4th of July BBQ Grilling with Wood Chips: Flavor Guide

Grilling with wood chips can infuse grilled meats with some aromatic and underlying flavors at your next BBQ.

But which wood chips pair well with which meats? Like a glass of fine wine, some wood chips flavors go better with certain meats cooked on the BBQ. While there is no truly wrong wood chip and meat pairing, using these combinations of wood chips and meats will infuse the most flavor in meats cooked on a grill.

Grilling with flavor-enhanced wood chips is one way to add flavor to foods without adding any extra calories or fats in the form of sauces and condiments.

Purchase wood chips at a local hardware or discount retailer. The best wood chips to purchase for use in a grill are wood chips from hardwood trees. Flavor-enhancing wood chips may also be sold as wood chunks. Wood chips just sounds better, so let's call them chips not chunks.

Grilling Tip: Before grilling with flavored wood chips, soak them in water and drain them thoroughly. Then add the wood chips to the coals.

BBQ Grilling with Wood Chips: Flavor Guide

Below, find the list of which wood chips pair well with which grilled meats.

Quick Guide to Wood Chips, By Meat

Beef - Cherry, Mesquite, Oak Wood

Chicken - Apple, Apricot, Cherry, Hickory, Maple Wood, Mesquite, Oak Wood, Pecan

Duck - Pecan

Ham - Apple, Hickory

Lamb - Cherry

Pork - Apple, Apricot, Hickory

Salmon - Apple, Alder

Seafood - Alder, Maple Wood, Oak Wood

Turkey - Pecan

BBQ Grilling with Wood Chips: Flavor Guide

Alder Wood Chips

Alder wood chips benefit seafood when grilled. It brings out the natural flavors in seafoods like salmon and rainbow trout.

Apple Wood Chips Apple naturally pairs well with pork as well as chicken. When grilling, use apple wood chips to add a fruity taste to any pork product including pork chops, pork ribs, pork sausage or ham.

The apple wood chips also enhance chicken breasts, and even salmon steaks.

Apricot Wood Chips

Use apricot wood chips to cook chicken or pork.

Cherry Wood Chips

Cherry Wood Chips enhance different poultry and fowls when grilled. Cherry wood chips add a fruity flavor to meats, but with an added tartness. Use cherry wood chips when grilling duck or chicken.

Cherry wood chips also complement game meats like venison. Lamb pairs well with cherry wood chips, as does a beef steak.

Hickory Wood Chips

Hickory wood chips are perfect for grilling and flavoring pork chops. BBQ chicken is also delectable and rich when grilled with hickory wood chips.

Maple Wood Chips

Add some sweetness to grilled meats, without adding sugar-laden condiments. Cook chicken or your favorite seafood steak with maple wood chips.

Mesquite Wood Chips

Mesquite wood chips add a Tex-Mex flavor to beef and chicken. Use Mesquite wood chips for meats that will be served with corn, or tortillas.

Oak Wood Chips

Oak wood chips are versatile and can be used to enhance chicken, beef, and even seafood.

Pecan Wood Chips

Add a nutty pecan taste to chicken, duck and turkey cooked on the grill.

Gas Grilling Tip: Add the soaked but drained wood chips to a smoker box attached to your grill.