Smoking with Maple wood????????

Fishin4bass723

Full Fledged Farker
Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Location
Ravenna, NE
Name or Nickame
Joe
My GF and I cut down part of a Maple tree in our back yard and am wondering if I can use it for smoking? Has anyone ever tried it before and if so what was the outcome?
 
I bought some to smoke Bacon with, tried it pork some pork chops and I am really enjoying Maple with the pork.

The Maple cured Bacon was used in a Bean and Bacon soup last week. The Bacon was a little to salty to eat as Bacon, but it was awesome in soup.

You should get some real good use out of the Maple...
 
I don't like to use green wood since I try for a clean burning fire so I age it. Fastest method is to cut it into 2" thick disks then dry it for a couple of months befor chunking it for use.
 
Maple is my favourite. We have 4 maples on our property that I regularly "prune" for use in the smoker.

Because the prunings are only 1" diameter or so, I use them with charcoal. I've found they need a few months to dry out nicely (kept under cover). If I leave them too long, and they get really dry (like 2+ years) they don't seem to have as much flavour in them.

I also strip the bark, as it seems to have a slightly bitter smoke when the bark is still on.
 
Yep it is good to use after a cure. Common red maple... Ain't gotta be sugar maple to make good smoke.
 
I imagine that Wisconsin maple might be a bit different from Florida maple... but I find the maple here to be TOO mild. But, it just might be a personal preference. Season it a while and give it a shot. :-D
 
I also strip the bark, as it seems to have a slightly bitter smoke when the bark is still on.

I agree. My experience has been that leaving the bark on causes the smoke to be really bitter.
Anybody else had a similar experience?
 
Back
Top