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View Full Version : Hedge aka: Osage Orange


brewman114
04-27-2010, 11:13 AM
I have heard a lot of talk around about hedge as a smoking wood. I will say this, I have been using hedge for years and believe its the best for pork hands down. A lot of people are skeptical about it but I am here to say I love it. I have used hickory, oak, apple, pear, cherry, you name it and my favorite has to be hedge. But you have to use it right. When cooking a pork butt it must be smoked low at 180 - 200 for at least 4hrs and mopped every hour. Wrapped and cooked 260 - 300 until internal is 190+. The pork cooked with hedge brings more compliments on taste and texture than any of the other woods I have used. I have also done beer can chicken and Brisket among other things a lot with it and results have always been great. I don't know why it has such a bad rap, maybe just not used enough by people or used wrong way. My second choice of wood would definitely be Mulberry which works well also, but doesn't give near the long lasting smoke and heat.

smellysockalarmclock
04-27-2010, 11:28 AM
Don't know about using it for smoking but I can attest it makes a great recurve bow.
Its a hard wood and is fruit baring so I wouldn't be afraid to try it. Thanks for the info.

04-27-2010, 01:07 PM
I have turned some beautiful candleholders out of it. As the light changes the color of the wood changes.

HeSmellsLikeSmoke
04-27-2010, 03:15 PM
Is that the same thing as Bois D'Arc? If so, we had one in our yard when I was a kid, but nobody ever thought of using the wood for smoking.

(Just looked it up. Hedge Apple is another name for Bois D'Arc, so it is the same thing. Bois means wood and D'Arc means bow -- bow wood. So that makes sense. The wood was highly prized by the plains indians for bows. It has the highest BTU rating of any hardwood.)

jswordy
04-27-2010, 04:28 PM
Yes, same as bois d-arc. You are correct, it is highest BTU. We used to burn it for heat in winter, and it will warp a stove if it is not made of good thick metal. It'll crack cast!

It likes to throw off sparks when it has been denied full oxygen and then is exposed to air again. Will be hot as Hades even if choked down to mere embers in a wood stove for heat.

Cutting it will dull a chainsaw quickly. I used to have to bring along 2-3 extra chains to get a trailerload of it. Never considered it to smoke with, probably because hickory, maple and cherry are plentiful here.

cowgirl
04-28-2010, 12:59 PM
Hedge is my favorite too! When ranchers replace miles and miles of fence line, the hedge posts are grabbed fast for cooking. lol
They have "seasoned" for at least 20 years and are almost like petrified wood. Man, they burn hot and long... :becky: Great for underground pits too!

Bartstop
04-28-2010, 07:16 PM
I've had pork butt smoked with hedge. It was really, really good. I asked the guy why he used hedge and he told me it was the only wood that burned hot enough (his smoker was homemade). I'd like to try some on my smoker but I don't live in the country so cutting my own isn't an option. And I seriously doubt Homedepot or Ace will be carrying hedge anytime in the near future.

Bartstop

Northwet Burner
04-28-2010, 08:08 PM
Don't know about smoking wood but I do know that guys who turn duck calls would buy all you have and more.

Go here: http://www.refugeforums.com/refuge/forumdisplay.php?f=8

Tell them what you have. I'm thinking they will change your mind about cooking chickens on that - been wrong before but it sure don't cost much to find out. Let me know - I can post there for you if you don't want to subscribe.

1_T_Scot
04-28-2010, 08:33 PM
I'll have to try some if I can find it. Why do you smoke so low for the first few hours? I assume this has something to do with the hedge. Once in foil it could be in the oven as long as the temp is right.
What are you mopping with just curious to recreate.

jmoney7269
03-28-2013, 08:09 AM
I have this stuff all over my place, big ones too! My buddy Jason and I were cuttin up some pecan and I told him, it makes fruit, why not BBQ with it. He said good luck cuttin it up, it'll dull your chainsaw before you get it cut down. IMO, perfect, if its hard, that means it will burn for a long time. Anyone with experience smoking this wood, would you please give your opinion on the taste compared to other woods? I have been making my own charcoal lately and this would be perfect, for a good long burning charcoal

HogFan
03-28-2013, 08:33 AM
Osage Orange (another name) has a lot of uses. It is great for back and sides on a guitar. Duck calls were mentioned and I'll also add turkey calls.......probably the loudest call I've ever heard was made from "Bodarc" (Bois De'Arc). The use for building bows and wood turning has already been mentioned.

A co-worker of mine grew up in Kansas and they had a homebuilt pit made from stone that looked like the remains of an old chimney in the pictures he showed me. It was a vertical type smoker. Anyhow, they used Bodarc in it all the time for smoking and they loved it!

If anyone knows of a an Osage Orange tree near NW Arkansas with a large diameter trunk (say 24" diameter or better) that someone wants cut, I would be interested to use for building guitars. The limb wood can be used for a smoking!

Yellowhair42
03-28-2013, 08:38 AM
This is wierd.Just last night as I was filling up the wood stove with Osage I was wondering if you could BBQ with it.It is rock hard. I have tons on my property and have never had an issue with it dulling my chain.Some of these trees are three feet diameter at the base.My stove is 1/4" plate steel and handles it just fine.It truly is the ultimate burning wood.Burns just like coal.

Gnaws on Pigs
03-28-2013, 10:53 AM
Never tried it for cooking-I have a bunch of seasoned osage in the shed because I build bows with it-may have to try some out. Oh, and you mentioned mulberry-it's in the same family. Never tried it for smoking either, but it also makes a good bow.