Take advantage of storm season


 
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Steve M.

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As terrible as these late spring / early summer storms can be (and I pray that you, your familes, or friends are not affected), it provides a great opportunity to "shop" around for free wood, most of the time already cut up into sections small enough to toss into a car, truck, or van. Just head out the first or second day after a boomer has moved through and you'll see this great source of free smoke wood being set out.

I say this as I just made a major score. Where I live in Tennessee native wild cherry is fairly scarce. I went out running early Memorial Day morning (after some strong weekend storms) and found a whole tree that was cut up in chunks and sitting at the curb. I went back and grabbed enough to last for a couple of years. Then told my buddy that has a large offset and he got a pickup truck load (I'll make him pay me off with some pecan he got the same way). Free is almost always good....
 
Wow, that's great! I'm waiting patiently for my friend to trim her apple trees, then I'll pounce. Pear, too---would that be good?
 
Pear is good (2nd hand info - I've not used it, myself). I know a competitor in Texas that collects the blown-down decorative Bradford pear trees around town, and uses that exclusively when cooking in comps.

We're in good with a local orchard. We have free range of their pruning piles, particularly apple and peach, in exchange for a little barbecue every now and then. Mmmmm - ribs cooked over peach wood. Yum! I also have a retired uncle who is a horticultural PHD specializing in pecans. When he prunes his trees, our woodpile grows.
 
I see I've got to brush up on tree identification (I can only tell bradford pears when they're blooming!). We've sure had some trees blown down here, even earlier this week out of the blue. I'm missing out!
 
I'm probably missing a lot myself - we had 80 mph straight winds come through here Wednesday. It took out lots of trees - they're blown over all around downtown.

Ahhh ... the breezes of springtime in Oklahoma!

Keri C
 
Keri - that is good to know about the Bradford pear. I've always wondered about it, but have never asked. Am I to assume it produces a fairly mild smoke flavor? What does your friend use it on?

The good news for us - bad news for the homeowner - if it gets partly cloudy, those Bradford pears roll over.
 
The competitor I referred to is the daughter and son-in-law of my next door neighbor. This neighbor had two Bradford pears blow down late last year, and the kids came up from Texas and took it all back with them for comps. They do KCBS mostly, so I presume that that means they're using it on beef, pork AND chicken. Others have told me that it is like most other fruit wood - a nice mild smoke. I DID have one person tell me one time that it could occasionally be a bit harsh, but I would think that that might be due to its not being well-seasoned.
 
My father-in-law lost a huge old hickory tree. It's only right that a great old tree like that be honored with the best a BBQ'r can offer. My wife remembers that tree growing up and I'll do my best to make sure they remember the BBQ for as long.
 
Thank you, Steve!!

I have been trying to hammer this point home for many years. In 25 years of cooking, I have never ever paid one single penny for smoking wood.

There is so much free wood around, I can't possibly use all that is available to me. Just yesterday, a buddy of mine felled a huge old hickory tree. I have so much wood now, I had to turn him down when he offered to cut it up for me. Of course, I knew a few folks who could use it, so all came out well.

Having said all that, I DO understand that some folks just don't care for the extra work. And that is all well and fine. I just want folks to know that there is MUCH free wood around if you only look.
 
Any tips on drying the wood ?

Funny finding this topic--I just picked up a couple of 2 foot by 6 inch maple logs from a friends tree.

Thanks.

Jeffyr
 
Jeffyr,

To get it seasoned ready for use as soon as possible, I would split it into the size chunks that you like to your smoker. Then "cross hatch" stack them on the side of your house that gets the most direct afternoon sun (the idea is to get as much heat and air to it as possible). When it is split that small, in the hot summer afternoon sun, I'll guess 6-8 weeks (at the longest), you'll have full seasoned wood, ready for use.
 
Thanks Steve. I just got word that a friend is taking down a mature maple....yippee !
Does the variety of Maple or Oak matter in the flavor/burn ? Those 2 are the most common variety trees where I live.

Thanks.

Jeff
 
Two quick questions:

1) Where did you guys learn your knowledge of tree identification? Is there some Cliff notes crash course out there?

2) I have a buddy that works at a golf course. He had to cut down a hickory tree, and gave me a whole truck load of already split wood. I have it stacked, and in the sun. Do I need to put a tarp over it to protect from the rain? Also, could the cross hatch be explained a little more?
And what is the test to know that it is "seasoned" enough for cooking?

thanks
 
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Tom,
I'll take a guess at the "cross-hatch". Put two pieces of split wood in a north-south direction, spaced apart so two can stack on top east-west, next two north-south, two east-west, as high as will remain stable. Maximizes airflow.
 
Tom,

John hit the cross hatch right on. When you are done, it will sort of look like a little log cabin stack. The center will be completely open (think about stacking Lincoln Logs when you were a kid, the basic 4 sided stack).

On the tree identification, no one big revelation. I spent a lot of time in the woods as kid (farm life), plus a bunch of church, Scout, and 4H camps. We could earn patches/awards for identifing different trees and plants. It kinda became a hobby. The real trick is to able to do it in the winter when the leaves are all off.

I would suggest going to a local library and look for a field guide for "Trees of Tennessee", for example. Take a walk in the woods and enjoy the scenery, while the WSM is minding itself.
 
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