Always thought charcoal was the only way... then I tried wood chunks from a local orchard.

I threw some hickory from a farm outside Austin into my Weber and the smoke flavor was way cleaner than any bagged stuff I'd used before, has anyone else noticed a difference depending on where the wood comes from?

4 comments

4 Comments

grantp1422d ago

Oh man, I don't know if I'm totally sold on that yet lol. I've tried both local orchard wood and the regular big bag stuff from the store, and honestly they both just give off smoke to me. Like maybe I'm not some kind of smoke sommelier or whatever but I can't really tell a huge difference beyond the type of wood itself. I bet half of it is just in our heads because we want to believe the fancy local stuff is better.

piper77922d ago

Oh man, that's exactly what I found too. I tried some peach wood from a guy with a small orchard in Georgia and the smoke was so much sweeter and cleaner compared to the generic pellets from the big box store. It's like you can actually taste the tree itself instead of just that generic campfire taste. I mean, I always thought wood was just wood, but now I'm totally convinced where it comes from matters a ton.

the_lee22d ago

Are you sure it's not just the peach wood itself though? I mean, peach is just naturally sweeter and milder than something like hickory or mesquite, whether it comes from a local orchard or a factory. @grantp14 I kind of agree with you that a lot of the "local vs store bought" thing might be more about the story we tell ourselves, you know? Like, I've done side by side tests with oak from a big brand and oak from a local guy, and honestly with the same prep and temp, the difference was super tiny. I think the type of wood and how dry it is matters way more than where the tree was standing.

milarodriguez18d ago

piper779 hit it right though, that "generic campfire taste" is exactly what I get from the store stuff. Once you try wood that was grown in actual soil instead of some factory farm, you can't go back. Have you noticed any difference in how long the local wood burns compared to the bagged stuff?