woods for smoking....

[sweatyspartan]

I smoked some ribs, two fatty's and about 50 ABTs this past weekend in my smoker. I bought a bag of mesquite from Meijer (no access to other wood) and the Mesquite seemed to smoke very well, but didn't throw off the heat that I've found with cherry. Is it possible that the woods give off different heat? It was about 40 degrees outside, but just seemed like I couldn't get it over 150 deg. inside.

Curious as to what woods everyone uses for the smoker.

[HemlockNailer]

Don't know what kind of smoker you are using but the wood is normaly just for smoke not a heat source. Most smokers are either charcoal,electric or propane or a combination there of. Personnaly I like apple wood for fish and hickory for meats. If you are truely using the wood as your heat source you may want to try a hard wood like oak or maple,but watch for flameup. Most guys soak the wood dust or chips in water before hand to promote smoke and lessen the chance of flameup, this of course will cut back on the heat generated. Hope this answers your question.

[sweatyspartan]

the wood is the main heat source for my smoker. Maybe I'll have to push the fire closer to the meat. I'll also try some harder woods.

Thanks

[Riva]

Don't know what kind of smoker you are using but the wood is normaly just for smoke not a heat source. Most smokers are either charcoal,electric or propane or a combination there of. Personnaly I like apple wood for fish and hickory for meats. If you are truely using the wood as your heat source you may want to try a hard wood like oak or maple,but watch for flameup. Most guys soak the wood dust or chips in water before hand to promote smoke and lessen the chance of flameup, this of course will cut back on the heat generated. Hope this answers your question.

Just posted this in another thread: "Just remember, smoke is a flavor agent just like salt and pepper. It is not a heat agent, nor should it be."

Yes, you can "heat" your box with hardwood etc., however you might not get the desired "smoke" results. Many folks now use one of the many varieties of "lump" coal out there and simply lay a few chucks of their selected "smoke wood" on top of it. In fact, there is an Internet site dedicated to reviewing and selling a wide variety of lump coals from around the world. Here's the link: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm.

[Firemedic]

Remember, smoke is a bi-product of incomplete combustion. In order to create more heat, you need more oxygen, which in turn gives you less smoke. By using a wetting agent, such as water, you will inhibit some combustion, and create less heat. So, basically, you need to use a wood for heat, and a wood for smoke. I'd place the smoking wood in a cast iron pan (or something similar) above the heating wood to create the smoke. I hope all this blabbing makes sense......:dizzy::lol:

[Ausable Junkie]

I use a Brinkmann that has the somke tower separate from the firebox. the]
firebox is set off to the side so the heat isn't directly under the stuff to be smoked. Basically, its a smoldering campfire i use to get the job done. I used to soak my wood pieces to prevent flareup but when i got this smoker,
i didn't have to wet 'em. It has good controls for intake and exhaust air. With a few smoke jobs under my belt, i've learned to adjust the smoke exhaust
and the intake vents to keep just enough oxygen to keep things smolderig, no
open flame involved.

When i do stuff that needsto be cooked (whole tukey, pork loin, etc.) I've
learned to adjust the air controls to keep it anywhere from 190 to 250 degrees. All depepnds on what i'm doing. I use a thermometer to watch the
temp of the exhaust air coming out the smoke stack. I gauge all my air adjustments based on the temp i see coming out of the smoke stack.

-almost forgot the original question, i use oak for fish and maple for most of the meats i do.

[Hunt4Ever]

For Meat: mesquite, hickory, apple

For Fish: Alder or Apple only. Alder is the best on salmon.

For Chicken: mesquite

[bombcast]

Alder is the best for everything. Cherry's good, too. I did a batch of ducks with Persimmon- holy crap they were good. Not a big mesquite fan- most of the Texans I know use Post Oak.

I stick to oak for the heat, and wet sticks of whatever for flavor. My oak is aged 3-4 years, so little smoke is given off, and I usually introduce the smoke only during the last 1/3 or so of the cooking time.

It's an inexact science...

[gamebird_guy]

I've heard that it is good for smoking anyone try it? I'm thinking it would give a root beer flavor, there is quite a bit of it growing around Manistee.

[DangerDan]

Yeah, it's used a lot in the south. You'll hear both good & bad about it but I like the taste from sassafrass and hickory. Last year I attended the International BBQ Festival in Owensborow Ky. They called it sassra. Never heard that term before but thats what they were using. Oak,hickory & Sassafrass.

[nashtrash69]

I use oak to get a good bed of coals going and then throw on a moist piece of hickory and if I do chicken I will use a moist piece of apple .I can keep the heat control 190-250 depending on what I am smoking.

[teacup13]

if you are not getting up to temp, there could be a variety of reasons...

air flow, smoker not insulated, wind... many factors

what kind of smoker do you have to start with. are the walls on the smoker thick? 55 gallon drum? old propane tank? old fuel tank? lots of variables

get some hardwood like oak, build up a nice bed of coal, add your other wood for flavoring, thats how i do it, when coals are starting to die, open dampers, add more oak. repeat