Wood type advice needed for upcoming Shirley.....

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Lobsterbake

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Hello,

My Shirley pit will be built next month and I am trying to find a good firewood supplier in North GA. I am new to using an offset so have some questions:

What type of wood do you recommend? Hickory, Oak, Mesquite, etc. Fruit woods (apple, cherry, etc) Do you mix - for example Oak with Cherry when smoking, etc.

What is a good price for says a 1/2 chord delivered as a general rule?

How do I tell if I am getting seasoned wood?

Basically - any and everything you can offer regarding sourcing firewood, type, price, quality, size, etc.

I live in North Georgia if anyone lives near and has a good source they can provide.

Thanks for any & all input!

Mark
 
I would try Craigslist for wood. A lot of them out there, at least here in North Texas. As for wood, I have been testing out oak and peach. Oak is a good base wood but you are welcome to try what is local in your area.
 
All them Woods. Mixing is Good. Fruit with Oak ,Pecan or Hickory or mix in some Mesquite. Seasoned wood is grey and "Tonks" when 2 pieces are banged together. You can buy a moisture meter for $30-$40. Fully seasoned about 10-15% moisture but 0-25% would be Fine.
 
I like the subtlety of fruit woods. Being there in the Mecca of the Peach, I'd say go with what's locally source-able. Georgia Peach wood is what made Myron Mixon famous.

A Shirley firebox can handle just about anything. I love this cooker so much. We get gouged in Colorado so I paid a mighty $300 for a 1/2 cord of wood :( Nevertheless, I can vouch for the quality of my supplier here so I figure I'm paying for wood that I can trust.

For the initial seasoning burn, I was obsessive. I did a 10-12 hour overnight burn in the middle of a snow storm. I used only peach/apple wood, and I do believe that the essence of fruit flavor got into the pores of the metal. My Que has never been better!!
 
Best advice I can give is to enjoy the heck out of your new cooker. As far as wood goes you should have no trouble finding sources in your area. Stack your wood off the ground, provide plenty of ventilation and preferably store under a roof rather than cover with a tarp/plastic which will trap moisture.
 
I like hickory and pecan, with pecan being the more mild of the two...though I definitely had no issues with heavy smoke flavor out of my Shirley burning a clean hickory fire. I think being well seasoned and being about "beer can diameter" sized are the most important to me...type of wood secondary.
 
You have some good advice above on type of wood and seasoning.

Quantity was your other question. You didn't mention what size smoker so this is a generic answer. You will need 4-5 splits of wood to fire the smoker up and get it to temp. Then you will need 1-2 splits per hour to maintain temp. So a 4-5 hour rib cook will take apps 10-14 pieces of wood in total. 9-10 hour pork butt will take 20-24 pieces.

This all is dependent upon the size of the splits. The temp you are cooking at and the size of your smoker. And of course how often you plan to cook.

You can use that to help determine how much you will need.
 
Y'all have alot of mesquite growing in north Georgia?

Seriously, use what's local & abundant.
 
Any good quality seasoned Hardwood from your area...... Mix you woods as you cook. Main thing seasoned dried wood. Not wet rotten nasty stuff......
 
I would be buying wood now so if it is fresh cut it can be seasoning and you should have a good of wood in your area or Paul has a wood guy he can hook you up with when you pick up your smoker . craigslist a good place to find and if it is seasoned the ends will be black and I pay $80 for a half a cord and $150 for a full one . the most problem people have with fire management is not having seasoned wood and having it burn clean . I have used fresh cut Hickory before but you better have a big bed of hot coals or it will not burn the same as seasoned wood . :wink:
 
I cut myself. In order...

Cherry
Hickory
Apple
Oak
Sugar maple

I would do more hickory and oak but it sells for too much now on the market and only have tops left. Cherry is everywhere on our properties.


Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
I'm a hickory ... oak guy because it's available.... I may make a drive soon to get some cherry.... we just did a whole hog in Chicago with cherry and it was spot on... like everyone said just make sure it's seasoned well... green wood will smolder unless you have a really good coal bed and use small splits .....
 
You're in the home of the pecan. One of my favorite woods.

I wish I could remember the guy from Georgia I went elk hunting with. He had a pecan farm.
 
ncmoose said:
You're in the home of the pecan. One of my favorite woods.

I wish I could remember the guy from Georgia I went elk hunting with. He had a pecan farm.
Click to expand...

We call them orchards below the line.
 
Jason TQ said:
Reverse that last sentence :becky:. Hard to find peach in large quantities around here.
Click to expand...

Interesting Tenacious! Coincidentally, we've got a town on the western slope of the Rockies and it's called Palisade, Colorado. Supposedly, it's one of the most plentiful sources of peach wood and it's where I got mine. It's also where Fruita Wood sources its peach wood. Word has it that Palisade is where most store-bought peach pellet brands get their wood. It's ironic that lots of peach wood comes from Colorado.
 
Lobsterbake said:
Hello,

My Shirley pit will be built next month and I am trying to find a good firewood supplier in North GA. I am new to using an offset so have some questions:

What type of wood do you recommend? Hickory, Oak, Mesquite, etc. Fruit woods (apple, cherry, etc) Do you mix - for example Oak with Cherry when smoking, etc.

What is a good price for says a 1/2 chord delivered as a general rule?

How do I tell if I am getting seasoned wood?

Basically - any and everything you can offer regarding sourcing firewood, type, price, quality, size, etc.

I live in North Georgia if anyone lives near and has a good source they can provide.

Thanks for any & all input!

Mark
Click to expand...



Hey Mark


I'm just about 15-20 mins South of ya. I'd love to stop by and see you're Shirley in person when you get it. I want one someday soon too. If you think of it, please PM when you get it and I'll make plans to come see it if you don't mind.


Thanks man,


David
 
I prefer cherry and hickory. Hickory is tough to get where I am. I have a bunch of apple and oak, so that's what I use. I lay down a hot chimney of lump first.
 
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