POll: What wood do you use for smoking

[fsh4fun05]

Where is the all of the above button? []
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[dubob]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Apple/Alder for fish; hickory for everything else. I found mesquite just a tad bitter for my tastes.[/#800000][/font]
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[retch_sweeney]

I own a chipper/shredder you are more than welcome to borrow. I owe you for the Willard trip from a few years back anyway! PM me if you're interested.
I have used apple, oak, plum, cherry, apricot and grapevines from my own back yard. I use a hatchet to remove bark and chop chunks off of fallen branches or bigger logs and they work just fine.
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[retch_sweeney]

Make sure that isn't chemically treated wood, sir!
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[wiperhunter2]

Yes sir, I'll take you up on that offer, I'll send you a PM in a few minutes, thanks.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000ff]As you have already seen, choices in wood for smoking is a very subjective matter and subject to individual preferences and opinions. Whatever you prefer is exactly right...for you...but maybe not for anybody or everybody else. Just like recipes and seasonings. All over the map.

I have been all over the map myself. And I have been exposed to many types of fish and meats...smoked in many ways over many different kinds of woods. I have liked MOST of them. Only a few that I outright disliked. All good, some better than others.

I have also experimented a lot with various woods and different kinds of smokers myself. I believe you could drive yourself wacko if you tried to make the gentle art of smoking into a zen thing...or into a computerized process not subject to personal tweaks and occasional variations.

In my smoker corner on my back porch I have two kinds of smokers. One is a venerable Little Chief that has aged into a blackened box from countless smoke sessions. I still use it for low temp smoking for catfish and some other goodies. My other smoker is a Masterbilt with electronic controls. It is capable of holding constant heat at any temp up to about 500 degrees. It has it's uses.

I have several woods available in my collection. There is apple, cherry, alder, mesquite...and hickory. I seldom use the first four. I have kinda settled into liking the "traditional" flavor of hickory for most of the things I smoke. And I have hickory in sawdust, chips, chunks and pellets. I mix them at times for a combination of faster burning together with slower and longer lasting smoke.

I like what I turn out. And most folks who try my output don't gag and puke so I guess it ain't all bad.

Gravevines? My only experience with smoking grapevines was when a friend in 7th grade tried to get me to smoke a piece of grapevine...like a cigarette. Choke, gag, cough. Terrible. Guess that may be why I have never thought of using it for smoking fish.
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[wiperhunter2]

At that link I included in one of my replies it says Grapevine gives a Tart taste. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity. Good with poultry, red meats, game and lamb. After reading that, I decided to take them to the dump instead, because I rarely smoke anything but fish but I was curious if anyone else had used them. It has been interesting to read what others use for smoking and although I can't say I've used Alder, I think, if I can find somen I'll give it a try. It has been a while since I have used Hickory but I think I'll give that a try as well this year. I've been kind of stuck in a rut, using apple and cherry wood for the last few years, I think I need to expand the woods I use this year. In the past, I have tried chips for smoking but have found that chips do not smoke well in my Little Chief smoker, so I gone back to the places, like Sportsman's, that sell the shredded wood.
Where do you and others reading this, usually buy your wood for smoking?
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]I still buy the occasional bag of chips from Sportsmans, Home Depot or Lowes. But the last couple of years I have been lucky and scored some closeout bags cheap at the Army Navy store near where I live. Also got some pellets to try and love them.

But I have been really happy with mixing whatever larger pieces I use with pure hickory sawdust...in my Little Chief. It "catches" faster and spreads the burn to the other pieces better so they ignite and burn faster too. I start by filling about half of the pan with chips or pellets. Then I pour in enough sawdust to cover it and shake it to get it to sift down into the larger pieces. When I get ready to change the pans I notice a lot better complete burning than if I use chips or pellets alone.

If you are penciling out the cost of your smoking wood you have to figure either the cost per cubic inch or the cost per ounce/pound. Some chips work out to almost $3 per pound.

I found a place that will ship 40# of good hickory sawdust for about dollar a pound...delivered. [url "http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=462"] HERE IS THE LINK[/url]. I got a delivery two years ago and still have a fair amount left...after sharing with a couple of smokaholic buddies. I would be happy to bring you some to try in a week or so when I hit Willard again.

I am pretty careful about what kind of wood I use and knowing where it comes from. When I lived in Sacramento there was a whole family poisoned by eating some smoked shad that they smoked with wood from a cut down orchard. There was pesticide residue on some of the wood and it was enough to stick to the smoked fish and kill them.
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[Bassomatic]

The Smoking meat forums site is fantastic! You will find a ton of information there. I'm personally a fan of fruit woods for trout and salmon. I like pecan and alder, but remember that one of the great ways to get a dynamic flavor is by mixing woods. I like to mix a little hickory into my other woods. By mixing it with other kinds, you get just a little different flavor.
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[Northman]

I had a pellet smoker follow me home from the store a few years back so I know what your talking about. Mine is the Camp Chef DXL, so no wifi. I agree they are about as easy as it gets to turn out some really good bbq. Your pellet smoker is a higher end smoker than mine. And most pellet smokers have a single fan induction blower not two. So you may be able to drop down below 200 deg and not produce any soot.

I look at my smoking/bbq like my fishing. Just like I need different rods and set ups for different species. I also need different smokers for different meats.

I also have a pimped out UDS smoker that I built that has a IQ induction air control on it that maintains the +-2 deg, and a Big Cheif electric. I have owned many others over the past 20+ years I have been doing this smoking/bbq thing. I think that a guy that knows what their doing can get good results out of most any smoker using most any hardwood.

But for smoking fish my go to is the Big Cheif. And for someone that is only going to smoke fish, you can't go wrong with a $100 smoker.
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[pookiebar]

He mills his own wood so the scraps I get are the outside tree parts as he starts his flat cuts. It's straight of the tree trunk.
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[RonPaulFan]

Just wondering what everyone uses for their fish and meat smoking. Has anyone ever used GRAPEVINES?
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Over the years I've participated in our various BFT events and socialized and had opportunities to sample smoked fish which is delicious.  Though I've caught, cooked and ate plenty of fish, I've never smoked fish.  Being very much into preparedness for the harsh times to come, I know smoking is a traditional method of making fish last before relatively recent food preservation methods like refrigeration and canning, so I've long intended to get into smoking.  I got a Treager grill for Christmas!  

Ronald H Levine       

[wiperhunter2]

Just wondering what everyone uses for their fish and meat smoking. Has anyone ever used GRAPEVINES?
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Over the years I've participated in our various BFT events and socialized and had opportunities to sample smoked fish which is delicious.  Though I've caught, cooked and ate plenty of fish, I've never smoked fish.  Being very much into preparedness for the harsh times to come, I know smoking is a traditional method of making fish last before relatively recent food preservation methods like refrigeration and canning, so I've long intended to get into smoking.  I got a Treager grill for Christmas!  

Ronald H Levine       

You've been gone for a while Ronald, glad to see you your back. TubeDude has a great recipe for smoked catfish and smoked kokanee is always good.

[meancuznalfy]

I use cherry for fish, hickory for bacon, mesquite for beef, love the jack Daniels whiskey barrel chips for beef, pork and chicken.