Charcoal Question

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dauntless

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Jun 1, 2010
227
60
Groton, CT
I picked up a bag of Hard wood Charcoal today when grabbing some baby backs. My question is do I still add a smoking wood with this charcoal. The bag says it is from Maple hardwood, but I had planned on using some apple or hickory for the ribs tomorrow. What say the Gurus?
 
IT wont hurt to add the apple or hickory with it.
 
MOST hardwoods do not provide enough smoke for traditional BBQ. However, some folks who like low smokey flavor, prefer using hardwoods that give off a small amount of smoke, and not using extra wood(s) for flavor.

I add whatever fruitwood I am using to the fire when using lump. But I like a more traditional BBQ. 
 
HUH? You should use ONLY hard woods for smoking.

Hard woods to me means anything but any of the conifer species i.e. evergreens as most folks call them. There are however conifers that are not evergreen. Or at least one that I know of anyway, it's the Dawn Redwood. 
 
HUH? You should use ONLY hard woods for smoking.

Hard woods to me means anything but any of the conifer species i.e. evergreens as most folks call them. There are however conifers that are not evergreen. Or at least one that I know of anyway, it's the Dawn Redwood. 
The most popular smoking woods are fruitwoods (pecan, cherry, apple, etc.). 
 
MOST hardwoods do not provide enough smoke for traditional BBQ. However, some folks who like low smokey flavor, prefer using hardwoods that give off a small amount of smoke, and not using extra wood(s) for flavor.

I add whatever fruitwood I am using to the fire when using lump. But I like a more traditional BBQ. 
Same here.  Hardwood lump charcoal with a few chunks of whatever wood I'm smoking with....often hickory or apple wood.
 
Thanks for the replies, I plan on using the lump maple coal with apple wood... we shall see tomorrow how it goes!
 
I'd think you are both right.  Hardwood is an angiosperm meaning that the seeds are produced with a covering.  Softwoods are gymnosperms meaning the seeds have no covering.  Softwoods tend to be evergreens while Hardwoods are deciduous.   The density of the wood tends to be heavier in hardwoods but that is not a requirement to determine the type of wood.  One example is found is that Balsa wood is a hardwood.

I guess most fruit trees are hardwoods by definition but I do know that many fruit trees tend to be softer wood.  Peach and Fig come to mind.  Their wood tends to more stringing and less "hard".  Apple and Pecan are hard wood and can be made to make beautiful furniture.  We use a lot of grape cuttings in our smokers and they are not considered trees at all, but vines.

Al
 
Not only fruits but nuts too. I am in great shape out here in California with so many of both around.
 
I am very new to this smoking technique. Actually I quit smoking 2 years this January 21, cold turkey and now here I am experimenting with smoking different meats such as, " a turkey " in my Big Green Egg. I smoked some pork hocks last weekend and used Mesquite chips. Rating between 0 - 10 , I'd give it a 3. Not much flavour or perhaps the Mesquite flavour was over ruled by the garlic junks that I inserted deep into the meat before hand. Don't think I'll use the garlic next time. My wife doesn't care for most of the smoke flavours on the meat I've cooked on the Egg, yet she loves what I used to cook using briquettes on the small Weber.

What could be the difference ?

I love the Green Egg but she'd rather me use the Charcoal briquettes on the Weber.

BigEasy
 
Mesquite from what I've read tends to be quite overpowering in terms of smoke. Try a different wood like Apple or Pear something else.

 
I am very new to this smoking technique. Actually I quit smoking 2 years this January 21, cold turkey and now here I am experimenting with smoking different meats such as, " a turkey " in my Big Green Egg. I smoked some pork hocks last weekend and used Mesquite chips. Rating between 0 - 10 , I'd give it a 3. Not much flavour or perhaps the Mesquite flavour was over ruled by the garlic junks that I inserted deep into the meat before hand. Don't think I'll use the garlic next time. My wife doesn't care for most of the smoke flavours on the meat I've cooked on the Egg, yet she loves what I used to cook using briquettes on the small Weber.

What could be the difference ?

I love the Green Egg but she'd rather me use the Charcoal briquettes on the Weber.

BigEasy
 
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