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Nothing brings out the taste of meat and spices than smoking. Pork, beef, poultry, and fish will always taste better if smoked before eating.

We enjoy the taste of smoke, as long as it is a compliment to the flavors of the meat, while you can still taste the spices added. High quality ingredients -- for the meat to the spices -- will make all the difference.

Pecan is our preferred wood to smoke pork, beef, and poultry. If you want to intensify the smoke taste, you can mix chunks of hickory or mesquite with the pecan. This way you can control how much smoke is added to the meat. Using mesquite only, especially with poultry, can be too strong for some, and totally overtake the flavors. Wood from fruit trees is best to smoke fish. Apple & cherry are good options.

Fresh spices are very important. You may not know, but spices  do expire, and if they have been sitting in your cupboard for over six months, you may want to get new and fresher ones before smoking.  Pre-toasting seeds and whole spices brings out their entire flavor before grinding to add for dry rubs, or when for use whole in brines.

To ensure smoke adheres to the meat while in the smoker, make sure you have left it in the refrigerator for at least six hrs (12-24 hrs works best) for the pellicle to form.  Pellicle is the sticky surface that forms over the meat while drying in the refrigerator that the smoke will adhere to. No pellicle no smoke flavor added to your meat.