Wood Question...

Smokin' Todd

I was informed on friday that one of my co-workers has a maple and oak tree(both have been dead for almost a year) that he wants to get rid of. I know oak can be used for good smokin', but what about MAPLE?--if so what kind of foods suit it best? I really hope i get responses that it is a good wood to use because with all the wood he has I wont have to spend a penny on wood for a long, long smokin' time:)
Thanx in advance:)
ST- E2K impatient:)

Spin

Smokin' Todd,[p]Sugar maple is a common smoking wood and is quite nice. There are many different varieties of oak and maple. Each provides its own unique flavor to the meal. Give the wood a smoke test to see how it can be used as a spice to the meal.[p]Spin

Dr. Chicken

Smokin' Todd,
You're doing exactly like I do! I've got black walnut, hickory, burr oak, maple, apple and soon cherry, peach, plum and an assorted 65 other fruit trees. I plan on planting a few pecans this spring. They say upper zone 5 and I'm upper zone 6 so they should be ok! It sure beat buying the stuff! I figure I'll never have to buy smokin' wood again.[p]Dr. C

Unknown

Smokin' Todd,
Both are probably fine. Wood for smoking is at it's best
from 6mos to 2 years from the time it comes down (these
trees are dead now, take that into consideration).
After they dry out to much they lose flavor. If you have ever used kiln dried wood it adds very little flavor.
Jim

Grumpa

Dr. Chicken,[p]I hate to be the bearer of bad news but somewhere in my 50 years on earth I heard that the Black Walnut is not recommended as it contains some nasty toxins. Possibly someone here could confirm or correct me if I heard wrong.

Smokin' Todd

Dr. Chicken,
I have been smoking meats for only baout 2 yrs now, but havent really paid much attention in "smoking vocabulary" until recently(i pretty much threw the wood on the coals and looked at my watch) Can u please elaborate on this "Zone" term? Thanx in advance
ST(and a good place to

Smokin' Todd

Spin,
Thanx for the feedback.
Generally, wHat is maple good for? Beef? Fish? pork?
ST(and a place to B and

Grumpa

Smokin' Todd,[p]The term "zone" is for planting in different regions on the country and does not relate to smoking. Planting zones run north and south and are numbered according to the high and low temps for each region.

Grumpa

Smokin' Todd,
I believe you will find it nice with any of those. I especially like it with pork.

Ol Ribeye

Smokin' Todd,
Go for both woods - I use maple all frequently for hams and bacon - if you've never smoke-rendered a slab of thick bacon you've not lived.

Char-Woody

Bob, dang, I was gonna tell S'Todd it was similar to O'Zone!!
:-) yer too honest!!
C~W[p]

Char-Woody

Bob, you might be correct, but I would lean toward the use of the outer layer or the complete walnut fruit as being the toxic nasty. Not sure about the actual timber as it is a nut tree similar to oak and hickory. Other's may know for sure!
C~W[p]

Dr. Chicken

Bob,
I never heard of that! I know they give off a toxin in the soil that kills other plants in the immediate vacinity, but not in regards to using it as smokin wood! I got on Weber's BBQ net(a few months back, before I checked out the forum) and asked and who ever answered me back, said I was ok with all of them. I've yet to try any of them, except for the apple. Who can go wrong with apple? Jim Minnion seems to be well connected with WSM and its abilities (notice, no antagonistic remarks!) maybe he can give me an answer? Jim, if you're out there I'd appreciate any input!
BTW Bob, I appreciate you cluing ST in on the "growin zones", my server went down about 4:30 our time yesterday and just got back up sometime this morning. Now you know why the delay in postin' back.[p]Thanks, Dr. C

Dr. Chicken

Smokin' Todd,
I think it was Bob that clued you in on the "zones". I like pecan wood for turkey's, chicken (yes, even a Dr. of Chicken eats them little things! Almost as good as a good steak! Fried, broiled, grilled, smoked! You can't mess up chicken as far as I'm concerned! I use to work in a poultry processing plant. I ran the "kill floor", and I'd kill chickens in the morning, have fried chicken at lunch, go back kill chicken all afternoon, go home & have chicken enchiladas, chicken tacos or chicken & dumplings for dinner!) Pecan wood gives steaks a mild, mellow smoke (no K-O-C, not the mellow kind of smoke yer thinkin' of!)that can't be beat! I have a buddy in Texas that gets me pecan wood on an infrequent basis. That's why I'm gona try and grow my own trees. BTW... if you want to use pecan wood for smokin' and there's no source for the 'real stuff', go to the store & buy pecans in the shell. Soak them in water and use the whole thing to generate smoke! Works fantastic, even if it is a little expensive. Smoke guru's will go to any means, I mean any means to get the right smoke! I haven't looked at your profile to see where your at, but if you're south of the mason/dixon line, you should be able to get plenty of pecan wood for smoking. Try it ST, you won't be disatisfied!
Sorry it's so long in answering your post. My server went down about 4:30pm yesterday and finally came back on line while I was catchin' some ZZZZ's.[p]Dr. C

Smokin' Todd

Dr. Chicken,
hey no need to apologize for the long feedback---i enjoyed reading every word....the more feedback, the better
I live in Jersey, so pecan wood would be hard to come by, but i will definatley give the soaked pecans in the shell a try! Thanx!
ST

Grumpa

Dr. Chicken,[p]I appreciate the reply on the black walnut and what you know about it. Like I mentioned, I have not facts to support my statement but only remember hearing something adverse about the wood. I hope someone can come to our rescue and sya for sure. Until then, I'm leaving that stuff out of my smoking pile.[p]You are welcome on the "zone" reply.[p]