Hardwood vs Softwood: What’s Best for Your Kadai BBQ?

A guide to choosing the right wood for fire cooking and outdoor living.

When it comes to cooking over fire, the quality of your fuel matters just as much as the food on your grill. The type of wood you use can transform your cooking experience, enhancing flavour, fire control, and even the atmosphere of your evening around the flames.

So, should you burn hardwood or softwood? And what wood is best for barbecuing? Here's what you need to know.

What’s the Difference Between Hardwood and Softwood?

The key distinction lies in how these trees grow and what they’re made of.

• Softwoods - like pine, cedar or fir, come from evergreen trees that grow quickly and keep their needles year-round. These woods have an open cell structure and high resin content, making them burn quickly and produce a bright flame.
  

• Hardwoods - such as oak, chestnut, beech, and fruitwoods, come from deciduous trees that lose their leaves in winter. Denser and slower-burning, they create longer-lasting embers and give off more consistent heat.

  
  

Should I Burn Hardwood or Softwood?

Use softwood for building your fire, especially when you're starting from scratch or topping up after cooking. Its quick-burning nature and lively flames are ideal for creating atmosphere or reigniting warmth once the grill is off. But be aware: its resin can give food a bitter, acrid flavour, so it's not suited for cooking over.

For barbecuing, always choose hardwood. Hardwoods burn hotter and longer, and when they break down into glowing embers, they provide the kind of steady, intense heat that’s ideal for both direct and indirect cooking. They also contain natural carbonyl compounds that release a rich, smoky aroma, adding that subtle, caramelised flavour to meat and vegetables that makes live fire cooking so special.

What About Moisture?

Whether hardwood or softwood, dry wood is key. Wet or unseasoned wood won’t burn properly and will produce excessive smoke, leading to frustration (and more coughing than cooking).

• Seasoned wood has been air-dried for at least a year.
  
  

• Kiln-dried wood has been dried in a chamber, bringing moisture content down to under 20%. It lights easily, burns cleanly, and is ideal for barbecuing, but comes at a slightly higher price.
  
  

Top tip: The drier the wood, the better the burn, and the less smoke you’ll deal with.

The Kadai Way

At Kadai, we see wood as more than just fuel, it’s an ingredient in its own right. Choosing the right wood adds depth to your cooking and keeps your firebowl burning long after the last dish has been served. Softwood to start the fire, hardwood to cook, and always dry, it's a simple formula that makes all the difference.