Mesquite is a genus of thorny, drought-tolerant trees (Prosopis) native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, and parts of South America. In cooking, mesquite is best known as a smoking and grilling wood, valued for the deep, earthy, slightly sweet smoke it imparts to beef, pork, chicken, fish, and vegetables; it burns hotter and faster than milder woods like oak or hickory, so it is often used sparingly or blended with other woods to avoid an overly bitter, acrid smoke.
Beyond the wood, ground mesquite pods yield mesquite flour, a nutty, slightly sweet gluten-free flour used in some Southwestern and Mexican baking, and mesquite honey, made by bees foraging mesquite blossoms.