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BBQ Wood Source - now what?


 
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Russ Hazzon

TVWBB Pro
Finally found a nice source of BBQ wood nearby (almost in my backyard). I found a local farm that is willing to sell cut wood fairly cheap. Problem is it's all mixed into one big pile. There's apple, cherry, peach, pear and may be some others. Problem is I don't know how to tell the difference. I got some help from the farmer and loaded up on cherry wood. They are cut about a foot long. I also got some apple, but these are pretty thin logs (branches).

First off I need some help identifying the woods. Next, should I split the large logs down the middle and let them dry? (They were supposedly cut down last year.) And what to do with the thin apple (or maybe pear) logs - throw them in whole (too thin to split). Should I remove the bark or leave it?

Any help here would be greatly appreciated. If I can figure this out I'll load up on wood, cut 'em up, separate them and even share a bunch with some local 'Q fans!
 
Russ,

I'm sure some on this forum would disagree with me, but fruit woods as a group are so mild, I wouldn't worry about mixing them together. I have combined cherry, apple and peach on purpose and found no real disernable difference in taste..all resulted in a mild smoked flavor.
So if you CAN seperate them fine, but if not...just put them in a container marked "Fruit wood"...just make sure you season the wood if it isn't already.
 
Russ,
I agree with Randy. There are some subtle differences in the flavor of various fruit woods,
but very few people would notice. Fruit wood creates a mild, pleasant smoke flavor. It is pretty easy to discern the difference between the flavor of a fruit wood and something like hickory or oak, but most fruit woods have a relatively similar taste.
I've used peach, plum, apricot, cherry, apple, and several citrus woods. It's all good stuff.
(Although, citrus is a softer wood, and will burn more quickly).
And don't worry about the bark.
Hope this helps.
Jim
 
Thanks for the tips on using the wood. Any recommendations on how to properly season the wood? Does it need to be split? Debarked?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Russ Hazzon:
[qb] Thanks for the tips on using the wood. Any recommendations on how to properly season the wood? Does it need to be split? Debarked? [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>IMO, the bark doesn't add any flavor, so it's ok to remove it. OTOH, it won't hurt anything. I say leave it on.

As far as seasoning, i'm not aware of any quick way to do it, other than letting it set for at least a month.
 
Russ, I agree with all of the above, and I have an observation: I notice that you mentioned pear as one of the woods in the pile. I also notice the replies talked about all the other fruit woods except pear. The reason I mention this is because I have HEARD that smoking with pear wood can have bad results, like it can turn things really bitter. I don't know this firsthand, however. Comments, anyone?
 
I've used quite a bit of pear wood in the last year, and I've never noticed a bitter or off flavor in it. It's a perfectly good wood to use for smoking.

Rick
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rick Jones:
[qb] I've used quite a bit of pear wood in the last year, and I've never noticed a bitter or off flavor in it. It's a perfectly good wood to use for smoking.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Just curious Rick - did you notice any difference in the flavor of pear wood over peach or apple?
 
Pear is a good wood very similar to apple. I think the flavor is slightly stronger than apple.
Peach is my favorite! lighter and fruiter than anything I have used.
 
Well, I stand enlightened! Like I said, I had never used pear for smoking only because of what I'd heard, and I really can't recall where that came from. But it's nice to know it's good, because I can get quite a bit of it, and now I wanna try it!
 
I've used a lot of pear wood for smoking. From what I can tell is it's similiar to apple, maybe a very small amount more potent. But also IMO not as sweet of a flavor as apple wood. But still very good for smoking. Never bitter.

I did have one turkey I smoked using pear wood that I thought tasted a little tart. But then I realized later on that it was the Kingsford mesquit charcoal that caused the tarty flavor not the pear wood.
 
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