Pecan Hulls

[Redheart]

I have discovered a large source of pecan hulls while I was out looking for sources of pecan wood. Has anyone ever smoked with the hulls? Figured I would wrap 'em in foil packs and treat them like the little chips of wood you can buy at the grocery store.
I am looking for a little input from my brethren in smoke before I head down the path.
I will probably give them a try early next week on some ribs.

[comfrank]

Yes, I've used pecan shells. They work great. Treat 'em like wood chips. I often get people to save pecan shells for me at Christmas time.

--frank in Wilson, NY

[BobBrisket]

The hulls are somewhat spongy and from what I've read, make for a bitter smoke. The shells, on the other hand, make for good fuel for a foil smoke bomb.
The hulls for some reason give off a dark, greenish smoke that is not very good. It may be because the hulls contain a good amount of sap/oil in them that doesn't really dry out or season away like it does in the wood itself.

By hull do you mean the casing that surrounds the pecan nut or the hard pecan shell?

[deguerre]

There were some interesting observations in this thread by n8man...
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=74392

[ThunderDomeBBQ]

I thought about this last night while eating pistachios

Any input on pistachio shells?

[Lake Dogs]

Originally Posted by Redheart

I have discovered a large source of pecan hulls while I was out looking for sources of pecan wood. Has anyone ever smoked with the hulls? Figured I would wrap 'em in foil packs and treat them like the little chips of wood you can buy at the grocery store.
I am looking for a little input from my brethren in smoke before I head down the path.
I will probably give them a try early next week on some ribs.

Hulls, or shells?


If shells, please, do tell (the source).

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by ThunderDomeBBQ

I thought about this last night while eating pistachios

Any input on pistachio shells?

I've tossed pistachio, walnut, filbert, and almond (Christmas time nut mix they sell) and even sunflower seed shells onto the grill for quick smoke and while they burn up quickly made for some nice smoke for grilling.
Also, in the thread referrenced by Guerry, you will notice that even when the hulls were burned in that basket and plenty of air, he still said they had an unpleasant odor. You will multiple that odor when putting them in foil cause they will burn much slower and longer and the smoke comes out very dense, acrid, and unpleasant. In large part, because the husk contains a great deal of oil during the time on the tree and that oil never really dries out completely.
I think I read that they don't even like to use them as fertilizer because that high oil content isn't good when released in the soil and absorbed by the roots.

[Bulverde]

Saltlick Barbecue Rest. down here in Texas uses pecan "shells" (not hulls) when they hold the meat before serving. The shells are soaked and thrown on wood coals in an open pit. Those shells seem to put out a whole lot of smoke!

Also, they use Southern Pride's in the back for their main cook, in which they use pecan wood and oak combination ... and yes, I do know this for a fact.

Bulverde

[comfrank]

Originally Posted by BobBrisket

The hulls are somewhat spongy and from what I've read, make for a bitter smoke. The shells, on the other hand, make for good fuel for a foil smoke bomb.

My bad. I thought "hull" was another word for "shell."

--frank in Wilson, NY

[barbefunkoramaque]

logs baby

[BobBrisket]

Originally Posted by comfrank

My bad. I thought "hull" was another word for "shell."

--frank in Wilson, NY

No bad done at all Frank. I was just trying to addess the thread title. I wasn't trying to correct you or anything. You use the shells, then, right? They do make for some nice smoke. Some nurseries even sell them as mulch. That would be one way to aquire them.

[infantry66]

most processing nut houses will let you take all the shells you want or at least the one down here will saves them from having so much trash

[Redheart]

wow ... hulls or shells? I thought what was left behind after you got the nut out was call the hull. But after reading nateman's thread they I understand the difference. These are shells.

Lake Dogs I will lt ya in on the source after I work out th pricing. I am a little afraid if we get too many folks trying to source shells through him he might decide to jack the price. I will lt ya know next week. I promise.

Thanks guys for all the input and advice and of course the education too!

[big range bbq]

After reading a thread about 2 weeks ago I tried pecan shells and loved it. I throw a few hand fulls in almost everything we smoke or grill now. Never seen or heard of a foil smoke bomb though.

[Redheart]

Originally Posted by big range bbq

After reading a thread about 2 weeks ago I tried pecan shells and loved it. I throw a few hand fulls in almost everything we smoke or grill now. Never seen or heard of a foil smoke bomb though.

Smoke bombs are foil packets of chips or sawdust or shells etc that you drop on your coals.