Just a quick question.. Where do you all get your wood for doing your low-n-slow
smoking of pork, beef,etc? Is it any of the following or something else :

1) Buy it from my local BBQ's Galore
2) Buy it from my local Walmart (or other B&M store)
3) Chop it from my neighbors trees when they're not home
4) Put an ad in Craigslist asking for wood cuttings from certain trees
5) I own my own orchard and cut it down myself & season it
6) I own a tree trimming company and we "use" those trees that are of interest
to us.
7) We go to hurricane afflicted regions looking for fruit trees ripped out of
the ground
8) None of the above (supply your own answer)

Up to now, I've been using #1 since they have the best selection of things other
than Hickory/Mesquite.. I was there the other day and got some small bag of chunk
Oak, Cherry & Maple -- at $8/bag (none available in the big bags). I'm tempted to
put an ad in my local edition of Craigslist asking for people that have fruit trees
and to take their discarded trimmings from these trees for using in my smoker..
The only problem is that I would feel more comfortable if I could identify the wood
by sight to ensure they're not giving me something else that might be nasty for
starters.. Comments?

I was at an Albertson's grocery store the other day and noticed that
they were selling lump.

Nonny

Rick F. wrote:
Just a quick question.. Where do you all get your wood for doing your low-n-slow
smoking of pork, beef,etc? Is it any of the following or something else :

1) Buy it from my local BBQ's Galore
2) Buy it from my local Walmart (or other B&M store)
3) Chop it from my neighbors trees when they're not home
4) Put an ad in Craigslist asking for wood cuttings from certain trees
5) I own my own orchard and cut it down myself & season it
6) I own a tree trimming company and we "use" those trees that are of interest
to us.
7) We go to hurricane afflicted regions looking for fruit trees ripped out of
the ground
8) None of the above (supply your own answer)

Up to now, I've been using #1 since they have the best selection of things other
than Hickory/Mesquite.. I was there the other day and got some small bag of chunk
Oak, Cherry & Maple -- at $8/bag (none available in the big bags). I'm tempted to
put an ad in my local edition of Craigslist asking for people that have fruit trees
and to take their discarded trimmings from these trees for using in my smoker..
The only problem is that I would feel more comfortable if I could identify the wood
by sight to ensure they're not giving me something else that might be nasty for
starters.. Comments?


--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

In article , Steve Wertz wrote:
On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 11:39:15 -0700, Nonnymus wrote:

I was at an Albertson's grocery store the other day and noticed that
they were selling lump.
...
Comments?

Depends where you're located. I get mine at the local grocery
store. They have 6+ kinds of chips and chunks. $6-7 for 1/2
cubic foot.

Most stores out here where I am (Los Angeles area) only carry the main sellers
such as Jack Daniels chips et-al.. You'll not find many grocery stores that
regularly carry chunks or chips -- certainly not 6 different types.. In
general, they don't sell those much to the general public since the general
public doesn't know much about smoking things on their BBQ (assuming average
joe is using a nice shiny gas grill).. I might have to call my local charcoal
place where you can get nice 20# sacks of lump and see if they also sell
smoking woods as well for a good deal..

On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:37:15 GMT, "Rick F." wrote:

The only problem is that I would feel more comfortable if I could identify the wood
by sight to ensure they're not giving me something else that might be nasty for
starters.. Comments?

Get a field guide to hardwood trees, and forego wood given to you
that's stripped of all identifying leaves, nuts, or fruit.

--
If we could live without passion maybe we'd know some kind of peace, but we
would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion we'd be truly dead.
--David Boreanaz as Angel in "Buffy The Vampire Slayer"

I'm tempted to
put an ad in my local edition of Craigslist asking for people that have fruit trees
and to take their discarded trimmings from these trees for using in my smoker..
The only problem is that I would feel more comfortable if I could identify the wood
by sight to ensure they're not giving me something else that might be nasty for
starters.. Comments?

Fruitwood smells like fuitwood. With apple that isn't fully seasoned,
scrape into the green of the bark and it should smell like sour green
apples. Tart and sweet cherry are both distinctive as well, but they
don't smell like cherry. I don't recall peach being very aromatic, same
with plums.

Best bet is to go get it yourself.

-John O

In article , Kevin S Wilson wrote:
On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:37:15 GMT, "Rick F." wrote:

The only problem is that I would feel more comfortable if I could identify the wood
by sight to ensure they're not giving me something else that might be nasty for
starters.. Comments?

Get a field guide to hardwood trees, and forego wood given to you
that's stripped of all identifying leaves, nuts, or fruit.

Are you (or anyone) not able to tell a "log" from an orange tree apart from
an alder tree (for instance) with nothing but the bark to look at? I'm
only asking if this is possible or not.. I guess the only guaranteed way
to do it is if I was the one to trim the tree directly and do it that way..

I've got a rental property with both an Avocado tree (approx. 75 years old)
and a 20-25 year old orange tree.. I'll be keeping the wood products
to use for smoking afterwards next time we do some trimming.. (I gather
that smoking avocado wood is OK, although someone indicated it gave them
cramps or something)

On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:18:59 GMT, "Rick F." wrote:

Are you (or anyone) not able to tell a "log" from an orange tree apart from
an alder tree (for instance) with nothing but the bark to look at?

Yes, particularly the two you use as an example, but not always and
not with all wood. Besides, tell him to "look at the bark" didn't seem
to be the level of assistance the original poster was after.

--
If we could live without passion maybe we'd know some kind of peace, but we
would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion we'd be truly dead.
--David Boreanaz as Angel in "Buffy The Vampire Slayer"

"Rick F." wrote in message
...
Just a quick question.. Where do you all get your wood for doing your
low-n-slow
smoking of pork, beef,etc? Is it any of the following or something else :

1) Buy it from my local BBQ's Galore
3) Chop it from my neighbors trees when they're not home
7) We go to hurricane afflicted regions looking for fruit trees ripped
out of
the ground


Up to now, I've been using #1 since they have the best selection of things
other
than Hickory/Mesquite..

Damn, #1 is the last place I'd get wood. 3 & 7 are possibilities.

I have some trees I can cut
I burn wood for heat so I get plenty of wood that way, but so do my
neighbors. Over a couple of beers, just ask for a couple of logs and you
are set
Fruit orchards trim trees every year and most will be happy to give you all
you want.
I also do woodworking as a hobby so scraps of oak, maple, cherry are often
around. You probably know someone that does woodworking or there is
probably a cabinet shop that will give you some scraps.
Check out the tree trimmers clearing power lines. They will usually give
you some, especially if you stop with a cold six pack of Pepsi.
Check with the town road crew

There really is no excuse to have to pay good money for wood. There are
many free sources if you make even a little effort.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:29:01 GMT, "Rick F." wrote:

Most stores out here where I am (Los Angeles area) only carry the main sellers
such as Jack Daniels chips et-al..

Raises a question--and if I get no answer in this thread, I may make
it a subject line Q: fruit and nut woods are known to be good for
smoking--but does that include *citrus*?
(if it does, I'd think you SoCal and Fla types would have little
trouble getting such)

-denny-
--

The test of courage comes when we are in the minority.
The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.

On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 15:16:44 -0600, Kevin S. Wilson
wrote:

On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:18:59 GMT, "Rick F." wrote:

Are you (or anyone) not able to tell a "log" from an orange tree apart from
an alder tree (for instance) with nothing but the bark to look at?

Yes, particularly the two you use as an example, but not always and
not with all wood. Besides, tell him to "look at the bark" didn't seem
to be the level of assistance the original poster was after.

whispers
"Pssst, Kevin. Rick F *IS* the OP of this thread."
/whisper

Some woods are easy to spot via bark--cherry's a prime example of
that. Now, there's currently a stack of cut wood at the back corner
of my duplex's lot--I *think* it's alder, but I'm not sure. And the
tree was dying when I moved in, so there really never was much chance
to ID it. I think I'll cut one small chunk and set it to
smoking--either it'll smell like smoking wood, or it won't.

On the subject of cherry wood: some very good friends had a neighbor's
cherry tree fall on their house. I, unfortunately, didn't find out
about it 'til the wood had been hauled away. Dammit!!!!

-denny-
--

The test of courage comes when we are in the minority.
The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.

On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:37:15 GMT, "Rick F." wrote:

Just a quick question.. Where do you all get your wood for doing your low-n-slow
smoking of pork, beef,etc? Is it any of the following or something else :

2) Buy it from my local Walmart (or other B&M store)
Hickory, mesquite, yes--WM or HD mostly.

3) Chop it from my neighbors trees when they're not home
Never thought of that. I should run up the block to the lot that's
had its house razed; maybe there was also a suitable tree taken
down...

4) Put an ad in Craigslist asking for wood cuttings from certain trees
That's a thought. Haven't done it, but I might.

8) None of the above (supply your own answer)

I have some maple, cherry, and peach wood that Dave Bugg gave me when
I went to Wenatchee last year.

I don't know if there *is* a BBQ Galore around here. checks website
Nope. Northern CA is a bit far to go from NW WA, for that.

-denny-
--

The test of courage comes when we are in the minority.
The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.

In article , Steve Wertz wrote:

There's a restaurant supply place in Santa Clara that people shop
that supposedly also carries wood. I thought they also had a shop
in Southern CA somewhere, but can't remember the name of it.

Any of these ring a bell (from googlemaps) :

o RestaurantDepot
o Keystone Restaurant supply (only one location from what I gather)
o Bernies Restaurant Supply
o Santoro's R.S

Perhaps if you can later recall what the name is you can let us know..

You could try la.eats if you haven't already. Tell Arnie that we
in ba.food all said 'hello'.

Am I looking for wood suppliers there? Just curious as it seems a bit
out of place for a food newsgroup.. I'll check it out anyway.. Thanks!

In article , Denny Wheeler wrote:
On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:29:01 GMT, "Rick F." wrote:

Most stores out here where I am (Los Angeles area) only carry the main sellers
such as Jack Daniels chips et-al..

Raises a question--and if I get no answer in this thread, I may make
it a subject line Q: fruit and nut woods are known to be good for
smoking--but does that include *citrus*?
(if it does, I'd think you SoCal and Fla types would have little
trouble getting such)

Yup.. the following I snitched off one of the BBQ FAQs:

"ORANGE, LEMON and GRAPEFRUIT - Produces a nice mild smoky flavor.
Excellent with beef, pork, fish and poultry."

I guess I might have to put out some feelers at work to see if anyone
has any fruit/nut trees that need trimming.. (8-

In article , Denny Wheeler wrote:
On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:37:15 GMT, "Rick F." wrote:

Just a quick question.. Where do you all get your wood for doing your low-n-slow
smoking of pork, beef,etc? Is it any of the following or something else :

2) Buy it from my local Walmart (or other B&M store)
Hickory, mesquite, yes--WM or HD mostly.

Yup.. My mistake- - first time I ever smoked anything was with Mesquite.. That
was the biggest mistake I ever made.. I happened to pick the worst (strongest)
flavored wood for smoking from the get-go and my wife (and kids) didn't like
the results either (nor did I) -- so, the smoker was put out to pasture not too
long after that (this was several years ago).. Too bad they sell Mesquite and
not something a bit more mild.. Does it really get used by that many people to
justify it being *almost* the only smoking wood at most HomeDepots? I've
still got my original bag and put small pieces in my SmokePot when doing my
low-n-slows once in a while.. Ultimately, I'll probably find a good home for it
(hint -- if you're in the So-Cal area, let me know and you can have my bag!)

4) Put an ad in Craigslist asking for wood cuttings from certain trees
That's a thought. Haven't done it, but I might.

I put up an ad today.. We'll see if I get any takers or not.. Oops.. I just
checked my email and got one reply already -- someone wanting to know what I
was going to use it for! I guess I'll have to fill him in on it.. Too bad I
don't live near too many orchards like my parents do (peach,apple, nectarine,etc)
I might have to call one or two of the growers up there (small ma-n-pa places)
to see if they can keep some of the wood for later p/u. Hmm...

I get mine from a hardwood sawmill. I buy a bundle of slabs for $25-30.
The oak is 25, hickory or maple is usually 30. I can get 2-3
bundles on a flat bed truck, but even one bundle would not fit on a
regular bed truck!


--
Greetings from the Hog and Hominy State!