# I cannot tell a lie



## hog warden (Dec 6, 2009)

Actually, no need to. My dad helped me chop down the cherry tree. A mulberry, pin oak and some pecan limbs too. Or rather, I helped him.

I went up yesterday to be on hand to skin deer if the bambi killers got lucky (no joy), and decided it would be a good time to cut down some stuff for smoking meats. He has a highly modified Royal Oak, I have my UDS and others.

Behind my folks house, in an old hog lot fencerow, is what most folks would consider brush. Elm, redbud, hedge trees, but also a bunch of mulberry and wild cherry. We took down a few limbs:



From just a couple limbs, we came up with this stuff:



I have never used mulberry, but it better be good. It is a royal pain to cut. It's all grown together, has small limbs to trim and binds the saw.



Later one, we moved to trim up the pecan tree above, along with some brush growing under it, which turned out to be a few small pin oaks. All totaled, it came to nearly a pickup load. Between the two of us, about a 2 year supply of smoke. 

Later today (not safe to fire up a chain saw on Sunday morning) I'll block up a  few sticks of these into 2 inch long pieces and split those into smoking sized chuncks. They will dry out well enough for smoking in a few weeks vs. the several months the full sized sticks will take. They will be stored inside my garage, dumped into milk crates and stacked along one wall.

Nothing glamorous, but easy and cheap. Apple and hickory on tap the next time.


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## raceyb (Dec 6, 2009)

I'm impressed. Very nice looking wood.  I just got back from Lowes a bit ago where I paid $8 for a bag of chunk Hickory. They had small 2lb bags of Apple chips for $5, the crooks...


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## rod guy (Dec 6, 2009)

Great looking wood. I'm lucky I guess I have several members of the wifes family in the tree trimming business so I can get all the seasoned wood I want any time I want for just the drive to there houses. Last month I picked up a bunch of hickory and apple while at a hay ride. I'll be going back the end of the month for some more.


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## rickw (Dec 6, 2009)

Would it be wrong of me to say; you have some nice looking wood


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## fire it up (Dec 6, 2009)

That is ridiculous how much they can charge for a bag of wood at those places.  I'm glad I found a farm that sells the wood from their orchards.
This much wood runs me around $12.
Mostly oak and cherry but they also have apple and peach.


Athough nothing beats free wood, and nice selection you have too Hog.


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## got14u (Dec 6, 2009)

I sure wish I could find some wood around my parts...I can get some crabapple and apple trees but nothin much...But I do have as endless supply of sage brush..lol..great score and well worth the work


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## hog warden (Feb 1, 2010)

Did a slab of ribs on the grill yesterday, and decided to try the Mulberry....a first for me. Those chunks I cut up and split were already dry.

Anyway, I found mulberry smoke to be sweet like apple and cherry, but also hints of "smoky" like pecan. In short, a very pleasant smoke and very good color and flavor on the ribs. 

Dried out, it's light and "fluffy"....not dense like cherry and the others, so it burns faster, but overall, very good. I'll use this more often on pork and poultry. Will probably use it for the next breakfast sausage cold smoke too.


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## rickw (Feb 1, 2010)

I too really like Mulberry, it also burns real hot. I like using it in the offset.


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## travcoman45 (Feb 2, 2010)

Get that all seasoned up an yer gonna have some great smokes outa that!


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## beer-b-q (Feb 2, 2010)

Nice to have a free source for wood...


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## fire it up (Feb 2, 2010)

Nice to know the smoke/flavor profile of mulberry.  Will definitely try if I ever come across it.


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## vince (Feb 2, 2010)

One of the reason I smoke with mostly red oak and then add a little pecan,hickory or mesquite for added flavor. 

I can get oak for a really good price around here.


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