Wild cherry wood for smoking?

[Popcorn]

Have / do yall use wild cherry for smoking wood? I have two 25 to 30 ft trees that have blown down and must be removed. They are perfect for cutting into short blocks and splitting into 250 to 300 lbs of premium wood.

 

[MickThompson]

Yes. Good starter wood too

 

[Trapper John]

Agreed. Good stuff. Especially good for smoking chicken or turkey.

 

[Mud Creek]

Its horrible. I'll come load it up and haul it off for you for free. I have the perfect spot to dump it.

 

[Shag]

Cherry isn't my favorite. I am a logger. So anything you can think of that grows native here in Tennessee, I have free access and I've used it. It's pretty good to throw on a hot bed of coals and add some wood smoke flavor to grilled chicken. It's pretty good for smoking pork ribs. But, for long cooks, I wouldn't use it for my primary wood. Red oak for beef. Hickory for pork.

 

[Wildcat]

Cherry isn't my favorite. I am a logger. So anything you can think of that grows native here in Tennessee, I have free access and I've used it. It's pretty good to throw on a hot bed of coals and add some wood smoke flavor to grilled chicken. It's pretty good for smoking pork ribs. But, for long cooks, I wouldn't use it for my primary wood. Red oak for beef. Hickory for pork.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^

I also use a little of it to smoke ham.

 

[waterman]

I use cherry quite often. Doesn't over smoke the meat like some of the other hardwoods

 

[Mud Creek]

I love cherry wood, its one of my favorites!

I love using it, but I have to agree with Shag on the long cooks. Cherry smoked wings and cherry smoked bologna are about as good as it gets for me. Cherry and Oak are a match made in heaven for beef(although just oak is always king), but I use it for short cooks/smokes or mix it with something else for long cooks.



No matter what I'm cooking there is almost always a little "kiss from cherry smoke" mixed in there somewhere, I love the flavor and it gives a nice color as well!

 

[DomG]

For smoking bird or red fish, Wild Cherry is secondary only to PNW Alder, IMHO...

Wild Cherry burns like Almond or Apricot in the woodstove, just love it.

Spaghetti size strips of cherry bark makes great survival-fire starter.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Yep, all the time. Soak'em in water for a bit before putting on hot coals.

 

[Mud Creek]

Yep, all the time. Soak'em in water for a bit before putting on hot coals.

NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Shag]

NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you soak wood in water, it steams until the water burns off. Then it burns/smokes. Why not just eliminate the water and let the wood smoke do it's thing?

 

[Mud Creek]

Wet wood= smoldering not smoking.

If it's stored and aged right it will burn clean and give good smoke/flavor

 

[TNTreeman]

I love cherry for cooking. White oak and hickory are other favorites. We cut a lot of cherry so I burn a lot in the wood stove to.

 

[TAFKAP]

Have / do yall use wild cherry for smoking wood? I have two 25 to 30 ft trees that have blown down and must be removed. They are perfect for cutting into short blocks and splitting into 250 to 300 lbs of premium wood.

Absolutely. I got hooked on cherry wood 2 summers ago when we had a big series of storms in June & July. A neighbor up the street lost a cherry tree, and they saw cut all their logs into 12" lengths & put it all by the street for the trash. I loaded up all I could haul and split it exclusively to burn in my grill. Those cherry coals burn hot, and they reduce to a really nice pile. I would say the flavor is better than hickory. Great for chicken, pork, and beef

 

[TAFKAP]

Yep, all the time. Soak'em in water for a bit before putting on hot coals.

Unnecessary step that's been engrained for far too long. It's going to eventually smolder & burn whether you soak it or not. All soaking does is wet your wood, create steam, and delay the eventual burn.

 

[Popcorn]

Do yall debark all your smokin wood?

 

[Trapper John]

Do yall debark all your smokin wood?

Never have taken the time to. I'm sure it makes some sort of difference but honestly, sometimes enough is enough and I just didn't see it as being worth the extra effort.

 

[TAFKAP]

Do yall debark all your smokin wood?

I don't. But I also start logs in a charcoal chimney, get a good fire burning, then cook over coals, not open burn flame

 

[UCStandSitter]

Cherry isn't my favorite. I am a logger. So anything you can think of that grows native here in Tennessee, I have free access and I've used it. It's pretty good to throw on a hot bed of coals and add some wood smoke flavor to grilled chicken. It's pretty good for smoking pork ribs. But, for long cooks, I wouldn't use it for my primary wood. Red oak for beef. Hickory for pork.

Same. Add-on flavor but not primary.