Red maple for smoking meat

[chuck-ia]

Not sure if this belongs here, but? Saving all the scraps of wood from the guns I have built, and the current one I am working on. Decided to smoke a chicken today, got me to thinking, has anyone used red maple scraps for smoking? Might try it the next time. flinch

 

[Roy]

Yep.. red maple, sugar maple, hickory, walnut.. :thumbsup:

 

[necchi]

:barf:
Apple or Cherry, I guess I'm spoiled with local fruit woods,, even Hickory is too stout for me.
A mild Hickory is OK, but so many folks go way overboard with the smoke.

 

[robert reed]

Going with hickory on wild porky chops tomorrow. No such thing as too much smoke on them critters! :grin:

 

[Vaino]

All the maple scraps of both red and sugar maple are cut up into chips and are used by my son in his smoker....a good soaking in water and the chips are set to go.

The thicker sawed off bellies of the blanks are not used for smoking...they're made into what's pictured below.....Fred

 

[Curt]

Take the bark off the hickory and it wont be so stout or strong smellin.Curt

 

[Zonie]

Living out here in Arizoni I use either Mesquite or Orange wood in my BBQ or my smoker if I want smoky flavored food.

I may try some maple just to see what I'm missing.

 

[Curt]

Some of the best jerky I have ever had was smoked in maple .Years ago we had a smoke house/ store in the next town and he had more kinds of jerky flavors than you could imagine and I bought 2 grosier sacks full.Well i didnt need no diner or supper that day and the kids asked about all the empty wrappers. I can still smell the smoke.Curt

 

[chuck-ia]

Thanks for the replys, chuck

 

[Vaino]

I sometimes wonder if the species of trees really make a difference in the taste of smoked products.....or is it all in our minds?

It would seem that the species of trees that are used for smoking meats and fish would be abundant in specific areas. Hickory. maples, mesquite and all fruit wood all come to mind as being regional wood for smoking. Why couldn't elm, ash, birch and oak be used for smoking? Has anyone tried these woods?

Perhaps smoke is just smoke irrespective of the wood used? Excepting of course the trees other than the deciduous varieties, eg...pine, fir, etc. I truly don't know the answer and don't own a smoker, but am well supplied w/ smoked products from my son.

Perhaps my son could try the wood that's not used for smoking and we could have a taste test. Possibly the outcome would be surprising?.....Fred

 

[Roy]

Different types of wood do change the flavor.. I really only like to use hickory on things like a beef brisket.. where maple is nice for chicken, fish and pork.. just a bit more mild smoke.. I do agree with Curt about removing the bark. And yes I use apple, and cherry when I have access to it..

 

[MSW]

I've never tried pine, but the Japanese used pine pitch to get turpentine, which was then used as aviation fuel during the latter part of WWII (talk about a combination of desperate and ingenious), so I can't imagine that pine would be a good candidate for smoke wood... I'm partial to hickory: the chips are available in the local grocery store.

we use something similar to this gadget: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/stainless-steel-smoker-box/
it can be used indoors (or so the directions say) but we use it outdoors to prevent "problems."
bon apatite!

p.s. - your spoons look really nice!

 

[robert reed]

White oak works good. Red oak is tooo tanic.
Hickory is smellin good right now!

 

[Vaino]

Saw a travel program on TV and the host was in Mongolia and much of the land there is w/o trees. So the food was cooked/smoked over an open fire and the fuel was yak dung. The host partook of some yak meat and said it was delicious....perhaps some enterprising Mongol could start exporting yak dung for grilling and smoking?

I also saw a documentary of a tribe in Africa and they did the same type of cooking as the Mongols, but used elephant dung.

These 2 instances were the reasons I asked whether smoke from organic sourcess is just smoke?......Fred

 

[Curt]

the speices of tree makes a big difference,White oak is much better than red or black oak .there smoke stinks.Sasafrass and cherry are real good too.most fruit and nut trees are good excecpt walnut (imho).My neighbor has a lot of trees in his yard and is always burnin brush and its easy to tell what kind hes burnin.We cook in our wood stove alot .Curt

 

[Tinker2]

Corn works good for me I have used hickory, apple and Mesquite but prefer corn.

Anyone else smoke with corn?



William Alexander

 

[Roy]

Anyone else smoke with corn?

I have read about it but haven't tried it yet..

 

[Curt]

Ive heard of using corn cobs but not corn.Curt

 

[Vaino]

Evidently from the responses from "smokers", there is a difference between the various woods and the smoke they produce. Thanks for all the info......Fred

 

[Rusty_Nail]

Found this online, with good info and options.
http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/Downloads_files/SmokingFlavorChart.pdf

And one I will add is toss one clove of raw garlic, unpeeled to the smoking wood. Learned that one in Italy, and it adds a nice touch!