What wood to choose

oldmangunner · 05-31-2011, 07:26 PM

The way I understand it, hard wood burns slower and soft wood burns faster. With that being said, which wood is the best to cook over?

Refrigerator · 05-31-2011, 08:12 PM

Hickory, Oak, Maple, Cherry, Apple.......

jason · 05-31-2011, 08:21 PM

You really do not want to cook over soft woods like pine. It will release chemicals that will ruin the food.

I like to use old whiskey barrel chips. However, oak is great and pretty universal. Citrus does great for seafood. And there are a ton more. I think I have a list of what type and what food to pair together. Will try to post it when I get back there.

dinosaur · 06-01-2011, 06:19 AM

Not to contradict, but willow is a soft wood and is excellent for cooking and smoking. Of course it's gopher wood. That's what we call wood that burns quickly. Every time you turn around it's time to "go pher wood".

ChadTower · 06-09-2011, 01:38 PM

I have cooked over soft wood a hundred times. Your food isn't over it long enough for creosote to build up. You're generally cooking over the coals, anyway, and by then all that stuff has burned off. You can't BBQ food over soft wood but general grilling works okay. Hardwood coals are preferable but don't pass on grilling because you're in a pine forest.

Grandpa · 06-09-2011, 01:43 PM

Pine,fir, spruce, etc are about all we have to work with. Maybe thats why I'm so much bigger on dutch ovens than open fire cooking.

ChadTower · 06-09-2011, 01:53 PM

I think the key is to not throw new wood on while the food is cooking. If you're going to get creosote food that's how it will happen.

rockin · 06-12-2011, 07:46 PM

This is something I never really thought about. I know we have cherry, oak and maple logs at the house - so we use one of the 3. We have never cooked on pine wood - it's too sappy.

You are right though - you cook on the coals usually.

oldmangunner · 06-15-2011, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChadTower

I think the key is to not throw new wood on while the food is cooking. If you're going to get creosote food that's how it will happen.

I never thought about the either! That is a great point. Everyone made some very informative points. I think you have to consider both safety and taste!