What kind of wood is best for hickory vs cherry smoking? I'm trying to branch out from my usual oak setup and want to know what actually changes in flavor profile when you swap between hardwoods -- anyone have a side-by-side comparison or tips on ble

Opening thread commentary.

The jump from oak to hickory and cherry is a fun one because they hit opposite ends of the flavor spectrum -- it'll be immediately noticeable, I promise. Oak is that all-purpose neutral base (lightly smoky, very clean), which is why it's so hard to beat for general use. But here's what changes when you swap:

Hickory is aggressive. It has a high resin content and produces some of the strongest smoke flavor of any hardwood -- almost bacon-like but more wild/gamey. The bad news is that hickory can be finicky; it burns hot, so if your pit isn't well ventilated or if you let it run too long, you get bitter creosote buildup on