# Pear wood



## patriots

I have a pear tree in my yard that I am going to cut down. Is this good for smoking, and how long should it sit before it will be good to use in the smoker. Real new at this.


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## beer-b-q

Any fruit bearing tree is good for smoking.  

As for drying, I think it should season at least 6 months, others will be along and give their opinions as to time also.


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## downstatesmoker

I've got some pear wood sitting in my garage for the last couple of months.  Was going to wait at least a year before attempting to use it.  Still have to split it, just not a job I enjoy or am good at.

Anyone got tips on splitting wood :)


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## Dutch

Pear wood is good. As for seasoning, split it, stack it and lit it sit for 6 months be for using. Check the ends of your splits and if they show signs of cracks, then you're good to go. Splitting your wood will speed up the seasoning period.


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## jdsmith

what about flowering pear?


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## Dutch

Any of the flowering varieties of fruit trees will work as well. Check out this link. Woods for Smoking List


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## mballi3011

Pear is very good wood so all you have to do is cut it split it and let it dry and if you have alot of it you could trade it here for some wood you cann't get around you.


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## patriots

Is maple good for smoking


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## jdsmith

Hey Dutch, while we're on the subject........ I just got a half a truck load of wood delivered to me.  Half cherry and half oak.  But it was pretty much a full truck load actually.  For $40 I thought it was a steal.  Only problem is (and why he gave me extra) is that a small amount of the cherry seems to be a little soft.  The bark has fallen off also.  There seems to be just a small amount of softness to it, but still, is this ok?  The rest of the cherry looks real good.  It's gonna take awhile for it to season though.  I'm splitting it up even more to fit into my firebox and stacking on a shelf in the garage for a few months.

But as far as the stuff that is a little soft, what say you Dutch? (or anyone else knowledgeable in this)


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## travcoman45

Yup, use it all the time.  Just stay away from real soft maple, like them silvers.  Otherwise there a lighter smoke an a bit sweet.


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## rickw

I use a lot of cherry and if I come across a soft piece I would use in a camp fire but not smoke with it. 

I also use a maple and it is great for smoking.


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## smokewood

One of the main factors depends on how you store your wood. and the temperature.

In the UK it rains about 9 months of the year.  We store all our logs indoors with good air circulation, otherwise you can get spores or mould growing on the wood, which is not ideal.  I have found that if you leave them in logs or it can take 9 - 12 months to dry depending on how big and thick the logs are.  However we split the logs into manageable splits about 18 inches long and about 6 inched wide and stack them with good ventilation, and these take about 4-5 months to dry.  We cut them into fist sized chunks and bag them in into 10 Kg netting bags and stack them with good ventilation and they dry out within 3- 4 months with the final moisture content about 12 - 16%  If you leave the above logs even longer the moisture content will only drop to around by another 2 or 3%. I hope this information helps


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## jirodriguez

Yup pear works well. My folks have a small 6 tree orchard of pear, peach, and apple - the save all the pruning's for me and I dry them for 6 months to a year, then use them in my smoker.


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## ryman36

try it green. we have been using austrailian pine (not really a pine tree its a lite oak) cut the tree down and put right on fire smokes like crazy.any nut or fruit tree will work for smoking.


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## bigdnaz

When I was rather young my grandfather used to use pear and cherry wood for smoking.  He mostly had Pear Trees on his property and once and awhile he'd lose one to a bad frost, cut it up, and he'd use that for smoking venison sausage or the turkey for thanksgiving.  My tastes has since refined from those days but I don't remember it tasting bad.  As far as curing/seasoning the wood, I am sure six months to a year is about right but I wouldn't honestly have a clue.


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## vaquero01

Pear will be fine...and to answer your follow up about Maple....heck yeah. Split now if you can, if you want to wait and split after drying....that does make it a tad easier. If you want to speed up the drying process (this is relevant for all wood drying) stack loosely on a pallet, cover with a sheet of clear plastic (painters drop cloth) leaving the sides open and set where it gets plenty of sun....change or wipe off the plastic periodically as it will gather moisture. Also as a quick side note...remove the bark prior to smoking, the bark contains tannins that will impart a bitter taste to your smoke.

Good Luck


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## raimond

_*Since MJ is now legal in a few states, would the trunk and branches be any good for smoking?*_

_*Not quite sure why I thought of this question...*_


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## srynew

DownstateSmoker said:


> I've got some pear wood sitting in my garage for the last couple of months. Was going to wait at least a year before attempting to use it. Still have to split it, just not a job I enjoy or am good at.
> 
> Anyone got tips on splitting wood :)


Pretend that the board is your boss / ex-wife / bad neighbour, etc.  It always helps me and much cheaper than a shrink.


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## mfreel

Fruit-bearing pear is good.  

Wood like a Bradford Pear is not.


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## raimond

I imagine that like an apple tree there would be very little of the "Fruit" within the wood... I would vote for "Happy Dogs".


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## rfjoinery

Why would you say Bradford Pear is bad? Sure, they have good and bad qualities in the yard but it's beautiful wood. Have first hand experience smoking with it?


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## hyattbd

Sounds like Borers to me. They have killed most of my Almond trees and a plumb tree before I knew what they were. Usually have small pimples where the bug gets under the bark.If this is what you have. You need to either burn it pretty quick or shred it as the Bores will get in your trees if you have them. OK to smoke with just hurry up and use up the soft stuff.


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## nicholson

It's an excellent smoking wood. Several companies package it in chunks for resale. I'd say you'd probably ought to let it season for a few months.


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## dannyarterberry

I cut down a pear tree and was wondering the some thing. A friend of mine said any fruit tree is good wood to use. I let it set for about six months before I used any. The smell an taste was excellent. It's a great wood to use. Just don't use it to soon after cutting it.


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