Grilling with wood may just be the easiest way to becoming a “gourmet” chef since man first tasted meat cooked with fire.

Understanding how fire and wood interact to bring back that unmistakable flavor of the open range, or the deep woods campsite, or the shore side fire, is the first step to a great dining experience. And it is easy: wood either flavors the meat or fish with smoke or it flavors it with the sap of the wood.

If you want to flavor with smoke, you will choose chips or chunks of your favorite wood. Chips and chunks are designed to be burned and therefore, should be used to smoke flavor your meat or fish. If you use a charcoal grill, place several handfuls of chips or chunks on your hot charcoal a few minutes prior to cooking,. Chips should be used if the cooking time is going to be less than 10 minutes. Chunks should be used for longer cooking. Soaking of the chips or chunks merely extends their life but does not add or detract from the smoke flavor that you desire. Unless of course, you want to add a little originality to your recipe, such as apple juice, wine, brandy, or other liquids. Be creative.

Should you be like 80% of us patio chefs, you probably have a gas grill. Not to worry! Chunks can be placed around the perimeter of the cooking surface. Notice that I said “cooking surface”! Gas grills are not designed to have wood chunks and chips thrown onto the burner and flame. However, if you place your chips on tin foil and chunks on the cooking surface, they will get hot…….and smoke! On gas grills, chunks should be used for quick cooking and chips should be used for longer cooking because the chips are protected from the flame by tinfoil or a smoker tray.

Whether you are doing cold smoking (long, long, cooking in a tradition smoker) or just putting a few burgers on the grill, the secret to flavoring with smoke is to cover your meat or fish so that the smoke and flavor cannot escape and will permeate the entrée. That means closing the cover of your grill, covering it with a pan on a stovetop, or wrapping the whole thing in tin foil. We are not talking rocket science here.

Now, cooking with planks is another story. When you cook with planks the object is to flavor your fish or meat with the sap or juices of the wood. This is a very different taste experience than smoke flavored entrees but ……just as easy! Unlike chips and chunks that you want to burn, planks you do not want to burn. Therefore, soaking of the planks is a must. Think of planks as a dehydrated vegetable. Once you add water back into them, they have all of the flavor of fresh.

The longer that you soak planks the better, but at least two hours is the rule of thumb. When cooking with planks you should protect them from flame but not heat. Therefore, cookie sheets on your grill or in your broiler oven is essential. It matters not whether the heat comes from the bottom or top, but rather that the heat is contained in a small area. I personally like the broiler or convection oven because the meat or fish and plank will char a little, creating a “WOW” factor that enhances the presentation. However, by using the same process on a grill and adding a little smoke, you get the best of both worlds.

As for the choice of woods, it is entirely subjective, but here are a few tips:
White Cedar for fresh water fish; Golden Alder for seafood; Wild Apple for pork; Sugar Maple for Poultry; Black Cherry for beef or dark meat fish; and Northern BeechNut and Downeast Hickory for a stronger flavor for all meats.

Ultimately, it is all up to you and your creativity.

Enjoy!!

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