A comment on the thread about discarding cuttoffs got me wondering...
..just what types of wood are and are not suitable for grilling foods over?
I use a lot of my scraps for summer fires in a fire pit and the like.
Normally have a good bit of red & white oak, cherry, walnut, maple and aromatic (eastern red) cedar.
Also, has anyone done this on a gas grill or just on a charcoal grill?
A nicely smoked steak and a cold beer after a day in the shop, sound good to me.
ThankX All,
Ron
I've used hickory and mesquite wood chips before but you can use apple wood chips and I would imagine cherry would probably work as well.
You can use them on a gas grill. I soak mine in water for about half an hour first them add about anywhere from one part dry to two parts wet wood chips to even parts wet to dry. I put this in a tin foil packet, poke quite a few holes in the tin foil and then place the packet underneath the grill and above the heat shield that's above the burner. They'll last about an hour if you're doing something that takes a while like ribs. If you have multiple burners, I'd put the packet above a burner and then cook above the other burners if you can.
As far a shop cuttof scraps go, I have used quite a bit of oak and walnut scraps in our smoker (not gas). The oak in particular provides a nice aeromatic smoke.
Other than shop scrap we use quite a bit of apple too. Very nice aroma and flavor. We also use the shop scraps and apple on our gas grill. After soaking for a couple of hours (at least) we put them in a shallow aluminum pan, or wrap them in an aluminum foil pack and throw them on the baffle bars above the flame. Yoy will want to poke a few holes in the foil. Most grilles provide a favorite place to place chips.
RonB
Can be used with either type of grill. I burn all wood in one of my fire pits.
Most common, in alphabetical order:
Apple/Pear, ash, beech, birch, butternut/walnut, cherry, hickory/pecan, maple, oak.
Regional and miscellaneous:
Mesquite, alder, citrus, any edible fruit, nut or berry, persimmon, sassafras, gum, pimiento, grape leaves and vines, hackberry, elm, chestnut, bay.
Questionable: China berry/mahogany, Osage orange, teak, tung, madrone, buckeye
Definitely don't. Poison Oak, Poison Sumac, Oleander, pine and other resinous woods.
I grill with whatever is laying around, but usually oak or apple. I have a Webber gas grill and just toss a cut off in right before I toss on the meat. Greg
I have a friend who loves salmon cooked on a cedar plank, over a gas grill. I had some cedar salvaged from an old deck; so I cut some up for him and he says it worked as well as the commercial ones he had been buying. I tried it myself and preferred it without the plank. Oh well.
Yer not supposed to eat the plank. ;-)
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+... snip
So citrus wood works well for grilling? I'll have to try that with cutoffs from the orange trees.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
I know, just the salmon... You are supposed to soak the plank in water. When it catches on fire and the smoke flavors the fish it is done. I didn't find the smoke did very much; and the salmon was more like baked than grilled.
Yep -- it sure does. White oak is good, too, but I wouldn't try red oak. The way it smells when it's cut just doesn't say "food" to me.
American sycamore might be worth trying, too... nice spicy smell when it's worked. Might be good for seasoning food.
What he said.
ThankX for the replies.
The fruit 'woods' were expected, but, some of the others weren't. I guess I'll have to do some experimenting...
I also have a nice piece of sassafras destined to be a picture frame. I'll just need to get that project going before grilling season.
Ron
you are safe with any type of fruitwood, also hickory from tool handles, and corncob is OK, too. I used to have a small cast-iron box with a slotted lid to burn small bits of wood in my old gas grill, just placed it on one end of the burner and let the food slo-smoke on the other side, then moved it over the fire to finish it off if nec.
do not use any pines, firs or cedars. or willows! YECCHH!!
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.