Everything I have used for smoking has been bark less , mostly oak so that's easy to take the clean splits and use those for the cooker. Not sure it has to be, but I figure it can't hurt to start out clean.
Different cooks like different ways. We've had a few smoker customers that wanted clean wood. We have one now that was getting mostly clean wood, said he wanted more bark on it...
I am far from a BBQ expert but to me the bark is where you might get a funky smoke compared to clean bark less wood. Bugs and trapped moisture are the first things that come to mind. I did a 12 hour smoke two weeks ago on a pork butt with bark less oak. The smoke was extremely clean and when done I was surprised it didn't have a heavy smoke taste at all. No bark works for me.
Brad, it's time my friend to (Retire) that tail gate! I'm amazed the cables are still holding it! I'm not a Ford guy but I'll give Ford lots of Credit for that on...
I De-Bark everything! Especially Hickory. Bark will give a very bitter taste. That Pecan was very smooth and pleasant. I wish I could drive down and get me a truck load.
I had time and stopped on the way home and talked to her. She was bartending. Gave her the info (just didnt price quote) and was going to talk with husband and text me. I have dry half cords of cherry and mulberry from last Summer. Not sure about bark on/off. Ive never smoked meat before. All the stuff i have is bark on.
Hey now Dave be gentle on my tailboard cuz i am sure as hell not! A lot of wood has passed over that! When the other one breaks ill retire it. SOP for me!
The quarters in your truck, did you split them on site? At first, I thought it was just how a STIHL noodles....but think it was split ha ha
Y'all would be most welcome anytime, brother. That's pecan we have split, got several piles of logs still
That’s a great score Brad! I would have passed due to the PI. Really allergic to that stuff. Glad it didn’t get you!
I noodled a couple at first, but then tried the Isocore maul on one and it cracked rather easily. So most were hand split. Cherry can be tough to split as it commonly has some twist to the grain. These were straight grained.
PI is kind of a given with most roadside wood. Ill remove it before i load. Luckily if i get it its mild, but i am still very careful when working around it.
That is a sweet load buZZsaw BRAD , I love the smell of it burning. I'll mix a big split of Cherry and Oak and get a nice slow hot fire, my neighbors always comment on the nice smell when they are outside.
The only other one I saw that bad was when I was in High School; My friends father was a stone mason/brick layer, built fireplaces his was just like that. His was also an old Ford F-100. Those tailgates are truly "Ford tough"...
Split the rest of the cherry today. These are waiting for a rack to open up. Nice splits got moved next door to the shed for bundle wood. Have more "there" to get. Maybe next week sometime.
This is the last little bit of Cherry I have. It's about 7 years old. My Hickory pile for smoking is 5 years old. I don't imagine using it all up before we leave. who knows, Governor Murphy may ban burning and smoking! If he can do it, he will...