As we highlight another hardwood from our offerings, we need to start by pointing out that we are referring to Eastern Alder not the better known Western Alder or Red Alder of the west coast. Eastern Alder is part of the Birch family, with the scientific name of Alnus but the common names for the varieties found in the Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania regions of Eastern Alder (Smooth Alder), White Alder, Red Alder.
Alder is a relatively soft hardwood of medium density. It is most commonly used with fish but I think I need to stress here that really any cooking hardwood can be used with any food item at the discretion of the cook. Many factors play in to how a hardwood reveals itself during the cooking event: rub ingredients, brine ingredients, quality of the meat/poultry/fish, freshness of the food item, style of cooking (over the coals, in the coals, indirect heat, etc.) and most importantly, oxygen flow which feeds the combustion of the wood. Alder provides a neutral coloring to the outer skin of foods which is why it is a favorite for fish. Would this be a first choice for say a steak or other beef item? No, but I certainly like to use it for lots of other things like fruit, vegetables, cheese dishes, and of course, fish.
For cooking, you can expect Alder to perform as follows:
When you’re looking for something on the lighter menu of woods, keep Alder in mind, and explore its lighter heat level and versatility for the more delicate items of cooking.
listen to our blog regarding wood chips for smoking
SMOKY-GRILLED POTATO: OUR #1 CROP GETS A NEW FLAVOR TAKE-As the #1 crop in the world, available all year, potatoes are a favorite for a variety of reasons. Get the nutritional benefit of this abundant vegetable by adding flavor in a different way – cooking it over charcoal and hardwood!
Ingredients for Your Smoky-Grilled Potato Dish:
New red and white potatoes
3 tablespoons of oil (grape-seed, walnut, almond, vegetable, or canola)
I’m using small red and white potatoes. You’ll need a knife and cutting board, as I like to cut these small potatoes in half to allow for maximum wood fire flavoring. I’m going to use a vegetable grill pan but you can use any heat safe pan whether foil, glass, heat-safe ceramic, or cast iron. Cut each potato in half, and place in the grill pan.
Seasoning and Oil Bring Out the Best
Just 3 simple ingredients are needed before the pan is placed on the grill. Drizzle three tablespoons of oil over the halved potatoes, then add coarse salt and fresh pepper. The oil can be grapeseed, walnut, almond, vegetable, or canola, anything you have and prefer. Mix well to ensure each potato is coated, then let rest to allow the seasonings to penetrate before adding to the hot grill.
Charcoal Grill Set Up
Time to get the grill ready. I’ll be using a combination of charcoal and wood – charcoal as the fuel for heat and wood chunks and chips for flavor. Keeping my intake vents open on the kettle grill, I start a chimney full of charcoal. Just one chimney will be needed for the actual cooking. I lay a small line of unlit coals down both the right and left side of the charcoal grate to keep my temperature stable through the cook. I pour the hot coals in the middle then add two Sugar Maple wood chunks and a handful of Wild Cherry Grande Sapore® wood chips on top of the hot coals. On goes the food grate and then my vegetable pan of halved seasoned potatoes.
Once the wood is set up and the food grate is on, the pan of potatoes is added. Put the grill cover on and adjust the lid outtake vent to 1/3 open position. Now, adjust the lower intake vent to the ½ open position. Let the potatoes cook for about 25 minutes prior to stirring. You’ll see the golden hue from the maple and cherry smoke vapor. Be sure to rotate the potatoes on the bottom to the top so that there is even color and flavor to each piece. The total cook time will be close to an hour but each grill and charcoal will perform differently so be sure to watch closely after the first 35 minutes. Remove when the potatoes can be pierced easily with a toothpick or knife tip.
Smoky-Grilled Potato- Full Flavor With All the Nutrition Intact
With all the nutritional value still intake, these golden, smoky potatoes are ready to eat as is or you can include them in your favorite potato recipes. I’ll be giving a smoky edge to my interpretation of a potato curry in our next recipe feature. Take advantage of this popular comfort vegetable and the ease of using a charcoal/wood grill for cooking and give your meals a memorable flavor enhancement.
The Culinary Crew wants you to know…
… that potatoes are one of the easiest veggies to grill or smoke! A minimum amount of effort will yield maximum deliciousness. Go ahead and experiment with a variety of your favorite spices or ingredients when grilling or smoking your spuds. Cilantro, curry, garlic or onion powder and even a touch of cayenne pepper can add a taste zip to these great and hardy tubers. There are many varieties of potatoes and they all do well on a grill or in a smoker but, just remember- the fresher the better!
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on our feature so start the conversation with a comment!
Below is a recipe for Smoke Cheesy Potatoes (serves 6) that have been made at our events.
Smoked Cheesy Potatoes- Ingredients:
1 package frozen diced potatoes or 16 oz. Fresh potato
1 red pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cups of shredded white cheddar cheese
6 tablespoons of butter
1 ½ cups of heavy cream
½ cup of grated parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
In a foil pan, place the diced potatoes, diced red pepper, diced onion, salt, and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Sprinkle 2 cups of the shredded white cheddar cheese over the potato mixture. Mix gently and set aside. Mix the parmesan cheese and heavy cream together. Pour over the potato mixture. Top with the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Place the foil pan on the smoker grate and smoke at 275° to 300° for 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir mixture a couple of times through the cooking process.
These two questions have been quite common for the 12+ years we’ve been in business. What does a cubic foot box of wood weigh? How many pieces do you estimate are in a cubic foot box of wood?
Due to the regulations imposed by The National Conference on Weights and Measures -Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of Commodities, we cannot specify weight on a wood product, even though we are a cooking wood. Instead, when asked about weight, we only provide an estimate clearly stating that wood is not sold by weight due to the variation in moisture level and density of the wood selected.
I can, however, tell you the details that a recent first-time customer posted to an online forum that had me elated!
The Specifics You’ve Asked About Wood Chunk for Smoking
This customer took a lot of time and effort to get to the details about our wood; the packaging and the weight not just of the carton, but of specific select pieces. This customer purchased the Serious Smoker Double Filet Wood Chunk which is our cubic foot carton product with the smallest chunk sizing. We offer an option to select up to 3 wood choices for this carton size, with this customer selecting our 3 most popular hardwoods: Hickory, Sugar Maple, and Wild Cherry.
First, let’s look at this customer’s overall purchase.
Wood Chunk for Smoking- It’s In The Numbers
The packaged hardwood weighed in a 32.5 lbs. A total of 139 pieces of wood were packaged. Of that total, 48 pieces were Wild Cherry, 44 pieces Sugar Maple, and 47 pieces Hickory.
Individual Weights
This customer owns equipment that references specific weight of wood needed to smoke optimally. In this case, just 2-4 ounces of wood is ideal.
Although weights for each of the 139 pieces of wood were not obtained, sufficient sampling was done. Here is what was reported:
the lowest weight of a Wild Cherry chunk (remember, these are all double filet) was 1.5 ounces and the highest was 4.1 ounces
lowest weight of a Sugar Maple chunk was 2 ounces and the highest at 5.7 ounces
lowest weight of a Hickory chunk was 2.8 ounces and the highest at 6.4 ounces
For this equipment user, there was an estimate that 139 pieces of hardwood would provide for some 100 smoking events!
What I loved the most about this report is that it correlates specifically to the density of these 3 hardwoods. Hickory has the highest density of the 3 kinds of wood selected and this is reflected by the weight of the individual pieces sampled. Sugar Maple would be next in density followed by the Wild Cherry, all proven with the reported weights.
What Did You Learn?
Unquestionably, there is a lot of wood chunk pieces in a cubic foot carton! Which means you want to ensure you can use that much wood in a reasonable amount of time to maximize the freshness factor and peak level for function as a smoking wood. Individual pieces will vary in weight even if the dimensions of the pieces are relatively the same. That is the nature of a water-rich material – the water weight influences the overall piece weight.
We are indebted to this customer for taking the time to inform us all of his findings since, by law, SmokinLicious® can’t offer this detail.
We hope you liked this post. We’d love to hear from you so subscribe, comment and follow us on all social media platforms. Keep those suggestions coming for the future information you crave.
More Related reading on “What Wood for Smoking” and other great smoking and grilling tips and techniques
Great beech wood for smoking results are provided from many beech species
Not the most popular of hardwoods in the North American region and certainly it doesn’t have the following in the European market. However, this is still an interesting hardwood to use for wood-fired cooking techniques.
Going Beech! That means your entering the wood family that includes white oak as a relative. Part of the Fagaceae family, the variety we manufacture is Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. Unlike its cousin, Beech doesn’t produce a heavy, pungent flavouring but rather a more balanced, medium toned profile. The common names for the varieties found in the Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania regions are American Beech and Red Beech.
Less temperament than Oak, Beech is considered a rather bland wood to look at. When it is exposed to steam/heat, it takes on a golden hue and that is commonly what the coloring to various meats, poultry, and fish will also show. Keep in mind, like all of our cooking woods, the descriptors used are truly in the palate of the taster. There are no rules that say one wood must be used with a specific food. Experimentation is what the art of fire cooking is all about. And, the region that the wood is harvested from also factors into the flavoring it will provide when foods are exposed to it. The same wood in a western state will not produce the same flavoring as the wood from an eastern state. Everything interacts with the tree: soil pH, growth location, sun exposure, precipitation exposure, etc.
So, take a go at Beech, even if it takes a bit to get it lite. The aroma is pleasant, the burn time is extensive, and the infusion appealing.
The Culinary Team wants you to know …
… although Beech is common in many areas of the world and often used to smoke foods and brew beer in the European tradition, our harvest region of the Eastern Appalachian Mountains has a distinctive balance of soil Ph levels and climate conditions which give our Beech hardwood cooking products a ‘one of a kind’ smoky flavor profile that can be used for a wide variety of foods!
[Fruitwood trees are often sprayed with pesticide to maximize the fruit yield. Spraying of chemical on the bark may not be too good for using in barbecue?]
ARE FRUITWOOD TREES LIKE THE APPLE “SNOW WHITE” BIT INTO?
There is a fierce debate out there about the use of fruitwood trees, specifically apple and cherry varieties, for cooking purposes. As a Company, we frequently get the same question – “Why don’t I see Applewood as an option to purchase?” Here’s the short answer: We do not, and will not, produce our products from orchard-based woods. Our reason is simple – we do not believe in smoking foods over woods that have been or have the potential to be sprayed or growth enhanced with chemicals.
Trees
Let’s review a fact about trees. All trees produce prussic acid, better known as hydrogen cyanide. We feel that humans can use woods produced in nature when they have been left alone, unburdened by the human hand in trying to manage what sometimes is the normal cyclical pattern of nature. In the areas in which we purchase the heartwood for our cooking wood production facility, the varieties of cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L.f.) we commonly deal with are:
Northern Pin Cherry, Fire Cherry,
Wild Red Cherry, and Pigeon Cherry.
Of course, predominately, we bring in Wild Red Cherry. There are many different cherry tree varieties available throughout North America. The main difference in these woods is that our forest trees, the type we manufacture, tend to be on the sweet-tart side versus the sour-bitter. For the most part, hydrogen cyanide is found mainly in the leaves and seeds of the cherry tree. Black Cherry bark is also commonly used in herbal cough remedies.
Opinion:
The dominant opinion is that when used in small quantities, the hydrogen cyanide is a moot issue. Now let’s talk about the smoking application of wood. Cyanogenic compounds WOULD remain a factor in our production of cooking wood. This is because we do not allow our woods to deplete their moisture content to a level that other wood product manufacturers may (what is commonly referred to as “seasoning of the wood”).
For ideal smoking of foods, wood needs to have a moisture level preferably at ~20%. This results in the wood smoldering rather than burning at a rapid rate. The resulting smoke from the plant material provides for that wonderful flavor. Because smoking is done at low temperatures for longer periods of time, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s) found in wood molecules are not stimulated as they normally would be when cooking, say, a steak over a hot flame. Thus, the health risk associated with PAH’s and smoked foods is not considered an issue. The same can be said for ember cooking – using the heat of the residual coals to cook foods.
OUR CONCERN:
Our main concerns regarding woods used for wood-fired cooking methods is to always ensure a bark-free product. Bark does not hold moisture but rather is designed to rid the tree of wastes by absorbing them and locking them into this area. In fact, this is the reason why bark-on woods burn so much faster than bark-free wood pieces. This portion of the tree is responsible for temperature flare-ups, tainted smells, ‘spotty’ appearance of the food’s skin, creosote, an increase in the production of ash. Additionally, once the temperature is increased during wood-fired cooking, heterocyclic amines, or HCAs, are created due to the reaction of the amino acids and creatine with the higher cooking temperature.
In a nutshell, a person is at greater risk of cyanide exposure in treated wood products for home construction than they are when consuming BBQ or other wood-fired foods. Knowing the source of the wood being used in the cooking application is vital to ensure that the necessary steps have been taken to prevent tree disease and pest infestation spread, as well as to ensure that the wood has not been exposed to any chemical/toxin treatments.
It is our hope, that one day soon, inspection of the wood products used by restaurants, caterers, BBQ competitors, and grocery stores who promote smoked and natural-wood fired foods, will occur as normally as food inspections. After all, I think we all can agree that WHAT you cook the food over is just as important as what food you are cooking!
Dr. Smoke- “Enjoy the fruit of the tree because that is what they’re there for. Just be careful when using fruitwood trees from orchard based woods to cook your food.”
BOOST UP THE FLAVOR OF YOUR SMOKER BOX!- People are always in search of that great flavor to food that only comes from hardwood. In fact, it is common for discussions around outdoor cooking to use the terms grilling and barbecuing interchangeably as if they mean exactly the same thing. Let’s be clear – cooking with just LP/Gas is grilling. Barbecue is outdoor cooking over hot coals or wood, whether in lump charcoal form or straight hardwood pieces.
Barbecue vs. Grilling
In an effort for grilling equipment manufacturers to compete with charcoal grills and smokers, many began integrating a wood chip drawer in their units to imply that “barbecue” was possible on a gas grill. If you ever tried these, you likely were disappointed in finding that the intensity of flavor just didn’t compare to charcoal equipment. Then the smoker box was developed with a wide variety of design options from rectangular in shape, V-shaped at the base to fit between grill grates, and venting hole configurations that made claim to more intense smoke penetration. Here’s the thing – no one ever discussed what should go in the smoker box. The assumption was to always use wood chips but I am going to take you on a flavor journey using that box that will open your eyes to understanding cooking with hardwood.
One of the key complaints I hear is that when using wood chips in a smoking box or drawer, the chips don’t seem to give off enough smoke and have a very short burn life. In fact, refilling the box or drawer is often needed to finish a simple food item like chicken pieces or ½ slabs of pork ribs. Wood chunks or uniformed sized pieces of hardwood lend to a much longer burn/smolder rate and give off great flavor infusion.
Charcoal that is produce properly is a fuel and provides heat! Wood adds flavor!
WHY CHARCOAL IS NOT AN INGREDIENT
There are so many methods of getting a message out rapidly given the speed of technology and the many platforms for posting opinions and marketing strategies today. In doing research for a publication, I came across a statement made by a charcoal company that made me a bit … confused.
An Ingredient Not A Fuel
This company claimed that their product was an ingredient, not a fuel!
Not a fuel? That statement is in direct conflict to what charcoal manufacture was designed for – heat.
I realize that when used with 100% accuracy, charcoal will produce no smoke and a consistent heat. We all know that the 100% accuracy is the kicker – pretty much no one is proficient at producing full ignition of the charcoal with stable air intake to maintain the high heat level the product was designed for. What usually occurs is that we start out with full ignition but given the need for longer cooks, we add charcoal and thus, start to fluctuate the oxygen feed. Only during those fluctuations does the production of smoke occur with charcoal.
Non-Carbonized Wood IS Flavor
Charcoal production is the act of carbonizing wood which means all the volatiles of the wood is burned off until what is left is pure carbon or at least a high percentage of carbon. There is no refuting that it burns cleaner, hotter, and more evenly than wood only.
Here are where differences occur though when it comes to types of charcoal.
Lump charcoal is made from various scrap wood sources like furniture manufacture, a wood packaging manufacturer, the flooring manufacturer, and building material scraps. Due to the high level of variation in these pieces, most often there is not 100% carbonization of the lump charcoal production. That’s why you can get some smoke and flavor from that product; when combustion of a non-charred piece occurs, you’ll stimulate organic compounds that produce flavor. Keep in mind, because scrap wood is used you can get other debris in the purchased bag as often this is scooped up from a site and transferred to a production facility, with the scoop gathering anything that may be in the area.
Traditional charcoal manufacture also known as briquets is also made from scrap wood, sawdust and wood chip product. It is known that some manufacturers include a percentage of softwood but for the most part, the product is derived from hardwood. Briquets do have binders added and there are some types that have accelerants added to make them extremely quick to lite. Personally, I can detect those additives and feel they do change the overall flavor when cooking foods over them but you can make that determination for yourself.
Controlled flavor only comes from wood and the best and safest flavors, from hardwood. Charcoal is a fuel, it is for heat, and the only flavor it produces is when meat/poultry drippings fall directly on the hot coals and vaporize, stimulating flavors. Never are flavors stimulated from the briquet or charcoal.
So, Who Is The Ingredient?
If the definition of an ingredient is a substance that contributes or makes up a mixture, then truly hardwood, regardless if it cooking wood form is in chips, chunks, logs, dust or charwood, is an ingredient in wood-fired cooking recipes as it gives off its distinct organic flavor compounds that make up the cell structures. Heat is NOT an ingredient and that is what charcoal is: HEAT! A claim to be an ingredient just holds no truth.
Did you find this post informative? Leave a comment or suggestion as we’d love to hear from you so we can bring the information you’re looking for. And don’t forget, follow us and subscribe so you don’t miss a thing!
Other related reading:
related reading on our blog for smoking with wood.
These are the small bags of wood chips for the technique BBQ Grill & Smoker pan, try the 3 pack or a box!
Welcome QVC shoppers who purchased the Technique Pre-seasoned Cast Iron 11″ BBQ Grill Pan & Smoker over the U. S. holiday weekend (July 4th). Dr Smoke did some research and watched the demonstration of this product by the great people of QVC. During the segment that I watched they recommended the use of Smokin’ Dust® with this unit. While this is true, I would also recommend the use of Smokinlicious WoodChips as well! We have tested other stove top smokers and found that with the heavier “cast” iron pans our WoodChips sometimes perform better than our Smokin’ Dust®
When applying our Smokinlicious Smokin’ Dust® with the Technique Pre-seasoned Cast Iron 11” BBQ Grill Pan & Smoker you may have to add water to make a paste and put it on the bottom tray of the unit. This will prolong the burn life of the Smokin’ Dust® and increase the smoke flavor during the cooking process
We have ordered a unit and will be testing our products in the next couple of weeks. Dr Smoke and the culinary crew will be testing this unit and will be adding information to our “Match your Cooker“ section of our web site. Please check back to Smokinlicious®for updates! Please enjoy your unit!
If you need additional assistance, regarding product compatibility, or tips on smoking,please call 1-800-941-5054
Bon Bar B Q!
Dr. Smoke-create smoked foods with our wood chips for the Technique BBQ Grill & Smoker
What can I tell people about smoking food with wild cherry wood when they have been told there is arsenic in wild cherry wood? They want to know if it is safe. Also, what about the issue of cyanogenic compounds? Is this a concern, and if so, I assume it is a non-issue if the wood is aged a period of time?
Thank you for educating me about the SAFETY of using wild cherry wood for smoking food.
Elizabeth Andress
Elizabeth L. Andress, Ph.D. Professor and Extension Food Safety Specialist Department of Foods and Nutrition The University of Georgia
We never apply THE 5 SECOND RULE at SmokinLicious®
THE 5 SECOND RULE
listen to our blog regarding wood chips for smoking
We’ve all heard it! The infamous 5-second rule. When something falls on the floor, you have 5 seconds to pick it up and still consume it. At SmokinLicious®, that will NEVER be the case. If it falls to the floor, it is NEVER used in our manufacturing process!
You might ask, “Why to apply this rule when we’re only talking about wood, right?” If you understand the basis of wood-fired cooking then you understand that smoke is a vapor. And like any vapor, it attaches itself to anything in its surrounding area. When you cook with wood, you are adding its smoke or vapor as an ingredient to the foods being cooked.
So, do you really want something that has been on the floor for a short period or a longer period to be considered an ingredient in the food you will consume?
SmokinLicious® is unique in this thinking and as a result of this approach allowed our wood processes to be Kosher certified! We handle everything with care and with your food consumption in mind. To us, wood is a flavor ingredient and needs to be exceptionally clean.
Whether it’s our larger cuts of hardwood like our friction logs, barrel logs, and assorted chunk sizes or our smallest product, Smokin’ Dust®, we ensure that the wood never touches the ground or floor. SmokinLicious® developed custom storage containers and air collected systems that preserve the cleanliness of the wood and assure no product is EVER swept from the floor!
Why wouldn’t you want to deal with the leading cooking wood manufacturer in North America? Especially when others are simply recycling their waste wood products.
Don’t you think your customers care about the 5-second rule and deserve to know if you allow it?
Get the peace of mind AND a guarantee with a REAL cooking wood company… SmokinLicious®!
Dr. Smoke does not believe in THE 5 SECOND RULE at SmokinLicious®
The precious forest, source of forest grown hardwoods, covers 513,175 acres (801.8 square miles) and includes the Allegheny Reservoir Natural Habitat.
FOREST GROWN HARDWOODS
It is likely when you have your heart set on some wood-fired cooked foods that you give little attention to the wood that will be required for that cooking event. You may have seen wood smoker chips or chunks available in your local box store and decided that you can always pick those up last minute, to be assured your plans aren’t foiled. Or, you simply plan to go with charcoal chips without considering that this product is made from wood as well. Is the product made from something less than forest grown hardwoods? Smokinlicious® uses only forest grown hardwoods in the production of our entire line of cooking and smoking woods!
Unless you are in a direct county of involvement, you likely have not realized the invasions that are occurring readily to our forests, woodlots, and home landscapes.
To date, here are some of the diseases and infestations we are battling in the USA’s Precious Forest regions:
So why if you are a lover of BBQ smoking chips or BBQ wood chunks (smoking using wood chunks or woodchips) or other wood-fired foods, should issues with bugs be of concern? Because cooking by fire is the oldest known cooking method for humankind. Right now, you may simply enjoy 3 benefits of trees: for shade, for beauty (viewing), and for a flavor to foods cooked on your grill/smoker.
But there are many other benefits to forest grown hardwoods:
Decrease atmospheric carbon by capturing and storing CO2
Improve air quality by filtering pollutants and releasing oxygen
Reduce stormwater runoff and pollutants entering local water bodies
Increase property values by 3-7%
The pollutant removal alone that trees are responsible for provides a human health benefit worth $6.8 billion per year! Trees keep us alive!
As of December 2016, NYS DEC has detected an increased prevalence of Oak Wilt in the state which has no known treatment to contain and kill this fungus. Oak is one of the most popular hardwoods for wood-fired cooking methods.
Please, take the time to source wood for cooking from reputable sources and follow the laws in place in your specific state to ensure we can limit the spread of these pests and diseases, and continue to enjoy the oldest method of cooking: by fire!
With over 60 species of oak hardwood in the USA, this hardwood can be split into two categories: Red Oak and White Oak. It is one of the most popular hardwoods to use in cooking likely because of its ready availability. But as we’ve mentioned before, just because something is available in your area, doesn’t make it a success for all cooking techniques and foods.
Oak is a heavy, strong, and ring-porous hardwood resulting in a coarse texture and prominent grain. Oak hardwood is part of the Fagaceae family of wood. The scientific names for the varieties we manufacture are Quercus coccinea Muenchh., Quercus falcata Michx. Var. Falcata, Quercus muehlenbergii Engelm., Quercus prinus L., and Quercus velutina Lam. The common names for the varieties found in the Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania regions include Red Oak, Spanish Oak, Yellow Chestnut Oak, Rock Oak, Smoothbark Oak.
Oak is considered the strongest in flavor for hardwoods. It is known for providing deep coloring to the outer skin of foods meaning a very dark often black outer skin and it can be overpowering to those who aren’t used to smoked foods. It also is a hardwood that can mold easily especially when exposed to significant variations in temperature and humidity. Additionally, it does not like to make contact with metal which can be a challenge when cutting with metal/steel tools! Oak will show its distaste by producing black streaks on the wood or even coating its entire outside with a black “dye”-like substance.
So, if you are keen on bold flavors and definitely like smokiness to your foods, then oak is a clear winner. However, I do recommend using less of this wood when cooking poultry, fish, fruits, vegetables and herbs/spices especially if you have a gas assist unit or are using lump hardwood charcoal or hardwood Charwood for fuel.
Can hardwood be too dry for wood smoke vapor? Our thoughts for you!
Here are the misnomers:
Wet = Smolder
Wet = Smoke
Dry = Fast Cook
Let’s make one thing perfectly clear – all wood, whether hardwood or softwood, contains water! As a comparative, when wood is dried to ~20% moisture content (MC), it weighs 40-50% less than un-dried wood. This is the direct reason why the National Conference onWeights and Measures – Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of Commodities does not allow for the sale of wood products by weight. It would not be a level playing field for those of us selling this commodity.
So, we know that wood has too much water when a tree is first cut down and obviously will need to dry to some degree before being used for cooking. Why do you ask? Without reducing the water in the wood when burned/combusted, the wood will produce an acrid aroma and smoke vapor which, in turn, will produce off flavors, colors, and textures in foods cooked over wet woods that are consumed.
Can Hardwood Be Too Dry? – You might ask, does it matter how the wood is dried?
Absolutely! There are various ways wood products can be dried with the decision on a drying process usually dictated by what the wood will be used for. Just because you purchase wood chips, wood chunks, logs or even smoking dust for cooking, does not mean that product started out for that intended purpose. Often wood is used first for a primary business like furniture manufacturing, hardwood flooring, or cabinet making. It’s only the secondary wood that is re-purposed for cooking use with a focus on BBQ.
Let’s examine the most likely methods of drying woods for this scenario.
Kiln Drying:Lumber or other wood items that have been dried in a closed chamber in which the temperature and relative humidity of the circulated air can be controlled. There are 3 types of kiln drying methods: low-temperature drying which is below 130° F, conventional electric de-humidification drying, and conventional steam-heated drying which have temperatures up to 180° F. Of the 3, the conventional steam-heated drying system is preferred due to its computerized programming but the high cost of this system makes it less attractive to most businesses.
Air Dried:The process of drying green lumber or other wood products by exposure to prevailing natural atmospheric conditions outdoors or in an unheated shed. There are 3 dominate air drying methods: open yard, shed, and forced-air shed. The first is not held in high regard as the wood is exposed to all the elements making it the longest method of depleting moisture content. The second, similar to the first, has the addition of a roof covering to maintain a precipitation-free environment. The third option is most used although the use of electric fans increases the cost from the other two options, it produces quicker results meaning products can be sold quicker. Remember, the primary purpose of the wood is not necessarily cooking so quicker is better to get it to the primary business’ production.
Warehouse Pre-drying: A very popular method of drying lumber despite higher capital and energy costs, this system can run consistent drying parameters almost 24 hours per day.
Now, knowing many wood producers sell their products first under the guise of another business before packaging secondary or waste wood for cooking, you need to understand where the MC needs to be in order to work for the furniture making, flooring manufacturer, or cabinetry business. These are items that require lower MC and that level across the United States and Canada has an average between 4-13% MC!
Can you imagine putting a piece of wood on a grill’s diffuser or on hot coals when it only has a moisture content of 4%? What do you think will happen to such a dry piece of wood? POOF! It’s gone!
SmokinLicious® developed a method of decreasing moisture content in our hardwoods using a controlled heat method with a re-hydration parameter. Our sole/primary business is producing wood-fired cooking woods- wood chips, wood chunks, logs, smoking dust and our newest product- Charwood! That’s it! We have no reason to reach for moisture content in the single digits and for cooking purposes, you would NEVER want this! The ideal moisture content for cooking is in the 20% range (this is dependent on wood species, however).
We ALWAYS provide you with a moisture content of the hardwoods you purchase from us, so you can be educated about the conditions of the wood for the type of wood-fired cooking you want to do. That is just one of the reasons whySmokinLicious®is a superior product for superior outcome in wood-fired cooking! We will explore for you the science behind the fire and topics to can hardwood be too dry to produce smoke vapor!
More Related reading on the cooking wood question of Can hardwood be too dry?
Well, before you ask that question, you should want to know “What woods are safe to use for smoking?”
Hardwood vs. Softwood for Cooking- Softwoods:
Softwoods or coniferous woods should never be used for cooking because they have elevated sap levels and more air in their cell structure. This causes the wood to burn fast, hot, produce lots of sparks, and produce unpleasant flavors not ideal for flavoring foods. Let’s be clear on what a softwood is: pine, redwood, cedar, fir, spruce, hemlock, larch, cypress. These are all no-no’s!
Hardwood vs. Softwood for Cooking- Hardwoods:
Known as deciduous trees that produce broad leaves, produce a fruit or a nut, and generally go dormant in the winter, hardwoods are the woods to use for cooking and makeup roughly 40 percent of all trees in the United States.
Hardwoods are made up of mostly three materials: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Cellulose and hemicellulose are the basic material of the wood cells; lignin acts as a kind of cell-bonding glue but it is the primary material need for flavoring in barbecue. Lignin contains phenols or hydroxyl groups which are alcohols. As these compounds work together, they produce a preservative action on the food which is antibacterial in nature. Lignin modifies the surface of the smoked food as the wood burns making the food scrumptious!
Hardwood vs. Softwood for Cooking- The Lignin Compound
Although all woods contain compounds which act as a preservative providing both antioxidants and reduction in bacterial growth, there are compounds that are more toxic to people, including compounds like formaldehyde and acetic acid which provide for an overall pH level in wood. Hotter wood fires produce a higher pH level. A good example is mesquite, which produces twice the level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, meaning it has a pH level almost threetimes the level of cooler burning hardwoods like Sugar Maple and Oak. Remember, it’s PAHs that are of concern when you grill or smoke and why foods cooked by these methods can get a bad rap.
Hardwood vs. Softwood for Cooking- Orchard Woods
Don’t forget a point about orchard woods which are a hardwood.
Woods like apple, peach, and pecan are traditionally raised for their fruit and nut production meaning they are commonly sprayed with pesticides in order to ensure a productive tree. Unfortunately, these pesticides are absorbed by the tree and released when burned. That means, you release them into the cooking equipment every time you use them for grilling and smoking.
Ask questions about the wood you want to purchase, read wood packaging and look for hardwoods that are known to be ideal for wood-fired cooking like cherry, alder, ash, hickory, maple, oak, and beech. Great food memories at the grill or smoker are made when you start with the perfect smoking wood! Don’t settle for anything less.
