Tree Identification

BBQ Mzungu wrote:

I have also experimented smoking with sugar cane. Strong smoke with a molasses flavor to it. Again, I didn't use much of it. Just a few little slices. Going to use a couple of chunks next time.
BBQ Mzungu

Sugar cane works, but it needs to be the woody parts, not the juicy part you eat. The juicy parts are too wet and don't have enough solid parts to burn and make smoke.

BBQ Mzungu

BBQ Mzungu wrote:

BBQ Mzungu wrote:

I have also experimented smoking with sugar cane. Strong smoke with a molasses flavor to it. Again, I didn't use much of it. Just a few little slices. Going to use a couple of chunks next time.
BBQ Mzungu

Sugar cane works, but it needs to be the woody parts, not the juicy part you eat. The juicy parts are too wet and don't have enough solid parts to burn and make smoke.

BBQ Mzungu

I finally got enough sugar cane dried out to give it a better try. Not very pleased. A little of it makes a great smelling smoke, but doesn't have enough strength to flavor anything. If you get enough to give it flavor, it ends up with that 'pie dripped in the oven' taste. Not what I was looking for. Crossed off the list.

BBQ Mzungu

Time for some updates.

The locals said banana peels worked well. They lied. Nasty smoke. Fortunately I pulled it off the charcoal before it messed up my dinner. That would have caused me "great annoyance and displeasure".

I finally got my hands on some avocado. Wonderful wood for smoking. Has a medium flavor. Not strong like hickory or mild like apple, but somewhere in between. Go easy on it and it would work for chicken, but it's really good on beef. Haven't tried any on pork yet. Should do good there too.

Still trying to get my hands on more woods to try over here. One of the neighbors took down a jackfruit tree. Going to try to talk them out of a piece to try.

In the worthless info bin: My charcoal poking stick is a piece of African Figured Mahogany. WOW! One of the strongest smokes I've ever smelled. Has a good smell, kinda' like mesquite, but way stronger. I'd love to find some more and try it under a steak. Don't think about it over there though. When your smoking wood is 3 times the price of the meat, it's not worth it.

BBQ Mzungu

I got a piece of the jackfruit and did a test smoke. It didn't smell like a wood I'd want to smoke with. Smelled like a grass fire. Cross it off the list too.

BBQ Mzungu

BBQ Mzungu wrote:

Time for some updates.

The locals said banana peels worked well. They lied. Nasty smoke. Fortunately I pulled it off the charcoal before it messed up my dinner. That would have caused me "great annoyance and displeasure".

I finally got my hands on some avocado. Wonderful wood for smoking. Has a medium flavor. Not strong like hickory or mild like apple, but somewhere in between. Go easy on it and it would work for chicken, but it's really good on beef. Haven't tried any on pork yet. Should do good there too.

Still trying to get my hands on more woods to try over here. One of the neighbors took down a jackfruit tree. Going to try to talk them out of a piece to try.

In the worthless info bin: My charcoal poking stick is a piece of African Figured Mahogany. WOW! One of the strongest smokes I've ever smelled. Has a good smell, kinda' like mesquite, but way stronger. I'd love to find some more and try it under a steak. Don't think about it over there though. When your smoking wood is 3 times the price of the meat, it's not worth it.

BBQ Mzungu

Yeah - I'd leave off using figured mahogany too. That stuff's precious. I've seen it sell for about $100 a board foot over here, and that's in smaller pieces.

$100 per bf? WOW!! One board foot equals 1" thick by 12" wide by 12" long. I have sold softwoods, hardwoods and exotics and Never heard of a wood that expensive.
Hal

SO.IL Q KING wrote:

$100 per bf? WOW!! One board foot equals 1" thick by 12" wide by 12" long. I have sold softwoods, hardwoods and exotics and Never heard of a wood that expensive.
Hal

That's actually not the most expensive I've seen, either, but it's close. The most expensive wood I've actually purchased was Macassar Ebony at $110 a board foot. Cost me about $12 for enough to make 6 pens so that's not much at all, but the piece was about the size of 2 cigarette packs laid end-to-end.

The next most expensive stuff I've seen was a piece of cocobolo burl at $95 a BF. I passed on that one - guy was a crook.

But if you still sell wood and you've got some small pieces at a better price, send me a PM as I'm always interested in finding new stuff to work with.

This is off topic in a BBQ forum, but in the "it makes you cry' file, teak is a favorite firewood when they can get it because it burns slowly and splits easily. All the woodwork/doors in my house is mahogany because it's a common hardwood here.

BBQ Mzungu