Wood selection (Tell me the difference)

If all else fails break out the Zippo and run it by a corner and give a whiff.

You'll know real quick which you want to smoke with.

Yea, those pics are not good to use nice wording. I did the same thing am still not sure, but I like the lighter idea.
Good luck!
Pat Western Wyo.

Hey Joe,

Based on just the woods you have listed. The cherry will have a reddish to pinkish tone to the wood. The apple will be light in color,and if all the woods are dried equally, lighter in weight than the hickory and mesquite. If the hickory is split, the wood will split very straight. It is hard and can be heavy.

Mesquite,????????? Not too much of that in Tennessee. Sorry

RandyE

Thanks guys. You know your woods. I tried Cronyism technique and could tell right off the bat Hickory, since it smells like bacon. Thanks to RandyE your responce has helped me identifying apple and cherry. All that was left was mesquite and I think I got that one. I have two fresh racks right now in the refrigerator with some Cookshack rib rub and I have seasoned the 008 twice. So I will fire her up tomorrow afternoon and see how it turns out.

Well the ribs are ready, smoked 5 hours, tender, beautiful, but the taste is like an ash tray. I used only three small pieces of wood one piece of hickory and apple for the other two. They were small about the size of a bic lighter. I was smoking four pounds of baby backs. I like a strong smoke but this is ridiculous. I will only use 1 piece of wood next time since the smoke flavor was overwhelming. I can however see the potencial for some great Q once I get it down.

You should only use about 2oz the first time you smoke ribs. Then you can adjust one way or another without having the extreme results you had on your first try.

I know it sounds anal, but using a scale to measure out the ounces of wood you use really does help. With different woods having different densities and water content it's hard to "eyeball" what 2-4 or 8 ounces looks like.

Well I couldnt resist. I threw out the last batch and have a fresh batch in the smoker now. I used only one piece of wood, apple. I believe this will be the one. I can feel it. I dont have a scale yet but you can bet that is on the list.

Finally success... The key you ask??? Very little wood. My second attempt I used the following
4lbs 4 1/2 racks baby backs fresh cut
2tbsp each of Cookshack chicken and rib rub
1 piece of apple wood
5 hours total cook time at 250. 4 hours in the smoker and texas crutch them with Cookshack spicey sauce in the oven for the last hour.

The taste was excellent. Beyond anything at any of the rib joints around here. Next up: Pork Butt.

Smokin Joe,

Pleased that your apple wood worked for you, but I have noticed very few smoking woods smell like the fruit, nut or leaves that are grown on the tree. The exception to that is BAY WOOD. The same tree used to obtain bay leaves for cooking. The most famous bay leaves being Turkish Bay.

Here on our island and around the gulf of Mexico in Florida, and other states, the tree grows wild and is easy to harvest. Now, when bay wood is used for smoking (mostly fish here) the smoke puts out the same flavor in the fish that you smell when crushing a bay leaf between your fingers. Try this and you will smell the smoke that bay wood will put on your product. The fish of choice for bay wood smoking here is mullet, grouper and redfish. I use it with ribs, beef and pork.

I have tried California Bay, really a laurel tree, and it does not smoke the same as our bay wood. We do cook some soups with California Bay leaves, but never smoke with it.

Smokemullet

Thanks Smokemullet, I am over on that side Florida all the time. My outlaws live in Inglis. I am sure they could point me in the right direction for wood sources. I am willing to give it a try. In my next attempts I am going to give mullet a try so if you have a receipe...

Hey Mullet,

I would agree with your comments on wood flavor on most woods. But I really feel if your familiar with cherry, it lives up to the flavor.

I have cabinet shop and when you sand cherry it has a little sweet smell to it. And when I used pure cherry for a smoking wood (in a stick burner), I could smell that same sweet smell. Does it taste like a cherry pie, no. But it is still very distinctive.

RandyE

RandyE,

No! Randy, have never tried cherry except to make a large bowl to serve Frogmore Stew. I did notice I could smell a little cherry when sanding the bowl. This bowl is perfect for its use as it is 40"L X 9.5"W X 2.5" deep, with NO holes in the wood. It took me two years to find the piece of wood to make it.

Another name for Frogmore Stew is Low Country Boil and consists of potatoes, corn on the cob, crab bodies, seasoning, sometimes clams and lots of peel your own shrimp.

Smokin Joe, I use whole mullet cleaned from the top down with the stomach skin intact, scales left on, salted with Kosher salt, black peppered and let set at room temperature for 30 minutes. Smoked in the AmeriQue at 190 for about four hours with 6 oz of Bay Wood. We make mullet dip and like the meat soft, not dried out. The locals use off-set type smokers and use logs of Bay Wood.

Smokemullet