Maine Grilling woods

[DivotMaker]

Does the bark give a bitter taste to the food? Should you use only chunks without bark?

Good, clean, bark (in my experience) doesn't impact smoke flavor, especially with the fruit woods.  CLEAN is the keyword here!  If you buy wood from the suppliers we're talking about here, the bark is power washed and is clean.  If you use some old hickory firewood, that's set out on your back porch for the last year, I would strip the bark.  Bark contains mold, insects, lichens, and all sorts of funky stuff that will definitely taint the smoke.  So, be sure of your wood, before you smoke the bark.

[theeaterofshades]

I bought the small sampler and on of the bags contained Northern White Cedar.  I thought we were supposed to use coniferous wood for smoking.  What are the uses of these chunks?

[DivotMaker]

I bought the small sampler and on of the bags contained Northern White Cedar.  I thought we were supposed to use coniferous wood for smoking.  What are the uses of these chunks?

You can see that I moved this question under a thread that already discusses this.  Many times, if you go to the applicable section (like this one, about woods), and do a search, you'll find something on what you are asking.

As you can see by the previous comments, this question has been raised, but not really answered!  There are references to using Northern White Cedar for smoking fish, but I'm like you, I always thought any evergreen was off-limits for smoking.  If you find the real answer, let us know!  Might even be worth a call to MGW to see what they have to say on it.  They know their woods, and I'd be surprised if they sent something that isn't successfully used.

[kelvinator]

Yeah a couple of the woods from the MGW sampler pack including the white cedar kinda had me scratching my head. I did a bit of research, I think I read something about Northern white cedar having a lot less of the nasty stuff that other cedars have. Don't quote me on that though. If I do use it, it will only be fore salmon. I was honestly thinking of just using the pieces for fire wood...Not really feeling like taking the risk of ruining salmon.

[kelvinator]

Also I broke into the black cherry bag of wood I got from MGW's and found a couple small patches of mold on a few of the pieces. I used the pieces that didn't have mold for my smoke but I was definitely a bit annoyed by the fact that there was mold on a few. It didn't look like it was inside the wood though. I am contemplating whether its worth even contacting MGW about or just cutting or washing the mold off. I should check a couple of the other bags to see if any of the others have mold.

[NDKoze]

I would definitely email them along with a picture of the mold. If they are any type of business, they will shoot you out a new batch right away.

[DivotMaker]

I would definitely email them along with a picture of the mold. If they are any type of business, they will shoot you out a new batch right away.

+1!!  Never had any issues with MGW - that really surprises me.

[NDKoze]

I have a pretty good stockpile of wood yet. But I will definitely be ordering from MGW at some point here soon.

I would be really surprised if they don't make it right for you. This is the first that I remember hearing of anything other than stellar reviews of MGW.

I'm curious what their explanation will be for the moldy wood though.

[swthorpe]

I ordered the sampler package from MGW a few days ago.  I'll update if I see any mold on my delivery, which should be sometime next week.

[swthorpe]

I received the sampler package a couple of days ago, and I see no mold issues on the wood.   Most of the wood chunks a definitely small enough to fit in the wood box without chopping.  I am looking forward to trying a couple (pecan & cherry?) tomorrow on 3 racks of ribs!

[Barrel99]

I ordered apple and hickory from them based on the great reviews. All the wood was clean and fragrant. Most of the chunks were to big. Using a hammer and hatchet as suggested worked great. I cut up the 2 bags in probably 15-20 minutes. I then took the extra step and weighed each piece and marked the weight and an "A" for the Apple with a Sharpie pen. Like 1-1/4A. No letter for the hickory because that's what I use most of.  I can now grab whatever sizes I need. Took me and extra 10 minutes if even. Burns clean, sweet and actually burned to ash.

[NDKoze]

Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder if it would be better to split them up in smaller batches rather than cutting them all up at once?

My theory of leaving them large as long as possible is that with less surface area, they may retain their moisture longer.

Thoughts?

[DivotMaker]

Just thinking out loud here, but I wonder if it would be better to split them up in smaller batches rather than cutting them all up at once?

My theory of leaving them large as long as possible is that with less surface area, they may retain their moisture longer.

Thoughts?

Solid thought, Gregg, but I think it'll be fine, as long as the wood is stored in an airtight container.

[NDKoze]

I think I need to get some plastic containers. I currently keep all my wood in 2-Gallon Ziploc's and some of the pieces have sharp edges that puncture the bags. So, they are not super airtight anymore.

[swthorpe]

Slight change of plans...the ribs are smoking today with a mix of hickory and cherry.  I didn't realize until last night that pecan is not one of wood types sold by MGW!   Oh well, the hickory/cherry combo is smoking along nicely today.