Swapped my charcoal for cherry wood chunks last weekend and it was a mess

I always use hickory on ribs but decided to try cherry on a whim for a party, and the smoke flavor was way too sweet and mild for my taste. Has anyone else had a bad experience switching wood types on a long cook?

3 comments

3 Comments

eric72325d ago

Wait, you thought cherry was too sweet and mild? Man, that's wild to me because I had the exact opposite reaction. I threw some cherry on a pork shoulder a few months back and it came out tasting like someone dumped a bottle of pancake syrup on it, I swear the meat almost tasted like candy. I had to toss half of it because nobody at my house could finish a plate.

kim81925d ago

That store-bought cherry stuff is a gamble for sure... it's either way too thin or cloying like you described. @eric723, what brand did you use and did you add anything else to the sauce or cook it down first? Trying to figure out if it was the rub or the cooking method that made it so sweet.

lisaf3824d ago

Picked up a bag of cherry chips from a hardware store once, thought I'd try it on some chicken thighs. Let me tell you, I was so excited for that sweet smoke vibe and instead I got a campfire that tasted like burnt jelly beans. My neighbor came over asking if I was trying to set the grill on fire lol. We ended up ordering pizza and I swear the chicken went straight to the trash. Cherry's been on my no-go list ever since, I'll stick with my trusty hickory or mesquite when I want something that actually tastes like meat.