# Questions about wood



## chevydude26 (Sep 20, 2013)

I cut down a huge tree in my yard an i dont know what kind it is..i'll post a few pictures and also can you smoke with fresh cut wood













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## waywardswede (Sep 20, 2013)

Do you have a picture of the leaves?


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## chevydude26 (Sep 20, 2013)

there was no leafs on the tree


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## chevydude26 (Sep 20, 2013)

how long do you have to season wood before you can smoke with it.


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## kathrynn (Sep 20, 2013)

Chevy.....I don't know how long you have to wait....but I have learned from SMF....you don't want to smoke with fresh cut wood.  I figure some of the Wood guys will pop in with their 2 cents in a little bit.

Kat


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## sqwib (Sep 20, 2013)

Contrary to popular belief, some use green wood for smoking.

However, I am not sure of their process.

I will split wood and use it after a few seasons if the wood was split small enough.

If your tree has been dead it may be somewhat dried already, If you cut a piece, split it and toss it in the fire you will get some foaming or liquid stuff ooze out of the end, this would need to be seasoned longer.


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## sqwib (Sep 20, 2013)

Will this wood be fuel or for adding smoke flavor?


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## waywardswede (Sep 20, 2013)

You can sometimes tell a tree from the bark, certain trees are easier than others.  Can you give a little more information?

What was the approximate size of the tree? (diameter of main trunk and height)

Do you have a photo of the tree before it was cut down? (the shape of a tree can be distinctive)

Can you supply a couple more photos? (this one is a little blurry).  Take one of the main trunk then another of the branches about 4-6" in diameter.

With having no leaves I'm assuming this tree has been dead for awhile?  Are there any small branches left that show the terminations?  If so, take a picture of those, too.  I'll try to help out, but it may be nothing more than an educated guess.


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## cliffcarter (Sep 20, 2013)

Your picture is way too blurry to get a good idea of what the bark looks like, try and take another.

For the record I have used unseasoned apple wood chunks for smoke flavor. You can place it on hot coals or bury it in unlit coals if you use the Minion Method. Gives you a nice thin blue smoke with the added benefit of a slight bacon taste on the fattier bits.


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## gary s (Sep 20, 2013)

Welcome and Hello from East Texas

Gary


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## tyglover (Sep 21, 2013)

I use unseasoned fruit wood chunks like apple, bradford pear, peach, any stone fruit tree, cherry, etc. And I've never had a problem with them coating whatever I'm smoking with a bitter taste. I just split them, cut them into fist size chunks and let them go. But, if it was an oak or hickory or something like that, I would let it season for awhile.


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## chevydude26 (Sep 21, 2013)

Hi gary


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## chevydude26 (Sep 21, 2013)

I'll take a few more pictures tomorrow morning and post them as soon as i can. I've been very busy.
:grilling_smilie:


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## gary s (Sep 22, 2013)

Not to sure about fruit wood, I know hickory, oak, pecan,  mesquite needs to be seasoned, at least for me. I find that if these woods are seasoned for about a year they have a real nice flavor and not that bitter harsh taste you get if they are green, my two cents worth. But BBQers are a diverse group, different parts of the country like different things. So it is really up to you to decide what flavors you and your family enjoy. I cook with more pecan and hickory. I like the fruit woods too, I have used apple, cherry and peach. ( I can get peach sometimes because we have quite a few peach orchards around here) I enjoy trying different woods.

Gary


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## chevydude26 (Sep 22, 2013)

here are some more pictures













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## waywardswede (Sep 23, 2013)

From what I can see of the bark I would GUESS yellow birch, although I don't remember the wood being that color when split (could be the lighting in the photo).  There's so much lichen it's tough to see the bark, and obviously this tree has been dead for awhile.  At this point that's nothing more than a wild guess.

As long as it's not punky I would probably be OK burning it in a stove or a fireplace (it's a northeastern hardwood regardless), but if it were me I probably wouldn't use it in a smoker.


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## cliffcarter (Sep 23, 2013)

Definitely not yellow birch, the bark is more like oak or mature maple, but the wood does not show the diagnostic brown heartwood of maple. My best guess is oak of some kind.


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## chevydude26 (Sep 26, 2013)

So, i got good news. I found today that it is oak. My friend brought his buddy over that knows wood. He couldnt tell me what type of oak it is but i finally know what type of hardwood it is.


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## gary s (Sep 27, 2013)

Hello, I use mostly hardwood down here in the Great State of TEXAS, I let mine season, just don't care for the flavor the green wood puts out. Pretty much everybody I know and all the BBQ joints around here uses seasoned wood. There are all kind of opinion's on how long to season different types of wood. I found a website (don't remember which one) Just google "seasoning wood" and they have a pretty good guideline. On Oak, Hickory, Pecan, Mesquite I always go a minimum of 10 months but I like a year. Not that depends to on where you live here in East Texas we have a lot of hot days so the woods dries out pretty good. Anyway, hope this helps my two cents worth.

Gary


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