Just curious. Has anyone ever tried Locust wood? I know in terms of BTU's in a firewood situation, it burns very hot. I have tons of it on my property and just wondered if there is anyone who has tried it.
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Welcome to The Pit, we are happy to have you here!
I have not used it before, but I have a ton of it as well. I always use it for the Cast iron stove or the fire place. As you know, it burns hot. It also has a very strong flavor. This can be bitter and distasteful. There is a lot of energy locked up in the wood, however it isn't ideal for smoking.
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-Spinaker
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I know I'm coming into this late (I'm new here), but thanks for the info on locust, this is useful! I had a black locust fall while on vacation last month, so I cut it up for use in our fire pit. I'll have to pick it out, as I have some maple mixed in there (my backyard is a hot mess of trees). I'll skip the smoking part.
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Welcome to The Pit! Depending on what cooker(s) you have, I recommend a test. Buy some cheap chicken, like drumsticks or thighs. Add a small chunk of it to your charcoal and season the chicken very lightly so you can best taste the smoke. If you have 2 cookers- do 2 small batches at the same time, one with a known favorite wood and one with locust. Then you can do a side by side taste test with real-world circumstances for yourself.Comment
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I have used locust in my cookers, in small amounts. It was utilized as much fer supplamental BTU's, as anything, but it did not skew my flavour profile I was seekin', due to small amounts.
My rec fer yerself, an' Spinaker, is try some cooks with it, since ya' have a bumper crop.
I mean, like one small chunk, by itself, in a 22.5", with some inexpensive proteins, see what ya' think...
Ya' might be on to TH' Next Great Thing!!!", an' be sittin' on a Gold Mine.
Better yet, it could be our Secret, complete with a Secret Handshake, an' make mind-blowin' BBQ that nobody will be able to match, or duplicate. All things are possible...
Tell y'all what...if both ya' wanna send me a USPS Large Priority Box of Very Seasoned 3"-ish split chunks, I'll not only do alla th' experimentation, an' report my results, but I'll pay ya' both th' Priority shippin'.
Anybody in? I want summat, been down 2-3 yrs, I sez, give it time to breathe, some.
We'll start, there...
Hail, let's us jus' find out th' answer...
I can get, literally tons of it, here, as well...
Welcome to th' Pit, from Kansas Territory, BTW!
Last edited by Mr. Bones; June 13, 2017, 07:14 PM.Comment
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Welcome to fun and learning!Comment
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Thanks for starting this topic Tombstone ! I was JUST going to post a question about this on another thread, but searched first and found you had beat me to it by one day. I have harvested several trees' worth of honey locust this year for firewood and was wondering about this myself. When I get home this evening, I'm going to pull some aside, and check the moisture level. Once it's dried out enough I'll be doing some testing and posting the results here.Comment
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Hey Thanks for all the responses! I think I will experiment with it a bit, but come to think of it it does have a fairly strong aroma to it when you cut it. Who knows? Also, I guess there are also two kinds of locust. Black and Honey. What I have are Black.Comment
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I'm not an expert but found this on Wikipedia....might be risky:
"The bark, leaves, and wood are toxic to both humans and livestock"
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So, that's pretty interesting. I Wiki'd honey locust, and its pods are edible and is not considered toxic like the black locust, so I feel a little safer.
(an interesting twist on the black locust though is that it produces honey that people harvest, so some part of it is still edible while most other parts are dangerous)
The interesting question is, how does one determine whether a wood is safe to use or not? It seems like much of what we know/do is informed by just knowing that others have gone before us and used a specie of wood successfully for smoking. (reminds me of how Pollan opens The Omnivore's Dilemma) What is the important piece of information you need to know? Is it just that if part of it is toxic, you should generally stay away? Or is it only if a certain part(s) are toxic?
I know if you burn poison ivy the smoke from that can literally give you a poison ivy reaction internally, so there should probably be proper precautions taken, or some sort of informed decision made, before using a new/different type of wood. But how do you know for sure that you're being safe?
Do docblonder or Meathead possibly have any wisdom to share on this subject?Comment
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One useful resources is http://www.wood-database.com/wood-ar...-and-toxicity/
Never use a wood with a 4 star rating. 2 ok. Black locust is a 3. Local soil conditions can modify toxicity, and people vary in their response to toxins.
Generally an unnecessary risk, and I'd let the wood rot. But mad scientist that I am, i sometime put my arm in the smoke (don't breath!) for a minute or two, and then scratch my arm. See if it raises a huge welt (try with oak on an earlier day as a calibration run). Then breath a bit in my mouth (like a cigar). See if I blow up like a balloon or pass out....
As a rule of thumb, if deadwood doesn't rot on moist ground, or if insects and termites avoid munching, you should too.
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And this folks is why this forum is so great! People with a common interest sharing what they know. This question alone made it worth the cost of admission. ;-) Thanks everyone.Comment
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I am running a test right now on honey locust wood vs. apple wood as a control.
My test is not scientific by any means, but realistic. Two kettles, each with an SnS, each with a half chimney of well-lit charcoal. One has 1 small chunk of apple, the other one small chunk of honey locust.
Cooking chicken legs. Only salt on them so as not to mask the smoke flavor with any other seasonings, at least until the taste test is complete. Half of them on each kettle.
So far the honey locust smells very good. It doesn't smell too different from the apple to be honest. This is a good sign, but it's early yet. I will give my family a blind taste test to see if they prefer one or the other, and I'll give my non-blind subjective opinion on the differences.
I will update here on the flavor perceptions....Comment
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I was splitting a bunch of honey locust for firewood last evening, and it does have such a pleasant smell. I hope it turns out to be a viable and unique option for smoking... Can't wait for the results!Comment
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So the jury is in!
My thoughts: Very little, if any, discernible difference between apple and honey locust. I liked both and thought both were incredibly delicious and similar smoke flavor. And believe me, I was trying to notice subtle differences. Side by side it was difficult to tell if there truly was a difference or if it might have been in my head. I'm sticking with barely a difference.
My wife's thoughts (blind taste test): She thought they were both very similar but the apple won out by a narrow margin. "I think this one is better" [pointing at the apple one, not knowing which was which] "but it's hard to tell really."
My son's thoughts (blind test): He loved both and thought they were similar but after two bites of each (back & forth) he said the honey locust tasted better.
So, in my non-scientific test it's a tie!
*My disclaimers:
I'm at the mercy of the individual who supplied me the wood that it is in fact honey locust, my test assumes this is accurate.
I ended up using two small-ish prices of each wood-- about a fist sized amount total on each cooker--on the SnS with half a chimney of well-lit coals each (to minimize the actual charcoal's smoke).
One chunk added with coals to smell the smoke. The other added as the chicken was added once both cookers got up to ~350. This SnS method will of course lead to a different flavor (in theory) than using straight wood of either variety in a stickburner. So don't use honey locust on a stickburner and get mad at me that it's way different than apple in that context!
Cooked at ~350-375 for about 50 minutes each cooker to an average drumstick temp of ~180 (my preference for dark meat).
I used only salt. No other spices or sauce to conflict with the smoke. And no other seasonings were needed, it was delicious. I ended up eating 5 by myself!
Here's the visual:
Apple wood
Honey locust:
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but it really is so helpful taste testing woods and rubs.
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