Oak Is a Standard

• Oak is available in most U.S. regions, so it's a standard for barbecuing pork. Oak wood works especially well for cooking large cuts of meat for long times, such as roasting an entire pig in a fire pit. The wood's density gives it a slower burn, making it an excellent choice for several hours in a fire pit. Oak gives pork an assertive but pleasing flavor that's usually not overpowering when you tend the fire carefully.

Bold Hickory, Spicy Mesquite

• If you prefer a bolder flavor to your pork, fill your fire pit with hickory and mesquite woods. Hickory works well with ribs and pork shoulder. Monitor the meat closely if you're using hickory: too much wood or too long a cooking time can turn the flavor from sweet to stronger than desired. Mesquite is stronger than hickory and gives meat an extra-spicy kick. Because it's so strong, use mesquite in smaller logs or chips for flavoring, with other wood, such as oak, for heating.

Sweet Apple, Cherry and Maple

• Fruit woods give pork a delectably sweet flavor. The best choices include apple and cherry wood. They flavor pork well and they smell delightful while the meat is cooking. As with the bolder flavors, you'll get a subtler flavor by adding a few apple or cherry chips in the fire pit while burning oak for heat. Although technically not a fruit wood, maple also gives pork, especially ham, a sweet-smoky flavor.

Never Use Evergreen Wood

• Hardwoods are the only types of wood suitable for barbecuing. Never build fire pits for pork or any meat, poultry or fish using pine, spruce, fir or any other kind of evergreen. These woods contain tar and resins that are poisonous to humans, especially when heated, and they give a turpentine-like flavor to the meat. Cook pork until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit when tested with a meat thermometer. Always remove the meat from the fire when testing for doneness to be sure the thermometer accurately registers the meat's temperature and not the surrounding heat source. Insert the thermometer carefully to avoid fat pockets and bone to get the correct temperature.