Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Apple wood for smokin'

Options
mncrackedegg
mncrackedegg Posts: 5
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Long time "lurker"...first time poster. Wanted to THANK everyone for their helpful posts over the past 2+ years. I purchased my LBGE about 2 years ago and you will have to pry it from my cold dead hands in order to take it away from me. I love this thing...my wife claims its almost as bad as the disease called "GOLF" eggcept much tastier....AND the bonus of my BGE is that I get to use it all year long!

Now to my newly aquired stash of Apple chunks for smokin'....Last weekend my neighbor trimmed his Apple tree so curious guy that I am I stopped over to see what his plans were for the larger sticks....to make a long story short...I scored about 5 years worth ( 2 heaping wheelbarrows full of Applewood for SMOKIN'! Only problem is....it all needs to dry before I can use it.

I split it all up into "lump" size pieces...Anybody have any clever ways of speeding up the drying process...would love to hear them.

Thanks!
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker
    Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker Posts: 3,743
    Options
    you can use it right away, frankly. have you tried it green? many folks swear by using green wood, believe it or not. some especially advocate using fruit woods green INSTEAD of seasoned.

    give it a shot. be sad to wait a year if you didn't have to.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mncrackedegg
    mncrackedegg Posts: 5
    Options
    Never even crossed my mind...but, makes perfect sense. I'll give er a go this weekend. THANKS
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Options
    If you decide you don't like it green, keep the rain off and let it get as much sun and air as possible. Easy to do if you have a stack of lumber you want to air dry - not so easy to stack and sticker fist sized chunks. :)

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

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Mr. & Mrs Potatohead
    Mr. & Mrs Potatohead Posts: 2,037
    Options
    We just had a good discussion about green / dry smoke-woods here a bit ago.
    I like mine dry, but that is just my opinion.
    But to answer your question:
    To speed a drying process, just stack it so it has plenty of air around, moving through it and covered from the rain.
    In other words, stack it don’t just make a pile, and cover it on top, but do not enclose it..
    Good Smokin’ to you.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • FearlessGrill
    FearlessGrill Posts: 695
    Options
    I just got a whole apple tree, and have been cutting up the wood for turning and smoking. I haven't tried using any of the chunks green yet, but I will.

    In terms of drying, you have two choices. One is to let them dry naturally, which can take quite some time, at least for getting wood to woodworking quality. Even for firewood, you typically need to let it 'season' for at least 6 months, depending on climate. Cutting it into small pieces certainly helps with the drying process. For my chunks, I've loaded them into the lids of cardboard printer paper boxes, and I move them outside on sunny days to speed the process, and they live in my barn otherwise. They seem to be drying nicely and quickly.

    Another option is to build a small wood-drying kiln. You can either do a solar kiln, which just uses heat from the sun to speed up the drying process, or use a dehumidifier to pull the moisture out of the wood. You can find simple plans for both with a quick web search. Probably overkill for smoking wood unless you're selling it, but you asked...

    Hope this helps,

    -John
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker
    Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker Posts: 3,743
    Options
    i only recommend it due to my own impatience and generally laissez faire attitude about these things. got a milk crate filled with green applewood from a friend, and rather than have it sit there staring at me for a year, i started using it right away. i won't use it all up anytime soon, so in a year i'll ALSO have seasoned wood.

    i haven't ever encountered very strong off flavors or bitterness. but i don't doubt some folks prefer it milder and seasoned.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mncrackedegg
    mncrackedegg Posts: 5
    Options
    THANKS Everyone for the Great TIPS! Much Appreciated...
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mncrackedegg
    mncrackedegg Posts: 5
    Options
    THANKS Everyone for the Great TIPS! Much Appreciated...
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ranger ray
    ranger ray Posts: 812
    Options
    i keep mine in milk crates.... they can be stacked neatly and the air circulates around the wood...
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Cruezn
    Cruezn Posts: 317
    Options
    You bring up a good point. To date, I've always used well dried woods for smoking, as most everything I have read said to use it after drying for 3-6 months. However, I do remember seeing on Pitmasters that Myron Mixon was using fresh cut peachwood to smoke with. It was used the same day it was cut.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Options
    haha, yeah, but he also uses lighter fluid!!

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

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker
    Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker Posts: 3,743
    Options
    you will have one guy screaming that oinly dried wood should be used. another that the best flavor is with green wood.

    like a lot of things food related, there's hyperbole and prejudice mixed with tradition and folklore. tough to get a straight answer with all that :)
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • grillmandan
    grillmandan Posts: 270
    Options
    If the wife will let you, put them in the oven spread out on a baking sheet for one hour at 275d.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    Options
    Why not the egg :huh:
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueHorseShoe
    BlueHorseShoe Posts: 54
    Options
    I use green fruit woods. There is a lot of flavor in the smoke from the sap. I was taught to use green wood from Myron Mixon of Jacks Old South.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories