Baby steps....how to match local wood to meet type?

[Jamil]

Hi fellow members,

This is my first real post/question on the forum and am still finding my way around am excited to e here and learn from the BBQ professionals.


I'll eventually turn this hobby commercially (generate extra income while having fun). First I'll have to experiment with smoking locally. I am a master grill dude. marinates, grilling etc. but smoking is a new path. I bought a broil-mate entry level (two knobs) grill and want to use 2-zone cooking and wood for smoking. There is a big gap between the lid and grill base (when the the lid is closed) and there are two smaller opening on the side. Q: will this effect the cooking temp and do i need to close it with foil or something?

once experimentation is done am planning on getting a commercial gas smoker from Ole Hickory pits and turn up the volume




I've managed to source different types of local fruit wood, they are more like branches and twigs. Q: Will this size/diameter work well for commercial cooking? diameter is 1.5 inches and smaller.

Type of wood sourced: Apple, Apricot, Almond, Pomegranate, Grape (twigs mainly)



My objective is to cook lamb. I'll also serve brisket, chicken, turkey, whit fish and shrimps. I am not sure if anyone here tried smoking with pomegranate or almond or grape. Tried to find which wood matches which meat but i couldn't on those types.

Can you guys help me here? even if its based on educated guess to similar woods from your experience. I'd like to build an initial table with the following (will refine as i test and taste


Meat type (Rows): Lamb, Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Fish and Shrimps.

Wood type (Columns): Apple, Apricot, Almond, Pomegranate, Grape (twigs mainly)

would also b great to know basic smoking info for each Meat type: smoking temp, duration of cooking, duration of smoking, internal temp (medium/ med-well), the need to wrap and cook.

sorry foe the long email and many questions asked.

Thanks,
Jamil

[Nate]

I think I missed saying hello when you introduced yourself sometime back.... so... Welcome from Indiana!

It is awesome to see someone taking the leap to go commercial with their BBQ. I'm not a 100% sure where exactly you are located but from the writing on the labels I could venture a guess as to some geographic regions. That makes answering your question a little trickier because I'm not sure what all kind of equipment, materials, and wood you will have available to you at an economically feasible price for what you are wanting to accomplish.

As for your wood selection. One of the more important things, in my opinion, is what wood you will be able to economically source in the quantity and size needed to feed and work with the Ole Hickory... You don't want your wood requirements to break the bank or be the cause of a significant food cost increase. As you know, in commercial food, it is all about the margins.

As far as matching the meat to wood... Out of the ones you have listed I have only ever used Apple. Of the meats you listed I have only ever used it with poultry and it turned out just fine. I have read that Almond can be used well with most meats. Apricot for fish and poultry. Grapevine is supposed to be great with red meats like Beef and Lamb. I don't recall having read much on pomegranate. Hopefully Huskee will jump in when he gets a chance. He is much more versed in different wood selections.

As far as smoking info goes... well everyone has their own techniques and opinions and I recommend the main AR site for some basics. Meathead's article on Brisket to show the vast differences of philosophies, times, temps, etc... A lot of folks recommend wrapping in butcher paper once the bark is established the way you like it. Poultry usually 325-375 until you hit an internal temp of 165 (some folks like a little higher for dark meat). I'm not a big seafood person so I don't smoke fish or shrimp. Lamb is on my list of things to try smoking.

And about the grill you purchased and questions about it. It is possible to smoke on a gas grill however there are some design limitations using a cooker that is designed to be more of a grill as opposed to a gas cooker that is designed to be more of a smoker. I highly recommend, if you haven't already, look at, read, and study Meathead's article on Gas Grill Setup. It has some good tips on how best to get some good tasting BBQ using a gas grill, different water pan techniques, using wood on gassers, etc... I doubt you are going to have to worry much about the gaps and holes. Just look at those as built in placement options for your digital thermometers!

Like you said, a lot of this will be a little trial and error. Keep us updated on your progress. Anxious to see and learn more about BBQ and the practices on the other side of the world. Best of luck!

[Danjohnston949]

Jamil, Jamil I think if you go to the homepage of Amazing Ribs and do a Search for Smoking Wood You will be able to find a list that Huskee and others Put Together as Nate just said! Nearly all species of Harwood and Fruitwood are suitable for Smoking! Some are better than others, In general
I use chunks of Applewood, Oak and Hickory! Regarding Your Smoker You might want to go to www.smokermods.com they have Sealing Kits available by Smoker Model Numbers!
Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[smokinfatties]

Hi there! Almond wood works OK for smoking, I used some donated wood at an event and it worked OK. Just make sure it has been seasoned properly, i.e. dried out for the right amount of time in the right conditions. Usually you'll want at least 6 months in ideal conditions (warm, dry etc) but a lot of folks prefer to let wood sit up to a year after cutting it. This will obviously depend on the size.

I have heard of people using grapevine cuttings in addition to charcoal to cook fish and shrimp, so that could very well work!

Not sure where you're at, but I would try to get your hands on a better quality starter smoker if you want to work with indirect heat. A weber kettle, pit barrel, weber smoky mountain or something similar would be a great starter to learn how to smoke meat. Your gas grill that you showed us may very well work, but my instinct is that you'll have more trouble trying to figure out the pit and temperature inconsistenies, which doesnt allow as much time for focusing on the product you're cooking etc. And, if the results don't come as planned, it's hard to pinpoint your errors if you have a grill that is unpredictable. You will also likely have a harder time getting a true smoky flavor (if thats what youre looking for) on a gas grill.

One thing to keep in mind is that the ole hickory mainly uses charcoal with wood chunks, so you want to make sure you have a good source of charcoal mroe than anything. After that, wood chunks will be fine.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes

[Jamil]

Thanks guys for the advice, much appreciated I will keep you posted with progress.

[SoCalTim]

Here's some basic pairing info. Courtesy of The Woodshed in Anaheim Ca .. sorry it posted sideways.

[tbob4]

That's a nice resource. Thanks

[tbob4]

Hello Jamil,

Welcome to the pit! Your questions are really broad and you are going to have to do a lot of homework to do things commercially. There are a few commercial chefs here - most of us (myself included) are backyard BBQ's who love what we do. Nate, Danjohnston949 and smokinfatties all gave you great advice. I have cooked with apple, apricot, cherry, peach, almond, madrone, oak and walnut. Almond has been my "go-to" wood because of its abundance where I have lived. smokinfatties is spot on about it. It has to be seasoned for a year, otherwise it can produce a sooty smoke that can leave you wishing you hadn't used it. When seasoned well, it burns nicely and consistency. I have had the exact same experience with walnut - needs extra seasoning. Apple, apricot and peach woods are really nice. They can be sappy if not seasoned well but don't seem to take as long to season. They impart nice flavors to chicken and fish. I have a few grape vines in my back yard and have used small pieces on my ceramic grill - nice smoke flavor on fish but they burn pretty quickly. Most of my wood is larger than what you have pictured. I don't own a gas grill so I can't give advice on combining gas with smoking. There are a lot of good threads about it here. Good luck on your endeavors! Keep us posted on your progress and pass on a few regional recipes from time-to-time.