I just tried BBQing with peach wood. I’m not sure why I’m so late on the band wagon with this. Hickory and mesquite are my normal go to woods. In the past I’ve tried apple and cherry but wasn’t satisfied with them. For some reason the smoke didn’t penetrate the meat. Either that or the smoke didn’t taste like much to make a real difference.
One of my good friends and fellow BBQer decided to give me some peach wood. Not the dry, old stuff but more green and still fairly wet. Instead of choosing a simple meat like pork to see what peach wood can do, I decided to give it the harder tasks of smoking a brisket.
After putting on a simple rub on my brisket. I mean, real simple—salt, pepper, garlic powder, and I think that was it. I threw it into the smoker for about 5 hours of smoke and heat. I kept the temperature around 325 to put a little crust. Then I finished it off at 275 for another 5 hours.
I was very impressed with the results. There was a definite smoke ring and the taste of the meat was not harsh as you would get with hickory or mesquite. I’d say it was right in-between apple and mesquite. There was a slight nutty taste like you would get from smoking with pecan and then it was quickly followed by a fruity flavor like apple but not as strong.
Remember to soak your woods when smoking. A few hours works while overnight is even better to slow down the burn time and increase the smoke output.
Oh, Happy July 4!