# What kind of maple?



## SmokinLogs (Aug 6, 2018)

I was hoping you guys could help. My neighbor has this maple tree and had it trimmed last year and still has a bunch of logs already cut and seasoned from it. I don’t know what type of maple it is. I know sugar maple and some other types of maple are good to smoke with. I’m just hoping I can get an ID in this. Sorry the pics aren’t great. It has some vines growing around it so I know that makes it a little harder to ID. Any help would be great. Thanks!


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## cooker613 (Aug 6, 2018)

SmokinLogs said:


> I was hoping you guys could help. My neighbor has this maple tree and had it trimmed last year and still has a bunch of logs already cut and seasoned from it. I don’t know what type of maple it is. I know sugar maple and some other types of maple are good to smoke with. I’m just hoping I can get an ID in this. Sorry the pics aren’t great. It has some vines growing around it so I know that makes it a little harder to ID. Any help would be great. Thanks!



Looks like a silver maple. Don’t know if it’s good for smoking. How does it smell?


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## SecondHandSmoker (Aug 6, 2018)

Could be a silver maple. These old eyes really can't tell from the pics.   But if you are wondering if you can smoke with it,  see this thread.      
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/silver-maple-for-smoking.112643/


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## chopsaw (Aug 6, 2018)

Big leaf on a maple is a soft wood tree .


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## SmokinLogs (Aug 6, 2018)

Tonight I will pull a limb off so I can get a better look and a better picture of the the leaves. Thanks guys!


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## dave schiller (Aug 7, 2018)

Pretty sure it's red maple.  But it doesn't matter, all maple is good to smoke with


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## SmokinLogs (Aug 10, 2018)

Sorry it took me awhile to get back to this. I’m going to guess silver maple now that I have some leaves off it. They are dark green on top, silvery green on the bottom, 5 lobes with jagged ridges on each lobe. Let me know your opinions. I could be mistaken.


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## dave schiller (Aug 10, 2018)

You are correct; it IS Silver Maple.  My bad. :oops:


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## Bearcarver (Aug 10, 2018)

Any Hardwood Maple is Great for Smoking.

If those vines are "Poison Oak", make sure you don't smoke with that. I wouldn't handle it too much either.
I never got Poison Ivy, but I've gotten poison Oak more than my share, from climbing trees in Archery season!!!

Bear


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## chopsaw (Aug 10, 2018)

Said it above , big leaf maples are soft wood . That is a soft wood maple . Me ,,, I would not smoke with it , others would .


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## daveomak (Aug 10, 2018)

I've smoked lots of meats and salmon using Big Leaf maple on the north west coast...  Very good wood for smoking...


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## dave schiller (Aug 11, 2018)

Chop, you're confused.  In standard forestry nomenclature, softwoods are defined as being conifers while hardwoods are broadleaf, often deciduous, flowering trees.  Some conifers are harder than some "hardwood" species.  Hardness is measured by the amount of pounds required to press a steel ball (.444" dia) into the wood to half the ball’s diameter. This number is given for wood that has been dried to a 12% moisture content.  And the old adage that the best hardwoods for smoking meat are those that produce edible fruit is a myth.  Do you know anybody who eats acorns?  Or maple samaras (the botanical name of the fruit of all maples)?


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## motolife313 (Aug 11, 2018)

If u got some seasoned ready to burn just try 1 cook with it with small amount of meat. Chicken thighs or 1 rack of ribs. Give it a try and report back. There’s a lot of different spices of maple by me so I just stopped getting the maple and go for other woods. I’ve got plenty of maple and I use it for outdoor bonfire cooking, works great! I tried some in the smoker once and meat tasted good! But though it was really a mild smoke flavor


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## chopsaw (Aug 11, 2018)

dave schiller said:


> Chop, you're confused. In standard forestry nomenclature, softwoods are defined as being conifers while hardwoods are broadleaf,



Yes I understand that . In the area I live it is common to refer to maples as hard and soft depending on the size of the leaf .  That's why I said " soft wood maple "


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## SecondHandSmoker (Aug 11, 2018)

motolife313 said:


> If u got some seasoned ready to burn just try 1 cook with it with small amount of meat. Chicken thighs or 1 rack of ribs. Give it a try and report back. There’s a lot of different spices of maple by me so I just stopped getting the maple and go for other woods. I’ve got plenty of maple and I use it for outdoor bonfire cooking, works great! I tried some in the smoker once and meat tasted good! But though it was really a mild smoke flavor


That is good idea. Though, I would use some cheap hot dogs instead...that's just me being me.


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## dave schiller (Aug 11, 2018)

Chop, I have a good friend who is a retired forester, living in Hannibal.  He always referred to hard maples or soft maples.  Drove me nuts because I never knew what species he was talking about.  I am a botanist and prefer to use scientific names to avoid confusion.  Turns out that his hard maple is Sugar Maple and soft maple is Red Maple.  Yeah, one is harder than the other, but they are both hardwoods.


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## chopsaw (Aug 11, 2018)

I agree with you . Just habit for me because that's how it's thought of here . Thanks .


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## dave schiller (Aug 11, 2018)

Must be a Missouri thing.o_O


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## chopsaw (Aug 11, 2018)

dave schiller said:


> Must be a Missouri thing.


Maybe ,,,


Bearcarver said:


> Any Hardwood Maple is Great for Smoking.


Could be a PA thing . 

Maybe just a thing ,,
https://www.wood-database.com/wood-...between-hard-maple-and-soft-maple/#difference

I think it comes from wood working / cabinet shop mind set .


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## Bearcarver (Aug 12, 2018)

chopsaw said:


> Maybe ,,,
> 
> Could be a PA thing .
> 
> *I think it comes from wood working / cabinet shop mind set *.




I think that's true.
The one that confuses most people is the wood I used for paint grade cabinets or when I built cabinet frames to be laminated.
That would be Poplar---Which is actually a "Soft" Hardwood. We used it for those kinds of cabinets, because it was virtually "Knot-Free", and was great for milling.

Bear


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## SmokinLogs (Aug 12, 2018)

Thank y’all for all this great wood wisdom!


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## Supertrucker (Sep 29, 2018)

I'm a new owner of a Lang 36 and big leaf maple is all i have used until this last brisket.  Maple is kinda mild, but tastes really good . Maple sticks with hickory chunks was the best brisket so far. I live in Oregon so hickory is in short supply out here.


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## daveomak (Sep 29, 2018)

I have used cords of Big Leaf Maple and I really liked it..


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