Did you ever wonder why smoked fish and meats taste so great? Most smokers add flavor through the wood chips or blocks of wood used to create the smoke that does the cooking of the fish or other meats. Some people like the flavor that the maple tree or chips leave behind when you use this for smoking, and others like cedar chips. Most smokers run at the same temperature to maintain a consistent degree of heat while cooking. Many people also think that the secret is in the wood and critics would have to agree.
Maple wood chips can add a great flavor to your fish and other various meats if you choose to use that particular tree. Maple wood chips will make your meats and fish taste sweet. Maple is recommended for bacon and any type of poultry like chicken or turkey. If you use an apple or cherry wood, your smoky flavor that you would be enjoying would be great for game birds such as duck or geese during hunting season. To get a mesquite flavor you should use a hickory or some type of hardwood. These wood chips are recommended for beef, duck and other softer red meats like lamb.
All in all, if you want a great flavor all you need to do is to determine the type of cooking wood you want. This is the secret that everybody knows but no one wants to admit what it was. A simple little change like your choice can make a world of difference to your strategy with smoking. Give it a try next time you are smoking some meat or ask the person you take your meat to if you do not smoke your own. You will find that some of the butchers can and will smoke types of meats and fish if you ask them to with different types of wood. Also some supermarkets will run ads in the paper saying that they will smoke meats for a price so no one has to go without their favorite smoked delicacies. So take some time to experiment with different wood chips and enjoy the texture and the flavor of your smoked meats and fish.