-cut wood chips come from a maple tree. It’s a medium wood that gives the chicken a sweet, subtle taste. Maple is ideal for pork and cheese as well. The wood is grown, cut, and packed within the US. The trees have zero pesticides, chemicals, or additives, and the chips are thoroughly dried in a kiln to remove excess moisture that might harbor pests or cause wood rot.
If you want to smoke your chicken correctly, consider buying Camerons Smoker Box to go with your coarse maple chips. You can put the smoker box atop your regular barbeque grill or gas grate. If you have an indoor smoker, you can augment your flavoring by placing Cameron’s maple chips at the bottom of the smoker grill, allowing the smoke to circulate and swirl.
Camerons maple wood chips are roughly cut and densely packed for effective chicken smoking. If you like the best effect, buy a matching smoker box from the same brand.
Pros:
- The wood is dried in a kiln to kill pests and prevent mold.
- The product comes packaged in chip form for thorough smoking.
- This wood comes from 100% organic trees.
Con:
- For an average chicken smoker, 2 pounds is fine. But if you barbeque regularly, you may need an enormous bag.
5. Big Green Egg Apple-Hickory Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken
Do you like green eggs and ham? Chances are nobody does. But you can still enjoy Big Green Egg chips. For chicken smoking, apple is famous for its light, sweet flavor, while hickory is heavier and preferred for turkey. Some people do enjoy hickory on chicken, though, so this product evens out the intensity of hickory by blending it with applewood. Hickory has bacon-like undertones.
That’s why it’s a good choice for pork. But it can also give your chicken a tasty ham-like flavor heightened by mild apples. This distinctive pack is plain apple. But it’s a small 1.5-pound bag. So most buyers will buy a small hickory and a small apple and then mix them, but you can pick either one and use it solo. These US-made chips perform well with a Big Green Egg Grill.
Big Green Egg makes a mean grill. And if you buy their line of smoking wood, you can enhance your barbeque repertoire. It’s a small bag, though, so purchase enough volumes.
Pros:
- It comes in apple and hickory, used separately or jointly.
- The product has a memorable name and distinctive packaging, so you’ll never buy the wrong one.
- These chips come from trees that are 100% organic.
Con:
- At a mere 1.5 pounds, the bags are on the smaller side.
6. Traeger Grills Hardwood Pellets to Smoking Chicken
All the products we’ve looked at (so far) have been chips and chunks. Now let’s explore wood pellets. These come from cherry wood, giving off a light, mild flavor. Cherrywood doesn’t just add sweetness to your chicken—it also adds color to the meat. When smoking, this 20-pound bag provides up to 40 hours of use at roughly 5 pounds per hour.
But if you’re using the pellets without any other heat source, your usage time slides down to 10 hours. Twenty if you’re using a 300°F cooktop. Pellets are small and narrow, though. So they’re best used in a smoker box or cylindrical smoking grill. If you put them on a regular barbecue grate or cooktop, they might slip through the gaps and burn out too quickly, leading to wasted wood.
Traeger pellets have no additives, bonding agents, or fillers. They’re 100% pure organic cherry wood. They’re harvested from sustainable American hardwood forests, so it is environmentally friendly. These pellets give off beautiful blue smoke to enhance the flavor of your chicken. You can also use them for pork, beef, mutton, and bread.
Wood pellets from Traeger are good sources of cooking fuel and smoking flavors. But if you want to stretch them further, combine them with a primary heat source so they can focus on the smoke.
Pros:
- They come in an extra-large 20-pound bag.
- The pellets are 100% organic blends and produce minimal ash.
- They form from existing sawdust in their mills, so they don’t kill extra trees.
All the products we’ve looked at (so far) have been chips and chunks. Now let’s explore wood pellets. These come from cherry wood, giving off a light, mild flavor. Cherrywood doesn’t just add sweetness to your chicken—it also adds color to the meat. When smoking, this 20-pound bag provides up to 40 hours of use at roughly 5 pounds per hour.
But if you’re using the pellets without any other heat source, your usage time slides down to 10 hours. Twenty if you’re using a 300°F cooktop. Pellets are small and narrow, though. So they’re best used in a smoker box or cylindrical smoking grill. If you put them on a regular barbecue grate or cooktop, they might slip through the gaps and burn out too quickly, leading to wasted wood.
Traeger pellets have no additives, bonding agents, or fillers. They’re 100% pure organic cherry wood. They’re harvested from sustainable American hardwood forests, so it is environmentally friendly. These pellets give off beautiful blue smoke to enhance the flavor of your chicken. You can also use them for pork, beef, mutton, and bread.
Wood pellets from Traeger are good sources of cooking fuel and smoking flavors. But if you want to stretch them further, combine them with a primary heat source so they can focus on the smoke.
Pros:
- They come in an extra-large 20-pound bag.
- The pellets are 100% organic blends and produce minimal ash.
- They form from existing sawdust in their mills, so they don’t kill extra trees.
Con:
- The pellets aren’t completely dried, so they sometimes go stale and musty in storage.
7. Western Apple Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken
What happens when you can’t decide what flavor you want in your chicken? Well, you could try buying a bundled pack. That way, you can identify the best wood for smoking chicken. Western Premium has several bundles. But this one has applewood, cherry wood, and pecan wood. All mentioned are fruitwoods that work great with chicken (either alone or in combination).
Apple and cherry are mild, light woods, while pecan is a nutty medium wood. Few palates enjoy the taste of plain pecan smoke, so you should try mixing it with one of the other woods for a more palate-friendly result. Each wood bag in this bundle is 180 cubic centimeters, so it’s ideal for experimentation. Once you pick your preference, you can scale up.
Flavor-wise, cherry is sweet and tangy, apple is sugary and light, and pecan is nutty and a touch heavier than the other two. All Western Premium wood chips are fully organic with no toxic additives or pesticides. You can soak them before use, but it’s not necessary. These are chips tough, so if you want to smoke for several hours per session, look for wood chunks.
This variety pack of Western Premium Fruitwood chips is perfect for barbeque adventures. Try them solo or in different combinations for flavorfully smoked chicken.
Pros:
- With a three-pack, you can explore various flavors.
- They’re all derived from 100% organic trees.
- You can use them on both charcoal grills and electric cookers.
Con:
- Buy logs or chunks if you need to slow cook, as wood chips burn quicker.
8. Weber Pecan Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken
Mesquite is the most potent smoking wood and is not advisable for chickens. But even moderate woods like oak, pecan, and hickory require a practiced palate. So if you haven’t tried it (and liked it) before, don’t buy a big bag of pecan wood. Of course, ‘big’ is relative. Two pounds don’t seem like a lot, but some households can stretch that load for a year.
Weber’s pecan wood chips come in 192-cubic-centimeter packs. They work with chicken, turkey, lamb, pork, and beef, especially if you have nuts in the recipe. Pecan wood chips are potent smokers, so this product isn’t for indoors. Not even with a chimney. You can place them on a Weber Kettle grill, though, or any other gas grill brand—the chips are a good size.
However, this product is for the global market, so they don’t tailor it to environmental state specifications. So—for instance— Weber wood chips contain wood dust. And that violates P65, so you may be unable to ship your Weber wood to California. You may want to get a cleaner brand in situations like that. Examples are Western Premium or Montana Grilling Gear.
Pros:
- It comes in a 2-pound bag.
- The wood is packed by Weber, a trusted barbequing brand.
- It gives the chicken a rich, sweet, nutty flavor.
Con:
- Few people enjoy the taste of pure pecan wood—so you may need a blend.
9. Char-Broil Tabasco Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken
Chili wood hasn’t come up on all the lists we’ve looked at. But it’s a curious way to get a bit of pep in your smoked chicken. You may be aware that chili doesn’t come from a tree. Tabasco wood is actually the wood from white oak barrels. These barrels are used to age tabasco sauce, which is then processed into wood chips for smoking chicken and other kinds of meat.
Ordinarily, Tabasco is kept in these barrels for three years to ferment. And each barrel is used for 10 to 15 cycles before it retires into wood chips, so the pepper flavor accumulates over time and gets quite concentrated. Tabasco wood tastes a little like hickory. It shouldn’t be the primary wood because a little kick is all you want. Toss a handful over your grill.
This way, your chicken gets infused with peppery white oak smoke. You can use a homemade aluminum foil pocket. Or you can put the Tabasco wood directly in a smoker box. The wood chips come in a 2-pound bag, about 40m tall. And since Tabasco isn’t the primary fuel source or flavoring, you can use this bag as a smoking supplement for up to a year.
If you like a bit of pep in your chicken, get yourself some Tabasco wood chips. They’ll give your chicken a peppery scent and taste that will warm up your insides as you bite your favorite bit.
Pros:
- The wood chips come from aging oak barrels for extra flavor.
- The resulting flavor is heavier than apple but lighter than hickory.
- The chips come from recycled fermenting barrels, so they’re environmentally appropriate.
Con:
- If you don’t like oak chicken, you’ll probably dislike smoked Tabasco.
10. Peach Wood 10-Inch Chunks for Smoking Chicken
Peachwood doesn’t get the attention it needs. Why so? The apple wood—its cousin—often overshadows it. But it’s an excellent wood for chicken for it’s sweet and mild. And since it’s not as typical, you won’t find it among the well-known smoking brands. You’re more likely to get them shipped from a private, unbranded individual packer, so there’s no assurance of quality.
The other tricky thing about peach wood is it loses flavor soon after being cut. It means you need to use it fresh because if you season it like other fruitwood, it may go ‘flat’. But the downside to undried wood is it produces low-rate smoke since most of the smoke is moisture, not flavor. With that said, peach wood imbues food with a light, sweet taste that works with chicken.
Peachwood is famous for southern recipes, and this batch of chunks ships from Michigan. The pack says the sizes are random. But their average length is 10 inches, so be sure your grill or cooktop can accommodate chunks that big. The logs are plentiful, so you get hefty pieces per box, but fitting them into your smoker is another story.
Most people believe the best wood for smoking chicken is applewood. But because peaches have a similar texture and flavor to apples, their wood chunks make a passable substitute while fresh.
Pros:
- The chunks come in large packs of 5 to 7 pounds.
- Each piece is roughly 10 inches.
- Peachwood has similar taste and texture qualities to apple wood.
Con:
- You can’t be sure of quality control or tree sustainability if it doesn’t have a brand name. For example, the product is marketed as 10-inch but is also described as having randomized sizing’.
How To Choose A Wood for Smoking Chicken: A Buyer’s Guide
Gathering firewood is an art. You can’t just pick random sticks. The same applies when hunting down the best wood for smoking chicken. It has to be seasoned—meaning it’s dried out under careful conditions for a year or more. Let’s see what other features you should consider.
Remember that hardwood is best for smoking poultry, while softwoods (like cedar) are better for fish. Softwoods burn quickly and emit lots of sparks which will ruin your chicken. But for quick-cooking dishes like fish, veggies, or super-slim cuts of meat, softwood can work.
Type of Tree
Every tree has a unique scent and taste. And these aromatic flavors are passed into your chicken. The most common types of wood for smoking chicken include maple, hickory, apple, oak, pecan, peach, and cherry. Fruitwoods are preferred because they enhance chicken flavor and color without overpowering its intrinsic taste. Europeans prefer the taste of oak-smoked chicken.
But most American palates find oaken chicken a bit too much. Maple lends a sweet taste to your meat, while hickory is beloved among southern frying states. Some find hickory too strong for chicken, but if you prefer that heavy taste, there are no worries about it. But traditionally, hickory is saved for turkey. The nutty flavor of pecan wood is perfect for cashew chicken or any nutty recipe.
And you can combine it with fruitwood. Apple is a good choice, but only for short smoking sessions. If you burn it too long, the applewood can overwhelm your chicken. Less popular ones include mesquite, alder, and pimento. Mesquite is sharp, so it’s best for open-air grilling – it’s too strong for smoking. Pimento is excellent for chicken jerky, but it’s a tricky type of timber to find.
Wood Configuration
You want your wood to release smoke slowly and at low temperatures, so you don’t have to start a roasting wood fire. You can place your wood on a gas grill, electric cooker, or barbeque grate; rather than lighting a live hearth. It all depends on the space and cooktop you have available.
For smoking purposes, you want smaller pieces of timber. It provides a larger surface area for smoke production. So—for example—wood chips do a better job of smoking than, say, uncut driftwood logs. But if you’re smoking on an outdoor grill, it may slip through the grate.
So you might prefer larger chunks that won’t pass through the gaps in your grill. On the other hand, if you lean towards tradition, you may want a designated smoker grill. These are often cylindrical, so you need the correct type of wood to fit the smoking chamber. These smoking woods come in wood pellets, charcoal briquettes, splints, pouches, or caked chips.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What temperature should you smoke chicken at?
To ensure the whole chicken cooks to the core, the internal temperature should reach 165°F. First, preheat the smoker until it reaches about 225°F to 250°F. Once the heat is enough, cook the chicken inside the smoker for 2.5 to 3 hours. Or you can compute the time by adding 30 or 45 minutes per pound.
2. Is it possible to overcook chicken in a smoker?
Like any other food that needs cooking, chicken can overcook. The meat dries out quickly and loses its juicy characteristics. Another issue is that it becomes rubbery to texture despite being fresh before smoking. Secure a food thermometer so you don’t exceed the time and heat. Lastly, remember that too low of a flame and slow cooking can affect the skin texture.
3. Should I wrap chicken in foil when smoking?
That depends on the amount of flavor you like on the chicken. If you want less smokiness, you can wrap it in foil while it cooks. But if you like to impart sweet notes from the fruitwoods, better not cover it.
Another thing to consider is placing it in a foil after cooking. That way, it redistributes the moisture while waiting for your guests. Now you know why many rotisserie have it in a foil after you ask for a takeout.
Smoke and Sizzle!
When you want the best wood for smoking chicken, buy Weber Apple Wood, and here’s why:
- It comes in a 2-pound bag that’s about a foot long
- The wood is chipped, so it’s easy to use on a gas grill or stovetop.
- Applewood is ideal for giving the chicken a sweet flavor.
- It’s a mild fruitwood; it won’t overpower your chicken.
- Applewood also works on fish and pork.
- The wood chips are fitted for Weber Grills but can work on any other cooktop.
What type of smoking wood are you currently using? Show us a sample in the comments!
Joseph Hudson has been raising chickens for over 15 years. In 2018, he completed the Agriculture & Natural Resources program at Mt. San Antonio College. He currently raises over 1400 chickens on his 7.5-hectare farm. He keeps sharing his experience on raising healthy and happy chickens on Chicken Scratch The Foundry.
