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Molded Wood

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    Molded Wood

    Mold has grown on some of my smoking wood. My first thought was that the cooking fire will destroy any nasties. But, my second thought was that I should take no chances and just get rid of the wood.

    What say you members of the Pit?

    Thanks.

    #2
    Pre burn it.

    Comment


    • Mr. Bones
      Mr. Bones commented
      Editing a comment
      Yup.

    • W.A.
      W.A. commented
      Editing a comment
      Ageed!!!!!

    #3
    Use it. By the time you are getting reasonably clean smoke, it'll be plenty "sterile".

    Comment


      #4
      Junk the mold. No idea how deep or how toxic it might be when burned. Pretty sure Meathead is with me on this one.

      Comment


      • CeramicChef
        CeramicChef commented
        Editing a comment
        The older I get, the more I realize I took a LOT of unnecessary risks in my younger, dumber years. I'd junk the wood and not risk it. Wood is too cheap and health is too dear. I don't go looking for trouble these days and this is potential trouble.

      #5
      Heat will destroy spores...but when exactly. I agree with Jon Solberg that if you're going to use it, preburn it so that you're in the clear. I am not sure if it's necessary to junk it or not...but then again playing it safe never hurt anyone. After all, it's just wood. It does grow on trees.

      Comment


        #6
        Friends74 use the molded wood to create you coal base/embers and use the good wood for the smoke.

        Comment


          #7
          I was with @Pocketkettleblack. Now I'm not sure. The issue is toxins that CAN be produced by molds or odd smells (but not all molds are toxic - just ask Mr. Roquefort). But usually the amount of mold is small in comparison to the total wood and the process of burning completely alters all the chemicals, so I wonder if toxins could make it through the process. I have not done a literature search yet and I doubt anything has been written. I do think that as others have suggested, scraping off the visible molds and burning it down to embers will probably makes it safe. Last week I gave my new wood burning pizza oven a test drive and when I opened the plastic garbage can the wood was stored in it smelled pretty musty. The process involves burning the wood to embers in the center of the oven and then pushing it to the side or back and adding a fresh log. The pizzas were killer and there was no hint of mold (or wood smell for that matter).

          Comment


          • dirtman
            dirtman commented
            Editing a comment
            Meathead, what type of Pizza oven did you get and do you recommend it?

          #8
          Thank you, everyone, for the thoughtful responses.

          Comment


            #9
            Glad I was able to find this post. Found a few logs with mold on them today when I went to start the smoker. My pile isn’t covered, at the direction of my wood supplier, so I would think it’s getting plenty of air. Maybe it needs more direct sunlight?

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              #10
              Mold spores are omnipresent, especially on wood. If it's turning punky toss it, otherwise I doubt it will be a problem once subjected to high heat. No science here, just looking at it practically.

              Comment


                #11
                It's a split by split decision with me. First I will just knock the mold off the bark or try to debark the split entirely. If it's punky I toss it in a pile and use it as the wood building my coal base in the next cook. We got a local supplier that is now selling debarked red and white oak. It's a bit more expensive but I'm not convinced of any particular advantages that it might bring over wood with the bark on. I'm sure I have burned a good amount of mold over the years in my stick burner. Never any ill effects.

                Comment


                • Mr. Bones
                  Mr. Bones commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Zackly.

                #12
                Hurricane Harvey mold wrath. I tossed it. Heck, insurance paid me half price for this box of rotten peach, apple and cherry! Can't complain. I tried to use it cus I'll eat anything, but it did give off some "off smoke" smells. I was mainly worried about the flood waters that flooded this box. Them waters weren't exactly clean. And the mold looked pretty scary up close. I would rather use clean wood.




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                • Mr. Bones
                  Mr. Bones commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Agreed, it's what's in th waters, uugghh....

                • Spinaker
                  Spinaker commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Yeah I'd be tossing those out for sure. Who knows what was in that water. Eeeek!

                #13
                I have a little bit of mold on the surface of some of my logs. I don't usually worry about it too much. if it is just a thin layer of mold on the end grain, I throw it on the fire. I have never had major issues with mold.

                I store the bulk of mine out at my Dad's property, he gets plenty of wind of the lake to keep things dry. You need to make sure the wood it elevated, in a well ventilated area, with partial or full sunlight to really keep things nice.

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