Smokewood Curing Time


 
R L Bagwell

R L Bagwell

TVWBB Pro
Hello All:

A friend of mine just cut down an ornamental cherry tree, and gave me a number of limbs - 4-8 inches in diameter.

Are there varieties of cherry that are not suited for smoking meat (as chunks used with charcoal)? Also, as this was a live tree, and recognizing there are variables involved including humidity, temperature, etc., approximately how long, on average, should it take to properly season before attempting to smoke with it, if it may be used?

Thanks for any input you might provide.

Rooster
 
Thanks for posting this question, Foghorn, er, Ar-el. I've been wondering myself, since I've heard everything from folks that insist on using green wood, while others say the wood must be well-seasoned. Many of us here use the oak, cherry, apple that's handy from local cuttings. Add me to the list of inquiring minds.
 
I have not run acrss a cherry variety that is not suitable.

Cut the limbs into smaller pieces - of the size you use or of reasonably small size. Once cut smaller they will not take long to dry, especially if split as well, and/or with the bark removed.
 
A co-worker gave me a bunch of hickory. Branches from 1 - 8 " in diameter. I used a miter saw to cut it into 2-4" lengths,then it sat in the garage for about 4 months. I finally used some earlier this month. Tasted fine. If you chunk and split it,it will dry even faster. I don't see why it couldn't be used,so long as it was thoroughly dried. HTH
 
Wow - a cherry tree with 8" limbs? Big tree.

If chunked about fist-sized, I'd let them dry for at least a month.

Well-seasoned is great for the fireplace but doesn't produce much flavor for Q.

Of course, never ever use green Mesquite. It must be well-seasoned.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Of course, never ever use green Mesquite. It must be well-seasoned. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Isn't there a guy in Texas ("Green Mesquite") that only uses that stuff? I'm guessing the smoke taste is a bit harsh... Anyone eaten there?
 
I have a whole bunch of ornamental cherry that I use and I wondered the same thing when I got it. I read in this forum somewhere that I could use my oven as a kiln and I dried some that way. Then I figured I was overthinking it and threw a bunch of small chunks on my top grill after a rib cook and just smoked the suckers at around 200 until the smoker went cool the next morning. Yup... I smoked my smoke wood. It seemed to work fine. It was certainly less green.

Since then, the wood has dried naturally over the winter and it is lovely. The smoked version worked fine also. This probably means my palate wouldn't notice the difference if I used old sneakers instead of wood... but that's another thread.

Free wood is good wood.

Ron
 
I have a large amount of cherry wood that is not split but has been sitting covered for about 1 year.
It is basically in very large chunks each weighing from 10lbs to 50lbs each.
Usually what I do is split enough smaller chunks to fill up a couple of 5 gallon buckets.
(1) Will cherry wood that is not split still go through the seasoning process?
(2) Assuming all wood has a shelf life, does it make sense not to split all the wood I have since the seasoning will either not occur or occur and a much slower rate than if I split it all?
 
There is a Joint here in Austin call Green Mesquite. I have eaten there but it has been a long time and I am not sure that he cooks on Misquite

As to how cherry ages, I would check with the guys on the arborist Site. They seem to know more about trees and such than place I have seen

Let us Know what you find out
later
 
Thanks for all your replies, gents; I guess I'll cut up the smaller limbs into 3-inch thick slices, and split the larger, trunk size portions before slicing. After storing in my shed for about 6 months, I'll give 'er a try. I'll probably band saw the bark off as well....

Rooster
 
Is "greener" wood less harsh? I just used wood from my new stash I got in Dec for the first time. I chunked a few logs when I got it. It seemed to smell much "cherrier" coming from the smoker and was much a smoother smoke in taste. My other cherry supply is at least 3-4 years old, and seems like a much stronger smoke.
 
I don't know about cherry,but I used a couple chunks of the hickory after it dries only a couple of months. The butt tasted kind of bitter. That's why I let it go a couple more months.
 
What timing! I just came from my parent's place. Dad had some damage to one of his ornamental cherry trees and I told him I'd take some limbs off his hands. I wasn't sure if it would be good for smoking or not though. Problem solved and I'm good on cherry for a while.
 
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