Choosing the Right Wood for your Outdoor Oven

The Kiwi Outdoor Oven has been bringing families together since 2012. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it’s about gathering, sharing stories, and enjoying each other’s company. As Kiwis, being outdoors is part of who we are—but our evenings can get cold. That’s why outdoor fires have become a must-have, helping us extend those special moments together. This is what The Kiwi Outdoor is all about.

When cooking, we always recommend using hardwoods and staying away from softwoods. Hardwoods burn cleaner, last longer, and produce better heat. Softwoods, on the other hand, often contain high levels of sap and terpenes, which can create an unpleasant taste and even make people feel unwell.

We used to rely on pine for post-cooking heat, but found it caused soot buildup in the flue, which would eventually fall back into the oven. To reduce smoke and achieve optimal heat, always use dry, well-seasoned wood with a moisture content below 20%.

Flavour Matters

Different types of wood produce different flavours, making wood selection an important part of the cooking experience. A simple rule: if the wood doesn’t smell good before lighting it, it won’t taste good either.

Everyone’s taste is different, which is part of the fun. Experimenting with different woods, heat levels, and flavours enhances the experience. Often, the best wood is locally sourced—familiar scents and flavours connect with our senses and create something truly special.

Pohutukawa Wood

Known as New Zealand’s Christmas tree, Pohutukawa brings strong associations with summer, family, and outdoor living.

Pohutukawa is a slow-burning, consistent wood with a distinctive sweet, smoky, and slightly peppery flavour. It’s ideal for adding punch to milder woods and enhancing red meat, game, and pork.

This dense hardwood produces sustained high heat and a distinctive flavour, making it perfect for smoking meats. It also pairs exceptionally well with dishes like tomato-based recipes in The Kiwi Outdoor Oven.

Manuka / Kanuka Wood

Well known across New Zealand—especially among fishermen—Manuka and Kanuka are favourites for a reason. The aroma alone brings back memories of outdoor cooking and good times.

Manuka is a strong-smelling, clean-burning wood with a rich, earthy, slightly sweet flavour and subtle floral-herbaceous notes. It’s ideal for smoking fish, cured meats, and traditional hangi or umu-style cooking.

Perfect for smoking trout or kahawai, baking pizza, or cooking NZ lamb, this wood produces a clean smoke, long-lasting coals, and a robust medium-to-strong flavour thanks to its density.

At The Kiwi Outdoor, we’ve found Manuka/Kanuka works beautifully for most meals, delivering excellent heat and flavour. It’s ideal for savoury dishes and even sweets like peanut brownies.

Apple / Cherry / Feijoa Wood

These fruit woods are well known for their clean burn and naturally sweet, aromatic smoke, making them a versatile choice for a wide range of cooking.

Apple wood offers a mild, slightly sweet flavour that works beautifully with chicken, pork, fish, and even baking. It produces a gentle smoke that enhances food without overpowering it.

Cherry wood is a mild, fruity wood that imparts a delicate flavour and gives food a beautiful burgundy colour. It’s ideal for poultry, pork, beef, and vegetables, and is also known for producing a pronounced smoke ring.

Feijoa wood is a light, versatile fruitwood that delivers a sweet, mildly smoky flavour with a strong fruity note. It pairs especially well with pork, poultry, seafood, and spiced meats with hot rubs.

All three burn cleanly and produce a pleasant aroma, making them perfect not only for meats but also for baking—whether it’s biscuits, cakes, or a classic apple pie.

Oak Wood

Oak is a very traditional wood, known for its strength, density, and reliability.

NZ Oak is a versatile, slow-burning wood with a mild, earthy flavour and excellent heat control, making it ideal for grilling, smoking, and roasting a wide range of foods while imparting a rich, smoky essence.

It burns steadily and produces a consistent heat, making it a great all-rounder in The Kiwi Outdoor Oven. Oak works particularly well with beef—especially ribs—and can be blended with fruit woods to enhance flavour, especially when cooking white meats.

Plum Wood

Plum wood is a slightly richer fruit wood, offering more depth than other fruit varieties while still remaining approachable.

Plum is a slow-burning, subtle fruitwood charcoal that adds a sweet, slightly spicy, and complex flavour. It enhances both delicate and bold foods without overpowering them, and works well for both low-and-slow cooking or hot-and-fast methods.

It’s ideal for chicken, pork, and seafood, and pairs beautifully with Oak or Pohutukawa for added depth and variation. Plum wood is slightly stronger than other stone fruits but not as bold as Manuka, making it a favourite for family and friends new to wood-fired cooking.

The aroma alone when burning is enough to make you hungry.

CAUTION!!

Please steer away from woods like macrocarpa, gum, pine, and other softwoods when cooking. These types of wood contain high levels of sap and resin, which can produce unpleasant flavours and are not suitable for cooking food.

If you do choose to use these woods for outdoor heating, it’s important to thoroughly clean out your oven and flue before cooking again. Residue and soot buildup can affect the taste of your food.

For the best results, always stick to well-seasoned hardwoods and fruit woods. They burn cleaner, produce better heat, and deliver the natural flavours that make wood-fired cooking so enjoyable.

Every time you cook in The Kiwi Outdoor Oven, you can shape the experience by adjusting wood flavour, oven temperature, and how your food is covered.

Most wood-fired cooks find their own “sweet spot” over time, experimenting with different combinations and learning what works best for them. Sometimes you’ll want bold, full flavour—cooking completely uncovered from start to finish. Other times, you may prefer just a hint of smoke, achieved by covering your food with a lid or foil.

That’s the beauty of wood-fired cooking—you’re in control. You get to experiment, try new things, and enjoy the process every step of the way.

Photo. Plum Wood