How long to let wood cure beofre use?

[Perry]

A fiend of mine has had a Pecan and Chestnut tree cut down in his yard. Yesterday, we cut up some of the smaller branches into usuable sized pieces. Seeing as these two trees were cut down a month ago how long do they need to be dry enough to use?

Thanks,
Perry

 

[Bryan S]

The smaller you break it down the sooner you can use it. Split it into the size you are going to use and give it about 2 months. Leave some of it in bigger pieces (some logs) so it doesn't dry out so fast to use next year. If your wood becomes too dry it really doesn't smoke that much and you have to use alot more to get the flavor your looking for. Ideally you want your smoke wood to have about 30% moisture in it to be perfect for using as smoke wood.

 

[Perry]

Thanks,

We left a bunch of much larger pieces/logs in a stack in his back yard, just cutting up what we wanted with a table saw.