Apple Wood score

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lookwow

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jan 3, 2011
126
10
Menasha WI
So i normally get my wood chunks for a local bbq store which chunks up the wood. Its kinda pricey so i figured since I live in an area with about 10 apple orchards within 20 mins of me i should call them. So found a guy who said he would sell me a nice bundle for $10. I dont need much wood since I use a UDS so figured I would pick two buddles and be good for a while. So i show up Saturday and he goes you know I have tons of wood and I dont use it much so if you want you can just take that entire facecord if you load it. I asked how much and he says just load it up and its yours. Had to go get my dads truck to load it all up :)
 
Get to know these growers.  There are times of year when they prune or cut trees.  With correct timing they might let you in there with a chainsaw.  Realize they aren't allowed to have burn piles any more.  It would harm the .....

Oh well,  talk to them.  You might get some free wood with a little work and cajoling.

Good luck and good smoking.
 
I use prunings from my fruit trees and shred them in a heavy-duty garden shredder. 

I just boxed them this last week. What you see here are 18 of the 20 boxes with between 9-10 pounds in each box.

I have a mix of 45% deer apple, 45% pie cherry, 5% pear and 5% stanley prune plum and do bark, twigs and all. It's all good smoke. 

I use the MES analog 30 or my own cob-job pressure cooker smoke generator. The chips turn into charcoal and the next smoke, gets that charcoal, mixed with fresh chips. No need to soak and the chips air dry in my loft in trays or in trays during the wood stove season, under the stove or as this last batch was done, on the garage floor and raked daily to expose new area for about 10 days.

I get your "Sacred Blue Smoke" while it smoulders and smoulders and smoulders.

What I have here, at my age, will last me beyond a life-time but I am a compulsive pack-rat and will probably do more when the opportunity rises. I live by the Polish Rule, "Free for nothing; take and if it doesn't eat; keep it. Works for me!

Yo! Chef Jimmy J...have you used what I sent you yet?  I just did a pulled pork this afternoon with the latest rub that I just concocted.

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Makes me laugh seeing the post office boxes. have a buddy who moved recenty and used about 30 of them. Post office needs to get its shit together. :)
 
Lookwow,

Now you can have some fun experimenting. Look for other fruit trees. Sometimes they have more than apple. You will only need a limb or two, here and there. I got a little anal for a while and used this to control my mix. Some apple here and some cherry there and some oak here, etc.. It's a cast iron corn bread skillet (I think) and it was free at the refuse station's metal bin. The bacon press is cast iron and a free-o too. I use it as a damper/cover. I also use it in the straight cast iron skillet too. Some of the best things in life are free. You are going to gain alot of satisfaction with your apple now, knowing you beat the system and did it yourself like a pioneer. I sat in my chair and looked at my 20 boxes of free chips (almost 200 pounds) as if they are Fort Knox gold. Good luck!

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