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Food grade smoking wood?

Started by KnotBB, June 21, 2008, 01:22:57 PM

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KnotBB

Just had my own pig roast for my sons wedding and asked the local meat market where he got his wood to smoke the meat with.  His answer was, "Portland" which is about 1 1/2 hours drive from him.  Asked him why he didn't get it from the local hardwood mill which has oak, maple and alder and he said it had to be....... "Food Grade"

Anybody ever hear of food grade smoking (fire) wood.  Seems a bit strange when burning it would certainly kill any pathogens.
To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.

WH_Conley

"Food Grade" smoking wood around here is whatever I cut and put on the smoker. :D :D

Kidding aside, I would like to hear an answer on this one to.
Bill

Tom

Marketing!

The guy was probably sold on "this wood hasn't got insecticides, pesticides, heavy metals or other Bad Stuff not allowed by the USDA."

I have never heard of a requirement for, nor a definition of,  Food Grade cooking wood.

Of course, you are in ........Oregon.....!   That might make a difference in itself.

Fla._Deadheader


   :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

  Gotta love it. FOOD GRADE  :o :o :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

nas

  You hit the nail on the head Tom 8) 8)

 If you live close to a heavily populated area full of city slickers who who are paranoid of germs, you can sell them a lot of things.  
  The guy probably paid ten times extra for it too.
Better to sit in silence and have everyone think me a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt - Napoleon.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2002 WM LT40HDG25
stihl 066
Husky 365
1 wife
6 Kids

D Martin

If someone is paranoid about health he may want to reconsider smoked food as it has a bit of carcinogens in it anyway. My brother in law and sister (both doctors and food fanatics) have given it up

beenthere

Might be that they only use wood pellets for smoking, and there are food-grade wood pellets, that have a binder to hold the pellets together that will not harm the meat.

Don't know that for a fact, but suspect it might be a possibility.

I supplied the local sausage maker with green hickory several times, until they changed to "liquid smoke" and just brush it on.  I prefer the old-fashion real smoke, myself.  :)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

zopi

nahh...not kwittin' smoked phood...I'll die happy thanks.
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

uncle john

I'm curious about this myself.
I've heard that Oleander (there is an urban legend that a troop of boy scouts was poisoned  by using Oleander sticks as hot dog spears for grilling - where was the troop leader?) is toxic.
What other woods should not be considered for cooking - due to it's toxic nature and not taste? I'm sure old telephone poles and rail road ties are out - what else?
Opportunity is missed by most people because
it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
-  Thomas A. Edison

Robert Long

Walnut.......for the people with a nut allergy! :D :D :D

Robert

zopi

Quote from: uncle john on June 21, 2008, 07:24:58 PM
I'm curious about this myself.
I've heard that Oleander (there is an urban legend that a troop of boy scouts was poisoned  by using Oleander sticks as hot dog spears for grilling - where was the troop leader?) is toxic.
What other woods should not be considered for cooking - due to it's toxic nature and not taste? I'm sure old telephone poles and rail road ties are out - what else?

Never confuse mesquite for creosote...
Got Wood?
LT-15G GO chassis added.
WM sharpener and setter
And lots of junk.

Kansas

Is this kind of like when I have some really lousy lumber and I label it "rustic" and then charge a premium for it? All our hickory and cherry scraps have just become food grade smoking wood. I feel a price hike coming on.

KnotBB

Out here in Oregon we have a tree called Chitum (Cascara) that they peel the bark and sell it to the drug companies to extract a laxative from.  Probably wouldn't make good weiner sticks either. 
I'll have to go "see" this food grade smoking wood.  Maybe it is pellets!

Or it may be just a marketing angle.  I'll try and get more info.
To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.

John Mc

Quote from: KnotBB on June 21, 2008, 01:22:57 PM
Anybody ever hear of food grade smoking (fire) wood.  Seems a bit strange when burning it would certainly kill any pathogens.

Burning wood improperly can CREATE carcinogens, but it has nothing to do with how the wood was raised.

On a related note, I do note that one of the "green"/sustainable forestry organizations around here is pursuing and "organic" certification program. I'm not sure what that involves. I say, more power to 'em. If they can find something that lets then earn a bit more on the forest products, great. This particualr organization has been very into pursuing greater ("Fair") returns for all of those in the processing chain, from landowner, forester, logger, sawmill, etc. If it manages to keep more land as well-managed working forests, rather than raising yet another crop of McMansions, I'm happy.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Toolman

Anyone ever cut slippery elm? My grandpa always called it "pith elm" because that's what it smells like when you cut it. I wonder how that would make your food taste? :D :D
"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have" (Thomas Jefferson)

Tom

I don't worry, too much, about "food grade smoking wood" accept for the few who might use poison ivey, or some other known toxic wood to prepare a meal.  Smoking woods, to all but the very naive, are more than heat,they are taste.  A cook knows which wood to cook upon, species wise, and selects for flavor at every opportunity.  If someone tried to sell me "food grade" wood, I would still ask "what kind".  So, the only thing he could assure me was that it hadn't been soaked in Diesel oil, or something like that.   It just sounds like a marketing gimmick to me.

bck

I remember reading Napoleon lost a bunch of soldiers one night because they used branches from an oleander ( spelled right??) tree to skewer the meat.

Robert Long

Hey Toolman..........Try using "tree of heaven" (ailanthus) now that's a stinky wood!

Robert

thecfarm

The ways things are now a days the butcher needs someone to fall back on so if someone gets "sick" from him smoking the meat,he won't get in trouble.If someone sees food grade at his place but not at another,guess where some would go to buy thier meat from?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

WDH

All my oak, hickory, and pecan is food grade :D.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Tom

I've got some food grade Cherry and Red Bay too.

nas

I hope you guys are charging the 100% upcharge for "food grade" else you might collapse the market. :D :D :D  Just wait till China gets ahold of this idea :o
Better to sit in silence and have everyone think me a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt - Napoleon.

Indecision is the key to flexibility.
2002 WM LT40HDG25
stihl 066
Husky 365
1 wife
6 Kids

mad dog

                                                                                                                                                    cherry or apple,takes very little on a cobb grill 8)
mad dog 78 acres,pasqualli tractor,L-15 woodmiser

Don_Papenburg

Yep , Then they will collor code the ends with lead paint.
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

KnotBB

Hey, I finaly got a better answer from the boss at the meat plant.  It's not FOOD GRADE, it's Sized and kiln dried.

They don't have a true smoker but what is called a smoke generator that is very fussy about what you put in it.  The right size and the right moisture content. 
There can't be any fines.  What he uses looks like minie chips, about 1/4" square with no fines at all.  He can't get it locally but would if he had a source.  The chips go into the top that looks a bit like an old cream seperator top and go down through a center hole to feed the fire.

Oh well, back to the drawing board

To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.

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