Cutting down a cherry tree for the smoker?

Chicken Man

Chicken Man

Kick Henry Jackassowski
I've got a wild cherry tree that is hanging over my driveway and has to go. It's reaching out of a shady area, so the limbs are all skinny and bendy--I wouldn't be able to get any useful length of board out of it, though I might save a few chunks to make wooden spoons and such. At any rate, I've got to cut it down and get rid of it. I could cut it up for firewood, but one of the things left behind by the previous owners of this house is a grill/smoker, which I've never used before. Has anyone smoked with cherry before? Has anyone turned fresh wood into smoker stock? Should I be concerned that the cherries taste terrible? They're not chokecherries, but they're quite bitter.
 
Cherry is one of the classic smoking woods. You're generally better off letting it dry out after you cut it into chunks for the smoker. Dried wood will smoke more at lower temps than green wood does unless you're smoking with a blazing hot firebox, which is kinda not the point of smoking.
 
Cool. Have you turned raw wood into stock for the smoker? I'm wondering if I should cut it up into chips right off the bat, peel the bark off, etc.
 
Chicken Man said:
Cool. Have you turned raw wood into stock for the smoker? I'm wondering if I should cut it up into chips right off the bat, peel the bark off, etc.
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sure...personally, I like chunks of wood over the chips but that's because chunks work better on my weber than chips. The chips give me lots of smoke over a short time where the chunks give me even smoke over a longer time, which is nice for long sessions w/ brisket, shoulders, ribs, etc.

If the bark is easy to strip when it's green, strip and section it for drying out....unless your running it through a chipper, which I suppose is easier to do w/ green wood over seasoned wood.
 
Lerxst said:
sure...personally, I like chunks of wood over the chips but that's because chunks work better on my weber than chips. The chips give me lots of smoke over a short time where the chunks give me even smoke over a longer time, which is nice for long sessions w/ brisket, shoulders, ribs, etc.

If the bark is easy to strip when it's green, strip and section it for drying out....unless your running it through a chipper, which I suppose is easier to do w/ green wood over seasoned wood.
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I can't disagree with any of this advice. As far as cutting it up, I would suggest taking off as much bark as possible, then cut the wood into mebbe 6 inch logs. If they can be split, I would do that also. That helps the wood season faster, you'll really cut down the time needed before you can use it. A full log might need 6 months seasoning, but cut and split might only need 3-4 weeks in the summer.
 
D/Led the manual for my smoker. It looks like I can strip the bark off the wood and use the wood "fresh". I just wouldn't need to soak it ahead of time. Going to try a hickory-smoked whole chicken today.
 
Mark Wein said:
What time is dinner? I might be able to make it over.
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I don't know why I said "today". I'll hopefully do it this weekend. You're welcome to come to Michigan, where I think it's hotter right now than it is in CA. I'll be shoving a can of Bud Lite into the chicken's cavity, since someone brought a tall boy over to a party a few weeks ago and I'm not going to drink it.
 
Chicken Man said:
I don't know why I said "today". I'll hopefully do it this weekend. You're welcome to come to Michigan, where I think it's hotter right now than it is in CA. I'll be shoving a can of Bud Lite into the chicken's cavity, since someone brought a tall boy over to a party a few weeks ago and I'm not going to drink it.
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eh....I can;t do with any more heat :tongue:
 
I never soak my smoker wood anyways. That will make great smoke wood. Combine it with a bit of oak and you are golden! :thu:
 
Smoker loaded up, and if this turns out, I'm in trouble. I'm already looking into creating my own charcoal (I've got to remove three medium sized maples from my lot, too, and they'll leave me a good bit of wood I've gotta get rid of one way or another).
 
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