Wood for smoking?

[backcountry_hunter]

Oak or Maple. Smoke Chx/Turkey Pork Beef and some fish. Those are the only two I use anymore. i have endless supply of both.

Did chx last night w/ oak on offset.

 

[LongWayAround]

How much smoking are you trying to do?

I just looked at hickory logs at home depot $25-30/bag. Plus, a variety of large chunks.

Around here Ace Hardware has a really good selection of woods, as do one of our outdoor gear stores.

I can't imagine dragging a trailer from Montana to and from Omaha for some wood will get you to a break-even point for regular homeowner needs.

Even cutting your own has a cost of your time and materials.

One idea might be to reach out to your local arborists and let them know what you're looking for. There's a good chance that they will deliver a removal for a small fee. You're still stuck waiting for it to cure though.

 

[Wapiti1]

There is alder in pretty much every drainage in every mountain range in Montana. Look for the brushy stuff that has dark red bark and little pinecone looking seed pods. That said, it has a very mild smoke and I don't think it works well with pork or beef. Fish and chicken, it's great.

Russian olive is one that works well and you find in Montana (from the front east mostly). Thorny tree with silver grey leaves that you see around old homesteads planted as wind break. Box Elder is another that works well. Lots of box elder along the rivers from Bozeman up through Great Falls.

Jeremy

 

[SuperDUECE22]

fruit for pies and schnapps in a decade or so

FYI: you should plant some dwarf apple trees. If taken care of properly they produce great apples within 2 years.

 

[Boxerboxer]

If you're using charcoal for fuel and wood chunks for smoke, see if you can find a cabinet maker that will let you empty his burn barrel. I've gotten a ton of oak and hickory from my father in law over the years in pieces too small for him to use but big enough for me to smoke with.

If you need bigger pieces you might also be able to find orchards that would let you haul away trimmings, or a tree trimming service that might be trimming/felling non native trees more often. I've gotten wood from a local tree service to use for making bows, just paid a small fee to let me know when they found a straight healthy ash tree and then cut it into 7' lengths for me to split and haul off myself.

 

[Thinkingman]

The type of wood I use depends on the meat I’m smoking. It’s all a preference. I haven’t smoked something and not liked it based off the smoke flavor. Get what you can in chunks if possible. kingsford makes/made infused charcoal if you can go that route.

I can say Hickory and salmon/steelhead are not a good match.
Fruitwood/Alder/Pecan goes with anything.

 

[Waterboy]

I can say Hickory and salmon/steelhead are not a good match.
Fruitwood/Alder/Pecan goes with anything.

I’ll disagree to an extent. I’m a big fan of hickory smoke flavor. I’ve done hickory on salmon and it worked out well for me. I didn’t try to load it down with smoke either though.

 

[Dos XX]

Persimmon and pork. Yay!

 

[TX_Diver]

What kind of grill/smoker are you using? I almost entirely use a weber kettle and a few logs last me a long time grilling 1-2x a week. I throw a few golf ball sized chunks on top of the briquettes for each cook.

 

[Waterboy]

I use a gas file cabinet style smoker, the leaner the meat the lighter the smoke regardless of the type of wood I use. Fish being the lightest and pork/beef being the heaviest.

 

[hunterjmj]

I use an Oklahoma joe grill/offset smoker. I try to grill 2-3 times a week and smoke 1-2 times a week in warmer months. Hoping to get the OKJ bronco this spring. I really like smoking pork ribs and the kids enjoy eating them so I smoke them every Sunday weather permitting. I grill chicken wings at least once a week and grill whatever else I find on sale.
For fish I use a big chief. Don't do that often though.

 

[Boxerboxer]

I use a gas file cabinet style smoker, the leaner the meat the lighter the smoke regardless of the type of wood I use. Fish being the lightest and pork/beef being the heaviest.

That's pretty universal regardless of smoker type, because many things we use to flavor food (including wood smoke) are much more readily absorbed by fat than muscle.

 

[Tradchef]

Man I use cottonwood , lodgepole and lots of juniper. Aspen and alder are good too. Also love to throw wild sage in there. I know we don’t have the greatest woods here but there are some good ones that are fun to play with.

 

[Thinkingman]

I’ll disagree to an extent. I’m a big fan of hickory smoke flavor. I’ve done hickory on salmon and it worked out well for me. I didn’t try to load it down with smoke either though.

I may have oversmoked it.
My new rule is fruitwoods and Alder for fish.

 

[jfs82]

One way you can cheat in good smoke with charcoal is also using nut shells. Soak some almond, walnut, pecan, hickory etc. shells in water for a while and regularly add them to the coals to get some hardwood flavors in there. It's not as strong as the wood, but it'll make a difference.

 

[Waterboy]

I use an Oklahoma joe grill/offset smoker. I try to grill 2-3 times a week and smoke 1-2 times a week in warmer months. Hoping to get the OKJ bronco this spring. I really like smoking pork ribs and the kids enjoy eating them so I smoke them every Sunday weather permitting. I grill chicken wings at least once a week and grill whatever else I find on sale.
For fish I use a big chief. Don't do that often though.

I smoke the flats and drums. 225 for 1 hr then flip and repeat for an hour. Make sure to oil the chicken or it won’t crisp the skin at all.

 

[Mike Islander]

Grape vine is incredible for pork tenderloin. We have tons of it. Huge vines. A couple of one inch chunks is plenty.

 

[Grumman]

Grape vine is incredible for pork tenderloin. We have tons of it. Huge vines. A couple of one inch chunks is plenty.

View attachment 536379

You telling me grape vines are good for something after all? Lol. I’m gonna have to give it a try.


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[long hunter]

Old skids work well for smoking a skunk, just funnin ya.

 

[NoCoElk]

Depends on meat, I like cherry for pork. Apple and hickory on turkey, ckn.
Hickory and oak on game meat