Best Price Mesquite in San Antonio, TX

[rogerclyne]

I am cooking all weekend for a 2 events starting Friday morning about 2am. Anybody have leads on best price for mesquite in the greater San Antonio, TX area?

[ZILLA]

The best I've found is at an Ice House on hwy 16 just north of Helotes. Near there is the mountain view wood yard that sometimes sells loggettes in 80# sacks and they have 18" splits too.

Villarreal Ice House & Frwd
(210) 695-3627
18508 Bandera Rd, Helotes, TX 78023

[BobBrisket]

I am cooking all weekend for a 2 events starting Friday morning about 2am. Anybody have leads on best price for mesquite in the greater San Antonio, TX area?

Grilling or smoking?

I don't have any leads for you, but I was curious just how common it is to smoke with nothing but mesquite. I tried it one time and found that it was way too strong a flavor for me. I've heard that many use straight mesquite. How do you go about it without overpowering the meat?

[rogerclyne]

I only smoke with mesquite. Definitely never to smoky or over powering. It is the only way to go.

[Mark]

When I lived in Austin, I got it for free by clearing it out of people's property.

[BobBrisket]

I only smoke with mesquite. Definitely never to smoky or over powering. It is the only way to go.

Do you use a combo of charcoal and mesquite chunks or straight mesquite logs?

The one time I used it was whole logs and it was really strong.

[FatDaddy]

I cook with straight mesquite occasionally whenever I'm to lazy to go buy more oak. I have never really found to overpowering except on chicken. But that was when i was a Noob and thought u had to have a rolling white cloud of smoke to get some flavor. Now as long as i build a clean fire I can't tell a difference other than it is Mesquite flavored. MMMmmm

[JeffW]

I used to get mesquite leftovers from a guy I know that does woodworking. Used to get it for free. :-P

But much prefer Pecan and I have not been able to find a good source. for it. The prices for the bagged stuff it just way too high. Anyone know a good source for Pecan?

[Jorge]

There used to be a guy that advertised in the Northside Recorder, or whatever they call the weekly that lands in your driveway, that had pretty good deals on Oak, Pecan, and Mesquite. It's probably been 10 yrs. since my folks have placed an order though.

[BobBrisket]

I cook with straight mesquite occasionally whenever I'm to lazy to go buy more oak. I have never really found to overpowering except on chicken. But that was when i was a Noob and thought u had to have a rolling white cloud of smoke to get some flavor. Now as long as i build a clean fire I can't tell a difference other than it is Mesquite flavored. MMMmmm

Hmmm, come to think of it, the one time I used wood only was when I bought my first pit, a Brinkmann S&P. The dino bones I made were just awful. They even made your mouth tingle and sting from the creosote build up on them. I bet it was the fact that it was one of the first few smokes and my lack of experience that farked up the ribs, not the mesquite. Ever since that time, I never smoked with it, just grilled. I may need to give mesquite another chance in the smoker, maybe a few chunks in the WSM or UDS and a big ol honking brisket! Now that's Texas style.
Since I live in the dessert, I can throw a rock and hit a mesquite bush. Everytime they clear new land for houses, there is tons of the stuff for the taking. Even the roots are good for cooking once they dry out. They aren't as hard or dense as the trunks and branches though.

[jrb03]

If you come down south a little you can find all you need for free on the side of the road :-P

People round here clear brush for new subdivisions and there are mesquite piles everywhere waiting for the city brush crew to pick them up. Ive got a life supply already or I would be taking a chainsaw to it.

Mesquite is definately not too overpowering if you use it right. The key is to allow enough airflow so it burns clean. It burns much hotter than oak or pecan, so less wood and more air. The wood also needs to be well seasoned.

[TexaQ]

The old cooks around here only use mesquite that was cut when there was no foilage on the tree. The claim is that once the sap is up in the tree, the wood will be bitter and not good for cooking.

[BobBrisket]

The old cooks around here only use mesquite that was cut when there was no foilage on the tree. The claim is that once the sap is up in the tree, the wood will be bitter and not good for cooking.

This makes a whole lotta sense. I guess seasoning won't take care of all the sap then. Interesting point!!

[TexaQ]

There seems to be a lot of variation in the commercially available mesquite. I had some Charbroil brand chunks that I just could not use for cooking. This could have been the problem. I have stayed away from mesquite and used more pecan, hickory and oak.

Back On Topic: there is usually a lot of people selling mesquite on Craigslist in and around SA.