Don't use any type of wood unless it is dry

[texasbill]

To everyone out there. A friend of mine cooked two briskets this weekend using pecan wood. He said they were so smokey and bitter and wanted to know what went wrong. We talked about the wood he used and he indicated the tree he had gotten the wood from was knocked down by a storm like 5 or 6 months ago and he had just recently been out there and cut some of it and split it. They used it and terrible results. He came down to ask me what went wrong. GREEN WOOD. Let your wood age. If you go buy wood make sure it is dry. It should be aged after splitting for at least 6 months.

Green wood can also mess up your pit. You could get a really bad smell in the pit that you cannot get rid of. So please, be careful out there. Make sure the wood is well seasoned.

Bill
Texas BBQ Rub

[Qcrew]

Good advice. Can any of you seasoned stick burners offer any help with choosing split wood that has been adequately seasoned (dried) ? I almost bought bought a cord of green oak the other day but a kind gentleman warned me just in the nick of time. Is there a simple test you can do ?

[texasbill]

My experience with picking good dried wood has had some good and bad moments. I now do it by feel, that is i can pick up a stick of wood and feel the weight and know how dry it is. I also look for a wood that is a real bland brown color, say on mesquite when it is first cut it has a red color but after it has weathered it becomes a brown color. This hold pretty true with most woods. You will get the hand of it. Another thing is some times you can take an ax and split a log and see if any moisture escapes. If so, it is still way to green to cook with.

The best way is to find you a reliable source for wood and tell them what you want. I have a good guy that knows what I am looking for and he saves his wood for me, the ugly stuff.

Anyway if anyone else has sme thoughts let us know.

Bill
Texas BBQ Rub

[SlowSmoked]

Bill - Had a similar experience about 20 years ago. Invited to a friends kids birthday party - he'd been up all night smoking and tweaking the pit. Coming into the neighborhood you could smell it. But when it was served his briskets were inedible, his chickens tasted funny and the ribs were not good.

Turned out he'd never used a pit before and was using some green oak from a tree he lost in a storm two days prior. Matter of fact this true story is the opening chapter of my book.

Catch you later.

[texasbill]

Good advice here. Please whatever you cook with DO NOT use green wood. This stuff ruins meat and can ruin your pit also. So make sure the wood you use is truly dried and aged.

I am hearing a few stories about green wood lately, so if you are new to the scene follow this advice.

Bill
Texas BBQ Rub

[grizs50]

As a long time wood cutter maybe I can shed some light on the wood.

Seasoned dry hardwoods should almost ring when you clank them together.

Green wood has a lot of volitile oils in it that can ruin your day if you use to much. These oils are cooked off when the wood turns to char wood, or the naturaly leave the wood in the drying process.

If you are using an all wood fire then seasoned wood is the only way to go. A closed pit traps those oils and keeps them on the food, these are the same compounds that clog up your stove pipe. An open pit lets these oils escape.

If I am using a char wood fire then using a little green hickory is a good thing, a whole fire of green hickory probly wouldn't be so good.

[Smooth Operator]

8)

[Albin]

I buy my mesquite wood at the local Wally World. Anybody have any idea whether this wood is dry and seasoned or not?

Thanks,

Albin

[jshively]

I buy my mesquite wood at the local Wally World. Anybody have any idea whether this wood is dry and seasoned or not?

Thanks,

Albin

I bought a couple bags from there and it was fine.

I finally found some oak wood and the lady promised it was seasoned for 2 years believe me this stuff clunks when you beat 2 pieces together and it feels dry and even looks dry.

[Woodman]

Griz is right. They say it should sound akin to two bowling pins being clunked together. You will also be able to tell by heft or relative weight /feel. When all else fails, try burning some in a firepit and observe. Thick smoke and sap boiling out on the ends is a telltale sign. You guys have to be more careful as green mesquite is horrible. I have actually used moderately green maple and apple with some success.I'm not talking cut down last month, but maybe 4 months old. That tree that fell six months ago would've been ok had it been sectioned off right away to allow for even drying. Hell, it may have even had enough connection to the roots that sap was still running. Another thing that folks should try to do is keep the stuff under cover or in a shed. I know you guys are getting alot of rain down there and it is always "temperate " up here. Wood drys /"seasons" better if it is dry! That's why they call me "Woodman"

[1044]

I bought a half cord each of pecan and oak from a fire/cookwood place in Houston a couple of weeks ago.

The guy said they were seasoned. I put some pecan in my new Klose and lit 'er up. It belched white smoke aplenty. I leaned over by the dampers on the fire box and could hear the moiture steaming out. Well, isn't that special?


I pulled that out and tried the oak. It was fine, burned like a charm.

[Woodman]

ten thousand and forty four, If you hold a hair dryer on that log for about four months, it'll be OK. Just a suggestion! Wood

[redneck cooker]

Nice touch, Woodman, How long would it take laying on top of a curling iron?? well how long????

[Qjunkie will]

How bout a toaster or a candle?

[Texana]

Who told ya that Woody used a curling iron...... :shock: :shock:

Hmmm sounds like Woody has been in the closet.

[Qjunkie will]

:shock: :oops: :!:

[redneck cooker]

sorry, Woodman didn't mean for it to slip out...about the closet that is :oops: :oops: :oops:

[Woodman]

Well, with two teenage daughters and a wife, I got plenty of both curling irons and hairdryers around! As far as bein "in the closet" goes, are you guys so insecure in your masculinity, that you'd be afraid to use a curling iron on your hair? Ya know, they used to think men who cooked were gay too.....not that there's anything wrong with that! -woodman

[redneck cooker]

Well I dont have enough hair to use either of them on, so I guess this doesnt apply, how bout you Tex??


I been in the closet a number of times..... :shock: :shock: :shock: thats where I keep all my hunting equip... :shock: :shock: :wink:

Woodman, your getting to prdictable, try a little harder!!!

[Texana]

yea I got some hair left, but need no curling iron. au natural is curly enough.

[Qjunkie will]

I wuz gawna say I seen Redneck and he aint gawt no use far a curlin iron.
An ole Texana Dont have electricity at his house so he couldnt use it if he wanted to ya know livin here Texas they are still a trying ta git electricity ta all tha homes an all! It is a big country jus takes time!

[Albin]

OK, I'll contiinue to use th W-W wood, it's the only place I know of to get mesquite.

Is wetting the wood prior to burning it to create smoke the same as unseasoned wood? I usually soak my wood about a day to create smoke.

Comments?

Thanks,

Albin

[Smooth Operator]

Good Advice texasbill 8)

[Woodman]

Albin, Love Alabama! I go fishing down there with a guy from our company south of Birmingham on the Coosa River in a town called Verbena. Great Crappie and Striper river! Ever get that white BBQ sauce that they have in Northern Alabama? If your cooking on a water smoker, wet your chips or chunks. You don't really want them to flame on these. If you're cooking with all wood, DO NOT! Wetting your wood is not the same as unseasoned wood. Unseasoned wood still contains sap and volatile oils that, when burned ineffeciently, cause creosote buildup. Wet wood will only steam as long a it is seasoned well. Hope that helps! woodman

[Albin]

Woodman,

Thanks! I cook over a 55 gallon barrel that sits vertical. I put a big roasting pan right over the coals so the heat is indirect to the meat. So far Wally World wood seems to do OK.

I don't know which white BBQ sauce you're talking about, although I've seen it at the old Greenbrier Resturant.

Thanks,

Albin

[1044]

ten thousand and forty four, If you hold a hair dryer on that log for about four months, it'll be OK. Just a suggestion! Wood
Well, Woodman, I'm to the point of not needing a hair dryer any more. :( I comb my hair with a damp washrag. :?

I think I'll lay a dry washrag on the pile and see if it wicks away any moisture.