If you had not heard last winter Texas experienced the coldest winter on record EVER. I live in Southwest Texas (Del Rio) and the 14-degree temps and a foot of snow out here in the freaking desert killed my Orange and Key Lime trees. (Sadly, I retired here to get out of the cold! go figure! LOL!)
So I was just cutting down the Orange tree and I wondered if anyone has used orange tree wood for smoke material? Does any citrus flavor come through from the wood? Should I be using it in the smoker instead of the front room fireplace?
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Yes, I have and use orange wood on occasion. It's good but not my personal favorite. But since you have it, by all means use it! And no, no citrus flavor will come from any citrus wood smoke. All of that stuff burns up and become plain old smoke. I've read elsewhere where folks will say it does, but I believe it's psychological really. Smoke is smoke if ya ask me!
I have to agree, as long as it hard wood I don't think I can tell the difference honestly but fruit and nut woods smell great peach some how reminds me of competitions I been to but taste all pretty much the same ๐๐๐
The outskirts of Port Elizabeth is citrus country and I use citrus wood whenever I get some donated.
I use it for chicken mainly as I find it a bit light for beef and pork bit I do mix it in with stronger woods too.
I wouldn't go so far to say that smoke is smoke. But I do tend to look at the smoke from any wood as where it fits on the scale of mild to strong smoke flavor.
I hear you, Huskee. My eyes roll so hard I can nearly see my brain when somebody starts describing a citrus (or whatever) "aftertaste" they get from a particular wood.
Iโm not sure what Huskee meant by smoke is smoke, but I can definitely taste a difference in different woods. My favorite is Hickory and I occasionally use Mesquite. I can easily taste a difference in the two different woods. Smoke profiles are definitely different. I recently used Pecan chips in a cook and could tell it had a different smoke profile than any wood Iโve used before. The wood you choose will leave itโs own flavor in your meat IMO, some more than others.
Iโve used oak a few times and could barely taste any smoke though.
Last edited by Panhead John; June 20, 2021, 11:22 AM.
We had something similar happen in Orlando when I was a kid. We moved there from the Gainesville area in '82 or 83 and there were orange groves everywhere. Then in '86 there was a very hard freeze (the same one that took out the Challenger) that absolutely decimated the groves. Almost none of them were replanted and most of the citrus industry stayed in the more southern part of the state.
Orange tree wood for smoking?
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