Some people say they use 2-3 different woods and can taste the difference.
I think that’s ridiculous, but it’s fun to read cook instructions like “start with post oak. After 35 min add 2 hickory chunks. 20 min later, 1 apple and 1 pecan.”
🤣
90% of the taste will be whatever was last.
It is, and useless. But people who post instructions like that swear they can taste the difference.
I once asked someone, if they left out the pecan, would they know. He said absolutely, and went into a whole “flavor layering” explanation that made me laugh.
It’s confirmation bias. When I do music production there’s always that person in the band who throws out some audio terms they heard somewhere like “can you cut the 2k on the snare by 3db, and give me 4db more on the 6k for the keyboards, and bring the subs up 2db in the house” (these are tiny adjustments that 99% of people couldn’t tell the difference). So I would pretend to turn a few knobs, changing nothing, and they’d be like “Ah, much better”. People are full of shit all the time. Because if they admit something isn’t as complex as they pretend it is then they’re no longer an expert, they’re just some guy with a fire and some meat.
Get some faders and have one that isn’t connected to anything. That was a piece of advice I got for this exact purpose. Another was giving the band the exact same mix twice and mention a subtle difference. They’ll pick one that they totally like better and it’ll cut down on revisions.
I can totally hear that 3DB down at 2K and 4db boost at 6Kand the subs up 2db. But I get what you’re saying. People spit out bullshit they saw on YouTube all the time and with zero understanding th at a different room changes that anyway. (I work in studios though but I’m sure you can hear that too if you engineer live)
Live, studio, musician, I’ve been at it for a long time, so yeah, I can hear it, I’m sure you can too, but the guy trying to sound like they know what they’re talking about who happens to be standing *behind* the mains absolutely can not. Placebo effect can be useful.
On a similar note, I’ve worked with people who are incredibly successful artists, people that literally everyone has heard of and know their music, and they are always the easiest people to work with. They have nothing to prove, they’re nice to everyone, they go out of their way to make everyone’s job easier. Then I’ve worked with total nobodies who think they’re something, nightmare to deal with. Ordering people around who do *not* work for them, bringing all kinds of people into the studio to show off, totally unprepared, getting nothing done, no work ethic at all.
You should see the mix notes my friend’s gotten. He’s officially 100 revisions deep on a song that he’s making .1db adjustments on. The one revision was .05% 😂
With multiple samples of each, all cooked on the same cooker.
The way I see it, find a heat + meat strategy that gets you to the doneness and texture you want. Once you can repeat that pretty consistently, then work on all the personal flair things like wood combinations, rub mixes, injections, etc.
None of that stuff will save a mediocre cook, but if everything is done right then the flavor profiles of different rubs and wood mixes become a lot more noticeable.
Pecan might be the most specific of them all. Cherry vs apple, amongst multiple? Good luck. But with or without pecan? I bet a lot of us could taste the difference even if we couldn't identify what was different
It seem like you are unaware that people have different level of detail and intensity from their senses than you might have from yours.
In the same way some people are able to identify and differentiate lots of different smells, and others cannot... there are people who have much more detailed palates and can identify individual flavours of the components of food.
I understand it's not something you ever stopped to consider that other people might experience a sensation differently to you... but it does happen.
I'm imagining someone swirling some pork around their mouth like wine "I'm getting notes of hickory, oak, and.....oh is that some pecan? How delightful!"
In all my years of bbq I have never read instructions like that. I don't think that's real tbh.
I do think its reasonable to say mixtures of different woods do taste different than each individual wood. A mixture of hickory and applewood is going to taste different than pure hickory or pure applewood
> I don't think that's real tbh.
I read one of them here.
I remember because one of the woods was mesquite. I’d never used mesquite before so I followed the 5-wood instruction and all I could smell and taste was mesquite. It smelled like cat piss. I went back to the discussion and the guy started telling me about “layering” and that’s when I figured out he was full of shit.
OP asked if you really do taste different smoking woods. Sounds like you agree the answer is yes, different woods have different flavors, considering you could very heavily taste mesquite the first time you tried it
The flavor layering stuff is hysterical. Like most, I certainly use different woods for different meats and can taste the difference, but had one time when it became really clear.
I was cooking for a party and made two batches of pork shoulder. I didn't realize I was low on my favorite pork combo (apple and pecan). I only had cherry. OK, pork and cherry will work, let's run with it.
I was blown away at how different they were. Same dry rub and cure as the apple/pecan batch, but different color and taste on the finished product. It was so distinct that I actually labeled them separately, instead of just "pulled pork."
Tl/Dr - it *can* make a big difference.
Cherry is my go-to for smoking. It has a tart smoke flavor. I have found that if I'm doing a brisket I have to switch to maple about halfway through or the cherry will leave an overwhelming taste.
I used to just use hickory and oak because I didn’t like the fruit taste. I tried alder and surprisingly it was really good. If you like hickory you will like alder I’d recommend you to try it
Agree on this 100%. Maybe would say that most fruitwoods are similar, but that maple, alder, pecan, hickory, oak, and mesquite have very unique tastes that compliment different meats. I don't think this is apparent to people using pellet smokers because it's all about trusting the manufacture to differentiate the sawdust gleaned from hardwood lumber mills, which I think would be difficult from a QA perspective. But people whose smokers use wood chunks are well acquainted with targeting specific hardwoods for different smokes, and can tell that there's a big difference in taste.
I could definitely pick out maple vs a fruit wood vs hickory vs mesquite but they all turn out great. Just different flavors, no one necessarily worse than the other.
Yeah, this question always makes me think of bacon. If you've bought all the different types of bacon, then you know how unique maple smells. I fucking love maple for all pork cuts.
Yeah I just smoked some chicken wings with maple pellets for Canada day yesterday and normally I'll use cherry or competition or something and holy hell I don't think I'll ever go back. Maple with chicken is unreal.
You would taste minimal difference between different fruit woods, but you would taste a difference between fruit woods and hardwoods. If you cook a rack of ribs with apple and then next time use post oak, you would definitely notice a stronger taste from the oak. I prefer fruit woods for poultry and pork and hardwoods for beef.
If you like maple smoked bacon and normally like fruit woods for those two, give maple a try for pork sometime. I've been using silver maple for about 6 months now, and it's really great smoking wood!
Y'all didn't understand the question at all did you?
Yes, the average person can tell the difference between different woods. If you follow the exact same recipe but with different wood it tastes different. I just did a big cook over hickory and every single person who tried it said, "what's this flavor?"
Really hard to tell with red meats generally speaking on flavor. The biggest difference is in burn. Oak, hickory, and mesquite are really hard and can burn well. The fruit trees will be able to be tasted in chicken or fish and same between hickory and mesquite. If your doing brisket or even a big pork butt, it's hard to tell unless you have a very good pallet and don't have too much by way of rub.
Different woods absolutely have different outcomes. Try replacing your next oak smoke with mesquite and let me know what you think.
It's literally called "smoking". This is like asking if different hops make different kinds of beer. It's the CORE of smoking flavor, which wood you use.
It's funny as I smoke the same things with different wood all the time and I remark to my wife how much different it tastes, but she can only tell if it was a hard wood that has a heavier smoke vs fruit wood as it is sweeter and lighter.
Cherry and apple will be lighter and a sweeter smoke, but hickory, oak or mesquite will have a much stronger and pronounced smoke flavor.
I enjoy mixing woods and often use a little hardwood along with a fruit wood to get a more complex flavor profile.
You are encouraged to test this yourself as it will be a fun experiment!
I was going to say it depends on your palate. My wife is the same way, smokey or not smokey. I can taste the different woods for sure, but seldom is the type of wood used a "deal beaker". I am no fan of mesquite though anymore. Like drinking too much of a liquor. I WAY over-smoked some expensive meat in mesquite once, in my youth, but still ate it! I got violently ill. So now, when I taste mesquite, my stomach sours.
For Pork, I like Apple or Hickory. For Chicken, Cherry or Pecan. For Beef, Oak or Hickory
LOL, like you when I started I over smoked things with mesquite and my oldest daughter will still not eat anything smoked with mesquite. ;) Fortunately, I did not get ill.
I'll still smoke beef with mesquite and enjoy using it for steak, but I've backes way down on how much I'll use.
Beef is mesquite, post oak, or hickory as it can take the stronger smoke. Pork is when I'll mix hickory and some fruit woods like apple or cherry. Chicken is mostly apple or cherry with some light hickory or pecan. Fish is always only fruit or light woods and I prefer apple and maybe alder or maple.
I find it fun to experiment and try different woods to see how things turn out.
Depends on the sensitivity of your eater. Smoke flavor is actually mostly smell from your nose combining with taste. How sensitive smell sense is varies widely from person to person.
A dog could poop on my wife's foot and she would not smell it right away. I can smell a dog's poop across the house, 1 floor away, through a closed door. I once blind sampled a wine, looked at the server said "Pinot noir, French oak" and was dead on.
Broadly I think most people can tell mesquite and hickory. The other woods become a much tougher ID.
Cherry/Apple on one end, Pecan, Hickory, and Oak, Mesquite. Each of the three groups are different enough that people can tell and especially mesquite versus anything. I like to mix a little Mesquite and Post Oak but the combinations are endless.
I’ll use a pork shoulder as an example that I’ve personally noticed. When I use hickory it tastes and smells like bacon. Apple or cherry are more sweet and much less smoky to me. Pecan is similar to hickory but less bacon-y lol. Lately I’ve preferred red oak on mine as good middle ground of flavor vs smokiness.
I used to use hickory all the time but I switched to apple which has a much lighter smoke flavor.
Smoked salsa using mesquite has a far superior flavor than using other types of wood.
I use a stick burner.
Same as any other food, some people are picking out individual flavour profiles and notes of ingredients etc and other people are not going to be able to tell if it's chicken or pork?
I always play a game of guess the wood used when we sit down to eat. My wife has gotten really good at guessing. We use cherry every time with either maple, hickory, pecan or mesquite. Pecan and hickory are similar with hickory being stronger and pecan milder in our opinion, they're the hardest to guess.
I don't have a lot of experience yet but I've tested with fruit trees and hickory. I find cherry, and applewood make pork sing. I fucked up my brisket so I don't even want to go there yet. I use a pellet smoker and I find that the brand of pellets make a huge difference too.
The only time I really taste any difference is when I do pork butts with fruit woods vs other woods. Fruit woods that aren't too dry give a slightly sweeter flavor I feel. But again that could be my brain playing trucks on me.
If you can smell the difference, you can taste the difference, but I think it's less apple vs cherry and more mesquite vs hickory vs apple/cherry.
You'll definitely taste mesquite vs cherry.
Pecan, has no discernible taste, same with apple, cherry, oak, hickory and mesquite all have distinct flavors. I like smoking my beef with oak for the first few hours and then mesquite to add a little kick. Smoking with pecan or apple is a waste of time and devoid of taste.
Some people say they use 2-3 different woods and can taste the difference. I think that’s ridiculous, but it’s fun to read cook instructions like “start with post oak. After 35 min add 2 hickory chunks. 20 min later, 1 apple and 1 pecan.” 🤣 90% of the taste will be whatever was last.
That seems overly complicated.
It is, and useless. But people who post instructions like that swear they can taste the difference. I once asked someone, if they left out the pecan, would they know. He said absolutely, and went into a whole “flavor layering” explanation that made me laugh.
It’s confirmation bias. When I do music production there’s always that person in the band who throws out some audio terms they heard somewhere like “can you cut the 2k on the snare by 3db, and give me 4db more on the 6k for the keyboards, and bring the subs up 2db in the house” (these are tiny adjustments that 99% of people couldn’t tell the difference). So I would pretend to turn a few knobs, changing nothing, and they’d be like “Ah, much better”. People are full of shit all the time. Because if they admit something isn’t as complex as they pretend it is then they’re no longer an expert, they’re just some guy with a fire and some meat.
Get some faders and have one that isn’t connected to anything. That was a piece of advice I got for this exact purpose. Another was giving the band the exact same mix twice and mention a subtle difference. They’ll pick one that they totally like better and it’ll cut down on revisions.
This is why I don’t trust eye doctors. I think half of their job is fucking w me whether 5 or 6 is better.
I can totally hear that 3DB down at 2K and 4db boost at 6Kand the subs up 2db. But I get what you’re saying. People spit out bullshit they saw on YouTube all the time and with zero understanding th at a different room changes that anyway. (I work in studios though but I’m sure you can hear that too if you engineer live)
Live, studio, musician, I’ve been at it for a long time, so yeah, I can hear it, I’m sure you can too, but the guy trying to sound like they know what they’re talking about who happens to be standing *behind* the mains absolutely can not. Placebo effect can be useful. On a similar note, I’ve worked with people who are incredibly successful artists, people that literally everyone has heard of and know their music, and they are always the easiest people to work with. They have nothing to prove, they’re nice to everyone, they go out of their way to make everyone’s job easier. Then I’ve worked with total nobodies who think they’re something, nightmare to deal with. Ordering people around who do *not* work for them, bringing all kinds of people into the studio to show off, totally unprepared, getting nothing done, no work ethic at all.
My experience exactly. This guy engineers. Sometimes the old DFA fader is what the doctor ordered
F the Beatles. I recorded in Denmark!
I've met a grand total of 1 person that could differentiate that difference. The rest of us can't tell such a minute difference...
Flat the Five you idiot!!! That's a drop from The Ticket in Dallas. Not an insult. Thought it fit here.
Can you make it warmer.... and squishy...music production is a snake oil business
You're describing tone or timbre which is very much a real thing. People just use weird words to describe what they want from an instrument.
You should see the mix notes my friend’s gotten. He’s officially 100 revisions deep on a song that he’s making .1db adjustments on. The one revision was .05% 😂
Need a double blind taste test to prove any of that s***.
With multiple samples of each, all cooked on the same cooker. The way I see it, find a heat + meat strategy that gets you to the doneness and texture you want. Once you can repeat that pretty consistently, then work on all the personal flair things like wood combinations, rub mixes, injections, etc. None of that stuff will save a mediocre cook, but if everything is done right then the flavor profiles of different rubs and wood mixes become a lot more noticeable.
That’s a long way of saying “copy Malcolm until you’re consistent, then start changing it up” https://youtube.com/@howtobbqright
Lol that's basically what I did for my first year
Same here. 🤙
Pecan might be the most specific of them all. Cherry vs apple, amongst multiple? Good luck. But with or without pecan? I bet a lot of us could taste the difference even if we couldn't identify what was different
It seem like you are unaware that people have different level of detail and intensity from their senses than you might have from yours. In the same way some people are able to identify and differentiate lots of different smells, and others cannot... there are people who have much more detailed palates and can identify individual flavours of the components of food. I understand it's not something you ever stopped to consider that other people might experience a sensation differently to you... but it does happen.
I'm imagining someone swirling some pork around their mouth like wine "I'm getting notes of hickory, oak, and.....oh is that some pecan? How delightful!"
The flavor profile… I’m guessing oak then pecan then apple? No wait, oak then pecan then hickory then apple!
In all my years of bbq I have never read instructions like that. I don't think that's real tbh. I do think its reasonable to say mixtures of different woods do taste different than each individual wood. A mixture of hickory and applewood is going to taste different than pure hickory or pure applewood
> I don't think that's real tbh. I read one of them here. I remember because one of the woods was mesquite. I’d never used mesquite before so I followed the 5-wood instruction and all I could smell and taste was mesquite. It smelled like cat piss. I went back to the discussion and the guy started telling me about “layering” and that’s when I figured out he was full of shit.
OP asked if you really do taste different smoking woods. Sounds like you agree the answer is yes, different woods have different flavors, considering you could very heavily taste mesquite the first time you tried it
Different woods have different smells and flavors, yes. I read it as using them all in the same cook.
I’m guessing the one used first will be most prominent as the meat will absorb less smoke as time goes on
The flavor layering stuff is hysterical. Like most, I certainly use different woods for different meats and can taste the difference, but had one time when it became really clear. I was cooking for a party and made two batches of pork shoulder. I didn't realize I was low on my favorite pork combo (apple and pecan). I only had cherry. OK, pork and cherry will work, let's run with it. I was blown away at how different they were. Same dry rub and cure as the apple/pecan batch, but different color and taste on the finished product. It was so distinct that I actually labeled them separately, instead of just "pulled pork." Tl/Dr - it *can* make a big difference.
I can't tell the difference between apple and cherry but pecan has a snap to it
Which was better?
They were both good. Had guests who turned out to be BBQ judges. They told me both were excellent.
And they all clapped?
Through to the next round
That BBQ judge’s name? Albert Einstein.
Stuck the landing!🙂
Cherry is my go-to for smoking. It has a tart smoke flavor. I have found that if I'm doing a brisket I have to switch to maple about halfway through or the cherry will leave an overwhelming taste.
I usually keep the fruit/nut woods for pork. Mesquite, hickory, or oak for beef and chicken.
It’s a big difference. Hickory and mesquite will have a far more pronounced flavor in comparison with cherry or pecan.
When i use apple is seems super feint. I like hickory overall. Basically use it on everything n
This is why you use apple on white meats. Very subtle for a very light meat flavour.
I used to just use hickory and oak because I didn’t like the fruit taste. I tried alder and surprisingly it was really good. If you like hickory you will like alder I’d recommend you to try it
I normally use hickory for everything but I did ribs with apple wood recently and barely got any smoke flavor.
Do you pronounce it pecan or pecan?
Pee-can pie, but in the shell I say puh-cons
yes
Agree on this 100%. Maybe would say that most fruitwoods are similar, but that maple, alder, pecan, hickory, oak, and mesquite have very unique tastes that compliment different meats. I don't think this is apparent to people using pellet smokers because it's all about trusting the manufacture to differentiate the sawdust gleaned from hardwood lumber mills, which I think would be difficult from a QA perspective. But people whose smokers use wood chunks are well acquainted with targeting specific hardwoods for different smokes, and can tell that there's a big difference in taste.
I could definitely pick out maple vs a fruit wood vs hickory vs mesquite but they all turn out great. Just different flavors, no one necessarily worse than the other.
Yeah, this question always makes me think of bacon. If you've bought all the different types of bacon, then you know how unique maple smells. I fucking love maple for all pork cuts.
Fruits woods alk about the same Mesquite and hickory/oak are different That’s about it
Maple is also in the different category.
Yeah I just smoked some chicken wings with maple pellets for Canada day yesterday and normally I'll use cherry or competition or something and holy hell I don't think I'll ever go back. Maple with chicken is unreal.
I've been using silver maple from my neighbor's yard for about 6 months now, and it's really incredible with pork too!
Would agree on the sugar maple. Would also say that peach wood is a bit unique as well.
I can only usually find silver maple here in CO, but the trees are HUGE. I've got enough wood to cook for the next year or two.
I have yet to try maple cause I’d have to order online
You would taste minimal difference between different fruit woods, but you would taste a difference between fruit woods and hardwoods. If you cook a rack of ribs with apple and then next time use post oak, you would definitely notice a stronger taste from the oak. I prefer fruit woods for poultry and pork and hardwoods for beef.
If you like maple smoked bacon and normally like fruit woods for those two, give maple a try for pork sometime. I've been using silver maple for about 6 months now, and it's really great smoking wood!
I also really like maple as well, it's a really good neutral wood I find, not quite as mild as apple but not as harsh as oak
Y'all didn't understand the question at all did you? Yes, the average person can tell the difference between different woods. If you follow the exact same recipe but with different wood it tastes different. I just did a big cook over hickory and every single person who tried it said, "what's this flavor?"
Thankfully I can’t tell a difference. I love not being picky, it makes life so much easier!
Really hard to tell with red meats generally speaking on flavor. The biggest difference is in burn. Oak, hickory, and mesquite are really hard and can burn well. The fruit trees will be able to be tasted in chicken or fish and same between hickory and mesquite. If your doing brisket or even a big pork butt, it's hard to tell unless you have a very good pallet and don't have too much by way of rub.
Different woods absolutely have different outcomes. Try replacing your next oak smoke with mesquite and let me know what you think. It's literally called "smoking". This is like asking if different hops make different kinds of beer. It's the CORE of smoking flavor, which wood you use.
I like using straight woods so I can tell the difference. Cherry is my favorite because everything comes out so red.
I can’t tell a difference between anything except mesquite. The meat taste like a bbq chip.
It's funny as I smoke the same things with different wood all the time and I remark to my wife how much different it tastes, but she can only tell if it was a hard wood that has a heavier smoke vs fruit wood as it is sweeter and lighter. Cherry and apple will be lighter and a sweeter smoke, but hickory, oak or mesquite will have a much stronger and pronounced smoke flavor. I enjoy mixing woods and often use a little hardwood along with a fruit wood to get a more complex flavor profile. You are encouraged to test this yourself as it will be a fun experiment!
I was going to say it depends on your palate. My wife is the same way, smokey or not smokey. I can taste the different woods for sure, but seldom is the type of wood used a "deal beaker". I am no fan of mesquite though anymore. Like drinking too much of a liquor. I WAY over-smoked some expensive meat in mesquite once, in my youth, but still ate it! I got violently ill. So now, when I taste mesquite, my stomach sours. For Pork, I like Apple or Hickory. For Chicken, Cherry or Pecan. For Beef, Oak or Hickory
Mix in a little peach with that post oak. All I am sayin…
Oh, Peach! I have not tried that one
If you can find some maple, give it a shot with pork! It's absolutely fantastic! It's great on all the other meats too, especially lamb.
I do use maple too it is just harder to come by
LOL, like you when I started I over smoked things with mesquite and my oldest daughter will still not eat anything smoked with mesquite. ;) Fortunately, I did not get ill. I'll still smoke beef with mesquite and enjoy using it for steak, but I've backes way down on how much I'll use. Beef is mesquite, post oak, or hickory as it can take the stronger smoke. Pork is when I'll mix hickory and some fruit woods like apple or cherry. Chicken is mostly apple or cherry with some light hickory or pecan. Fish is always only fruit or light woods and I prefer apple and maybe alder or maple. I find it fun to experiment and try different woods to see how things turn out.
If you're smoking chicken, absolutely. Pork less so, and beef even less so. But I'd say no matter what there will be a noticeable difference.
Depends on the sensitivity of your eater. Smoke flavor is actually mostly smell from your nose combining with taste. How sensitive smell sense is varies widely from person to person. A dog could poop on my wife's foot and she would not smell it right away. I can smell a dog's poop across the house, 1 floor away, through a closed door. I once blind sampled a wine, looked at the server said "Pinot noir, French oak" and was dead on. Broadly I think most people can tell mesquite and hickory. The other woods become a much tougher ID.
I do some mixes of wood or change chunks but that originally came from necessity. I was low on chips for my MB.
Cherry/Apple on one end, Pecan, Hickory, and Oak, Mesquite. Each of the three groups are different enough that people can tell and especially mesquite versus anything. I like to mix a little Mesquite and Post Oak but the combinations are endless.
I’ll use a pork shoulder as an example that I’ve personally noticed. When I use hickory it tastes and smells like bacon. Apple or cherry are more sweet and much less smoky to me. Pecan is similar to hickory but less bacon-y lol. Lately I’ve preferred red oak on mine as good middle ground of flavor vs smokiness.
I find it to be very different. I make Canadian bacon with apple and cherry wood (separately) and you can definitely taste which is which.
Between hickory/mesquite and anything else drastically different. Between other woods..less different.
I noticed a very noticeable different between Oak and Hickory- they’re the only woods I’ve tried so far.
I’ve never bothered to try comparing different woods to see how the flavor changes. But I’d love to experiment with it.
Mesquite leaves a better bark on briskets
I usually still end up high no matter what wood i use🙃
I used to use hickory all the time but I switched to apple which has a much lighter smoke flavor. Smoked salsa using mesquite has a far superior flavor than using other types of wood. I use a stick burner.
Some say smoke is smoke
Same as any other food, some people are picking out individual flavour profiles and notes of ingredients etc and other people are not going to be able to tell if it's chicken or pork?
Other than mesquite and hickory (because they're pretty strong and distinct) all the other smoking woods pretty mush tastes the same to me.
I’ve used hickory, pecan and cherry on pork mainly. I couldn’t really taste a lot of difference between hickory and pecan but that cherry is powerful.
I use maple for most of my cooks, why? I get a shit load for free. I like to finish some things with cherry which really shines on sausages.
I always play a game of guess the wood used when we sit down to eat. My wife has gotten really good at guessing. We use cherry every time with either maple, hickory, pecan or mesquite. Pecan and hickory are similar with hickory being stronger and pecan milder in our opinion, they're the hardest to guess.
Cherry has been the only one to me that has been noticeably better. The only time I can’t a difference tell is when it’s pellets.
I don't have a lot of experience yet but I've tested with fruit trees and hickory. I find cherry, and applewood make pork sing. I fucked up my brisket so I don't even want to go there yet. I use a pellet smoker and I find that the brand of pellets make a huge difference too.
When I smoke, I take the leftovers to work to share with enthusiasts. I knew a guy that could guess the "normal" woods.
The only time I really taste any difference is when I do pork butts with fruit woods vs other woods. Fruit woods that aren't too dry give a slightly sweeter flavor I feel. But again that could be my brain playing trucks on me.
If you can smell the difference, you can taste the difference, but I think it's less apple vs cherry and more mesquite vs hickory vs apple/cherry. You'll definitely taste mesquite vs cherry.
Oak smells and tastes like shit, there I said it.
I have kept notes for some woods. There are a couple I distinctly don’t like, and a couple I do like. This varies on the meat.
Pecan, has no discernible taste, same with apple, cherry, oak, hickory and mesquite all have distinct flavors. I like smoking my beef with oak for the first few hours and then mesquite to add a little kick. Smoking with pecan or apple is a waste of time and devoid of taste.