Hardwood for smoking

[NextGen]

Hey all,
I've been smoking on a weber kettle for the last couple years and finally made the plunge and got an offset. Just an OK Joe for now, but it should be good to cut my teeth on.

I'm from new england, maybe i'm not looking in the right places but it seems to me that the typical smoking woods like hickory, oak, pecan, cherry, etc. are a little harder to come by.

What seems much more easier to procure is just general hardwood for burning in camp fires/wood stoves. While it wouldn't be ideal, of course, I'm wondering if there's moreso any major reasons why I should avoid just buying general wood stove hardwood for BBQ.

 

[Juggy D Beerman]

Unless you can readily identify the wood by its bark, some hardwoods that burn great in a stove may not yield a smoke flavor that you might find palatable for your tastes. Examples of woods that work great for wood stoves and not so great for smoking in my opinion are osage orange aka hedge, walnut, black/honey locust and hackberry.

Although I have never used it, some sources state that cured birch wood is comparable to mild version of hickory. Sugar maple is a wood I have used and I liked the heat it produced as well as the smoke flavor. These two woods maybe more common in your area. You might try checking with a tree service company as they sometimes trim or remove trees that are good sources for BBQ woods. Be careful when buying wood for smoking from someone that you have no references for. Some vendors can be less than honest about the species of wood/or how long it has been cured.

 

[Swine Spectator]

Hey NextGen,
I struggled when I moved from Louisiana to Virginia for this reason. Down south, people sort cooling wood - oak, hickory, maple, pecan, mesquite, etc. Here in Virginia most firewood is for heating homes. They don't sort or identify type.
I have found a workaround, but it is not super cost-effective. Ace Hardware sells B&B barbecue wood online. They will ship to store for free. If you join Ace Rewards, they'll send you coupons. Every so often they send $25-$30 off $100. I got 2 bags of post oak and 2 bags of pecan for about $80 last fall. It isn't ideal, but it works.

 

[seattlepitboss]

They have fruit trees everywhere. Those are my favorite woods to smoke with. Plum, apple, cherry, pear. Anything that flowers in the spring and bears fruit we eat.

I have internal political problems with keeping a big stack of wood. What I do is I have converted my offset cookers to heat partly with propane, which reduces the amount of wood used enormously. There is a high end butcher shop that stocks 2.0 cubic foot bags of smoking woods. I recently cooked a brisket and then a bunch of ribs on part of a bag of apple.

seattlepitboss

 

[Newglide]

I use what's available to me in my area. Hickory, red and white oak and apple. If someone is trimming or cutting down a tree I stop and ask if I can take some off their hands. People usually just want to get rid of it and are glad to give it up. Check with local tree guys and see what they have. I'm not a big fan of the campfire packs you see at the store. It's typically kiln dried which won't give you the desired flavor and hard to tell what it actually is.

 

[gcs]

You should have hard (sugar) maple and beech in abundance, probably oak and cherry too.
IMO, pretty much any common hardwood used for firewood will be fine.

 

[JeffinNE]

Check with some area BBQ restaurants as to where they get their smoking wood.

 

[Harbormaster]

Although I have never used it, some sources state that cured birch wood is comparable to mild version of hickory.

I have never used birch in a stick burner, but have used it as a smoke wood in my WSMs. If you get the bark off (gotta get the bark off) it has a very mild, almost sweet smoke which is fantastic on chicken.

 

[mike243]

Be advised wood coming bagged from lowes or home depot will be heat treated to kill any bugs before shipping, you will lose some flavor but beats not having any wood lol

 

[Maylar]

Examples of woods that work great for wood stoves and not so great for smoking in my opinion are Osage orange aka hedge, walnut, black/honey locust and hackberry.

Of those, only walnut would be available in Connecticut and it would be expensive. Firewood is typically red oak and sugar maple. Maybe some birch or elm.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Find an Apple Orchard and see if they have any scraps that you can have

 

[Juggy D Beerman]

Of those, only walnut would be available in Connecticut and it would be expensive. Firewood is typically red oak and sugar maple. Maybe some birch or elm.

Years ago, I tried some cured pieces of walnut heartwood in my kettle for cooking bacon. I had read that it could have and overpowering a little walnut smoke went a long way. My results verified what most other reports I read as stating, don't use it. That was the worst tasting pound of bacon I had ever cooked on the kettle.

Elm is not even good for stove wood. Our two main species of elm in Missouri are the American elm and the Chinese elm. Chinese elm is commonly referred to in Missouri as p!$$ elm as it has a high water content that makes it difficult to burn in a stove if it is not cured. Once cured, you have a short window of time before it is too dry to use for firewood. The times I have burned elm for firewood were done out of desperation and the smell of the contained smoke in the stove is not something I would want to flavor meat with.

Red oak and sugar maple are both two goods woods for smoking. I would not hesitate at all having a supply of either wood.

 

[IamMadMan]

Find an Apple Orchard and see if they have any scraps that you can have

I agree with Big George, find a local orchard, and they would be happy to give you all you can take when they do the winter trimming and cutting. I have a local Apple and Peach orchard, and they call me when they get ready to start cutting. They need to remove any sick trees to prevent spreading through the entire orchard. This is usually done in mid-January, so work out the details now.


Also look when storms hit the area, storm damaged trees creates an abundance of Oak and Maple. Also when they cut to clear growth around powerlines on the road, most times you can take as much as you want.


You just have to ask, and ask in advance, or someone else might beat you to the deal.