Best Wood Chips For Smoking Salmon (Alder, Cherry, Apple & More)

Salmon is a delicious fish that can be smoked, grilled or baked. Smoking salmon is a delicate process, and it can be difficult to know which wood chips are best for the job. Every type of wood has its own distinctive flavor, so you will need to experiment with different types to find out what works best

We are looking at the wood chips used when smoking salmon to get the best flavor out of your fish.

There are many different types of wood chips that you can use for this process, but we will focus on three in particular: Alder Wood Chips, Cherry Wood Chips and Hickory Wood Chips. Each type has their own distinct flavor profile which could make it perfect for your dish!

In this blogpost, we will review some of the most popular types of wood chips that people use when smoking salmon and discuss how they affect the taste!

While there is a significant variety of wood chips available – and many different flavors to choose from – you need to do your research and find a product that is suitable for salmon specifically. We consider the best options you should look at if you want to add a piece of salmon to your smoking machine.

Alder

Salmon is a fish with a distinctive taste, texture and flavor. You don’t want to ruin it with the wrong wood. Alder is a good choice because it does not have strong flavors of its own which you might not like.

Alder trees are found in the Pacific Northwest and produce a smoke that can be used to flavor your smoked salmon..

The salmon gets a brown glaze on it when the sugar burns. It will taste good and look nice.

While some people enjoy alder chips for smoking salmon, they might not be the best if you’re looking for a bolder smoke profile. Mixing in other fruit or nut wood smokes will give your food more robust flavor.

While alder is highly, it burns quicker than most woods which makes it great for when you want to produce smoke in a short amount of time.

Western Premium Alder Smoking Chips

We start with our preferred option when it comes to looking for the best wood chips for smoking salmon. This would be the Western Premium BBQ Products Alder BBQ Smoking Chips. Alder is among the most preferred flavor options when smoking salmon in particular.

The alder will offer a subtle flavor profile to the salmon that you are smoking – this is great for those people who prefer to avoid some of the stronger flavors that are sometimes used in a smoking machine.

The chips, combined with the Alder flavor, also makes a great choice for smoking hamburger meat, chicken, and spare ribs.

What makes this product such an excellent investment is the fact that the chips offer multipurpose functionality. In addition to being an excellent option for a smoking machine, they also double as a way to add flavor to salmon that you are looking to put on the grill.

Each bag contains 180 cu. In. of smoking chips. The smoking chips are cut into small pieces, which provides better overall compatibility with the smoking machine and other devices compared to some of the larger chunks that are also available.

Beech

Smoking salmon requires that you immerse the fish in a flavoring liquid without affecting its distinctive flavor.

Beech wood is a good choice to use for cooking because it does not produce too much smoke. It will give a light, clean, cool smoke that will go well with your salmon.

These beech wood chips comes in a 3 pounds bag. They are not mixed with anything that could change the taste of your smoked salmon. They light quickly, burn slowly, and work great in gas or electric smokers.

Beech wood is used to smoke salmon al over the world, but it does not have a strong flavour. So you should smoke your salmon for a long time to make sure it has a strong flavour.

To add more smoke and flavor, you can pre-soak wood chips for 30 minutes. This makes them burn longer and produce a stronger flavor.

If you’re looking for a more intense smoke flavor, mix these with another type of wood.

Weber 17905 Beech Wood Smoker

Apple Wood

Apple wood chips are the best type for smoking salmon. They provide a mild, fruity flavor with sweet smokiness that pairs perfectly with fish.

You may enjoy a light citrus flavour with this salmon but it is important to note that it has a lighter flavour than other woods. Apple wood provides a delicious crust on top of smoked salmon as well as other types of fish such as trout.

If you’re using these apple chips for smoking salmon, make sure to heat-treat them to prevent mold and rot.

Dry wood chips are quite chunky, and they burn quickly. The smoke from them will need to be regularly topped up in order to maintain a balanced smoking effect.

WESTERN Smoking Chips

Cherry Wood

If you’re looking to smoke some salmon, but don’t want an overpowering fishy taste, then cherry wood may be your best bet. This flavor is on the sweeter end of the spectrum and comes from a tree that produces nuts, which contributes to its richness.

Whether it’s salmon, trout or tuna – cherry wood is perfect for any type of smoking. These wood chips are perfect for smoking salmon. They will give your food a zesty kick and won’t burn too fast during the cooking process.

The chips are chemical-free and preservative-free, which produces a clean smoke that adds to the healthiness of your smoked salmon.

Cherry Wood Chips will give you an amazing flavor on your salmon without overpowering its natural taste.”

Weber Cherry Wood Chunks

The last option is the Weber 17142 Cherry Wood Chunks, another excellent choice when it comes to adding a mild smokey flavor to salmon without causing an overwhelming taste. These wood chunks are made by Weber, a brand that is trusted among people who enjoy cooking meat on the barbeque and, of course, in a smoking machine.

In addition to the Cherry Wood flavor, you can select other options as well. These alternative flavor options include Hickory, Apple Mesquite, and Pecan.

In addition to making a great option for smoking your salmon meat, you can also rely on the Weber 17142 Cherry Wood Chunks when looking to smoke up some poultry, vegetables, and pork meat products. The chunks provide a very subtle flavor.

Each bag contains 350 cu. In. of wood chunks. Note that these are wooden chunks and not chips, so do make sure the smoking machine you will use with this product is compatible with chunks.

Oak

Oak wood chips are in the middle of the flavor spectrum. They have a stronger taste than those made from apple or cherry, but not as strong as those made from hickory and mesquite.

These types of wood chips were traditionally used in Ireland because they were plentiful right up until large land claimed by water was drained and our forests became largely oak-free. Oak produces a strong, distinguishable flavor that tastes excellent on salmon, trout, and mackerel.

One downside to oak is that it’s a dense and hardwood that requires a lot of heat before it produces much smoke.

It’s slow-burning, so it would be best used with cold smoking. A hot smoked salmon needs a smaller sized chip so you can control the temperature.

When it comes to smoking salmon, not everyone is in agreement. Some won’t eat the smoked salmon because of tannic tastes while others find that flavor too heavy for their taste buds. To create a better tasting experience, use an oak lump smoker with apple or another fruit wood chips to lighten things up.

These chips are sustainably harvested and treated for longevity, so you don’t need to buy a new bag every time. If you’re looking for the best wood chips for smoking salmon, we recommend that you choose small to medium-sized chips.

These wood chips are the best choice for smoking salmon regardless of what kind of smoker or grill you’re using.

BBQ Oak Smoking Chips

Hickory

Hickory wood chips are expensive but they last a lot longer than other types of woods. As for flavor, it has the strongest and most distinctive taste when compared to any other type of wood available on the market today.

The best thing you can do with hickory wood is smoke salmon because that’s what it was originally designed for. The heavy smoky smell will put anyone in the mood to eat!

Hickory wood should be soaked in water for at least an hour before you put them onto the salmon. This will help to ensure they don’t give off too much smoke and ruin your dish!

The best thing about hickory is that it doesn’t need a lot of attention – just let it smolder slowly on one side, flip it halfway through and then remove when done. The wood won’t burn as easily if left unattended because of its density

Hickory is also great for grilling burgers or steaks because the flavor penetrates so well into meat due to how long this type of wood burns.

Traeger Hickory 100% All-Natural Hardwood Grill Pellets

Next up is the Traeger PEL319 Hickory 100% All-Natural Hardwood Grill Pellets. You should note that this is a premium product, which means the price exceeds many competitor pellets and chips. This also means you gain access to a higher-quality product that adds a rich flavor to every food item that you decide to place in the smoking machine.

While these grill pellets are excellent for most smoking machines, you should consider the fact that they can also be used in a grill. The product is compatible with both gas and charcoal-based grills, adding more versatility to the options that you have when smoking or preparing salmon.

The Hickory adds a rich and potent flavor to the salmon that you will be placed on the grill. If you do prefer a more subtle taste and find that hickory is too overwhelming, then you can opt for a different flavor. The Traeger PEL319 Hickory 100% All-Natural Hardwood Grill Pellets are also available in a range of alternative flavor options, including Cherry, Maple, Texas Beef Blend, Pecan, Alder, Turkey, and more.

Each back contains 20 pounds of wood pellets. These pellets provide a hardwood taste, in addition to the preferred flavor option. Only natural wood is used in the production of the Traeger PEL319 Hickory 100% All-Natural Hardwood Grill Pellets, with no added fillers or binders.

Maple

Maple wood chips are another great choice of wood to use when smoking salmon.

Maple is a very soft type of wood that makes for an excellent flavor without too much smoke

You can soak these in water and add them to the salmon while it’s cooking, but make sure they don’t burn because maple burns quickly!

The best way to ensure this doesn’t happen is by keeping your stove on low heat and using only a small amount at one time.

You may also want to keep some sawdust handy just in case you need more fuel during the process (this works well with all woods!)

Western Premium Maple BBQ Smoking Chips

The Western Premium BBQ Products Maple BBQ Smoking Chips offer excellent value at an affordable rate. The product features small smoking chips, which makes it compatible with a larger number of smoking machines. In addition to being compatible with these machines, these chips can also be used in electric, gas, and charcoal grills.

The maple wood used in the Western Premium BBQ Products Maple BBQ Smoking Chips has been heat treated. What this means is that the flavor of the chips is effectively preserved. The heat treatment applied to the chips also eliminates the risk of mold and rotting, while also preventing an infestation from pests.

Each packet contains 180 cu. In. worth of smoking chips. This is quite a large bag, which means a single pack will last for a relatively long period of time.

FAQ’s

• What kind of wood is best for smoking salmon?

Oak wood chips are the best choice as they help to lighten the flavor. The salmon is smoked with apple or another fruit wood for a lighter taste.

• What kind of smoker do I need?

You’ll want an oak lump smoker and apple or other fruit wood chips to create that great tasting experience. If you’re using a grill, it’s always good idea to soak your fish in some salt water before grilling. This will make sure your fish cooks evenly while also adding lots more flavor!

• How long should my salmon be smoked on each side?

It depends on how thick your pieces are but generally from 45 minutes – 120 minutes depending upon what temperature you have set up inside the grill (low heat: 180-210 degrees, high heat: 450-550 degrees).

• What’s the right temperature?

This depends on what you’re going for. If you just want to keep it hot but not cook it any further then a temp in between 225 and 275 is perfect! To add some more smoke flavor, try adding your wood chips from time to time after they’ve warmed up with the grill or smoker. This way you’ll have that beautiful smoky scent as well as taste throughout your salmon!

• What is the best wood to smoke fish with?

It depends on what flavor you’re looking for! If you want to keep it neutral, alder wood is perfect. You can also use any fruit tree wood like apple or cherry that will give your salmon an interesting twist in the sweetness of their smokey taste as well as adding some additional color from burning pieces into your grill’s grate.

Oak gives out a very strong and smoky aroma so if this sounds more up your alley then try oak chips but remember with all these woods they take much longer than other types to add enough scent and flavor into the fish so be sure to only put one or two layers at a time after every 45 minutes of cooking time.

Mesquite produces bolder flavors than most other options but may not be for everyone.

• Is Hickory good for smoking salmon?

Hickory is a popular wood for BBQ and smoking but it can be too strong of a flavor if not used in lower quantities.

• Do you need to soak the chips before putting them on your grill?

No, soaking wood may dilute any flavors you want to add into the salmon so there’s no point in doing that step. Simply put them over direct heat without oil or wrap them up with aluminum foil when using indirect heating methods like ovens, smokers or grills where flames are not present directly under your food. If they start catching fire then dump water onto the coals until they stop burning and resume cooking after about fifteen minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on this process as hickories produce very little smoke.

• Is Cherry Good for smoking salmon?

Cherry wood is a good choice because it has both sweet and light fruity flavors which are complementary to salmon, but you can’t cook with the leaves or bark parts of cherry trees as they will impart an off flavor into your fish. If this doesn’t bother you then go for it!

You might also want to consider using apple, maple, or oak wood if you’re looking for something more mild in terms of intensity that would not overpower delicate seafood like salmon.

If salmon isn’t on your agenda try experimenting with varieties such as trout, cod, halibut or ocean perch where different types of hardwoods could be used according to personal preference since these fish have less delicate textures than salmon does.

• What is the best temperature to smoke salmon?

200 degrees Fahrenheit is a good temperature to smoke salmon at so it will be tender and juicy.

You want your smoker or grill to maintain this temperature as the fish cooks for about 15 minutes each side, depending on how thick your fillets are cut.

Conclusion

The process of finding the best wood chips for smoking salmon can be a little confusing, considering the significant number of wood chip products on the market today.

The best wood chips for smoking salmon is either oak or alder. If you want to use another type of fish, experiment with different types of hardwoods according to your personal preference.

The temperature should be 200 degrees Fahrenheit and the smoker should maintain this as the salmon cooks for about 15 minutes each side depending on how thick it is cut.

These are some general tips that can help anyone who wants to smoke their own salmon at home! If salmon isn’t on your agenda try experimenting with varieties such as trout, cod, halibut or ocean perch.