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got some apple, cherry, and hickory - questions

glousteau
glousteau Posts: 124
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Went to a friends hunting camp this past weekend for some R&R. While there, he cut me a piece of apple, hickory, and cherry from trees on his property. The apple and cherry still have green leaves on it, the hickory had fallen a while back.

My question is, do I need to wait for this to dry out before using to smoke with on the egg? or is it ok to use it when it is green?

Should I remove the bark and only use the interior wood, or does it matter?

I've never used apple or cherry before, whats the best thing to cook that will really show off the apple and/or cherry flavor?
thanks

Comments

  • PhilsGrill
    PhilsGrill Posts: 2,256
    You should let green wood season for at least 9 months. Let it sit and then enjoy.
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Chop it into the size chunks you want, put them in a sunny place and let them air dry. The smaller the chunks, the quicker it will dry. Good air circulation will speed the process and keeping it out of the rain would be good too. :)

    The general rule for air drying lumber is 1 year per inch of thickness. Shouldn't take anywhere near that long for pieces that small. After a while, light up a chunk and see if it spits at you. If you don't let it dry, it's going to spit and steam rather than smoke when you try to use it.

    And yes, remove the bark.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    green/dry, bark/no-bark...

    you'll get vehement answers on both sides, which only proves all options are open. if you were using logs to fire a stick burner, you might wanna go with dried, but a few chunks won't do anything bad if they go on green.

    heck, was watching a show on the food network about an old revered road-side stand and the guy said he used nuthin but green. some will tell you it'll make it bitter, or coat things with creosote. bah.

    smoke 'em if you got em.

    heck, i use straight bark off the shagbark hickory tree, and it's sweeter than anything else i've ever used.

    you just don't want punky, damp, rotting, wet, insect filled wood.

    anything else is fair game.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • My experience is that bark is bitter, with oak,cherry and apple. Debark before drying.
  • Kokeman
    Kokeman Posts: 822
    When I need some more hickory I take some pulled pork to work for a bribe. A coworker goes out into his woods a cuts me off a branch. I cut it up and split into nice size chunks. I leave the bark on and start to use when ever i need it. It lasts 5-6 months never noticed any difference from some I had that was a couple years old when I first got my egg.
    IMG_8195.jpg
    I use hickory on pork and beef. It has a strong flavor.
    I use apple on poultry. It is not as strong and poultry absorbs smoke more. Apple with pork is a little sweeter and not as strong.
  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,566
    +1 on what Carolina Q said. Burning green wood will produce creosote and leave a bad taste.
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    well. that's what "they" say.

    i haven't experienced it, certainly not in th eamounts used in an egg. and there is plenty of evidence to suggest it is more of a 'rule' passed along from one guy to the next without it ever really being tested.

    it sounds logical, but that doesn't mean it's accurate. not to nit pick or cause trouble. it's just that there are a lot of these logical sounding bits of wisdom that get passed along without ever really being questioned.

    used green lilac on lamb the other day. very mild.
    have used green fruit woods as well, bark on. there is no negative effect, certainly not in a BGE. at least not in my experience. same for bark. tight bark is fine. you won't see anyone cleaning bark off of cordwood at a roadside stand....
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante