wood for smoking

[buglebuster]

starting to get into smoking more and was wondering what kinds of wood chips/chunks everyone uses? I know the normal flavors that you can buy at the store but that looks like it could get expensive. I was wondering about things like pine, cedar, oak? Thinking of stopping at the orchard across from my house and seeing if i can grab some wood from a pile of dead apple trees. One thing i was wondering flavor wise was sagebrush? Has anyone tried the trunk from a sagebrush? I thought it may add a nice flavor.
Thanks.

[sirmissalot]

I like alder for fish and mesquite for meat. I know cedar isn't any good I tried it once and pine doesn't sound appealing either. Not sure about sagebrush trunk.

[Jason]

You want to stay away from resinous woods like Fir and Pine. I have never tried birch even though I here its good for fish, I use a lot of alder and cherry for smoking fish and pork and its super abundant where I live here on the west side. I use apple for cheese and poultry. 

[Stickerbush]

alder, it is plentiful and works good. I just grab a piece of firewood and a hatchet and shave pieces off when I wanna smoke

[Encore 280]

Never use any conifer (evergreen) only deciduous (alder, fruit wood). Fruit wood has the best results for smoking and make sure you peel the bark off first. Bark makes for creosote taste, yuk.

[Blacklab]

Yeah any fruit wood will work along with alder, hickory, mesq, maple, oak, and pecan. I'm sure there is a few more.

[Kc_Kracker]

start smoking everyone has a different taste, but eventually youll start adding apple chips in the mix with alot 

[Kioti]

I like to add apple chunks to my alder for smoking my fish and Hickory or my meat.  For cheese I like a mix of hickory and apple or even plum or cherry.
Oak will add a nice golden color to your meats and a mellow taste.
I have used walnut and apple when I smoke my venison or elk.  I particularly like maple when I do my birds, especially duck and goose.
The fun part is experimenting with different types of wood and seeing what taste they produce. 

[jaymark6655]

I have used a plank of cedar for salmon, heart wood only.  Plank goes directly on coals and smokes fish pretty nice. Not sure how it would do for smoking anything else.  Pine sounds nasty.

[lucky33]

Any kind of hard wood brings good results.  Ive heard dried corncob works too, but I havent tried it.

[NRA4LIFE]

I have gone completely away from alder.  It's too pitchy and can give a bitter flavor IMO.  Hickory for most every thing hog and fish, apple for everything else (cheese, beef, etc.).

[KNOPHISH]

I've got a bunch of apple tree branches if anyone wants em.

[yakimarcher]

I like to use hickory on my Teriyaki smoked salmon, it gives it a bacon-like taste

[Huntbear]

I like Cherry as well... and actually am going to try the big wafers... see how they do.

[whtelk]

I have access to an Osage orange tree, wonder what flavor that would add? it is a hard wood.