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Ash - Any good for smoking?

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gmac
gmac Posts: 1,814
in EggHead Forum
With the Emerald Ash Borer plague that has gone through my area the last couple years there a thousands of dead ash trees around here. I can pretty much cut all the dead ash I want and I’m gonna knock down a couple for firewood but I was wondering if there was anyone that had used it for a smoking wood?

I expect it will be pretty neutral and inoffensive but also lack any real character beyond “smoke”. But I’ve been wrong lots before as well so if anyone has any experience or thoughts please let me know. 
Mt Elgin Ontario - just a Large.
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  • alaskanassasin
    alaskanassasin Posts: 7,663
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    Toss some on the pit and let me know! 72 dead ash in a little over a acre.
     I have been using almost exclusively hickory limbs and apple limbs harvested locally.
    South of Columbus, Ohio.


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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,393
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    Have a look at the linked chart as it is pretty neutral as you surmised:  
    http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/Downloads_files/SmokingFlavorChart.pdf  
    I can recount too many issues in a previous life with Louisville Slugger and the EAB but this is the smoke wood deal...
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • kaybee
    kaybee Posts: 120
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    I chunked and dried some last year that was left over after EAB clearing. I did not get a distinctive flavour from it other than 'smoke' as you expected. Kind of like Alder in that respect. Maybe useful for fish or something that appreciates a light hint of smoke but I wasn't impressed enough to bother getting more even if it was free.
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  • gmac
    gmac Posts: 1,814
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    kaybee said:
    I chunked and dried some last year that was left over after EAB clearing. I did not get a distinctive flavour from it other than 'smoke' as you expected. Kind of like Alder in that respect. Maybe useful for fish or something that appreciates a light hint of smoke but I wasn't impressed enough to bother getting more even if it was free.
    Thanks everyone. I’m gonna get some campfire wood anyway so I will give it a try but I think I will need to mix in something else if I want any sort of character. 
    Mt Elgin Ontario - just a Large.
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,491
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    Why do the braincells with the most offbeat information survive?  I remember this from cub scouts!  Sadly, it doesn't address barbeque directly...
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_ZBSevMRO0
     

    _____________

    Tin soldiers and Johnson's coming...


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  • EggNorth
    EggNorth Posts: 1,535
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    Around here I don't think we are allowed to keep the infected trees, must be cut and disposed of by a certified professional.  Not sure if that is a fact or sales pitch.
    Dave
    Cambridge, Ontario - Canada
    Large (2010), Mini Max (2015), Large garden pot (2018)
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  • alaskanassasin
    alaskanassasin Posts: 7,663
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    I think it’s illegal to transport infected firewood but I don’t know anything other than signs I have seen roadside.
    South of Columbus, Ohio.


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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,393
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    EggNorth said:
    Around here I don't think we are allowed to keep the infected trees, must be cut and disposed of by a certified professional.  Not sure if that is a fact or sales pitch.
    Sounds like a sales pitch but I have no clue regarding GWN regulations.  For starters how are they gonna know what's kept, burned etc.  I know Big Data has a lot of info but ash trees??  =)
    A few years ago as @alaskanassasin notes you could not transport the wood outside quarantined areas.  I suspect that the level of exposure and spread of the borer means the most affected states just preclude export across state-lines but I am no longer in the middle of the whole thing.  Regardless, it is  a serious issue and one that has been declared too difficult to solve by any level of gubmint.   
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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