SMOKE WOOD BARK


 
S

Steven Reed

TVWBB Member
Hello gents
I was wondering what the general consensus was around here concerning tree bark? I read on the homepage that it doesn't make a difference whether you leave it on or take it off. I have a recipe by the dueling bubbas that say they always remove bark from smoke wood because of a noticeable bitterness in the bbq. To me it seems like a lot of extra work to wittle off the bark so I have never done it. Most all of my red oak and hickory has a lot of bark. What do you guys believe?
 
I've never bothered removing bark unless it has mold on it. I've also never noticed any of the bitterness in smell and taste.
 
Give it the sniff test. Burn a bit of bark on its own. See if it has an off scent. I end up using mostly cherry wood which has a very thin bark, so I don't bother knocking it off.
 
Back yard smells fantastic, and according to my youngest daughter so does the whole neighborhood.
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I fired up my wsm with 4 chunks of red oak, 2 chunks of hickory and a chunk of cherry (all with bark on). Tri-tip goes on soon...
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Whether the bark causes an off taste or bitterness may well depend on it's condition. If it had ever got wet, moldy, rot, worms, etc., I would think there could be a problem. If it's clean and fresh, it would more likely be ok.

Rich
 
My only concern with bark would be insecticide/fungicide residue.
90% of my smokewood is from my own orchard
which is spray free. I would worry about fruit wood from other sources.
 
In a WSM, during a oxygen deprived cook, something that the WSM does best and is made to do, I think that wood releases more unhealty particles than in a clean burn oven, regardless of bark, not bark, chemical traces or not.
Deal with it, it's what makes the flavor and taste.

If you want superhealty food, boil it in water. without any spices, and preferably a lean chicken breast or something.

All kinds of frying, burning, and high heat treatment of food and so on releases unhealty substances.
I see you use a lot of EWOO in your cooking. The olive oil does not work very well with hi- heat cooking, and should be avoided. Nontheless, few members has stated this as a problem, but the bark on trees, now, that's something to be concerned about. I think it's a myth.

If you add the negative consequenses of eating fat food, saturated with carbohydrates, treated with oils that's not suited for high heats, fueled over coals and wood burned in an athmosphere where unhealthy substances can be produced, I would not worry a second about the bark on the trees.

I don't get it.

And yes, I'm looking forward to the spring and to use the WSM at least every weekend!

Cheers!
 
Store bought wood,I just throw it on the charcoal. The hickory that a friend gave me,I'll knock off the loose bark,but I don't go out of my way to strip it totally.
 
If it hasn't cured long enough it could give you a bitter taste but I've never had a problem. I've actually used chunks of bark that have been knocked off after the chunks were bagged.
 
I only remove the bark if it looks "insect infested" in any way. Never noticed any difference in taste.

Ray
 
I do not remove bark, but may be inclined to do so if there were a huge obnoxious piece that was on the verge of detaching on its own.
 
Same with Tim, I've never noticed any bitter taste..again probably a myth...when I have a fire pit going I notice bark smolders and smokes longer then bare wood so party on with more smoke I'd say!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steven Reed:
Back yard smells fantastic, and according to my youngest daughter so does the whole neighborhood.
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>And that's when my neighbors come over to levy a "smoke tax" and eat half of my samplers!
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Bark has never been an issue with me. I use wood with bark in the kettle as well as the smoker. JMO
 
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