wood questions

Steve, I'll jump in here until the experts climb aboard.

1) Many home barbecuers use wood from cabinet makers. Just make sure it hasn't been treated with any preservatives. That could be hazarcous to the diners.

2) I've used red oak and white oak and can't tell the diff. Maybe some can but I can't.

3) I've mixed red and white oak. Many pit masters like to mix different woods just like you would mix various spices to create a more complex flavor.

4) If it smells like cedar it probably won't be too good for BBQ. Cedar and pine give off a lot of creosote and other nasty tasting stuff that you definitely don't want on your Q.

And, as Tom would say, "Just My Two Cents Worth."

Steve,

I agree w/TaktEZ....Oak is great--I can't tell the dif betw red/white either...

Juniper is very resinous--smells great in a fireplace but I would be afraid of it getting near my food...Don't know anything about Cypress but I do know it isn't considered a common wood for smoking...

Type in a search for woods--someone posted an article about the dangers of cedar and similar woods a few months ago--I think it was Tom... You're definitely doing the right thing by researching Cypress or any other woods prior to smoking w/them...The wrong wood can be dangerous...

Good luck!

"1) Are the white/red oak planks that are used for making furniture (no bark) when cut up into pieces just as good to use for smoking as the chunks that are "raw" with bark?"

Big Jim, the local pit miester, demands oak without bark. And he can get emotional about these things. Likes any oak except live oak, still slightly green (burns slower), and no bark!

Great responses guys,

And here is our normal reference for wood types:

BBQ FAQ on Wood

thanks very much guys, I'll definitely use the oak, and discard the cypress/juniper. This fellow said he's going to get some cut up pieces of maple for me also. Should be nice for a ham and bacon!!

As far as I can see, the oak has not been treated in any way at all. Just plain, little chunks left over from making furniture before any staining or treatment.
Take care everyone.
Steve.

I never saw that wood FAQ before, Okie. Thanks!

GLH,

Make sure you read the whole thing, not just the wood section:

BBQ FAQ

It's old, but it's got a lot of good reference information.

Thought I'd throw this in as our Smokin guru said "Read the whole thing" and I came up with this on smoking woods - Just FYI. Note #3 as it pertains to this thread.

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List members report that ELM and EUCALYPTUS wood is unsuitable for smoking, as is the wood from SASSAFRAS, SYCAMORE and LIQUID AMBER trees.

Here are some more woods that you should not to use for smoking:

1 Never use lumber scraps, either new or used. First, you cannot know for sure what kind of wood it is; second, the wood may have been chemically treated; third, you have no idea where the wood may have been or how it was used. For all you know, that free oak planking could have been used in a sewage treatment plant.

2 Never use any wood that has been painted or stained. Paint and stains can impart a bitter taste to the meat and old paint often contains lead.

3 Do not use wood scraps from a furniture manufacturer as this wood is often chemically treated.

4 Never use wood from old pallets. Many pallets are treated with chemicals that can be hazardous to your health and the pallet may have been used to carry chemicals or poison.

5 Avoid old wood that is covered with mold and fungus that can impart a bad taste to your meat. If you have some good cherry wood (or other good smoking wood) that is old and has a fungus growth and you want to use it, pre-burn it down to coals before you put it into your smoker.

Wonder why he says not to use sassafras? It is very much a traditional BBQ wood. I use it and love it.

Fred - Check out the extensive post here on sassafras wood.

http://forum.cookshackamerica.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cg...;f=1;t=000844#000000

bob

Thanks Bob,
Wonder what all that root beer when I was a kid did to me. But then agian Sacrin was a carcinogen for twenty years.

I have a feeling most of the root beer we drink/drank was flavored artificially, but have NO proof of that.

bob

I'm sure it is now, but 50 yrs ago A&W was the real thing.

My favorite wood is a nice green fresh cut oak branch about one inch to inch and a half in diameter and just long enough to fit in the CS wood box. Lasts a long time and we love the oak flavor!

I think the head in Root Beer comes from the yucca enzyme.
Our poultry and livestock diets have yucca in them too. It's a good, natural way to aid digestion.

I have burned a lot of red oak. It's a bit harsh. Good BTU's. White oak is a little hotter.

Wood BTU's: www.chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm

The left column is ranked in order of heat.

My 2 browns worth....There is a difference in the 2 oaks....I make my living off of Red Oak! It has a totally different taste than White---not TOTALLY, but quite. Red oak, good Red Oak, should smell "pissy" when cut. White Oak doesn't. That should be enough to tell that they will have a quite different taste. Both are GREAT, but they ARE different.
Red Oak smells as sweet or sweeter than apple, when burning.
Boo on bark! Bark has moss and other crud on it. You can smell it in the smoke so you know that you will taste it.
One of, if not the MOST important things to take note of is what the smoke smells like--if it burns the eyes, nostrils when one gets a "good whiff" then it probably isn't a good wood. Or, it maybe good in small amounts. EVERYTING tastes like it smells...Liver, for example. The 2 senses are almost interchange-able. One depends on the other.
Light a piece, then blow it out and smell the smoke. If you like it, then it is good to smoke wih. *Note* Whether you want to smoke with it or not and in what "doses" are up to you and your palate.
I.E.... Mesquite has a nice flavor in moderation, but is terrible wood to "smoke" with.
Everything thing afore mentioned about treated/chemicalized woods, is true.
Best of luck!
Zeb

Back on the sassafras issue again. The gumbo file that Cajuns put in their gumbos and stews is made from powdered sassafras leaves. Please don't tell me I gotta quit eatin' Cajun cookin'. That'd almost be like a death sentence. Almost....

OK guys, thanks again to everyone and your replies. I'm a bit worried about using the oak now. Looking at it, it definitely looks to NOT have been treated, stained, in any way. It looks like raw red oak with no bark. I'm going to double check with my students father about the carpentry shop he got it from. I'll also burn some first, as suggested and check the smoke.
Thankfully I didn't get any SASSAFRASS!!
The white oak plank I got should be fine. The lumber importer basically has the trees in huge logs, before anything has ever been done. He processes the trees into planks etc to sell to the different manufacturers or suppliers in Taiwan.
Guess that's all. I'll act on the more cautious side to be safe. It's hard though, when it's been so difficult to get wood here. It looks like getting the pellets should be OK. Also, paperwork on the chunks looks like it just has to be kiln dried to pass inspection coming to Taiwan. So I can order some kiln dried hickory from Cookshack in the future. The alternative in having a local supplier of wood is that it sure saves a lot of money over having wood shipped to Taiwan!!!
Best wishes to everyone, Steve.