QandAs: Food

What foods are good to grill with Hickory Wood?

Answer:
Hickory wood has been used for ages for cooking

meats and other foods. Hickory is a popular, (originally native to America, now in other areas) deciduous, nut-producing tree-wood which burns slowly and evenly, and offers a flavor that might make one think of bacon.

The bacon-like flavor often associated with hickory wood grilling might be more related to the fact that bacon is often "cured" using hickory wood, and it might be that the bacon actually has the taste of the hickory wood, rather than the other way around...but, it probably doesn't make much difference, because grilling with hickory wood is still a flavorful and satisfying experience!

There are numerous varieties of hickory wood, including Scrub Hickory, Pignut Hickory, Shagbark Hickory, Black Hickory, even Pecan Hickory (source of pecan nuts), and several others. Grilling foods over these varieties may offer subtle variations of flavor; and mixing some of them could produce even more subtleties.

Most red meats, pork, poultry, fish and vegetables may be cooked over hickory wood to infuse that hearty, smoky, mouth-watering enhancement only hickory wood can offer. You might also want to try soaking the hickory wood (planks, chunks, or chips) in wine or other liquid solutions to further the experience even more!

Recipes abound for grilling foods over various woods, and grilling over hickory wood recipes include such hints as wrapping the hickory wood chips or chunks in foil, then poking a few holes in the foil, and placing on the hot coals or briquettes in your grill. This will allow the wood to smolder, instead of burning with flames...thus producing more smoke to penetrate and flavor the food items.

Enjoy safe, happy and tasty grilling!