Grilling with wood

**eldondre** · 03-01-2011, 05:18 PM

it's that time of year again (almost), anyone have opinions on grilling with wood?

1. Grill over wood
Forget about the gas-versus-charcoal debate: Wood is the only fuel that adds real flavor to food. If possible, use whole hardwood logs in a wood-burning grill. The next best option is to burn hardwood chunks in a regular grill. (Light them in a chimney starter as you would charcoal.) As a last resort, toss some wood chips onto the coals of your charcoal grill—you use hardwood charcoal, right?—or in the smoker box of your gas grill just before you begin grilling.

10 Easy Ways to Master the Grill | Food & Wine

anyone know the ins and outs of grilling with wood (probably chunks for city folk), lump charcoal, and briquettes? feel free to throw in bbq advice as well. specific applications I'd like to use this year are
steak over mesquite, pork chops over maple

**pahiker6** · 03-01-2011, 05:41 PM

I've only used lump charcoal and briquettes. Having done both, I prefer briquettes. I found lump charcoal to get hotter than briquettes, sometimes too f'ing hot to want to deal with. Lump charcoal burns much quicker than briquettes. I wasn't able to notice any differences in flavor. I only used one brand of lump charcoal, however. I can't recall the name.

For briquettes I use Stubbs whenever possible.

I read some advice online from a "pit master". He said something to the effect that when cooking for less than 4 hours the wood type does not matter.

**LUCas** · 03-01-2011, 05:54 PM

Unfortunately, I'm still using a gas grill. Will replace with a good wood burning one when it dies. In the meantime, I use wood chips on the burner every time I grill. Just soak a handfull in water for an hour, wrap in tinfoil, punch some holes with fork, and throw it right on the burner under the grate. It definitely improves the flavor of everything. And it's fun to experiment with different kinds of wood.

I also do quite a bit of plank grilling for fish or chicken. You can get them at Wholefoods. Again, soak it for an hour, put it on the grill for 5 minutes, flip it over and put your food on the charred side (after coating with a little oil). I can usually get 4-5 uses out of each plank. Just scrape them clean when done and make sure to rotate which side you start with as it starts to curl. I use them mostly for fish (no more worrying about it breaking apart, no flipping) but also chicken breasts or center cut pork loins.

**thoth** · 03-01-2011, 05:55 PM

This is how all the argentinian asados. Most of the ones i went to were made in ground level pits in people's backyards (even in the cities). They'd pile in a bunch of wood, burn it down to embers and throw a big gridiron straight onto the coal bed. They'd cook a ton of meat down and cook the **** out of it, which I wasn't a fan of, but even overcooking couldn't totally take away from the great smokey flavor of the wood. We just bought a big metal brazier for our backyard for exactly this purpose.

Originally Posted by eldondre

it's that time of year again (almost), anyone have opinions on grilling with wood?

10 Easy Ways to Master the Grill | Food & Wine

anyone know the ins and outs of grilling with wood (probably chunks for city folk), lump charcoal, and briquettes? feel free to throw in bbq advice as well. specific applications I'd like to use this year are
steak over mesquite, pork chops over maple

**jazzcat** · 03-01-2011, 06:00 PM

Charcoal fan...good hardwood charcoal.

Yes, it means planning ahead...and sometimes using indirect cooking....

All hardwood charcoal is not the same at all...some burn very fast..some give off ash..it makes a big difference.

**Bob_Head** · 03-01-2011, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by eldondre

it's that time of year again (almost), anyone have opinions on grilling with wood?

Stand a little further back so you don't burn your dick.

**LUCas** · 03-01-2011, 06:03 PM

Ashey wood is the worst. Fortunately they have creams for that. Work well when applied liberally.

**Braveheart** · 03-01-2011, 06:52 PM

They say Hickory is one of the best so I studied up on Hickory trees on Google (hello?) and we noticed that a
little known part of Evansburg Park that we visit has plenty of Hickory. Branches on the ground all over, FREE!

I hate paying for charcoal.

**eldondre** · 03-01-2011, 07:29 PM

hickory is the most versatile but some of the sweeter woods work well with pork as far as i can tell. mesquite imparts a good flavor onto beef.
thoth-do you always have to burn them down to embers or can you cook indirectly using the heat?

**Braveheart** · 03-01-2011, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by eldondre

hickory is the most versatile but some of the sweeter woods work well with pork as far as i can tell. mesquite imparts a good flavor onto beef.
thoth-do you always have to burn them down to embers or can you cook indirectly using the heat?

Any of the fruit/hard woods are a premium, so anybody trimming their cherry tree should cherish those branches.

Pear, apple, peach, never tried mulberry but there's a big one near me on the river trail that could probably use
a healthy pruning and I have the tools. I have grape vines that grow wild on my fence and I should try those.

**thoth** · 03-01-2011, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by eldondre

hickory is the most versatile but some of the sweeter woods work well with pork as far as i can tell. mesquite imparts a good flavor onto beef.
thoth-do you always have to burn them down to embers or can you cook indirectly using the heat?

What I saw in Arg was people getting wood down to glowing embers for a longer, slower cook, probably to avoid scorching the meat with flaming wood. However, like I said, in my opinion they tend cook their beef to the verge of jerky, and real BBQ was unknown, so the practice struck me as unfortunate because of my propensity for a bloody-as-hell steak.

I don't like to cook quite as close to the embers or for as long, I usually get a medium heat going, somewhat hotter than the Argies, and, for steak at least, cook directly on both sides for just a few minutes. Imparts some flavor of the wood, gets a nice sear on the outside flesh of the steak, but keeps a nice bloody center. If I had access to beef as good as Argentina here, I'd be in heaven.

You can try whatever style seems like it would suit your needs best, of course. Indirect heat is tried and true, always good for your veggies, ribs, thick cuts of chicken etc, and no reason you couldn't do it with a wood fire. The brazier we got is probably 3.5 feet in diameter, so you got a lotta room to work with.

**Braveheart** · 03-01-2011, 10:00 PM

Man that brazier sounds nice!

I've just made a nice wood fire and wait for the wood to go to coals and it's ready to go. A nice aspect is that you can
add smaller branches as the heat dies down.

**eldondre** · 03-01-2011, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by thoth

What I saw in Arg was people getting wood down to glowing embers for a longer, slower cook, probably to avoid scorching the meat with flaming wood. However, like I said, in my opinion they tend cook their beef to the verge of jerky, and real BBQ was unknown, so the practice struck me as unfortunate because of my propensity for a bloody-as-hell steak.

I don't like to cook quite as close to the embers or for as long, I usually get a medium heat going, somewhat hotter than the Argies, and, for steak at least, cook directly on both sides for just a few minutes. Imparts some flavor of the wood, gets a nice sear on the outside flesh of the steak, but keeps a nice bloody center. If I had access to beef as good as Argentina here, I'd be in heaven.

You can try whatever style seems like it would suit your needs best, of course. Indirect heat is tried and true, always good for your veggies, ribs, thick cuts of chicken etc, and no reason you couldn't do it with a wood fire. The brazier we got is probably 3.5 feet in diameter, so you got a lotta room to work with.

barring flying some beef in from texas or argentina ochs is as good as ive found here. their dry aged steaks are pretty good.
with steaks you often want that sear though i certainly didnt mind the slower cooked ones we gotthere....especially obrero. i believe they had a wood fired grill

**stock** · 03-02-2011, 02:14 AM

We used avacado wood growing up in FLA. Now I use a natural charcoal and add hard woods as I find them. Usually soaking the sweet woods (mesquite) before adding them.

You need a bigger grill so you can move the product around to get the right temp. It's a skill that takes a little practice.

**StrangeTanks** · 03-02-2011, 09:03 AM

I installed a concrete firepit in my yard a couple years ago. I grill with wood all summer and I have to say I love it.

I sorta just use whatever hardwood I happen to have handy, light it and wait till the fire dies down to coals. Then off to cooking. If I'm cooking directly on the flame, I like to throw in some fresh wood towards the end to really get a higher flame and a nice sear. I also have a big ole cast iron pan I'll throw on there for veggies and stuff.

**FourS** · 03-02-2011, 02:55 PM

Originally Posted by Braveheart

I have grape vines that grow wild on my fence and I should try those.

Definitely give them a try. It's a more subtle flavor than some, but nice. Years ago I smoked tomatoes with vine and they came out great. This was in a smoker, not on a grill, and I kept the heat really low. I smoked chicken with vine too.

I think I like apple the best. My father has a few big pear trees and he uses that a lot. It seems a little softer/quicker burning, but that might not be the case. He refuses to use charcoal at all but he has enough hardwood trees that he can do that (oak and maple are nice too). Us city folks don't have that luxury.

**grillmo** · 10-02-2012, 02:30 PM

Hi all! I just joined this forum and I see a lot of grilling wood options you guys suggest. What about wood grilling equipment options? I am a chef by passion and a engineer by trade and i have been working on a product for that lets you cook anything over an open fire. myfiregrill.com Let me know whar you think.

**eldondre** · 10-02-2012, 03:03 PM

I have not found any good places in Philly to buy wood for grilling or smoking. even good chunks for smoking are hard to come buy, just the usual lowe's/home depot stuff sadly.

**Corydon** · 10-02-2012, 07:32 PM

Linvilla Orchards sells fruit woods in big chunks- it's around $10 for a half bushel, I think. I've bought apple and peach for smoking, and have seen more exotic woods like grape and mulberry as well.

**Pitt** · 10-03-2012, 12:32 AM

I use wood with lump charcoal (not briquettes that require lighter fluid) when I smoke meats, but I've never used just wood. I do plan on it, but I'm new to smoking and plan to take it one weekend at a time. Big brisket this weekend.
Anyone have any fine dry rub recipes? I've only smoked vinegar based pork thus far.