A neighbor is in the process of heavy pruning and possibly cutting
down a sapota fruit tree. Can the wood be used for bbq and/or
smoking? It's still fairly green, but it's hard and dense and seems
to have very little sap. Somewhere on my hard drive I have a bbq and
smoking wood FAQ that describes some of the unusual but usable smoking
woods...but, I can't find it. I've tried Google without much success,
so thought I'd ask on the bbq newsgroup. Internet references to sapota
being the "chewing gum tree" have me a little concerned. But, if it's
usable for bbq or smoking, I'll grab all I can while it's available.

Sonof

"Sonof Ravenson" > wrote in message
m...
>A neighbor is in the process of heavy pruning and possibly cutting
> down a sapota fruit tree. Can the wood be used for bbq and/or
> smoking? It's still fairly green, but it's hard and dense and seems
> to have very little sap. Somewhere on my hard drive I have a bbq and
> smoking wood FAQ that describes some of the unusual but usable smoking
> woods...but, I can't find it.

I've never seen references to using it. Below is some information that has
been repeated often. It does not address your question though. Rule of
thumb is any nut or fruit bearing tree is OK. Take a small piece and light
it. Let it go out and smell the smoke. If it is sweet smelling, it is
probably good, but if it stinks like crap, so will your meat.


Almost any hardwood makes very good coals for cooking. Normally, the denser
the wood, the more lignin, and, therefore, more BTUs per cubic volume.


Most common, in alphabetical order:

Apple/Pear, ash, beech, birch, butternut/walnut, cherry, hickory/pecan,
maple, oak.

Regional and miscellaneous:

Mesquite, alder, citrus, any edible fruit, nut or berry, persimmon,
sassafras, gum, pimiento, grape leaves and vines, hackberry, elm, chestnut,
bay.


Questionable:
China berry/mahogany, Osage orange, teak, tung, madrone, buckeye

Definitely don't.
Poison Oak, Poison Sumac, Oleander, pine and other resinous woods.

Flavor quotient for common woods suitable for broiling, roasting and
barbecuing.

Hickory, and to a lesser degree, its cousin the pecan, are powerful
flavoring woods. A little goes a long way. The wood makes great coals. When
barbecuing or roasting, I use about 20% hickory and 80% oak/apple/etc.

Mesquite has a potent flavor that some like and many dislike. I am of the
latter group. The wood makes excellent coals for broiling and, used in this
manner, does not overpower the meat flavor and become offensive.

Oak is the wood most commonly used for outdoor cooking. It imparts excellent
flavor without becoming too strong with normal cooking techniques. Oak is
outstanding for broiling or barbecuing. I prefer white over red, but use
them interchangeably.

Fruit woods - apple, pear, quince, cherry, etc and maple, beech, birch and
ash are mild flavored excellent choices for barbecuing and make excellent
coals for broiling.

Alder, mulberry, citrus, willow are mild flavored woods that are excellent
for fish, poultry and seafood. They are softer woods and therefore do not
make as potent embers as the harder woods.

Sassafras, bay and pimiento produce identifiable flavors which some might
find intrusive. Use sparingly until you are familiar with the taste.

I agree with Edwin. Just about any hardwood works. I've even heard of
people using corn cobs with good results.

CAS

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

> I've never seen references to using it. Below is some information that has
> been repeated often. It does not address your question though. Rule of
> thumb is any nut or fruit bearing tree is OK. Take a small piece and light
> it. Let it go out and smell the smoke. If it is sweet smelling, it is
> probably good, but if it stinks like crap, so will your meat.

OK, I used a wood carving chisel to cut out a long thin strip...looks
kinda like the joss sticks we burned in the 1960s for odor control. ;-)
It's pretty wet, so I'll have to wait until it dries before giving it
a test burn. Thanks for the info...

Sonof

Sounds good for a test run. But if you plan on really appreciating
what any wood can do, let it age a bit. For the some reason an againg
process of a good six months really makes wood better for smoking and
the smoke is far less pungent. But if you're just testing a little bit
on top of some coals to flavor some meat, I wouldn't worry about it too
much. If you're planning on really showing off with it for friends and
company by using it as your primary fuel in a barrel smoker--you might
want to wait till next spring.

CAS

Sonof Ravenson wrote:

> ... I used a wood carving chisel to cut out a long thin strip...

> It's pretty wet, so I'll have to wait until it dries before giving it
> a test burn. ...

One of the slivers I chiseled out dried enough to burn. The smoke
smells sweet and fruity. I'm anxious for it to dry and age a bit
so I can give it a try. The neighbor I got the sapota wood from
now knows I'm interested in his fruit tree prunings. He left
a small pile of pear tree branches and limbs just inside my side
gate a couple of days ago. He also has apricot and peach trees.
The citrus tree prunings from my own yard work well enough, but
I'm looking forward to the variety this opportunity presents.

Sonof

You're a lucky man. When I lived in Memphis, I had a similar
situation. My neighbor was a wood sculptor. Now, no such luck. I
live in the mountains in California and I'm surrounded by pine.

Sonof Ravenson wrote:

> One of the slivers I chiseled out dried enough to burn. The smoke
> smells sweet and fruity.

A gooood sign :-)

> I'm anxious for it to dry and age a bit
> so I can give it a try.

No need. Just do a bit of a pre-burn prior to adding meat. That will be
enough to knock down the amount of excess volatiles and moisture.

--
Dave
Dave's Pit-Smoked Bar-B-Que
http://davebbq.com/