Beech wood, alder wood, charcoal or gas grill? Is oak wood also suitable? How do you smoke bratwurst ? These are the questions that everyone who wants to try it has. So if you want to smoke bratwurst , you need a guide. And we provide one.

Smoking is a traditional method of preserving food and giving it a smoky flavor. Smoking bratwurst primarily involves smoking raw sausage. Cooked sausage is generally not smoked. Contrary to many myths, smoking is not done on a gas grill, charcoal grill or smoker, but in smoking chambers or cabinets and smoking ovens. This happens primarily when food is to be cold smoked. But you need wood for smoking. This gives your bratwurst a certain smoky note, which complements the spices. There are differences between the different types of smoking. While warm and hot smoking takes less time, smoking with cold smoke takes longer. But your materials are important. Both the right wood and the quality of the smoked goods play a decisive role. However, you should avoid smoking additives that spice up your smoke.

If you need more tips on smoking, then the next sections are just right for you if you want to know how to do it yourself.

Are you interested in smoking on the grill? Here 's a video.

To smoke bratwurst , you need a smokehouse, a smoke oven or a smoke cabinet. This must be airtight. This means that no smoke should escape outside the exhaust device. In addition, your smoker needs a way to hang sausages or meat completely so that the smoke can reach your smoked goods from all sides. The bratwursts must then hang in the direction of the smoke flow so that the aroma can be transferred to the sausages .

You also need wood. It's best to use smoking powder, smoking chips or wood chips. In theory, smoking chips would also work, but we advise against it. For a better and simpler result, it's best to use smoking powder or smoking chips. Important: Not all wood is suitable for smoking.

If you want to make your own bratwurst first, we have a video for you here .

Generally speaking, never use treated wood. Wood that has been treated with glue, metal, varnish or oil is not suitable for this purpose. If you have recently chopped up a garden shed, you must not use this wood for this purpose. Avoid any type of chemically treated wood. But also stay away from wood that is rotten or infected with fungi. Important: The wood should be dry, so avoid fresh/wet wood.

Wood from fruit trees or other hardwoods are ideal. Here is a brief overview of suitable woods and their smoke aromas:

Maple: mild smoky aroma with a slight sweetness

Apple tree: fruity and sweet smoke aroma

Birch: woody smoke aroma with a slight sweetness

Pear: mild smoky aroma with a slight sweetness

Beech: balanced smoke aroma

Oak: intense smoky aroma with woody notes

Alder: mild smoky aroma with a slight sweetness

Ash: light smoky aroma

Cherry: fruity smoky aroma with a slight sweetness

Plum: sweet and fruity smoke aroma

Peach: mild smoky aroma with a slight sweetness

However, there are also types of wood that are not suitable for smoking because they introduce toxins into your smoking material.

Generally speaking, do not use chemically treated or rotten/decayed wood. For example, if you have wood waste from furniture or similar, you must not use it for smoking. It contains harmful and toxic substances that settle on your smoking goods and poison them. In addition, resinous woods such as pine and spruce are taboo. When smoking, the resin releases bitter substances that stick to your smoking goods and spoil them. In addition, some natural woods are not suitable. Namely those that naturally contain oils. But fresh and wet wood is also not suitable for smoking. Here is a short list of woods you should avoid:

tropical woods

fresh/wet wood

rotten wood

rotten wood

fungal wood

Jaw

spruce

larch

eucalyptus

cedar

Thuja

Now you know which wood you can use and which you shouldn't use - but which sausages are suitable for smoking?

Especially if you want juicy and flavorful cold-smoked sausages , you should know which sausages are suitable for this. Because the topic of sausage is not that difficult if you know what to look out for.

The individual smoking processes differ from one another. Both the number of degrees and the aim of the methods are completely different. Here is a brief explanation of the most important differences:

During hot smoking, the food is smoked and cooked at the same time. The smoking process takes place at temperatures of 55 degrees Celsius and above.

When hot smoking, the food is smoked and cooked at the same time. The smoking process takes place in a temperature range of 25 - 50 degrees Celsius.

When cold smoking, the food is only smoked and not cooked. The smoking process takes place at a temperature of 20 - 25 degrees Celsius and can last up to 10-12 hours. This means that smoking takes time. The process is as follows: First, let the sausages dry for 30 - 60 minutes, then:

1. Smoke for 20 - 30 minutes at 25°C

2. Let dry for 10 minutes

3. Smoke for 20 - 30 minutes at 25°C

4. Repeat until the desired result is achieved

Now you know how to smoke. If you want to know what is important when smoking, we have a video for you here .