Axtschlag

Origins and track record

Axtschlag is a German maker founded in 1999 (axtschlag.com), specialising in smoking woods: grilling planks, chips and chunks. Over the years it has established itself as one of Central Europe's reference names for barbecue smoking, with a range organised by species and by smoke intensity.

Speciality

Its value lies in traceability and certified wood sourcing: it works to FSC responsible-forestry standards, which is unusual for a consumer product like smoking wood. In the mikamado catalogue it's represented by its pecan (hickory) chunks in 1.5 kg, chunky pieces built for slow combustion and sustained smoke rather than fine chips that burn off in minutes.

Our take

In a kamado, chunks are the right way to smoke: their mass rides out long cooks without frequent topping up. Hickory delivers an intense, bacon-like smoke, ideal for pork and ribs, though it pays to ration it since it saturates delicate cuts quickly. Based on the specifications, the user community and our experience cooking on our Big Green Egg Large, a couple of chunks set on the charcoal are enough for a whole session; honestly, it's a powerful wood and not the most versatile —for fish or chicken, a fruitwood like apple or cherry is more forgiving.

Who it's for

For the kamado or smoker enthusiast after reliably sourced wood with a bold flavour. We included it in the catalogue because it combines FSC certification, a chunk format suited to long cooks and a classic American-barbecue smoke profile, with German finish and control.