smokin with sasafrass?


 
J

Jeff T Miller

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I have seen a little discussion on the subject but not the answer to my question.

I was on the job today and smelled some sasafrass. So I kept a close eye out and found a couple sasafrass trees with the root still on. Actually I will only take it with the root on or leaves on. Just to make sure I have the right wood. Anyhow with root on a quick snap of the root will reveal a very strong distinct odor. The log has little of the perfume of the root.

So now with my question. I have a couple of pretty good size roots. Has anyone that has smoked with sasafrass wish they had added more chunks or just want the taste stronger. I was wondering if I should grab the root and try smoking with that. Unless there is a reason I shouldn't smoke with the root.
 
Sassafras is pretty distinctive as a smokewood, imo, so no, I've never wished it was stronger. It is one I've seldom used, frankly, because it so easily clashes with other elements of the prep I do, e.g. rubs, marinades, etc. Good with S&P rubs. I can't think of a reason why you couldn't use root though you should know that sassafras root, leaf, oil, (especially) and wood are considered toxic if ingested notwithstanding its history of use in folkloric and alternative medicine. Just so you know.
 
Even though I in the NW, I make a pretty decent chicken and sausage gumbo. The final ingredient is Gumbo File' which is ground sassafrass leaves.
 
If it were me, I'd find a good, old-fashioned root beer recipe and use it for that instead. The safrole oil in the plant is toxic, as was previously mentioned. So, limit yourself to less than 20 gallons a day and you'd likely be safe
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Seriously though, you may just want to skip it altogether or consider shaving the root into small pieces for use in in sassafras tea. I do this when I'm backpacking. A little won't kill ya.
 
Thanks for the input. I was going to just leave the root on the job until I read Ed's post. Some homemade rootbeer sounds good.

I did not know that sasafrass was toxic. Do you suppose that is why they don't use in root beer anymore. You know the same reason that saccarin was taken off the market. If you drink 1000 cans a day for a year you may get cancer.
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I do realize you can still buy saccarin but all the soda companies dropped it when nutrisweet hit the market.
 
Just pointing it out. I've used filé in gumbo for years as have others for longer than I've been around. If you research its use as a smokewood, you'll see info stating that it should never be used, a claim I think erroneous. If you've not tried it as a smokewood, do, and see what you think.
 
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