Smokinlicious® Smoking Wood TipsASH- I'LL TAKE MINE WITH AN OLIVE!

Ash will tantalize your smoke with a Mediterranean flare

I’LL TAKE MINE WITH AN OLIVE!

We’re off to introduce you to Ash- another hardwood that may not be as well known for cooking as some of its siblings in the hardwood family. But this particular wood, in my opinion, is one of the hidden gems of the hardwood forest.

Ash hardwood is part of the Oleaceae family of wood which is the family of olive trees. The scientific name for the variety we manufacture is Fraxinus Americana L. but the common names for the varieties found in the Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania regions include American Ash, Ash, Biltmore Ash.

This hardwood is so versatile in the kitchen whether indoors using wood chips for stovetop smoking, cold smoking, or handheld food smoking or outside in the traditional smoker, LP grill or pizza oven. It can be used with any food for natural wood flavoring/smoking; essentially, any wood-fired cooking technique. The flavor profile is on the light side making it ideal for most any food but in particular, it works great with wood-fired pizza and fish due to its lower moisture level and ability to form the most even bed of coals. I really like using Ash wood chunks for ember or coal cooking as nothing beats how this wood lays the perfect small dimension bed of embers.

Ash provides a neutral coloring to the outer skin of foods. This wood mixes easily with other hardwoods and fruit woods, particularly Hickory, Maple, Cherry, and Alder. It can even tone down the harshness of pungent woods like oak and mesquite.

ASH ATTRIBUTES IN WOOD FIRED COOKING & SMOKING:

Heat Level: High – 23.6 MBTU

Fuel Efficiency: Good to Great

Ease of Lighting: Fair

Ideal Uses: Baking/Grilling/Roasting/Braising/Pit Roasting/Hot Smoking/Cold Smoking

Why not consider leaving the traditional hardwoods for your wood-fired cooking and flavoring and enjoy the awesome benefits of the lesser known Ash hardwood tree!