Swapped hickory for pecan in my last brisket cook and never going back

I always used hickory for smoke but tried pecan on a brisket last Saturday after a buddy from Alabama swore by it. Meat came out way sweeter and less bitter, even my wife noticed. Anyone else find a wood that changed their whole cook?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray1368d ago

Extend that pecan bark idea by trying a 50/50 mix with cherry wood next time. The cherry adds a deeper red color to the bark and a little more sweetness without turning it into candy. I did that on a brisket for a family cookout last spring and it was gone in twenty minutes flat.

vera5148d agoMost Upvoted

Four hours at 225 with pecan and it's the best bark I've gotten yet.

susan6498d ago

Hang on, I gotta push back on this a little. I've tried pecan a few times and every brisket came out with this weird almost soapy aftertaste that I couldn't shake. Maybe it's just my smoker or my taste buds but hickory gives me that deep, classic barbecue flavor that pecan just can't match. Pecan's too mild and sweet for my liking, it makes the meat taste more like a dessert than a proper smoke. Hickory has that punchy, smoky bite that cuts through the fat and really stands up to a long cook. I get why people like pecan if they want something lighter but for a real brisket that tastes like it came off a pit in Texas, hickory's the only way to go.