Smoke wood


 
Gary S

Gary S

TVWBB Guru
I'm curious given the wide variety of locations where our members live, what everyone does to obtain their smoke wood? I am able to go to the bush for maple, alder and oak. I cut sapplings and then chunk them up with my miter saw and let them dry indoors. Pecan, Cherry and Hickory I buy and pay a ridiculous price for it. Cherry is available around here, you just have to look for it. Peach is not available near me, pear wood and crab apple is but I never hear anyone using pear, just peach. I get my apple from nearby Orchards.
 
I cut down trees/branches of trees in my garden. I have several 50 year old apple trees that needs trimming. I also cross the road into the forest and find something useful there. For Juniper, I have to travel a few miles into the mountains.

We can buy Weber hickory pieces and so on, but the asking prices will shock you, so for smokes in the WSM I usually choose something else. Oak is quite nice, as well as alder.
 
I get mine from a guy who has a bunch of pecan trees near my house. Knocked on his door one day and asked if I could pick up some branches from the ground. I did that once, and have been using that stash for over two years now, with probably a year's worth remaining.
 
I buy Apple, Cherry and Hickory chunks at my local hardware store. And I have a friend with a pecan tree who's given a few large branches off of it.
 
My FIL owns several hundred acres of woods so I have a free supply of oak, hickory and cherry. I cut down a maple tree in my yard and kept most of it, and my neighbor has pecan trees that separate our back yards, I got a lot from him when he lost one in a storm. Got a bunch of apple from a co-workers dad when he cut one down.
 
Gary, I paid $16 - $18 a bag. Where do you get it for $11.99? To be honest, I've haven't shopped around. Most places just sell the chips, and Ace Hardware is the only place I found that sells the Weber chucks. I've seen other brands in other places, but I'm still on the first bags I bought, so I haven't pay too much attention to how much they are.
 
Gary, if I already had a free supply of apple, I wouldn't spend any $$ on other fruit woods...but that's just me. I just don't see a huge difference in the apple, cherry, and peach that I come across locally from friends, family, or orchard. It's all good, especially if it's free.

Thankfully, I've been able to get hickory and oak from friends, but I get my pecan in large bags of mini splits from Academy Sports. Although I have to cut to length and split, it's pretty cheap for how much I get at a time.
 
Juniper is my favorite smoking wood for pork, chicken and brisket, as well as for bacon. It grows in the higher elevation here, above 4,000-ft. It by far smells the best when bbq'ing
 
Tom Rotta said:
Gary, I paid $16 - $18 a bag. Where do you get it for $11.99? To be honest, I've haven't shopped around. Most places just sell the chips, and Ace Hardware is the only place I found that sells the Weber chucks. I've seen other brands in other places, but I'm still on the first bags I bought, so I haven't pay too much attention to how much they are.
Click to expand...

Tom there is an authorized Weber dealer in Barrie which is 20 minutes south of us and then Ontario Gas BBQ probably the largest outlet in Ontario just North of Toronto. They have an entire room dedicated to wood. The wood is in chunks, probably about 10 lbs. bagged with the Weber logo. I would love to buy in larger quantities but I have not seen it available. I think it's very expensive but in our climate woods like pecan, hickory, juniper, mesquite are not available otherwise, so it's worth it to try some. I really do like the pecan and I have no other means of getting it. I have not tried maple so I will be soon once it has a chance to season. Now that winter is nearing my outdoor cooking will slow some but I'm usually smoking something on the weekend and grilling 2-3 times a week. I always have some wood on something.
 
Last edited:
Dave Russell said:
Gary, if I already had a free supply of apple, I wouldn't spend any $$ on other fruit woods...but that's just me. I just don't see a huge difference in the apple, cherry, and peach that I come across locally from friends, family, or orchard. It's all good, especially if it's free.

Yes I wish more of it was free although I don't have far to go to get oak or maple and for the apple it's just knowing somebody. Personally I do notice a difference between apple an cherry. I've just heard so much about peach...I would like to try it. Does anybody use Pear?
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I buy all of my wood chunks from a local guy in Atlanta. He cuts his wood down at the right moisture content and it makes a huge difference. First time I bought a box and compared a chunk to something I got at the store, I was shocked at the difference in weight. He also ships.

http://joesbbqwood.com/

I also buy some of our large splits from him although I just found a guy with an old pecan orchard that said I can have whatever I clean up. So we will be set on pecan wood for just about ever.
 
Gary S said:
Personally I do notice a difference between apple an cherry. I've just heard so much about peach...I would like to try it. Does anybody use Pear?
Click to expand...

Oh, I agree, especially if the wood still has some moisture in it as Josh mentioned. The apple I have left is so old that all I've been using it for is the firepit, but my peach still has some flavor. It's good, but I don't know that I like it any better than apple or cherry. Never used pear, but although it doesn't taste bad, bradford pear smoke stinks.

For my last leg quarter cook I used some wild cherry with pecan. I don't remember the ratio. Anyway though, I wish I could go back and get more of it. I guess I'll let my bro-in-law in on it and he might can cut down one or two more. I was over in NC helping him get his house ready to sell back in the spring, and well...those smoked leg quarters he liked so much last month were smoked with the wild cherry I cut down back by his shed. I must say that pecan and cherry is a fantastic combo for chicken. I used straight pecan last week for some butterflied birds and missed the cherry flavor of the last cook.
 
I have free access to chopped applewood. The tree was cut down over 6 months ago due to a storm and was stored unprotected on the ground. I brought 20 of the "cleaner" logs home and noticed a white substance on a few pieces. It could have been bird crap, mold or ????? I stored it in my shed for 4 weeks. I did not use it to smoke food but it burned really well in my fire pit.

Are there general guidelines when gathering fruit and nut woods for smoking? Age, storage, moisture content? The pile of wood is still there....
 
Gene_N said:
I have free access to chopped applewood. The tree was cut down over 6 months ago due to a storm and was stored unprotected on the ground. I brought 20 of the "cleaner" logs home and noticed a white substance on a few pieces. It could have been bird crap, mold or ????? I stored it in my shed for 4 weeks. I did not use it to smoke food but it burned really well in my fire pit.

Are there general guidelines when gathering fruit and nut woods for smoking? Age, storage, moisture content? The pile of wood is still there....
Click to expand...

Gene, if the wood is left on the ground, it will mold and rot. If the mold is only on the bark, you're good if you strip it. Anyway, if you put the wood up on bricks or keep dry, it shouldn't rot or mold. I have my stash in my shed. Also, the more wood is cut up, the faster it will dry out, and fruit wood seems to dry out significantly faster than the much denser nut woods.
 
Dave Russell said:
Gene, if the wood is left on the ground, it will mold and rot. If the mold is only on the bark, you're good if you strip it. Anyway, if you put the wood up on bricks or keep dry, it shouldn't rot or mold. I have my stash in my shed. Also, the more wood is cut up, the faster it will dry out, and fruit wood seems to dry out significantly faster than the much denser nut woods.
Click to expand...

Dave, do you want to smoke with moist or dry wood? I assume the latter.
 
Gene, You're right.

You want to smoke with dry, but seasoned wood. Fruit woods season much quicker than nut woods, but you can just knock a couple of pieces together to see if it's seasoned or not. The sound should be a "clack", not a "thud". Most folks will tell you that hardwoods like hickory or oak need six months to season, but like I said, the more wood is cut, the faster it'll season or dry out. I suggest splitting as needed to extend it's life. My neighbor's apple tree died, so it was already about too dry by the time I cut it down.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top