Hickory smoking wood chunks from Grill Fanatics give the full, bold smoke flavour you know from American barbecue. Hickory has a slightly bacon-like, savoury note and is clearly present, which makes it the standard choice for pulled pork, brisket and ribs. Because they're blocks rather than chips, they smoulder for hours among the charcoal. The bag contains 1kg.
When to use hickory smoking wood chunks
Hickory belongs with large, fatty cuts of meat that need hours of cooking. Pork shoulder, brisket, short ribs and beef sausage have enough flavour and fat to carry this smoke. On lean meat, poultry or fish it quickly becomes too dominant, so fruit wood is a better choice there.
- Bold, savoury smoke flavour with a bacon-like note
- The classic choice for pulled pork, brisket and spare ribs
- Chunks smoulder for hours: no topping up during the session
- Stronger than oak and much stronger than apple or cherry
- Easy to tame by mixing with fruit wood
- Works in kamado, smoker, kettle barbecue and offset
How to dose hickory
Spread one or two chunks among the unlit charcoal before lighting it. Deliberately start with less than you'd use with a milder wood: hickory is bold and too much smoke makes the bark bitter. You can always add another chunk next time.
Mixing for balance
One chunk of hickory together with a chunk of apple or cherry gives strength with a sweeter edge. That combination is almost standard for pulled pork, since the sweet fruit wood rounds off the savoury smoke.
Browse the other smoking wood chunks, or take smoking wood chips for shorter cooks. The matching fuel can be found under BBQ charcoal.
