Cutting your own Wood for smoking...

You can use it right away, but "green" wood is at least 50% water by weight. It will make lots of steam, which might promote creosote formation in the Egg at lower temperature cooks.

I shy away from bark. Not entirely rational, but if there is going to be fungus or lichens, that seems to be most likely where they grow.

Cherry, and some other woods, can have cyanide in them, and from what I've read, that will be in the bark, to prevent bugs eating into the tree. They will have to eat poison first. I'd suggest stripping the bark. The wood will be fine.

If you are cutting your own from a large supply, why not be picky?

Black walnut wood tends to have a "heavy" taste smoke. Sort of bitter, perhaps from the juglans herbicide the tree produces to stifle other plants nearby.
n in the wood.

Poplar and other soft "hardwoods" don't have a lot of lignin, mostly cellulose and hemi-cellulose. I've tried poplar and box elder (the softest maple) and did not care for the flavor. Vaguely like burnt toast, not fire spice.

I'm still cutting slabs off this piece of hickory trunk that I've had for some time.


I then split them into chunks.

I get pecan and peach wood from my in laws property all the time. I pretty much use it as soon as I get it. No need to season and I shave off the bark. 

Peach, pear, pecan, apple, grape vines and some avacado are native smoking fare here in Waghbache, NC.

Aging not required. (I'm old enough).

 Get the amount you need from your stash, slice (anyway you choose) 1-2" thick, shave the bark and smolder them chunks!

Grape vines'; just twist them up.

NPHuskerFL said:

Have a buddy in GA that used to use pecan shells. I can't imagine that being a great flavor but, maybe. I've used trimmings from our Oaks, Cherry and Orange trees. No different than bag-o-wood and I just let it dry out some before I used it. 

Many times I have collected the hickory nuts that our trees drop by the bucket fulls some years. They are hard as wood and burn the same way...the nut meat is minimal so I leave them whole. The only draw back is storing them can be a problem. If outside they must be in a dry area, but squirrels will raid when they want an easy meal. If stored in the garage they can become wormy and attract mice. But otherwise throwing 3 or 4 handfuls of free hickory albeit in nuts works for me! 

KiterTodd said:

Good stuff.   It sounds like there are no big mistakes as long as I avoid pine (obviously) and the walnut.  Best bets being the oak and cherry.  Appreciate all the feedback.   

I read somewhere that  Sweet Gum is AWFUL!! I always thought of it as junk wood so I never even thought of using it to smoke. Tons of it where I grew up, not so much in CT.

bought an apple tree from a guy for $40 cash. It was dead and on the ground. Cut up with my chainsaw, and have a 5 year supply to smoke with. I cut into smaller pieces on my bandsaw, but like using it with the bark still intact.  Awesome smoke flavor on the XL.

Jeepster47 said:

Because of the oil on the blade of a chain saw, I don't use one to cut the individual chunks. 

A large toothed blade in my recip saw quickly reduces logs to smoke chunk lengths.  They cure faster when reduced to ready-to-go-in-the-egg size chunks. Got to come up with a better way to hold the logs in place though while cutting into chunk size lengths.

I got ridiculed years ago about saying the very same thing! The person who will remain nameless here pointed out that chain saw bar oil is not petroleum but vegetable. You might take a look.   

if you find a shagbark hickory you struck gold, i have 6 trees found now i found a small post oak on a conservation site, no idea how it got there, it doesnt belong there, i think a snow plow is going to take it down   maple is a good choice if you have it as well, i usually chip that up small

Pecan for me and lots of it, the limbs get so brittle and will fall off the established trees in a brisk breeze. I haven't needed to cut anything else in years.

I would imagine the flavor profiles that we have come to associate with certain bbq regions has a lot to do with what trees are native to the area and are readily available. Maybe not as much as the sauce itself but a close second?

im ok with mesquite but in tiny quantity. rosemary and grape vine as well, just a hint of it

KiterTodd  black cherry and fruit cherry is good, choke cherry looks too sappy to me, not sure what wild cherry is in your area

I run vegetable oil in my chainsaw to lubricate the chain.  Easier on your boots and clothes (and the environment) to clean.  Google it.