# maple wood



## jlmacc

Hello guys,
  Quick question here.I trimmed some of my maple trees over the weekend,and have some wood from them.I am not sure what type of maple tree it is,are all maples good for smoking?Thanks again guys.


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## raceyb

Yes, maple wood is prized for smoking. I have some chunks a neighbor gave me and I guard it well.

Here is a list compiled by Jeff, our host, for smoking woods and what to use them on...

http://www.smoking-meat.com/barbecue-woods.html


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## downstatesmoker

Maple works pretty much with anything, but I like it best with pork and fish where sweeter flavors work better.


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## jlmacc

Thanks guys,Are all types of maple trees smokeable then?


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## oneshot

As far as I know, yes, all maple is smokable.....smoke on buddy!!!!


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## DanMcG

Some maples are harder and sweeter then others but there is no bad maple that I found yet


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## mballi3011

As far as I know maple is a good wood for smoking. I have used some chips a couple of times and I like it.


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## travcoman45

The best maple is sugar maple.

Almost all the rest will do nearly as good, only one I don't use is the silver maple an it's a real soft wood.  Otherwise I burn a whole bunch of it in the smoker each year.  Nice wood on everthin, lighter smoke but a touch a sweet with it.  Customers like it a bunch.


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## rickw

I've used it before with good luck. Cutting up a bunch this weekend.


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## jlmacc

Well thanks for the info guys!I am going to find something to smoke and try it out.


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## coyote-1

Be aware of this: Some maple causes billowy white smoke for a few minutes before settling down to blue. Sticks from the maple tree in my backyard do this.

It is NOT A PROBLEM - it is merely the nature of the wood. It doesn't generate creosote, and the meat comes out great.


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## erain

nice seasoned sugar maple heartwood without any bark is great.... all we used to use up here, well till i started using cherry. use apple and pecan occaisionally, oak seldom but its good too. but good maple wood is a great smoking wood...


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## gruelurks

I smoked a butt this week using those maple wood chips from a bag and it was the best tasting smoked butt I've had yet.


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## meat hunter

Like Erain said, Maple is great, and I use it 95% of the time. Its everywhere here in Minnesota. Sugar Maple is best, but I use allot of Silver Maple. As far as billows of while smoke go, preheating your wood or even preburning it will prevent that. Once I learned about heating your wood up first, I never have any heavy white, only thin blue
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. I also remove any bark as it just burns so quickly and just adds to the ash pile.


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## smokeon

The rule of thumb I was given is that if the tree produces something you can eat, you can use it to smoke with.


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## erain

little trick on identifying maples, its been a long time since i heard this but goes like this, look at the leaves and inbetween the fingers of the leaves note the shape of the pocket if it is "U" shaped it is a sUUUUgar maple, if it is pointy or "V" shaped is a silVVVVVer maple...


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## meat hunter

LOL, thats pretty good Erain, will have to remember that one. Are we going to get any snow this year? We are supposed to go ice fishing this January, but by the looks of tomorrows weather, 65 degrees, I'm wondering if Winter is coming LOL.


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## travcoman45

MH, don't wanna bust yer bubble, but I hope ya gotta go ice fishin in a row boat!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  I hate the winter, gotta wear 30 pounds a extra clothes at work everday an yer beat from just movin round!


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## michchef

It's a good thing that maple is a good smokin' wood 'cause I cut 21 of 'em down last Spring. Sure wish I could trade some for some cherry or pecan, but maple grows *everywhere!*


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## oldschoolbbq

Yep, Maple is so cool, it makes a good mild smoking wood when you don't have a lot around,however, if you have an abundance of it(like here in N.Ohio),you could use it as a heat-source wood to extend and compliment other "flavor" woods. I have a seperate stack of Maple I use to help neighbors and stretch my all nighters, but no-one gets my hard to get stuff...
If you have a prominent wood in your area that is good for smoking, grab all of it you can('it' is usually free as it is everywhere.Thus is Maple here.
When you find a friend lacking your easy access wood, barter with it for more exoctics you don't get easily!!! Just MHO!


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## jlmacc

Thanks erain,I will check the leaves out in the morning,if any are left!Bite your tongue meat hunter,lol.I can always wait for winter.I need to meve south but family is up here.


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## meat hunter

LOL. I know what you mean about the extra clothes. When I'll all dressed up on the cold days, I look like the Michelin Man.


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## jlmacc

Well I took erains advice and these are silver maples I have.I also found a site that shows leaf descriptions of the different species.Still good to use though huh?


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## toxie

Can you share the site? I always wondered how to tell the different types of maples apart myself.

Thanks!


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## jlmacc

Not a problen Toxie.Here is the link.

http://www.waterfordva-wca.org/natur...ees-maples.htm


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## toxie

Thanks jlmacc!! I appreciate that.


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## arniek

I routinely use maple twigs and branches from our yard to smoke food on the grill and sausage in our smoker. It always works great!


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## stan r

Is there a difference between the maple wood sold and sugar maple???  My son-in-law say's sugar maple is the best.


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## cedar eater

I make syrup from maple sap. My maples are all Red Maple, but all of the maples are used for maple syrup, including box elder (Manitoba Maple), Norway Maple, and Big Leaf Maple. Many people claim they can taste the difference, but many others claim they can't. That tells me that all of the maples will have very similar smoke.


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## stan r

Thanks for the information, that helps me a lot.


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## barrelcooker

I work at a bbq restuarant i buy some of our cherry wood 20$at a time and i trimmed some red oak logs about thay we re 6 feet long. Tree trimming company comes  along and starts trimming like crazy gots oaks sugar maples and some birch. Mostly sugar maple. Cut the sugar maple into cubes and all my cuts are around 2-10inches.  [GALLERY="media, 440759"][/GALLERY]  
[GALLERY="media, 440760"][/GALLERY]


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## jimmyh

Cedar Eater said:


> I make syrup from maple sap. My maples are all Red Maple, but all of the maples are used for maple syrup, including box elder (Manitoba Maple), Norway Maple, and Big Leaf Maple. Many people claim they can taste the difference, but many others claim they can't. That tells me that all of the maples will have very similar smoke.



I live in Manitoba and I'd like to cut every Manitoba Maple down! It's an absolute weed. If I'd known it was good for smoking I would have salvaged some of the branches that were trimmed from the tree near the power lines in my neighbour's yard. I've played with a little of it in my wood shop teaching days and found it soft and smelly when worked on saws and planers.


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## jimmyh

I live a few blocks down from a rather large custom cabinet shop. The closest building is their door shop and they allow people to come by with a pickup truck and take their scraps provided you are prepared to take the entire bin and not sort through the wood. The most popular wood for cabinet faces is rock maple with a little oak, cherry, alder and walnut thrown in. Most of the scraps are 2-3 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick with random lengths. I'm anticipating that this would be ideal for a stick burner.


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## aaron barnett

Thanks for the info people! My landlord is about to down a huge Maple in my backyard and I was wondering if I could use this to cook.


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## browndirt

I know this is old thread but for what it's worth my two cents Silver Maple I don't believe is considered a hardwood.


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## cliffcarter

Browndirt said:


> I know this is old thread but for what it's worth my two cents Silver Maple I don't believe is considered a hardwood.


Ah, but it is, it is. So is poplar which is softer than most soft woods. Just because it's not as dense as oak doesn't mean it's not a "hardwood" tree.


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## cedar eater

Browndirt said:


> I know this is old thread but for what it's worth my two cents Silver Maple I don't believe is considered a hardwood.


http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/silver-maple/

For the most part, if it is deciduous (sheds leaves in the fall) it is a hardwood tree. If it has needles, it is a softwood tree. There are exceptions, but they aren't maples. Amercan Larch is a hard softwood that sheds its needles in the fall. It is not an evergreen. Northern White Cedar is an evergreen, but it doesn't have needles. It is a softwood.

Red and silver maples are called "soft maple" to distinguish their lumber type from sugar and black maples which are called "hard maple".


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