Calling Rick!

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Hey Rick some questions I have >

Have you ever done any cooking over an Applewood fire? I was this evening reading a recipe that called for it and then SilverSage mentioned it in her post and I am wondering since you live up in "Apple Land" if you have ever given it a try. Also I am interested in a discussion on different types of woods for grilling and smoking and do they really impart notably different flavors?

Also since you are a carpenter do you happen across more varieties of wood that the average "Joe" to use for smoking?

[The Ironic Chef]

I am not Rick but have to jump in.
I love smoking with apple wood chips when I am doing any pork. It's a toss up between apple and cherry. Both are excellent choices. An apple smoked thick cut pork chop or ribs are excellent.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Hey there IC, I am so glad to know that! We have this thing that is both a fire pit for evening fires as well as a grill if you want to use it for such and I want to do some with real wood and I needed some distinction between the wood varieties I have used Oak & Hickory I just never used Apple or Cherry and I have no idea if there are others I figure to let the kids have the fire to warm by and do hotdogs & smores over then when a really hot coal bed has developed somke some Ribs and maybe a steak or two! So now I have to figure where to get some Apple Wood and then I am going to use Baby Back Pork Ribs, since it sounds like they season pork nicely!

Thanks for the info.

Cathy

[ricksrealpitbbq]

Cathy, all woods impart a distinct flavor. I use a lot of maple, hickory and cherry which are usually cut offs from my woodworking projects. I've used apple a lot as well.

As for woods, I have a list at my website if you want to check it out

ricksrealpitbbq.freeforums.org • View topic - Which wood is good

I'll post it here if others are interested too

[ricksrealpitbbq]

This is a basic list

Appropriate Smoke Woods

A variety of sources on the Internet indicate that all the woods listed below are suitable for smoking most any type of meat, poultry, or fish. The most popular and widely available smoke woods are oak, hickory, mesquite, pecan, apple, cherry, and alder.
Generally speaking, you want to use only hardwoods from fruit-bearing or nut-bearing trees. In my experience, fruit woods tend to impart a lighter smoke flavor, while the nut woods produce a stronger smoke flavor. If I could choose only one smoke wood, it would be apple, which seems to complement most everything I barbecue.

acacia, alder, almond, apple, apricot, ash, bay, beech, birch, butternut, cherry, chestnut, cottonwood, crabapple, fig, grapefruit, guava, hackberry, hickory, kiawe, lemon, lilac, madrone, manzanita, maple, mesquite, mulberry, nectarine, oak, olive, orange, peach, pear, pecan, persimmon, pimento, plum, walnut, willow

Woods To Avoid

The conventional wisdom is that cedar, cypress, elm, eucalyptus, liquid amber, pine, redwood, fir, spruce, and sycamore are not suitable for smoking. Some people say that sassafras is also inappropriate for smoking, yet it is available from some mail-order wood suppliers.

When in doubt about a particular smoke wood, play it safe--don't use it until you confirm with a reliable source that it's OK for use in barbecuing.


I've got more on my site at the link

[The Ironic Chef]

Rick, your list brought back memories of pit smoking fish when I was younger. Specially with Birch. I haven't thought about that in years. A birch smoked trout is out of this world.

[ricksrealpitbbq]

Oh yeah birch would be great for fish. Always try to pair lighter woods with delicate foods.