Maple

[Graytwhyte]

Hey guys. I have been reading things over and saw that cooking on soft maple is not good, but just curious why it's no good? I have access to loads of the stuff, and feel like it's a shame to let the wood go to waste. Is it even no good for additional heat, or just flavor? Thanks for the help, TIMBO.

[BrooklynQ]

I don't know about soft maple - but I've used seasoned sugar maple in the past. It worked fine very light smoke, slightly sweet.

[SoCalCraigster]

It should be okay..Just dont cookwith pressure treated lumber :wink:

[Graytwhyte]

Nah, it's not pressure treated. A friend from work had a couple of trees go down with the bad storms we had last week. Supposed to be big trees too. Thanks for the help so far, TIMBO.

[BBQchef33]

Softwoods leave behind a resin that can wreck your food, and in some cases, ruin the pit. Now, if Soft maple is considered a softwood, then dont use it. I use sugar maple no problem, but dont know what the softmaple is considered. I wouldnt risk it. (IMO). At least keep diggin to see what type of wood it really is.

[david]

Soft maple is fine. It's still a hardwood, just not as dense as sugar maple (hence "soft") and it burns quite a bit quicker. Actually, just about anything that isn't sugar maple is considered soft (is rock maple just sugar maple).

We cook all the time with big-leaf maple, which is a soft maple. It just burns fast.

[ckkphoto]

I have cooked with a lot of silver maple (a soft maple) and people told me it was a worthless smoking wood. Its fine. BUT it burns fast and leaves a fair amount of ash behind. The bottom line is any tree that bears a fruit or nut is okay to use, maple is okay, and softwoods are out. Any hardwood that is exotic (like bubinga) (and bois d'arc)should be avoided as some of them contain toxins that help them resist decay and whether they taste good my be irrelevant to what they do to you. Beyond that warning, if you get access to a fruit or nut wood, try it out for yourself and form your own opinions! You may have the next barbecue secret weapon! Best wood I ever smoked with was mulberry!

[Neil]

I use silver maple all the time. Very abundant in my area. No problems and turning out some darn good Q.

[Graytwhyte]

Again guys, I always appreciate the help. There are so many people here who are more than willing to help, and that's what I like about this site. Again I appreciate it. Now, if I use the maple and find it doesn't have enough flavor for me can I add some hickory to get a stronger flavor, or is that bad? What do ya think? Thanks, TIMBO.

[Neil]

Again guys, I always appreciate the help. There are so many people here who are more than willing to help, and that's what I like about this site. Again I appreciate it. Now, if I use the maple and find it doesn't have enough flavor for me can I add some hickory to get a stronger flavor, or is that bad? What do ya think? Thanks, TIMBO.

Go for it . Mixing woods won't hurt a thing.

[badger]

Mixing different flavored wood is fine, it works well.

[Jorge]

Again guys, I always appreciate the help. There are so many people here who are more than willing to help, and that's what I like about this site. Again I appreciate it. Now, if I use the maple and find it doesn't have enough flavor for me can I add some hickory to get a stronger flavor, or is that bad? What do ya think? Thanks, TIMBO.

I can't add to anything that hasn't already been posted, but I'd appreciate it if you came back and told us how it worked out. I've NEVER met anyone that I can't learn from :D

[BigAl]

Again guys, I always appreciate the help. There are so many people here who are more than willing to help, and that's what I like about this site. Again I appreciate it. Now, if I use the maple and find it doesn't have enough flavor for me can I add some hickory to get a stronger flavor, or is that bad? What do ya think? Thanks, TIMBO.

I can't add to anything that hasn't already been posted, but I'd appreciate it if you came back and told us how it worked out. I've NEVER met anyone that I can't learn from :D

Heck me neither, had a guy on my staff that everyone kept asking "why do you keep him?".... My response "Everyone is good for something, even if it is a bad example".

[Jorge]

Again guys, I always appreciate the help. There are so many people here who are more than willing to help, and that's what I like about this site. Again I appreciate it. Now, if I use the maple and find it doesn't have enough flavor for me can I add some hickory to get a stronger flavor, or is that bad? What do ya think? Thanks, TIMBO.

I can't add to anything that hasn't already been posted, but I'd appreciate it if you came back and told us how it worked out. I've NEVER met anyone that I can't learn from :D

Heck me neither, had a guy on my staff that everyone kept asking "why do you keep him?".... My response "Everyone is good for something, even if it is a bad example".

Don't recall ever working for you Al, but I'm glad that I was able to contribute in some small way :wink: