drying wood

[horn section]

How long does it take for wood to dry and be useable to bbq? I have some fairly small pieces of oak that we cut in October. The branches were live at the time.

I also have some pecan that we just cust 2 weeks ago. The branches had broken off in eiher April or June by high winds. The branches were off the ground but weren't cut in pieces.

Would either of these be okay to use to bbq or are they still a little green?

Thanks in advance.

 

[NickDanger]

As long as you use them for just smoke and not your fire, you are good. I used green wood all the home to make smoke. Use it to make your fire and you will probably get some bitterness, depending on the species. I cut persimmon, oak and mesquite for use that day all the time.

 

[BigWill]

help a yankee out.

So what makes the "fire"? do you use charcoal for the heat/fire and toss the wood on for smoke?

 

[NickDanger]

I think most people will be on the same page with this, but this is bbq on Rusty's girl so... ...

You want wood to burn down to coals to deliver an even heat. When you first start a fire, there is a lot of smoke that isn't really desired for smoking meat (it can be quite bitter. I'm sure you've been repulsed by a burned building before), plus the temperature is damn near impossible to control. So, you take your aged wood and make a fire with it and then sort of shift it into overdrive (coals) so that there aren't any wild swing in temps. If the wood is really old it will burn fast and without a great deal of smoke. That may very well be what you desire. Most people want to go somewhere in the middle where the wood isn't green and putting off bitter smoke and it isn't crumbly gray where it just burns up in a second without putting off any heat or smoke.

My previous comments about the green wood were along the lines of use older wood to burn down into coals and regulate that and while you are doing THAT, you can regulate your amount and type of smoke with a smaller quantity of greener )moister) wood.

A lot of people will soak dried up wood to make it smoke more. That actually does nothing to increase or improve the smoke, but people do it all the time. It really just adds a bit of steam.

Any way, a flaming piece of wood will put out a lot more smoke than one that has cooked down to coals. The "smoking chips" are too small to turn into coals, but when they ignite, they produce a good amount of smoke. Lots of people will use sawdust to produce smoke.

I had babyback ribs for breaakfast this morning.

 

[IRC]

In reply to:

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[FridayNiteLites]

Good tips. I burn wood in a pile and shovel the coals into the pit as needed and add more wood to the pile as needed. Keeps my heat pretty even and cuts down on too much smoke. My Dad wouldn't use mesquite wood till it had seasoned about three years, and as far as I'm concerned he was the King of BBQ for me.

 

[Son of a Son]

I'm not near as sophisticated as Nick, but I try to never burn anything in my pit (coals, fire, smoke, whatever) sooner than 6-7 months from green. I just find it too hard to regulate the temp and burn speed.