# smoking with birch wood?



## rdownergarage

i was told birch wood is good to use as a smoking wood? has anyone ever used it and is it safe? from what i hear it gives a light maple taste to the meat. i live in N.H. so i have a crap load of them in my back yard. also using the green or should i season them? ANY INFO would be great..

thank you

Richard D.


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## woodcutter

I wouldn't use white birch for sure it puts out off a heavy black smoke even when it is dried. It is recommended to not burn it in a wood stove because of chimney blockage. Never tried yellow birch but it is a hardwood and burns hot and I use it for heating. I don't know anything about birch food safety.


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## rdownergarage

thank you woodcutter. so can i use it green or do i have to season it? because hell i will cut one down now and debark it and use it right away


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## kusinskij

When I lived in Alaska I tried smoking with Birch (Dry not green).  I didn't care for the taste. It was slightly bitter.


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## rdownergarage

ok thank you Kusinskij. now i know im being a pain! but can it be use green and if not how do i season it because birch gets real moshy sitting around.


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## chilefarmer

Never used birch never use green wood either. Think thin blue smoke, never thick white smoke. Green wood makes heavy thick white smoke. And bad taste. CF


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## woodcutter

Yes don't use green wood for smoking. And like I said, I don't know for sure if it safe or not to use birch. Try the woods that others are using, Fruit woods, oak, cherry sugar maple etc. The A-Maze-N-Smoker site sells pellets and saw dust for smoking. Here is a good link where you may see some of the trees that you have access to.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/68875/types-of-woods-for-smoking

Otherwise try the search bar for "types of wood" or "birch"


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## diggingdogfarm

Wouldn't be my first choice, but you can smoke with birch.


~Martin


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## cliffcarter

rdownergarage said:


> i was told birch wood is good to use as a smoking wood? has anyone ever used it and is it safe? from what i hear it gives a light maple taste to the meat. i live in N.H. so i have a crap load of them in my back yard. also using the green or should i season them? ANY INFO would be great..
> 
> thank you
> 
> Richard D.


Dry white birch burns up very quickly making a poor choice for BBQ wood IMHO. In addition the bark gives off a black, oily smoke when it burns, again, making birch a poor choice for cooking wood.

Birch certainly does not smell like maple when burning so IMHO that that "light maple taste" statement in the Smoking Woods Guide is probably not so. You should look around your yard for some ash or maple instead.


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## rdownergarage

ok this past weekend i smoked with birch ( seasoned ) and i debarked it. it was with chicken, and yummy it had a slight maple taste with a bit blackened color. sorry no pics. plus its all eaten up. again yummy. thank you all for your input it helped. ( no green birch ) haha  next time ( will be soon ) i will take pictures. its a home made webber propane grill turned into a smoker it works REAL GOOD. i have smoked a lot of food on it already. i mostly use mesquite wood (that's my favorite) but i live in n.h. and own lots of land with all kinds of wood no of what i really like grows here. but now i can use birch. bitch grows like weeds around here 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. again thank you all and i look forward to asking and sharing with you all my adventures in smoking with my smoker..

thank you

R. Downer (yes that's my real last name)

p.s. next time i will do lots of pictures and maybe a youtube vid.


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## rolling smk bbq

HI my 2 cents worth, white burch is good wood, i have used it some but i dried it split and covered, and took the bark off from it too, it woked real good a mild smoke, it is a hard wood too , give it a tryyou may vey well like it.

if your looking you aint a cooking


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## arun4urmoney

They use birch wood in europe to smoke with. It should be fine but I've had smoked fish in Germany that was smoked with birch wood and the smoke flavor reminded me of a heavy mesquite.


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## Yayaswhimsicalbrush

rdownergarage said:


> i was told birch wood is good to use as a smoking wood? has anyone ever used it and is it safe? from what i hear it gives a light maple taste to the meat. i live in N.H. so i have a crap load of them in my back yard. also using the green or should i season them? ANY INFO would be great..
> 
> thank you
> 
> Richard D.


We cut down our SILVER BIRCH last summer. It is still a green.  My son uses it to cook our meat all the time.  We have a built in brick fireplace.  It gets extremely hot and smokey! We absolutely love the taste,  it kind of tastes like maple syrup was added to the seasoning.  Good luck and stay upwind if possible, lol


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