Wood & Fuel.

The Pacific Northwest salmon wood. Mild, slightly sweet smoke developed by Indigenous coastal cooks for cedar-plank salmon — the canonical pair when you want flavor without overpowering delicate fish.

The mild, sweet fruitwood — pork’s default partner, friendly to poultry and ribs, the classic softening blend with hickory.

Carbonized wood — the default backyard BBQ fuel for most of American grilling history. Lump or briquettes; sears at 700-1000°F and smokes at 225°F on the same device.

The color play of the wood world. A mild, slightly fruity smoke that paints a mahogany finish on bark — used solo on poultry and pork, blended with oak or hickory on beef for the visual punch.

A sealed chamber heated by a thermostatically-controlled resistance element, with wood chips smoldering above for smoke. The apartment-friendly fuel — precise, plug-and-play, but the weakest smoke flavor of mainstream BBQ fuels.

Propane or natural gas burned through BTU-rated burner tubes — the convenience fuel that 60%+ of American backyard cooks use and roughly 90% of premium steakhouses grill on.

The American smoking wood. Strong, savory, bacon-like smoke — the canonical pair for pulled pork, ribs, and the entire Appalachian / Mid-South BBQ tradition.

The northern bacon wood. Mild, sweet, sugar-contributing smoke — the canonical pair for homemade bacon, smoked poultry, and any cook that wants character without weight.

The Texas Tex-Mex and South Texas signature wood — sharp, peppery, intensely flavored, fast-burning. Iconic for short high-heat fajita and skirt-steak grilling; rewards expert fire management on anything longer.

The baseline reference wood for American BBQ. A continental-range hardwood genus (Quercus) with clean medium smoke — stronger than fruit woods, gentler than hickory or mesquite, and the dominant championship-survey pick alongside hickory.

Hickory's gentler genus cousin — a mild-medium nut wood with sweet, nutty smoke. The Louisiana and Mid-South tradition, popular with backyard cooks and competition blenders.

Compressed hardwood sawdust extruded into uniform cylinders and fed by an electric auger into a digital-thermostat-controlled cooker. Food-grade only; brand quality varies sharply between 100% single-species and oak-blend competition products.

The Texas brisket standard — a slow-burning Mid-South hardwood with clean medium smoke, low ash, and the subtle vanilla note that defines Hill Country barbecue.