Bird-cherry ok for smoking?


 
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Tuomo Pursiainen

TVWBB Member
Hi, my father-in-law just cut some bird-cherry trees from their backyard. I had a look on the logs and they smell quite nice. Has anyone tried smoking with these? In Finland normal cherry is not that easy to find, bird-cherry can be found anywhere.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tuomo Pursiainen:
Hi, my father-in-law just cut some bird-cherry trees from their backyard. I had a look on the logs and they smell quite nice. Has anyone tried smoking with these? In Finland normal cherry is not that easy to find, bird-cherry can be found anywhere. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Haven't tried it but in case you don't get a response if it were me I'd try it. I looked it up, it is a tree not a shrub. I'd probably let it cure at least a couple of months before trying it.

I'm not sure if any wood is actually unsafe. Conventional wisdom says use hardwood fruit or nut bearing, but I think has more to do with taste than anything else.

The reason I question the 'safety' aspect is because of known exceptions ... we use cedar planks to grill salmon and the wood smokes like a bugger ... real black forest ham is apparently smoked with some kind of fir tree native to the Black Forest.

What should certainly be avoided is painted, stained, pressure treated wood, broken down pallets and the like ... anything that may have gotten doused with harmful chemicals ... strangely enough no one seems to account for or worry about pesticides that fruit farm trees may have been treated with.
 
I am with Shawn. I would let the wood cure and then use it. I use a scrub oak for my oak flavor and it has a great flavor. I think the bird cherry will give you a nice cherry flavor. The pleasant smell is a great indicator that the wood will work for smoking. Let me know how it goes.
Lance
 
Absolutely.
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Thank you for your replies, I will let it cure for a month or so and then try it.

Here's a picture of log with bark still on:

IMG_2892.jpg


Will let you know how it tastes, smell is still very nice.

And here are the logs with bark removed:
IMG_2889.jpg
 
Tuomo, One thing to remember with any fruit wood is that bugs love the stuff more than we do. Do Not store it on the ground. If you can store it in a garage, basement etc. up off the floor.
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Tuomo,
Wherever you store the wood make sure that it gets some airflow. The air will help facilitate the seasoning of the wood. I made the mistake of leaving some of my wood on the ground under my deck. The ants loved it and I had to move it.
Lance
 
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