Either pecan suks or I need practice

B

bbqjoe

Guest
I did a practice run tonight with some pecan and poultry.
Knowing that it is a strong smoke, I treated it like I do mesquite. Let it burn until it is good and ashed over, almost to coals. I put a bird in and watched the smoke continue to exit the smoker.

The color was more blue than anything.
Opened it up after five minutes, black as tar bird.
I mean creosote city.

Screw that, back to mesquite.
 
bbqjoe said:
I did a practice run tonight with some pecan and poultry.
Knowing that it is a strong smoke, I treated it like I do mesquite. Let it burn until it is good and ashed over, almost to coals. I put a bird in and watched the smoke continue to exit the smoker.

The color was more blue than anything.
Opened it up after five minutes, black as tar bird.
I mean creosote city.

Screw that, back to mesquite.
Click to expand...



Hey Joe,
must be something in the air. I wound up with a tar bird also
 
You need some hickory....probably not a lot of that near you though.
 
jpw23 said:
You need some hickory....probably not a lot of that near you though.
Click to expand...
Nope no hickory round here. When I want to smoke with hickory, I just head to walmart and buy a few baseball bats and some axe handles.:wink:
 
Joe,

I have no idea what happened and am too tired to sort it out tonight.

I burn lots and lots of Pecan and have seen anything approaching what you are describing :shock:
On first shot, seems like wet or green or funky wood, but...???

On the "harseness" scale, Mesquite is way above Pecan, based on my experience with both.
No basis for what you are reporting.

Maybe tomorrow...

TIM
 
bbqjoe said:
Nope no hickory round here. When I want to smoke with hickory, I just head to walmart and buy a few baseball bats and some axe handles.:wink:
Click to expand...

Nothing like a good piece of hickory.
The Preacher (Clint Eastwood)
 
"I put a bird in and watched the smoke continue to exit the smoker.

The color was more blue than anything.
Opened it up after five minutes, black as tar bird.
I mean creosote city."


Allright--one quick shot! :lol:

You just described the problem and the solution.

That is green, wet, or contaminated wood.
OR, major airflow restrction keeping it from burning cleanly.
Creosote!!!!!!
Remember--clear/blue smoke and all of that???

Anyway, give up if ya want, but that is a "burn" problem, not a "pecan" problem!

And, Hickory is even stronger than Pecan.

TIM
 
Well the wood has sat over a year, so I know it's aged long enough. The pieces were no more than two or three inches across. Dry as a bone I tell ya.
And as I said earlier, I let it burn at least halfway through before putting the bird in.

Nothing was wrong with airflow. The oyler is all automatic, and I sat with it only because I've never burned pecan before.

But what a freakin' mess.

The wood smelled very nice when burning. Almost fruity.
Maybe the guy who gave it to me mistakenly told me what it was.

Got me.
 
My guess is that it wasn't pecan. I cook almost exclusively with pecan. The pecan I use is usually aged for 9 - 12 months. It is usually a bit between oak and hickory in strenght. Much more mild than mesquite.

James.
 
I've seen people burn green hickory in an Oyler and not have a problem like that. I really like Pecan, too, and tend to agree with the others here.

Sorry about your nasty experience, Joe. Can you post a picture of the wood?

Edit: the wood that you are burning in the pit:wink:
 
Doesn't sound like any pecan I've ever seen... Someone once told me that pecan and hickory are very closely related and interchangable. I find both to be quite mild, so I am betting someone was confused about the species.
 
We burn Pecan and Cherry in the Lang with no problems at all, but for our birds its all Cherry - nice flavor and very nice color.
 
thirdeye said:
Nothing like a good piece of hickory.
The Preacher (Clint Eastwood)
Click to expand...

That movie rocks!!!

Anyway..... from what I have heard pecan ranks up there with cherry (my personal favorite for now).

At first I was gonna say it sounds like the wood is too green, but you covered that.

I was then thinking it might not be what he told you it was, but that was covered as well.

A pic would help alot.

I have not used pecan yet, but have quite a bit of it seasoning in the back yard so this thread it quite concerning.
 
Me too, Joe. I use a lot of pecan and haven't ever had that problem. Pecan is a lighter smoke than either hickory or mesquite so you must have had something in that wood...
 
I agree with the others. Must be bad wood. I use 6-12 month old pecan. It's more mild than hickory. Pecan accounts for 75% of the wood I burn.
 
I'd find another source for the wood, and make sure it is dry pecan.
 
Living in the swamp

Since I live in a swamp, all the trees are 100 year old native pecan. That is primarily what I burn for everything. I find that the limbs that fall through the roof, tend to burn the best. The ones that fall on the car tend to be difficult. Of course there are the ones on the ground. But you need to get them up quickly so they don't rot.

But kidding aside, I use almost exclusively pecan. Its mild, give poulty and prork a nice look, and it tends to be forgiving. No bitter taste like you might experience with other woods.

Get some new pecan. Does not hurt to mix with some lump for heat and the pecan for flavor, as your smoking.
Merl
 
No help here..never had anything like that happen with pecan,wet
or dry. Hickory is my favorite, but I have over done it and created
a bitter after taste.
Burn problem maybe??
2cents worth from wood heaven
Mikeg
Selma, AL
 
MikeG said:
No help here..never had anything like that happen with pecan,wet
or dry. Hickory is my favorite, but I have over done it and created
a bitter after taste.
Burn problem maybe??
2cents worth from wood heaven
Mikeg
Selma, AL
Click to expand...

Great to see you on Mike! You remember where Cattle Call is?
 
bbqjoe said:
Nope no hickory round here. When I want to smoke with hickory, I just head to walmart and buy a few baseball bats and some axe handles.:wink:
Click to expand...

I thought those things were made from ash.
 
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