Wood bark

[Akabiz]

I am sure this has been discussed before but I am not great at looking up old posts and finding what I need. So I would like to know if you should remove the bark off your splits and not use the bark prior to smoking or if it doesn’t matter and you can burn the splits with the bark on. I trust what I hear here more then anywhere else. Thanks for your input.

[Attjack]

A little won't hurt but if I can easily pop it off I do.

[Jerod Broussard]

I never bothered. Bark is good on both ends of the cook.

[HawkerXP]

woof!

[jfmorris]

I don't bother to remove it if present.

[Steve R.]

I don't sweat it too much. But if the wood is well seasoned, it will come right off.

[Huskee]

I remove it if it's loose or punky. If it's intact and dry it burns just fine. Never could tell the difference between bark-on and bark-off and I wonder about those that claim they can and that it must be removed...I call BS.

[Steve R.]

Yeah, but do you you at least pre-burn your wood?

[Huskee]

Steve R. Lol That was a heated discussion there! But actually, I do like to pre-burn and get a stash of black, cracked, partially burnt logs to use if I have the time. Adding them does help keep steadier temps and better smoke (in my experience) than adding a fresh log. But I don't stress about it if I can't.

[Akabiz]

I think the bark thing is bs myself. I need to try and start pre burning my wood. I have thought about doing it but just never have. I have been curious how much it helps.

[Greatplainsbrewer]

If its loose sure, remove it. I burn a lot of burr oak and that bark holds tight to the wood for years. Never seemed to be an issue to burn the bark on seasoned oak.

[Mr. Bones]

I've always thrown it right in th firebox with th rest of th fuel...

[texastweeter]

Ditto

[mountainsmoker]

If its loose it comes off. What you going to do take a spoke shave to the non-loose bark?

[texastweeter]

lol

[cashelton]

I was curious about this too.

I read this article a while back, and found one quote of particular interest.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/05/26/529563192/praise-the-lard-a-barbecue-legend-shows-us-how-to-master-smoked-chicken-wings

"Something a lot of people don't know: Trees have bark. Bark blackens your meat. Your apple wood has a skin. ... It's very thin," Mike says. So apple wood won't darken your meat, he says."

[cashelton]

Steve R. from your experience, does the bark do more than cause the meat to darken?

Today was the first time I've ran across the thought of going bark-less on chunks. Now, I'm very curious on the why

[Steve R.]

My reasoning is that since the wood chunks kind of smolder instead of burning hot, it might be best to have only wood and not bark in there, but I really haven't experimented to find out, I just know what seems to work for me. In my experience, the process of cutting oak, hickory, etc. into chunks causes the bark to fall off, while the thinner barked fruit wood chunks may keep the bark. My Kindling Cracker is handy for taking off a thin layer to include the bark in those instances.

[cashelton]

Thank you!

I've noticed the chunks I've used in the PBC never seem to really burn, they just smolder...I never thought to use chunks without bark.

[Spinaker]

If it is easy to remove, I will take it off before I throw it on the fire. If not, I leave it on.

[cashelton]

I buy mine from a local grill store...I've always hand selected chunks with bark for no real reason. I will approach wood chunks with a different strategy next time!

[Troutman]

No bark .............

[cashelton]

I like this, sometimes I just need directions!!!

[Troutman]

Here's another opinion ....

[Spinaker]

Can't stand small dogs.

[Troutman]

What’s wrong Spin, you don’t want a little pookie nipping at you heals 😂