Seasoning citrus, how long from cut?

[DavidD]

I was going to cut some citrus wood, basically, the tree was hit by a freeze which causes them to revert back to the original root stock citrus and not the flavor/variety you once had. In other words, the fruit is now sour, so I'm going to cut the live/green tree down and use the wood for smoking. Just wondering how long I need to let the wood chunks season before using in the weber smoker. thx

 

[K Kruger]

If you cut them to size now then just a few weeks.

Sour oranges are what one makes mojo and other marinades out of. If you've the space for another tree or already have a sweet orange tree you might want to keep it. that is, if we're talking oranges in the first place.

 

[Jeff T Miller]

Personally I would use it now. I have used fruit wood green without problems. Nutwoods on the other hand I know people who use green but not me, I want it good and dry.

One thing though the flavor will be stronger. Example, I used green maple on ribs a few years ago. When they were done they tasted like I poured maple syrup on them. It went well with the ribs. Another time I used limbs from my cherry tree on ribs and when finished they tasted like I poured the juice out of marchino bottle on the ribs. Again went well with the ribs.

Just keep in mind the flavor will be stronger. So you may not want to use on just any cut of meat in the green state. The flavor is less defined when it is dry.

 

[TravisH]

Using fresh cut fruitwood is quite popular.

All other woods should be seasoned at least a month.