We pass a restaurant in VT that has a wood fired pizza oven and just had a delivery of wood. The wood looked rather green; it was still pretty white and not that seasoned grey. Do places that cook with wood use wood that’s a bit greener? How about BBQ places? What do they typically like for moisture content?
Cooking wood for a wood fired oven needs dry wood. You also can't use certain words that would give off off putting or worse smoke/ fumes. Now for smoking, yes, you want some more MC to make smoke, than "burning wood" has.
There's a wood fired pizza place in Northford center that uses white oak (I havent been there in a long time so it could have changed) When I asked he said it was three years dried. All heartwood as I spotted the small stack next to the oven. I ask customers when they buy smoker/pizza wood and I get conflicting opinions. I sell it dried.
Years ago I tried to barter one of my local favorite Que joints for apple wood. They passed when they found out how long my splits had been stacked and drying. Told me it was probably too dry. Honestly can’t recall at this time how long it had been.
DRY , I don't do pizza but for the smoker I do not want green wood. The meat gets a natural smoke flavor from the cooking process, I don't have smoke billowing out like there is a barn fire. Any smoker wood I use is clean , dry and bark-less. I don't know if no bark makes a difference but I get plenty of wood without bark so it gets set aside for smoking.
Are you sure it wasn't kiln dried? Or maybe it seasoned in a pile? The only wood in my windrow piles that turn grey are the ones exposed to the sun.
I sell my smoking wood the same as I do regular firewood - under 20% MC. I have a customer that like it less dry and soaks a few pieces the night before he starts the smoke. Everybody else prefers it drier to my knowledge.
Are the smoker pellets dry? I assume they are. Wet wood does not make more smoke, it makes for a poor fire, which makes more smoke.
The only time I might consider "wet wood" might be some smoking chips soaked before adding them to a charcoal smoker , maybe in something like a weber kettle. Being a stick burner; I'll go with dry. I have never actually tested what I use but no doubt it is dry. I take my normal splits that have already seasoned /ready to burn and cut them in half then maybe split some a little smaller. Pack it up in mesh onion bags and store it in the basement. I have Oak , cherry , sugar maple , hickory , apple and Mulberry ready to go. Probably around 30 bags as of now. I use mostly oak since it is plentiful, and I have plenty on hand. Not to mention it makes pretty darn good BBQ as well.
I like pretty dry wood. I know guys who use wet wood and it makes the meat taste bad. I like dry wood and it works very well.
