smoke strength of woods?

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susieqz

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Dec 9, 2014
375
14
high plains
i could use some help , guys.  there's a ton of threads about people's fav woods. fun to read but too subjective to be of much help.

i mean, there's a bunch that actually like mesquite.

i really want a strong smoke taste, without bitterness. speaking just for myself, mesquite is too assertive, but fruit woods are too mild. my best results have com from mixed hardwoods.

i just ordered hickory pellets as i read they are strong n good for bacons.

so, if you have some time, what i'd really like is a list of woods from strongest to mildest, please. right now i'm working with a pellet smoker, so mild woods that work for you may not work for me.

all i know so far is that cherry makes the most beautiful bark but tastes like cured meat instead of smoke, mesquite is icky n i get the best results from  some brands of  mixed hardwoods.

i'll use your suggestions to buy pellets.

i see i wrote ''if woods'' in the heading but i can't seem to edit  it. sorry.
 
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good idea, timber. i'll ask him.

i looked at his wood list. there's lots of info there, but not really this.
 
You may want to consider some black walnut, also corn cobs are good, Oak is a stronger smoke than hickory. Beech is a very pleasing wood smoke for my taste for cured and smoked pork but I don't know how it would be for smoke cooked meat. I had some succss with rosemary wood from a winter killed old rosemary plant in my yard. I have some holly wood that I am waiting to try. I read about someone smoking with sugar cane so I wonder how corn stalks or sunflower stems would work. Many years ago sunflowers were grown in Kansas for fuel .
 
thanks ssor. i didn't know oak was stronger than hickory. i must have misunderstood the old threads i read.

thanks for the warning timber. i want nothing to do with anything remotely like mesquite.

i hate that i can't abide mesquite. i've had to cut lots of it, just because it was in my way. it just sits there.

todd just sent me some oak n apple so i have something to play with.  he's awful nice.
 
O.K., here is my opinion. ONLY beech makes the perfect taste in meat or sausage.

Why? Most other woods have ingredients you don´t want in a smoke. i.e. oak has a lot of acid in the outskirts of the trees. Inside is less. (and an old whiskey barrel has none any more)

Meat smoked from other woods - and that is already posted - are tasting like turpentine.

If you want, read the thread "Beech Sawdust" I started. Read the last two post and you will know a lill more. In the US all kinds of woods are used as a result of a lack of beech wood.

And it should be no difference between dust and pellets --- as long as it is 100% beech w/o no other stuff in it. Look at the link KC5... gave me--- interesting
 
 fgh, did you order that beech sawdust from todd?

he's great to do business with.
 
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If ´Todd ´is the guy from the link (I don´t know that) then I have to say: " No" I do not order anything. Reason for that: 1Lb. bag for $6.99 (7 bucks) is by far too much for 1lb of sawdust. I need quantities, means I need more or less 50 to 70 lbs. a month. And $350 or more a month only for sawdust is not feasible. Well shipping is for free for a purchase of more than $35, but only inside the US. For me - living in MX - there is shipping on top of the purchase price. Not an option. Shipping will always be on top if I want a product shipped into MX - no question. But anyway.... $ 7 for a 1 lb. bag is outrages. So far I am producing the sawdust we need by myself. I do have a Mexican working on a saw, converting beech wood - big chunks like entire trees cut to 3 feet in lengths  - into sawdust. But for the quantities we need I was thinking to buy those from a supplier. The problem is: Finding beech in the US. As far as I know there is not much beech (trees) in he US. So that´s a problem b/c only beech is good for smoking. Everything else is only a substitute as pointed out in this forum so many times by other users.. But again: It´s all a question of taste. The one wants heavy smoke taste on his product --- the next one slightly smoke taste. with beech it never happens that you fail the taste. Let the product smoke a little longer for more smoke taste.

Do it shorter for slightly taste. No hassle no tussle. And for some sweetness to your product - which is wanted by some users - add some fruit tree sawdust like cherry to it.

good luck to all.  
 
talk to todd directly. get a quote for what you need. the price/lb will certainly drop for those quantities.

he is tjohnson on this site. send a pm. take you 2 minutes.
 
Beech is a wood typically used in Europe for smoking.  In the U.S., we tend to lean towards woods like hickory, apple, mesquite, alder and many others.  It's basically what woods are available.

About 2 years ago, a group of guys approached me for 100% Beech sawdust and pellets.  Beech wood is called for in their recipes.

I stock 100% Beech sawdust and pellets

No fillers in the sawdust or pellets

No binders used in our pellets

You're welcome to PM me and I can work out a bulk price for 100% Beech sawdust

Todd
 
Beech is a wood typically used in Europe for smoking.  In the U.S., we tend to lean towards woods like hickory, apple, mesquite, alder and many others.  It's basically what woods are available.
About 2 years ago, a group of guys approached me for 100% Beech sawdust and pellets.  Beech wood is called for in their recipes.

I stock 100% Beech sawdust and pellets
No fillers in the sawdust or pellets
No binders used in our pellets

You're welcome to PM me and I can work out a bulk price for 100% Beech sawdust


Todd

Any chance of kiawe pellets!?!?! ;)
 
Hello I am in East Texas, In Texas it depends on what part of the state your in as to the preferred wood. Around here mostly Hickory, Pecan and Oak, you start going West it's Mesquite, Down in the Hill Country, Austin and that Area mainly Oak.  Hickory will give you a strong smoke flavor, which I use and like, My favorite is Pecan, it is a milder smokey flavor.

gary
 
I've never heard of anyone using monkey pod wood for smoking... I do have a couple of them on my property (it's a great shade tree for my cows).
Not very stable!

We had a 4 tier carved Lazy Susan made of Monkey Pod wood, we got at a Drive-inn Swap Meet near Waipahu in 1970.

The whole thing warped so badly in a few years, we ended up tossing it.

Bear
 
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