Cooking wood
From $32
Hardwood for smoking, BBQ, and wood-fired ovens. Pohutukawa, manuka, and a rotating stock of dense hardwoods depending on the season.
Cooking wood is different from firewood. Firewood heats your house. Cooking wood flavours your food.
What we carry
Hardwood species selected for cooking. Stock changes with the season. Call ahead and we will tell you what we have on the yard.
The sentimental favourite among New Zealand cooks. Slow-growing manuka and kanuka burn extremely hot. Used for pizza ovens, BBQ, braai, hangi, and smoking. Dried for a minimum of two years.
Dense native hardwood. Burns long and steady with a mild, slightly sweet smoke. Produces a deep, lasting coal bed. Adds an authentic kiwi flavour to wood ovens and BBQ. Sourced from consented tree removals, seasoned over two years.
Lighter woods used for flavour rather than heat. Renowned for their aromatic qualities. Suited to smoking most cuts of meat, particularly long-smoking beef, pork, chicken, or fish. Species varies with availability.
Our densest and hottest-burning wood. Most suited to BBQ and braai where you need a deep coal bed and maximum heat. Very limited stock, often only available in summer. Call ahead to check availability.
What cooking wood is for
Brisket, ribs, pulled pork, lamb shoulder. Use chunks or splits alongside charcoal in an offset smoker, kettle, or kamado. Start with charcoal for the base heat, then add wood for smoke.
Pizza ovens and bread ovens need hardwood that reaches high temperatures and holds them. Pohutukawa and dense hardwoods are the right choice. Avoid softwoods. They produce soot and leave off-flavours on food.
South African braai uses wood as the primary fuel, burned down to coals before the meat goes on. You need a dense hardwood that gives a deep coal bed.
Japanese-style grilling over wood embers at high heat. Use smaller splits of dense hardwood for direct grilling.
Cooking wood or charcoal
Charcoal gives you clean, controllable heat with minimal smoke. Cooking wood gives you flavour from the smoke itself.
Most experienced cooks use both: charcoal as the heat source, wood chunks added on top for smoke. For wood-fired ovens, cooking wood is the only fuel. Charcoal does not produce enough flame to heat the dome.
What people ask us
Manuka is the most popular. Strong aromatic smoke, hot burn, clean flame. Use it sparingly with lighter proteins like fish and chicken. Pohutukawa is better for red meat and long cooks where you want a milder, sweeter smoke.
Yes. Use small chunks or splits on top of lit charcoal. The kamado's airflow control lets you regulate how much smoke you get. Start with one or two chunks and adjust from there.
1 x Pohutukawa cooking wood + 1 x Commodities Ci-5. Smoke flavour and long burn. Everything for a low-and-slow cook.