I’ve ruined chicken with wood smoke more times than I care to admit. Early on, I dumped hickory into every cook because that’s what “real” barbecue was supposed to smell like. What I got instead was chicken that tasted like the inside of an ashtray, with skin so bitter I had to peel it off before I could eat it.
Chicken is different from brisket or pork shoulder. It’s milder, it cooks faster, and it soaks up smoke like a sponge. That means the wood you choose isn’t a minor detail — it’s the difference between a bird that tastes balanced and one that tastes like a campfire accident.
The quick answer: fruit woods like apple and cherry are the safest starting point for most chicken cooks. But the “best” wood really depends on the cut you’re smoking, how strong you like your smoke, and what you’re serving it with. Wings can take more punishment than a chicken breast. Thighs and legs practically beg for something richer.
I’ve spent over a decade running everything from cheap offset smokers to high-end pellet rigs, and I’ve burned through more bags of wood chips than I’d like to admit testing this stuff. Below, I’ll walk you through the seven best woods for smoking chicken, which cuts they’re built for, and how to avoid the mistakes that turn a good bird into a bitter one.
Our Top Picks at a Glance
| Wood | Best For | Smoke Strength | Flavor Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | Whole chicken, breast | Mild | Sweet, fruity |
| Cherry | Wings, skin color | Mild | Fruity, slightly tart |
| Pecan | Thighs, legs | Medium | Nutty, rich |
| Maple | Breast, whole chicken | Mild | Sweet, subtle |
| Oak | Whole chicken, big cooks | Medium | Classic, neutral |
| Hickory | Wings, dark meat | Strong | Savory, bacon-like |
| Mesquite | Short cooks, blends | Very strong | Earthy, intense |
If you only remember one thing from this article, remember this: start milder than you think you need to. You can always add more smoke on your next cook. You can’t take it back once it’s in the meat.
The Best Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken
There isn’t one universally “best” wood for chicken — I get asked this constantly, and my honest answer always disappoints people who want a single right answer. The real question is how strong you want that smoke flavor to be, and which cut you’re cooking. Here’s how I rank the seven woods I reach for most.
1. Apple Wood — Best Overall for Chicken
Apple is where I tell almost every beginner to start, and it’s still what I reach for on a lazy Sunday whole-chicken cook. It’s mild and slightly sweet, and it’s nearly impossible to overpower chicken with it, even if you’re a little heavy-handed.
It shines on whole chickens because the smoke has time to build gently over the full cook without turning bitter. It’s also my go-to for chicken breast, since breast meat is lean and doesn’t have much fat to buffer against harsh smoke.
Why beginners love it: there’s a wide margin for error. You’d have to work pretty hard to ruin chicken with too much apple smoke.
Best cuts: whole chicken, breast, and honestly, just about anything.
2. Cherry Wood — Best for Color and Mild Flavor
Cherry is the wood I use when I want chicken that looks as good as it tastes. It’s mild, a little fruity, and it does something apple doesn’t do quite as well — it gives the skin a deep mahogany-red color that looks like it came off a competition table.
If you’ve ever posted a photo of smoked wings and wondered why yours look pale next to someone else’s, cherry is often the answer. It’s fantastic on wings and whole chicken, and I frequently blend it with apple for a slightly more complex, still-mild profile.
Best cuts: wings, whole chicken. Good combo: cherry + apple.
3. Pecan Wood — Best for Richer Chicken Flavor
Pecan is the wood that made me stop thinking of “mild vs. strong” as a two-option choice. It’s nutty and noticeably more substantial than apple or cherry, but it’s still forgiving enough that you won’t torch your dinner.
I reach for pecan most often on thighs and legs, where the extra fat and connective tissue can stand up to more pronounced smoke. It gives you real, noticeable flavor without crossing into “this tastes like a tire fire” territory.
Best cuts: thighs, legs, and dark meat in general.
4. Hickory Wood — Best for Classic BBQ Flavor
Hickory is the wood most people picture when they think “barbecue.” It’s strong, savory, and a little bacon-like — which is exactly why it needs to be used carefully with chicken.
Dark meat can handle it well. Thighs and wings, with their higher fat content, hold up against hickory’s intensity. Chicken breast is a different story — I’ve had breast meat go from “smoky” to “bitter” in the time it takes to answer a phone call, so if you’re using hickory on breast, go light and keep the cook time in check.
Best cuts: wings, thighs, dark meat. Use caution with: chicken breast.
5. Maple Wood — Best for Mildly Sweet Smoke
Maple doesn’t get talked about enough. It’s mild, subtly sweet, and it works as a nice change of pace from the fruit woods without introducing any real risk of overpowering the chicken.
I like it on whole chicken and breast meat when I want something a touch different from apple but still forgiving. Maple and cherry together is an underrated combination — the maple rounds out cherry’s tartness with a soft sweetness.
Best cuts: breast, whole chicken.
6. Mesquite Wood — Best for Strong Smoke Flavor
Mesquite is bold, intense, and — I’ll say this plainly — the wood most likely to ruin your chicken if you’re not paying attention. It burns hot and produces a heavy, earthy smoke that can turn bitter fast, especially over a long cook.
I don’t recommend it as a standalone wood for chicken unless you’re doing a short, hot cook — think grilled wings over direct heat rather than a low-and-slow smoke. Where mesquite really works is blended in small amounts with a milder wood, giving you a bolder edge without the harshness.
Best use: short, hot cooks or blended sparingly with apple or cherry. Avoid: long, low-temperature smokes where it has time to turn bitter.
7. Oak Wood — Best Versatile Hardwood
Oak sits right in the middle — more assertive than the fruit woods, more neutral than hickory or mesquite. It doesn’t scream for attention, which makes it a great “blending” wood or a solid single choice for a big cook, like smoking multiple whole chickens for a crowd.
Best cuts: whole chicken, larger batch cooks. Good use: blending wood to round out sharper flavors.
Best Wood for Smoking Chicken Breast
Chicken breast is lean, mild, and unforgiving. There’s very little fat to buffer against harsh smoke, which means the wood you choose matters more here than on any other cut.
My rule of thumb: keep it in the mild-to-medium range. Apple, cherry, and maple are all safe bets, and pecan works if you want a bit more depth without going overboard. Skip mesquite entirely on breast meat — I’ve tested this more than once, and it’s just too easy to end up with something bitter.
Quick recommendation box:
- Best overall: Apple
- Best for color: Cherry
- Best richer flavor: Pecan
A few practical notes:
- Combinations work well here. Apple + cherry or apple + maple both give you a rounder flavor than any single wood alone.
- Chips vs. chunks matters more on quick cooks. Chicken breast often cooks faster than other cuts, so chips (which ignite and burn out faster) can be a better fit than chunks, which are built for longer, slower smoke release.
Best Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken Wings
Wings can take more smoke than breast meat — the skin and higher fat content give them some buffer. This is where you have room to experiment.
- Apple and cherry give you a balanced, crowd-pleasing flavor that won’t scare off anyone at a cookout.
- Pecan adds a richer, nuttier profile if you want wings that taste a little more “grown-up.”
- Hickory is the move for traditional BBQ-style wings with that classic smoky backbone.
- Mesquite works for people who genuinely love aggressive smoke, but keep the cook short.
One thing that doesn’t get mentioned enough: wood choice also affects how the skin looks and, to a degree, how it crisps. Heavier, drier smoke (like hickory) can dry the skin surface slightly faster, while fruit woods tend to be gentler on it. Either way, skin texture comes down mostly to temperature and technique — more on that below.
Best Wood Combinations for Smoked Chicken Wings
- Apple + cherry — balanced, crowd-friendly
- Apple + hickory — a little smoky depth without going overboard
- Pecan + cherry — rich with a touch of brightness
- Oak + apple — versatile, good for big batches
If you’re new to smoking wings, start with a single wood before you branch into blends. It’s a lot easier to learn what apple tastes like on its own before you start layering it with something else.
Best Wood for Smoking Chicken Thighs and Legs
Dark meat is the most forgiving cut on the bird. Thighs and legs have more fat and connective tissue than breast meat, so they can handle stronger, richer smoke without tasting harsh.
Pecan is my top pick here — it gives you real depth without tipping into bitterness. Hickory and oak are both excellent if you want something closer to traditional BBQ flavor, and apple or cherry still work well if you’d rather keep things milder and let your rub or sauce do more of the talking.
If you’re using a heavier rub or a sweet BBQ sauce, richer woods like pecan and hickory tend to hold their own better than delicate fruit woods, which can get lost under bold seasoning. If you’re keeping the seasoning simple — just salt, pepper, and maybe a little garlic — apple or cherry lets the wood flavor actually shine through.
What Kind of Wood Chips Are Best for Smoking Chicken?
The best wood chips for smoking chicken are mild-to-medium hardwoods like apple, cherry, pecan, and maple, which complement chicken’s mild flavor without overpowering it. Stronger woods like hickory and mesquite work best on dark meat or in small, blended amounts, since they can quickly turn bitter on lean cuts like chicken breast.
Beyond that quick answer, it helps to think of smoking woods in three general categories:
| Wood Type | Smoke Strength | Flavor | Best Chicken Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | Mild | Sweet/fruity | Whole chicken, breast |
| Cherry | Mild | Fruity | Wings, whole chicken |
| Maple | Mild | Sweet | Breast, whole chicken |
| Pecan | Medium | Nutty | Thighs, legs |
| Oak | Medium | Classic | Whole chicken |
| Hickory | Strong | Savory/bacon-like | Wings, thighs |
| Mesquite | Very strong | Earthy/intense | Short cooks, blends |
Mild woods are nearly foolproof. Medium woods give you noticeable flavor with a reasonable margin for error. Strong woods reward experience and punish inattention — they’re not “bad” woods, they just leave a lot less room to be careless.
Skin Crispness vs. Smoke Absorption
Here’s something that trips up a lot of people who are otherwise picking great wood: chicken skin acts as a barrier to smoke. Most of the smoke flavor is actually absorbed by the meat and the fat just underneath the skin, not the skin itself. That’s good news and bad news.
The bad news is that low-and-slow smoking — the classic 225°F approach — gives smoke plenty of time to penetrate, but it also gives the skin plenty of time to turn rubbery, since it never gets hot enough to render properly. You end up with great flavor and skin nobody wants to eat.
The fix I use on almost every chicken cook now is smoking hotter — somewhere in the 275°F to 325°F range. You still get real smoke flavor, especially in the first hour or so when the meat is coolest and most absorbent, but the higher heat renders the fat and lets the skin actually crisp up. If you want to go a step further, a dry brine the night before — just salt (and a little baking powder if you want extra crispness) rubbed under and over the skin — pulls moisture out of the surface, which helps a lot with getting that bite-through texture.
The wood choice and the temperature approach work together. A milder wood like apple or cherry is more forgiving if you’re running hotter and shorter, since you’ve got less time for smoke to build up harshness.
Charcoal Base vs. Pure Wood
This one trips up a lot of beginners, so let me be blunt about it: wood chips and chunks are for flavor, not heat.
I’ve seen people try to run a charcoal grill or a bullet smoker on wood chips alone, thinking more wood equals more smoke equals more flavor. What actually happens is the chips smolder unevenly, produce thick, heavy white smoke instead of the thin blue smoke you actually want, and coat the chicken in creosote — that bitter, acrid buildup that ruins a cook.
Your heat source should be charcoal, briquettes, gas, or pellets (depending on your smoker), with wood chips or chunks added on top or alongside purely to generate smoke flavor. A small handful of chips, added in stages, does far more for your chicken than a pile of wood chips trying to do double duty as your fuel source.
Should You Soak Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken?
I get asked about this constantly, and honestly, my opinion has changed over the years. Soaking chips in water used to be treated like gospel — the idea being that wet chips smolder instead of igniting, giving you longer, slower smoke.
In practice, it’s mostly a wash. Soaked chips do delay ignition a bit, but a lot of that “smoke” you see right after adding them is actually just steam, not real flavor-producing combustion. Dry chips ignite faster and produce more consistent smoke, which — for a fast-absorbing meat like chicken — is often what you actually want.
What matters more than soaking:
- Stable temperature. Wild swings do more damage to a chicken cook than dry vs. wet chips ever will.
- Good airflow. Smoke needs to move through the chamber, not sit stagnant.
- Clean combustion. You’re aiming for thin, almost invisible blue smoke, not thick white smoke rolling out of the vents.
If you like soaking your chips, it won’t ruin your cook. But don’t treat it as a requirement — I run dry chips most of the time now and haven’t looked back.
Wood Chips vs. Wood Chunks for Smoking Chicken
Chips and chunks aren’t interchangeable, even though people talk about them like they are.
Chips are small and burn fast. They’re great for shorter cooks — like wings or a spatchcocked chicken breast — where you need quick, consistent smoke without babysitting the fire for hours.
Chunks are bigger and burn slower, releasing smoke over a longer period. They’re a better fit for a longer cook, like a whole chicken, where you don’t want to keep opening the smoker every 20 minutes to add more fuel.
Your smoker type matters here too. Offset smokers and bullet smokers generally do well with chunks for longer cooks. Charcoal grills set up for indirect smoking often do better with chips, since the cook time tends to be shorter. And if you’re running a pellet smoker, this whole conversation is moot — which brings us to the next question I get asked all the time.
Can You Use Wood Pellets for Smoking Chicken?
Wood pellets are a different product entirely from chips and chunks — they’re compressed sawdust with no additives (in quality brands, anyway), designed specifically to feed the auger system on a pellet smoker. You can’t just swap pellets in for chips in a traditional smoker; they’re built for a different delivery system.
If you’re running a pellet grill, apple, cherry, or a fruitwood blend are excellent choices for chicken, same as chips or chunks. Some brands make dedicated “poultry blends” that combine a few milder woods — worth trying if you want a shortcut to a balanced flavor.
If you don’t own a pellet smoker but want to add pellet-style smoke to a gas grill or offset, a smoker tube or tray works — you fill it with pellets, light one end, and set it in your grill or smoker to generate extra smoke alongside your primary heat source. It’s a solid workaround if you want to experiment with pellet flavors without buying a whole new smoker.
What Is the Best Wood for Smoking a Whole Chicken?
A whole chicken gives you more flexibility than any single cut, because you’re working with breast, thigh, leg, and wing all in one cook. My top picks, in order:
- Apple — safe, sweet, and forgiving across the whole bird
- Cherry — similar mildness with a color boost
- Pecan — a step up in richness if you want more presence
- Oak — versatile and neutral, good for bigger cooks or multiple birds
Recommended choice: apple + cherry, for a mild, slightly sweet profile that works well no matter how you’ve seasoned the bird.
Your rub and sauce should factor into the decision too. A simple salt-and-pepper bird lets the wood do more of the talking, so a flavorful wood like cherry or pecan gets to shine. A heavily spiced or sauced bird can handle — and sometimes benefits from — a slightly stronger wood like oak, since the smoke needs to hold its own against bold seasoning.
Rub and Sauce Interactions With Wood Smoke
This is a detail I didn’t pay enough attention to for years, and it made a bigger difference than I expected once I started.
If you’re running a sweet rub — think brown sugar, paprika, a touch of cayenne for balance — pecan or oak tend to work better than the fruit woods. Fruit wood sweetness can stack with a sugary rub and tip the whole thing into “too sweet,” while pecan and oak add a nutty, savory backbone that balances it out.
If you’re running a plain, savory rub — just salt, pepper, garlic, maybe some herbs — apple or cherry lets that simplicity shine, since there’s no competing sweetness or heaviness in the rub to clash with the smoke.
Heavy black pepper or Cajun-style rubs pair well with pecan or oak too — there’s enough richness in those woods to stand up to the pepper’s heat without getting lost.
It’s a small adjustment, but once you start thinking about wood and rub as a pair instead of two separate decisions, your chicken gets noticeably more balanced.
Bark and Color Development
If you’ve ever watched a competition BBQ show and wondered how the chicken skin gets that deep, glossy mahogany color, the answer is usually cherry wood.
Cherry has a natural tendency to impart reddish tones to poultry skin that other mild woods, like apple, simply don’t produce as strongly. It’s part of why cherry shows up so often in competition circles — presentation matters when judges are scoring by sight before they ever take a bite.
For a home cook, this matters less for scoring and more for the “does this look like it came off a magazine cover” factor. If you’re smoking chicken for a party or just want photos that do the food justice, cherry — or a cherry-heavy blend — is worth reaching for specifically for the color, on top of its flavor benefits.
What Woods Should You Avoid When Smoking Chicken?
Woods That Are Too Strong
Used carelessly, mesquite and hickory are the two most likely to ruin a chicken cook. Both can turn bitter and harsh if you use too much or run them over a long, low-temperature cook. That doesn’t mean avoid them entirely — it means use them with intention, in smaller amounts, or blended with something milder.
Never Use Unknown or Unsafe Wood
This should go without saying, but I’ve seen people try it: only use wood that’s specifically sold or prepared for smoking. Never use treated, painted, stained, or construction-grade lumber — the chemicals in treated wood can leach into your food and are genuinely dangerous to inhale and ingest. If you don’t know exactly what a piece of wood is or where it came from, don’t put it in your smoker.
How Much Wood Should You Use When Smoking Chicken?
More smoke does not mean better chicken. This is probably the single most common mistake I see, and I made it myself for years before I figured it out.
Chicken absorbs smoke readily because of its mild flavor and relatively short cook time compared to something like brisket. That means it’s usually better to start conservatively — a small handful of chips or one or two chunks is often enough for an entire cook.
A few practical guidelines:
- Smoker size matters. A small smoker concentrates smoke more than a large offset, so you’ll need less wood to get the same effect.
- Chips burn faster than chunks, so if you’re using chips, you may need to add small amounts periodically rather than one big dose at the start.
- Watch the smoke color, not the clock. Thin, almost translucent blue smoke is what you want. Thick, billowing white smoke is a sign you’re overdoing it and heading toward a bitter, acrid flavor.
- Stop adding wood partway through. Chicken absorbs most of its smoke flavor in the first half of the cook. Continuing to add wood late in the cook mostly just risks over-smoking without adding much benefit.
Pitmaster tip: if you’re ever unsure whether to add more wood, don’t. You can always add smoke on your next cook if this one turns out too mild — but you can’t remove it once it’s there.
How to Choose the Best Wood for Chicken
If you want a fast way to cut through all of this, here’s the decision tree I actually use:
- Want mild & sweet? → Apple or Cherry
- Want nutty & richer? → Pecan
- Want classic BBQ flavor? → Hickory
- Want versatile smoke? → Oak
- Want strong smoke? → Mesquite
- Want subtle sweetness? → Maple
Then factor in the details that actually shape the final result:
- Chicken cut — lean cuts like breast want milder wood; fattier dark meat can handle more
- Desired smoke intensity — how bold do you actually want this to taste?
- Rub — sweet rubs pair better with richer woods; simple rubs let mild wood shine
- BBQ sauce — a bold sauce can carry a bolder wood
- Smoker type — pellet, offset, charcoal, and electric all handle wood differently
- Cooking time — longer cooks need less wood intensity to avoid over-smoking
Best Wood Pairings for Different Chicken Recipes
| Chicken Recipe | Best Wood | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Smoked whole chicken | Apple | Cherry |
| Smoked chicken breast | Apple | Maple |
| Smoked chicken wings | Cherry | Hickory |
| BBQ chicken thighs | Pecan | Hickory |
| Smoked chicken legs | Pecan | Apple |
| Spicy BBQ chicken | Hickory | Oak |
| Sweet BBQ chicken | Cherry | Apple |
| Cajun chicken | Pecan | Oak |
| Strong smoky chicken | Mesquite | Hickory |
Which Wood Should I Use? Quick Decision Box
For the safest all-around choice, use apple wood. Choose cherry for wings and skin color, pecan for richer dark meat, hickory for classic BBQ flavor, and mesquite when you want a much stronger smoke profile.
How to Smoke Chicken With Wood Chips
1. Choose Your Wood
Match the wood’s intensity to the cut you’re cooking. Milder for breast and whole birds, richer or stronger for thighs, legs, and wings, based on everything above.
2. Prepare the Chicken
Dry brine or wet brine if you have time — even a few hours makes a noticeable difference in juiciness. Apply your rub, and don’t be afraid to season under the skin as well as on top of it.
3. Prepare the Smoker
Get your smoker to a stable temperature before the chicken goes on. I’d lean toward 275°F–325°F if crispy skin matters to you, or the classic 225°F–250°F if you’re prioritizing maximum smoke absorption and don’t mind finishing the skin under a broiler or hot sear. Set up for indirect heat either way.
4. Add the Wood
Add a modest amount of chips or a chunk or two — remember, chicken absorbs smoke fast, so you don’t need much. Avoid producing thick, heavy smoke; you’re aiming for thin and steady.
5. Monitor the Cook
Keep your temperature consistent and watch your smoke quality throughout. Resist the urge to keep adding wood — most of the flavor absorption happens early in the cook.
6. Finish the Chicken
Check internal temperature with a meat thermometer — 165°F in the breast, and I like to pull thighs and legs closer to 175°F–180°F for better texture. Let the chicken rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting. If the skin needs a final crisp, a quick blast of high heat at the end does the trick.
Best Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken — Our Top Picks
If you’re ready to buy, here are the products I’d point a friend toward, based on wood type and what they’re best suited for.
| Product | Wood | Best For | Smoke Strength | Check Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weber Apple Wood Chips | Apple | Whole chicken & breasts | Mild, sweet, fruity | Check Price |
| Oklahoma Joe’s Cherry Wood Chips | Cherry | Wings & skin color | Mild, rich mahogany color | Check Price |
| Western Perfect Smokin’ Wood Chips (Pecan) | Pecan | Thighs, legs & dark meat | Medium-mild, rich, nutty | Check Price |
| Jack Daniel’s Black Label Wood Chips | Whiskey barrel/oak | Whole birds & thighs | Medium, sweet oak & vanilla | Check Price |
| Bear Mountain BBQ Smoker Pellets (Apple/Blend) | Apple/hardwood blend | Pellet grill users | Balanced, light sweet smoke | Check Price |
A note on the Jack Daniel’s chips: these are technically whiskey-barrel oak, and they bring a little extra sweetness and vanilla character on top of the standard oak profile. I like them on whole birds when I want something a step beyond plain oak without going as bold as hickory.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best wood for smoking chicken?
Apple is the safest overall recommendation for most cooks — it’s mild, sweet, and hard to overdo. Cherry and pecan are close runners-up if you want a little more color or richness.
What wood chips are best for chicken breast?
Apple, cherry, and maple. Breast meat is lean and mild, so it does best with wood that won’t overpower it.
Are hickory wood chips good for chicken?
Yes, particularly for wings, thighs, and other dark meat. Use it moderately, though — it can turn bitter fast if overused, especially on leaner cuts.
Is mesquite wood good for smoking chicken?
Yes, but its strong smoke can easily overpower chicken if you’re not careful. It’s best used sparingly, blended with a milder wood, or reserved for shorter, hotter cooks.
Can you use cherry wood to smoke chicken?
Absolutely. Cherry gives you mild, fruity flavor along with a noticeable reddish-mahogany color on the skin, which makes it a favorite for presentation as well as taste.
Are pecan wood chips good for chicken?
Yes — particularly for thighs, legs, and any cook where you want richer BBQ flavor without going as strong as hickory.
Should I use wood chips or chunks for chicken?
Chips burn faster and suit shorter cooks, like wings or a quick breast cook. Chunks burn slower and are better for longer cooks, like a whole chicken, where you don’t want to keep refueling.
Can you mix different woods when smoking chicken?
Yes, and I’d encourage it once you’re comfortable with single woods. Apple + cherry, pecan + cherry, apple + hickory, and oak + apple are all combinations I use regularly.
How much wood should I use when smoking chicken?
Less than you think. Start with a small handful of chips or one or two chunks, watch for thin blue smoke rather than thick white smoke, and stop adding wood partway through the cook, since chicken absorbs most of its smoke flavor early on.
Final Verdict: What Are the Best Wood Chips for Smoking Chicken?
- Best overall: Apple
- Best for wings: Cherry
- Best for thighs & legs: Pecan
- Best classic BBQ flavor: Hickory
- Best strong smoke: Mesquite
- Best versatile option: Oak
- Best subtle sweetness: Maple
If you’re not sure where to start, don’t overthink it. Grab some apple chips, maybe a bag of cherry to blend in, and get a chicken on the smoker this weekend. You’ll learn more from one cook than from any article, including this one — but I’d start with apple + cherry as your first blend. It’s close to foolproof, and it’ll give you a real feel for how wood smoke interacts with chicken before you start experimenting with the bolder stuff.
Want a reference you can keep by the smoker? Download our free BBQ Smoking Wood Flavor Chart — it covers 15+ smoking woods, their smoke strength, flavor profile, best meats, and recommended combinations, so you’re never guessing at the grill.
For more on dialing in your chicken game, check out our guides on how to smoke chicken, how to smoke chicken wings, the best smoker wood chips and pellets overall, and our wood guides for brisket, ribs, and turkey.