Smoking Woods

[Sea Six]

I just picked up 8 ft³ of PE-can, and another 8 ft³ of ol' HICK-ree.

I paid through the nose for the last two bags of chipped cherry wood ($10 per bag for what couldn't be more than two or three sticks). :sadangel:

"What woods do you smokers experience have experience with?" he asked, ending his sentence with a preposition.

I've only used cherry so far. How will the PE-can and HICK-ree differ from the cherry?

The guy said he sometimes had sticks of apple and a few other woods but was currently out of 'em.

Love me some smoked grilled eats. :yesnod:

[Cybercowboy]

I use pecan and hickory pretty much exclusively. Apple is really mild and honestly I can handle stronger smoke flavor in poultry and fish than apple. Pecan for most stuff, hickory for when I want it a bit stronger like for pork butts and brisket.

Stay away from mesquite unless you're running a big stick-fed offset grill. Cherry is OK but in general I prefer pecan, although it's tough to beat cherry for beef ribs.

[Sea Six]

I use pecan and hickory pretty much exclusively. Apple is really mild and honestly I can handle stronger smoke flavor in poultry and fish than apple. Pecan for most stuff, hickory for when I want it a bit stronger like for pork butts and brisket.

Stay away from mesquite unless you're running a big stick-fed offset grill. Cherry is OK but in general I prefer pecan, although it's tough to beat cherry for beef ribs.

What about ribs?

[Cybercowboy]

What about ribs?

Pecan or hickory, whatever I happen to have on hand. Either work great with pork of any kind really. I can tell the difference but I doubt most people can. I tend to use quite a bit of smoking wood, like about 10-12 decent chunks in a full firebox of lump. Decent size being the size of a deck of cards up to perhaps half a baseball or so. If you got big chunks, less is needed but I like to use some bigger and some smaller and salt them through the lump.

[Sea Six]

Pecan or hickory, whatever I happen to have on hand. Either work great with pork of any kind really. I can tell the difference but I doubt most people can. I tend to use quite a bit of smoking wood, like about 10-12 decent chunks in a full firebox of lump. Decent size being the size of a deck of cards up to perhaps half a baseball or so. If you got big chunks, less is needed but I like to use some bigger and some smaller and salt them through the lump.

I usually put them through my chop saw and aim for pieces around 1.5" thick. The cross section of the wood is probably around 4" or so.

[Cybercowboy]

I usually put them through my chop saw and aim for pieces around 1.5" thick. The cross section of the wood is probably around 4" or so.

Those are big, so maybe five or six or so would be plenty. What I try to do is keep them small enough so they actually disappear. Sometimes that doesn't happen, and that's OK.

[Sea Six]

Those are big, so maybe five or six or so would be plenty. What I try to do is keep them small enough so they actually disappear. Sometimes that doesn't happen, and that's OK.

How do you cut them from sticks of firewood? When I use my chop saw to cut the chunks less than 1.5" they get pretty dangerous. Pieces tend to go flying and I'm always worried about kickback.

That's why I tend to go with larger pieces.

[Cybercowboy]

How do you cut them from sticks of firewood? When I use my chop saw to cut the chunks less than 1.5" they get pretty dangerous. Pieces tend to go flying and I'm always worried about kickback.

That's why I tend to go with larger pieces.

I buy them already cut up. Cabellas has big bags of pre-cut wood pretty cheap. A single bag of pecan is about $8 and lasts me four months or so. Hickory is a dime a dozen around here. Hell, I have two hickory trees in my yard!

[Sea Six]

I buy them already cut up. Cabellas has big bags of pre-cut wood pretty cheap. A single bag of pecan is about $8 and lasts me four months or so. Hickory is a dime a dozen around here. Hell, I have two hickory trees in my yard!

Is that a 5lb bag?

[markids77]

Split the larger pieces with a hatchet. Saw to length, then whack them just like firewood. With a bit of practice you can shave them fine, or make them whatever size you wish.

[Sea Six]

"Whack" them?

:confused5:

[JRD77VET]

"Whack" them?

:confused5:

With an axe or hachet.

Or find a small bandsaw on CL :yesnod:

[markids77]

Like whack-a-mole. Hit them with the sharp edge, causing them to split lengthwise. The size of the resulting pieces is dependent on the angle and/or dangle of the whack.....

[Sea Six]

I've got a 16" bandsaw. I guess I could always just use that.

:funnier:

[Sea Six]

Holy carp. :willy:


I have dis-CUVVER'D a new smokkin' wood.



It's called PE-can. :eek:



Jeebus H. Creebus.

[simpleman68]

Don't have a smoker but been diggin' the thread for the educational value for future use. :cert:
Although we do use cedar and pecan planks for seafood on the grill.

Salt block has been really fun to play with and Cyber's reverse sear suggestion has been killer. :yum:
Scott

[Cybercowboy]

Is that a 5lb bag?

10#

[Sea Six]

10#

:skia:

[Cybercowboy]

# = pounds DOO fus.

I just looked at a bag. It's sold as 570 cubic inches, not by weight but the bag weighs around 10#.

[Sea Six]

# = pounds DOO fus.

I just looked at a bag. It's sold as 570 cubic inches, not by weight but the bag weighs around 10#.

I know what # means, doofus. :slap:

That bag on Amazon just didn't look like it would hold 10 pounds from the picture.

Do you not have the means to purchase wood and cut it? That looks like a much more expensive way to buy smoking wood to me. Although I must admit this is a pretty expensive way to cook meat. :Jeff '79:

[Rob]

I wish I could get a good source on pecan but up here it is mostly hickory. I have 7 ricks of hickory, 4 ricks of cherry, and 2 ricks of oak right now.

My neighbor has a farm and anytime a hickory or cherry falls, he chops it up and brings me another couple loads.

I mostly cook with a hickory cherry mix, and have to buy pecan and apple when I want that.

One additional thing to use - corn cobs....just let them dry out and save them. Throw a couple in the fire around the finish. Old ham curing used to be done with corn cobs and adds a little sweet flavor that is hard to figure out.

You can also use peach, alder, mesquite, and see people talk about osage orange...but I have not tried that one yet.

:seasix:

Slow-n-Low :cert:

[Sea Six]

I wish I could get a good source on pecan but up here it is mostly hickory. I have 7 ricks of hickory, 4 ricks of cherry, and 2 ricks of oak right now.

My neighbor has a farm and anytime a hickory or cherry falls, he chops it up and brings me another couple loads.

I mostly cook with a hickory cherry mix, and have to buy pecan and apple when I want that.

One additional thing to use - corn cobs....just let them dry out and save them. Throw a couple in the fire around the finish. Old ham curing used to be done with corn cobs and adds a little sweet flavor that is hard to figure out.

You can also use peach, alder, mesquite, and see people talk about osage orange...but I have not tried that one yet.

:seasix:

Slow-n-Low :cert:

How much wood is in a rick?

And I'll tradeja some PE-can for some cherry. When are you coming down?

[Rob]

How much wood is in a rick?

And I'll tradeja some PE-can for some cherry. When are you coming down?

Was there last week :dixie:

[Sea Six]

Was there last week :dixie:

No PE-can for you then.

:slap:

[1K SPORT]

My primary smoking woods are apple and hickory. Sometimes cherry when I only want a light smoke. I buy the bags at a BBQ shop.

[Bucwheat]

My Daughter has about 300 acres of woodland ,my son in law and I scout Hickory about once a year for our grill,last year we spot a tree that had been hit by lighting and split ,we have enough for years, I even took enough back home to pull several planks out of to build a table,dayum tough wood.