Advice for Home Chefs Tackling a New Cuisine

Posted on: 29 April 2018

There is a science to cooking food on the best wood fire. Serious backyard cooks maintain that the best outdoor wood cooking calls for knowledge about the type of wood you choose to build a cooking fire. It stands to reason that you should know quite a bit about the wood you choose. Why is that so? Well, the quality of your fire ultimately determines the quality of your cooked food. 

So, choosing the best wood such as maple and cherry woods and then keeping in check the fire you've built is a skill you must perfect. You perfect your cooking skill to become a professional pit-master who at first started out being just a simple backyard cook. You will have to control the fire's consistency and temperature for tasty food quality.

Best Woods For Cooking Foods

Choose hardwoods such as fruit and nut woods and specifically cherry wood and maple wood for your cooking fire, since their cell structures are compact. Just don't use fresh cut hardwood that is not air dried out for burning. Cherry wood produces medium smoke, medium energy, and few sparks. It also generates excellent embers. Don't use cherry wood to cook beef, because it can leave beef with a bitter taste. You can use it for cooking pork though. Maple wood gives off mild smoke, high energy, excellent embers and few sparks. You can use maple wood fire for cooking beef and fish.

Smoke And Flavor

There is that important element of smoke, which positively contributes to flavor. However, don't be overcautious about wanting your burning wood to immediately belch out smoke. Even if you're utilizing more wood than you perceive should be used, as long as you keep the fire going to maintain temperature control, you're food is going to absorb better flavor during the cooking process.

Using Herbs

If you want an even more distinct taste of herbs in the food you're cooking on a wood fire, use seasonal herb bushes that you saved and dried for a long time. Those herb bushes you're about to use may include basil, oregano, thyme, and other herb bushes. They crumble easily because they're well-cured. Toss the crumbled herbs on the meat you've placed on the fire. The herbs have a tendency to burn quickly and summon up plenty of smoke. This activity adds an exotic aroma to the food you're cooking on a hardwood fire.

For more information on cooking on cherry wood, contact your local grill company. Bon Appetit!