Green wood... has anyone actually tried it?

Myron Mixon uses wood cut down no more than 6 months and only uses peach wood. At his school he said the smoke would be sweeter.

Probably not a lot different than people that soak their wood, eh?

My preference is green wood, that is why I don't keep large amounts of wood on hand, although dry wood does get used if need be. Don't use as much green wood and heat it before putting the meat on. Wood chips soaked is nothing like green wood it just makes steam and slows down the rate of burn for a short time.
Dave

IbrahimSS said:

Mo-Dave, this is exactly the kind of info I'm interested in. What kind of wood do you use? And why have you opted for green wood? What do you notice as the differences between green and dry wood. Also is acquiring green wood regularly difficult?

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Dry wood will do the trick I just think think green wood has a more pronounced flavor and has a better taste. It also will burn a little slower and you will need to use less. I would not put cold green wood on a fire with meat already on it without heating it somehow, it may become bitter and not so good. Some times if I think I need to use more wood I will place it in the cooker so it can heat up before putting on the fire, I may even do this with dry wood at times, so it will catch fire without producing much of the white smoke. If I were only using wood for heat and smoke I want dry seasoned wood with maybe a very small amount of green, so I am using lump or charcoal for the main source of heat.

Growing up we never had smoking wood on hand when we decided to cook so we took a walk out behind the house with a hand saw and cut down small saplings 4 or 5 inch round or green branches. Something to remember is, wood cut in late fall or winter will not have as much sap as does wood cut in the spring so keep that in mind when using it.

I use mostly hickory only because that is what we have the most of besides oak, which is also good and I tend to like a stronger smoke than some, I also like pecan. If I bought a truck load or a cord of wood most of it is headed for the fireplace in the house.
Dave

I like using green hickory and white oak for hot n fast. Only use it for the smoke not the heat.

There is a very famous BBQ place in Houston that uses nothing but green Mesquite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoDhoynzzHg

Has anyone tried it? No. Everyone has always used only dry wood since the beginning of time. You'll be the first, I promise.

Results? Seriously, they've varied. Lots and I mean LOTS of factors, from the type of
smoker you're using (if you're using a smoker; could be just an open pit), the amount and type of wood you're using, the size of the pieces, how hot the fire is, etc. etc. It also depends on the flavor that you want in your barbecue.

Like mentioned above, Myron uses not entirely green peach wood, but it's not overly dry either. He uses small pieces/splits and has a very hot fire. It works for him, on
his particular smoker.

The downside with green wood is that you really can't boost your heat with it, at least quickly. Takes a mess of a long time to get to coals. Even Myron has issues with this during competition. Dry wood on the other hand can get you from 100 to 200 in a decent amount of time.

neuyawk said:

The downside with green wood is that you really can't boost your heat with it, at least quickly. Takes a mess of a long time to get to coals. Even Myron has issues with this during competition. Dry wood on the other hand can get you from 100 to 200 in a decent amount of time.

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Yes to use nothing but green wood without first letting it burn down is not a good thing. That is why I use charcoal or lump with just a few chunks of green wood.
Dave

Mo-Dave said:

Yes to use nothing but green wood without first letting it burn down is not a good thing. That is why I use charcoal or lump with just a few chunks of green wood.
Dave

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Exactly. I started much like you did. Walk out into the woods next to the house and cut a small limb off of a hickory tree or cut down a small hickory sapling. It didn't take much at all for an ECB but it sure did make a wonderful difference. I also learned that if I cut too much for the cook not to save it for another cook even a week later because it just didn't work like fresh cut did.

Green Wood

Hi All So I'm guessing from this thread that "green wood" is not that bad after all. Lately I've been picking up wood from my recycling center, they didn't know if the wood was seasoned or what kind of wood it was. I used a few pieces yesterday. I first banged 2 pieces together, they had the sound of seasoned wood, so went ahead and used them.
DanB

18 hours 180 degrees green hickory has been the recipe at lots of Q joints.

No expert here but definitely agree with the opinion that it depends on the smoker. Decided on and purchased a stick burner last fall and had no choice but to collect what wood was available; most fairly green. It's a real challenge to keep a clean fire going without a lot of charcoal in that smoker without some really dry wood. I just got another smoker with an insulated firebox. Except for lighting it up, I haven't had to add charcoal during cooks and if I use the better seasoned wood and smaller splits I need for an acceptable smoke in the other pit I will get no visible (or flavorable) smoke at all. The greener stuff will put off the nice thin blue smoke and flavor.

More airflow in the cooker the better it will burn green wood. I love burning wet/green wood alone or other cooks mix it in.

My best ribs have been made when using freshly cut apple wood. The smoke smells sweeter and the ribs just taste better.

Dry wood for heat, green wood for flavor....imo when turning green you want a smaller hotter fire as opposed to a bigger fire that you need to choke down....a small hot fire gives that sweet, tangy flavor without that bitter flavor you get from a fire starving for air and green wood needs more air.