Ash wood for smoking

[LindellProStaf]

I have a lot of nice dry ash firewood and have heard it is great to use for grilling steaks with. Has anyone used ash in their smokers?

[reinhard1]

probably is good, but i have never used it. i'm kind of fond of chery wood now. good luck.

[OnAFly]

I've never used it. But, if it's good, I've got the ugliest ash tree in the world in my front yard if you want it

[LindellProStaf]

I will try using some of my ash wood this weekend. Not sure what I will be smoking but will let you know how it turns out. An old timer told me that ash is the best wood there is to use in a firepit to cook a steak over.

[klecker]

I bonfire cook more than anything know. I use ash all the time for beef, pork and chicken over the open fire. In a smoker, I don't know. Try it and let us know.

[LindellProStaf]

You brought up a good idea Klecker. I heat my garage/shop with wood all winter. I buy some and gather some by cleaning up my groves here at home. I use a gas grill when in a hurry, charcoal when cooking something good, and have an electric frig smoker I made that works great. Well it is bugging me to be buying charcoal when I have wood up the wazoo. I am going to start burning wood in my weber type grill. Great cooking over a wood fire. We do that too sometimes on our pit and now will do it near the deck in the grill. As a matter of fact I am going to start today. No more buying charcoal for me... That leaves more money for important things like ice fishing gear.... Thanks for the tip... I will fire up the smoker and try the ash for smoking too this weekend. Will let you know how it works out.

[LindellProStaf]

Sorry it took so long to get back to this smoking with ash. I tried it on some ribs. I also used hickory. Now and then I threw in some ash chunks too. It is real dry wood I used. It really smoked nice but didn't seem to have a lot of good odor like hickory does. The ash didn't have a bad odor just kind of neutral.

[reinhard1]

i've never used ash. i've been using hickory for years and now liking cherrywood the best. good luck.

[Whoaru99]

I wood ( ) imagine it somewhat like oak, pretty mild.

[reinhard1]

one thing i noticed watching Pitmasters is that lot's of these guy's use oak. also oak is a common favorite in Texas where it's called "post oak". according to the pitmasters, oak has a heavy, smoky flavor stronger than apple and cherry, but not as strong as hickory. in genaral, its smoky taste works best with beef or lamb according to some of the guys on pitmasters. good luck.

[McGurk]

Smoking woods info from a site about bbq:

Ash has a light, unique flavor. This wood burns fast.

Black Walnut has a heavy flavor that should probably be mixed with other wood because of the bitter taste it can impart.

Birch has a similar flavor to maple. This wood is good with pork and poultry.

Cherry has a sweet, mild flavor that goes great with virtually everything. This is one of the most popular woods for smoking.

Crabapple is very similar to apple wood and can be used interchangeably.

Fruit, like apple, apricot or cherry, fruit wood gives off a sweet, mild flavor that is good with poultry or ham.

Hickory adds a strong flavor to meats, so be careful not to use to excessively. It’s good with beef and lamb.

Lilac produces a good supply of mild, sweet smoke. A popular wood for smoked cheese, but also good for poultry and pork.

Maple, like fruit wood gives a sweet flavor that is excellent with poultry and ham.

Mesquite has been very popular of late and is good for grilling, but since it burns hot and fast, it's not recommended for long barbecues. Mesquite is probably the strongest flavored wood; hence its popularity with restaurant grills that cook meat for a very short time.

Mulberry is sweet and very similar to apple (Funny, I thought this would be awful as it grows fast like a weed and it soft and stringy).

Oak is strong but not overpowering and is a very good wood for beef or lamb. Oak is probably the most versatile of the hard woods.

Pecan burns cool and provides a delicate flavor. It’s a much subtler version of hickory. (One of my Favorites)

Other good woods include: avocado, bay, beech, butternut, carrotwood, chestnut, fig, guava, gum, hackberry, kiawe, madrone, manzita, olive, range, persimmon, pimento, and willow

You can also find other wood products around made from wine and whiskey barrels that impart a very unique flavor. I have a fondness for Jack Daniel whiskey barrel wood.

Woods to AVOID would include: cedar, cypress, elm, eucalyptus, pine, fir, redwood, sassafras, spruce, and sycamore.

[reinhard1]

Thanks McGurk, i think you covered all the bases . good luck.

[klecker]

You brought up a good idea Klecker. I heat my garage/shop with wood all winter. I buy some and gather some by cleaning up my groves here at home. I use a gas grill when in a hurry, charcoal when cooking something good, and have an electric frig smoker I made that works great. Well it is bugging me to be buying charcoal when I have wood up the wazoo. I am going to start burning wood in my weber type grill. Great cooking over a wood fire. We do that too sometimes on our pit and now will do it near the deck in the grill. As a matter of fact I am going to start today. No more buying charcoal for me... That leaves more money for important things like ice fishing gear.... Thanks for the tip... I will fire up the smoker and try the ash for smoking too this weekend. Will let you know how it works out.

Lindell,

I use the Weber like that all the time now. I can’t use the fire pit because the fire ban we currently have in place here. For the grill I just cut the split logs I have in half. A little more manageable to work with than having a couple 18” logs in the grill. I use oak to as the supply is endless since the big storm last summer.

I should also add that when using the fire pit that it also produces a bunch of lump charcoal too. I always water out the fire at the end of the cooking session. Next morning I pick up all, the lump left over. Works good in the Weber.