# Any woods besides conifers not to use...



## hoyoguy (Aug 10, 2010)

Just wondering if there was any wood not to smoke with besides conifers, cedars etc?  Thanks in advance.  Tim


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## mballi3011 (Aug 10, 2010)

I wouldn't use woods like pine, of course any treated lumber, and then make sure that the woiod is dry wet or green wood will build up on the inside of your smoker and thats not good. Now there's a section here on woods that you can use in your smoker. Use the wiki option.


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## hoyoguy (Aug 10, 2010)

Thanks.


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## ak1 (Aug 10, 2010)

Pine, Spruce, Fir, Hemlock, Cedar...

Pretty well any evergreen is not recommended, simply because most of those woods have a lot of sap and will give off weird flavours when smoked


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## walterwhite (Sep 14, 2010)

I've heard elm is not good, though I've never actually tried it. My neighbor has Chinese elms growing like weeds and there is a large (American?) elm I need to take down so maybe I will.


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## dick foster (Sep 14, 2010)

All are conifers which he has already excluded. Conifers are basically all evergreen trees. Not necessarily always but as a rule of thumb.

I would say keep it to mostly fruit and nut trees like hickory, oak, pecan, cherry, apple, peach, apricot, pear,  etc. with maple and alder being exceptions. I don't think either of those are included as a fruit or nut tree.


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## stircrazy (Sep 14, 2010)

not that I would use it personaly, but why not Ceder?  the natives up here have used ceder for hundreds of years to dry meat and fish.

Steve


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## shooterrick (Sep 14, 2010)

stircrazy said:


> not that I would use it personaly, but why not Ceder?  the natives up here have used ceder for hundreds of years to dry meat and fish.
> 
> Steve


Planking and open air use of Cedar is a different animal than the closed concentrated method inside a smoker.  I have seen personally individuals who did not understand this end up in the emergency room from concentrated wood antigens in unsuitable species for smoking.  Even though you see green mesquite used in open air grills by chefs the use of not dry green mesquite can cause problems for sensitive individuals.  Stick to hardwoods and fruit woods.  They are safe and lets face it, why take a chance.


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## alblancher (Sep 14, 2010)

WalterWhite,

If your Chinese elm is the same thing we call Chinese elm,  groups of hard green seed pods that have a milky astringent sap I would definetly stay away from it.


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## cliffcarter (Sep 15, 2010)

Here is the link to the wood list on this site. It is the list used on most BBQ related sites that I have found.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/guide-for-woods-used-to-smoke-food

Its earliest iteration can be found here(at least by my research)-

http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq/8.html

I find that this site has the most comprehensive information-

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/woods.html#appropriate


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## stircrazy (Sep 15, 2010)

ShooterRick said:


> Planking and open air use of Cedar is a different animal than the closed concentrated method inside a smoker.
> 
> Stick to hardwoods and fruit woods.  They are safe and lets face it, why take a chance.


well this is why I am asking, they make a smoke house and use ceder in it..  so untill joining here I have always thought ceder was fine.  now is there a difference in the different ceder types?

I do use only fruit and a couple hardwoods so I am not taking a chance, just trying to learn more about why some woods are no good.

Steve


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## ak1 (Sep 15, 2010)

Cedar is fine/ and it isn't!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Basically, in an open air smoke, or a short (time) grill, like planking, it's OK to use. In the enclosed atmosphere of a smoker you'll have problems on a long smoke.
 


stircrazy said:


> well this is why I am asking, they make a smoke house and use ceder in it..  so untill joining here I have always thought ceder was fine.  now is there a difference in the different ceder types?
> 
> I do use only fruit and a couple hardwoods so I am not taking a chance, just trying to learn more about why some woods are no good.
> 
> Steve


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## pokey (Sep 15, 2010)

As a boater, I'm always running into teak and mahogany (well, not running into, but you know what I mean). Anyway, I believe these are both referred to as hard woods, but I'm assuming not suitable for smoking. Teak sawdust is considered toxic in the workplace.


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## walterwhite (Sep 15, 2010)

alblancher said:


> If your Chinese elm is the same thing we call Chinese elm,  groups of hard green seed pods that have a milky astringent sap I would definetly stay away from it.


I don't think it is the same. The one here (near Chicago) has seeds about 1/2" across that have the seed in the middle like a bulls-eye with a fin around it. They're mostly like flat little disks.

-walt


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## stircrazy (Sep 15, 2010)

AK1 said:


> Cedar is fine/ and it isn't!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


makes sence, I am going to have to ask my buddy.  his parent still smoke salmon in the traditional way, and from what I remember it is 3 days in the smoke house.  but the smoke house is a log frame with cedar brances all over it to make the walls and roof, then they just start a cedar fire in the middle and let it go....  maybe they are doing something different also?

Steve


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## shooterrick (Dec 31, 2010)

Pokey said:


> As a boater, I'm always running into teak and mahogany (well, not running into, but you know what I mean). Anyway, I believe these are both referred to as hard woods, but I'm assuming not suitable for smoking. Teak sawdust is considered toxic in the workplace.


I would not use them for smoking.  Funny thing about mahogany.  It seems to be referenced both as a hardwood and also in Wikipedia as a relative to some Cedar species under softwoods.  I should have been more specific when mentioning hardwoods.*   Most* American hardwoods are fine if edible fruit nut bearing.  That said I would not select walnut for myself.  I just dont care for walnut.  It is a personal taste thing.

While I am not familiar with every species I understand many have used Alder, Hackberry, Elderberry, and even Mulberry.  I have used apple, cherry, crab apple, pecan, red and white oak, Hickory, and peach and pear.


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## tucsonsmoker (Jan 28, 2011)

I just got done pruning my pomegranate tree/bush.  Any information on on using that wood after it dries?


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## les3176 (Jan 28, 2011)

I belive you can use any type of fruit tree wood.


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## jjwdiver (Jan 28, 2011)

hmmmm.. Now I'm wondering if Papaya would work?  Anyone???


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## tommerr (Jan 28, 2011)

Now here is a flyer for you. I have walnut trees in my area. How about using the nuts for smoking??


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## brokenwing (Jan 29, 2011)

Okay not to hijack this thread but what about sassafras.  I have a boat load of that!


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## cliffcarter (Jan 29, 2011)

tommerr said:


> Now here is a flyer for you. I have walnut trees in my area. How about using the nuts for smoking??


Why not smoke the nuts and eat them instead?


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## lennyo (Nov 8, 2014)

Can cedar wood be used for smoking a butt?


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## daveomak (Nov 8, 2014)

/





LENNYO said:


> Can cedar wood be used for smoking a butt?




Where do you live....  Helps to answer a lot of questions....   

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/


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## cliffcarter (Nov 9, 2014)

LENNYO said:


> Can cedar wood be used for smoking a butt?


The short answer is no.

The long answer is that cedar is used for cold smoking salmon and fish is cooked on cedar grilling planks, however these two facts do not mean that you can successfully use cedar smoke over a long period of time to BBQ a pork butt.


DaveOmak said:


> /
> Where do you live.... Helps to answer a lot of questions....
> 
> http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/


The list on the site is misleading IMHO because there are many commonly used smoking woods listed, such as ash, maple, oak and black cherry. It also appears that the irritant/toxic effects are from the dust created from wood working.


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## bluewhisper (Nov 9, 2014)

What about old wood? Some nice piece of apple or whatever that has been out in the weather long enough for the bark to rot off. When is a good log too old and dody? Or what about old wood that has been in dry storage - not rotted, just a few years old?


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## daveomak (Nov 9, 2014)

Aged and seasoned hardwoods/fruitwoods are excellent....


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## ak1 (Nov 10, 2014)

BlueWhisper said:


> What about old wood? Some nice piece of apple or whatever that has been out in the weather long enough for the bark to rot off. When is a good log too old and dody? Or what about old wood that has been in dry storage - not rotted, just a few years old?


It's fine to use.


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## welshrarebit (Nov 14, 2014)

jjwdiver said:


> hmmmm.. Now I'm wondering if Papaya would work?  Anyone???



Papaya is a very soft wood and not suitable for smoking. Guava is a good tropical wood (I've heard it's very similar to apple wood but I've never used apple wood so I don't know). I don't know what kind of trees you have there but I use kiawe (Hawaiian mesquite), guava, ohia and coffee wood a lot. I, just this past week, also got mango, avocado, candlenut (I don't know if this is okay to smoke), and some mesquite that was imported and is growing at one of our resorts.


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