My buddy told me I was crazy for using cherry wood on pork shoulder

So last summer, my friend Dave who's been doing comps for 10 years said cherry wood is too sweet for pork shoulder. Said it would taste like candy. I went ahead and used it anyway on a 10 pounder for my backyard cookout. Everybody loved it including Dave. He even asked for the recipe later. Has anyone else had a pitmaster give you bad advice that turned out to be just their preference?

3 comments

3 Comments

josephmartin10h agoTop Commenter

Man, isn't that always how it goes? The experts swear by their rules until they eat something that breaks them. I've noticed a lot of pitmaster advice is just what works for competition judges, not what makes regular folks happy at a backyard cookout. Cherry wood gives pork a nice subtle sweetness that cuts through the fat way better than hickory does, it's not like you're dumping sugar on it. Sounds like Dave's been doing those comps so long he forgot that normal people actually like variety in their food.

king.robin2h ago

Oh man, I used to be totally in that camp myself! I was convinced oak was the only way to go for pork and that fruit woods would make everything taste like pie filling. Then I tried cherry on a picnic shoulder last fall just to prove people wrong, and I ended up eating my words. That subtle sweetness paired with a peppery rub just works, it doesn't overpower anything. Now I mix cherry with hickory about half and half and I get way more compliments than when I was being a purist about it. Funny how we dig in our heels until we actually taste the results.

faith_thomas1h ago

Three competition cooks I know personally all swear by straight hickory for pork shoulder. They've got 30+ ribbons between them. Cherry wood makes the meat taste like dessert they say. I tried it once on a 12 pounder for my family. Bark came out almost purple. Meat was way too sweet for me. Couldn't even finish my plate. Sometimes the old school guys have a point.