A couple of months ago I finally got round to chopping down the nasty apple tree in the back yard. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could use the wood to smoke some pork?
According to an episode of Good Eats I saw when it was on, you should use sawdust instead of chips for smoking. I don’t really have any practical way of turning the logs into sawdust (or chips, for that matter). The ‘logs’ are a foot or so long. Many of them are only an inch in diameter. Some of the others are around three inches in diameter, and a few of the others are four. The bark is on, and much of it has moss and lichen growing on it. (The ‘moss’ isn’t bushy. More of a green sheen.) Even if I had a chipper/sawdust maker, it would be a lot of work to remove the bark or even scrape the green stuff and lichen off of it.
Is there any way I can use this wood for smoking? Or should I just go with the original plan of burning it in the wood stove next Winter?
I use chunks or split logs only for smoking. Chips in an emergency, and never sawdust ( although the way he uses it is kind of specialized.) I find the larger the pieces, the “cleaner” the smoke.
Generally, you want to use wood that is seasoned/dry and not “green”, although I have used relatively green wood with success. If it’s too green, though, it gets a bit creosotey-y in flavor unless you have very good airflow. And be careful of the amount you use. I mix charcoal with maybe 4-6 fist sized chunks of wood for smoking a shoulder on a Weber Smoky Mountain. I wouldn’t worry about the bark (although I try to get it off when I can), but the moss/lichen would concern me a little. I would think the wood might be a bit too wet/green for a good clean smoke and would try to let it dry for a few months. But I have heard of people throwing the whole shebang in. I’ve over smoked meat and have become little bit of a stickler in my own barbecue when I get that slightly bitter creosote flavor from using wood that’s a bit too wet or just too much wood, or from improper airflow. If my barbecue has that liquid smoke type of flavor, I consider it a bad thing.
Of course, this being barbecue, there will be other opinions on the matter.
Forget about the chips and sawdust. Your apple wood is a most excellent heat source and smoking medium in chunk, stick and log form.
I don’t know what effect that moss would have on the flavor of the smoke. I’m guessing it’s negligible, but in keeping with my pyromaniacal tendencies, I’d suggest building a fire for the purpose of scorching all the bark and moss your heart desires. Store it in a dry place and enjoy your big pile of choice hardwood and charcoal. Lucky you.
Yeah, I’ll definitely wait to use it until later in Summer. By that time I might have a smoker instead of just the Weber grill. Good to know I don’t have to make the wood into small bits.
Good idea.
I’m making country pork ribs today. The Weber is filthy, and it’s raining a little. So I’ve put on a rub, put them on a rack in a pan, poured in some water and liquid smoke, covered them, and am cooking them at 205ºF until I decide they’re done. I think I put them in around 6:30 or so, so they’ve been in three or three and a half hours. I’ll let them go until noon, anyway. But I’ll try using the applewood logs in the charcoal cooker eventually.
He used sawdust in his pie-plate-on-an-electric-hotplate-in-a-cardboard-box contraption, no?
I was a big Good Eats fan, but he sometimes seemed to go out of his way to do things differently just for the sake of being different…using chips, chunks, or logs is much more typical practice.
He was trying to get smoke off of a hot plate, and that’s why he used sawdust. It was a very clever setup, I thought.
He didn’t recommend it for more conventional smoking methods.
If it were me… I wouldn’t just consider it something I’ll be extremely happy about next summer. Store it in a nice dry location and any moss etc. won’t be an issue. Even if you don’t use it for smoking, one of the best steaks I’ve ever had was one I grilled over an open fire I made from the apple tree I cut down the summer before.
I had the impression that he tried to scheme up a smoking rig that was within the reach of most viewers- everyone has a cardboard box, and many (most?) people have an electric hot plate or can get hold of one for cheap.
If you’re going to add wood to a charcoal fire you’re better off with chunks. It’s hard to keep sawdust burning slowly enough.
Chunks won’t work in the type of smoker that uses a pan on an electric heating element. In this case you really do need chips or sawdust. There just isn’t enough heat in this type of set-up to cause chunks to burn. They might char a little on the bottom, but that would be it. Generally, the lower the temperature of your heat source, the finer the smoking fuel has to be.
BTW, apple wood produces a mild, sweet-flavored smoke. It’s great for fish and poultry. You might find it underwhelming if you use it for smoking pork or beef.
It’s a good, general purpose smoking wood, but it is a little milder, as you say. My favorite base wood for smoking is white oak, but if I don’t have it around I’ll use apple. Then a bit of hickory (or pecan if you got it) for a little flavor. (Also, I like maple and occasionally cherry for my base woods). Pork and beef will be fine with straight apple wood, too. I’ve done that quite often. I might use an extra chunk or two, but it smokes well. To me, there really isn’t that much difference in flavor between all the woods, other than hickory and mesquite can be quite sharp and strong and usually need to be handled with care. (Although I know plenty of people who use straight hickory. To me, it’s a little much, but it still can work if you have good airflow. Mesquite I only use for grilling. I don’t like it in the smoker.)
Since the chunk vs. chips debate has been settled, another use for apple is for tools. If you happen to have some chisels or screw drivers needing new handles, you have a great wood for that. People also make saw handles from apple but your logs aren’t big enough for that.
