Maple !

[Thumper]

I found some excellent maple for smoking. I made splits but I don't think they are dry enough yet.
CleanSplits.jpg
Hoping for a July 4th smoking session... Some splits had bark so I stripped that off with a hatchet. I'll leave these in the sun. Should be dry enough in a couple of weeks.

[Thumper]

That maple smells SWEET!!!

Can't wait to get the baby back ribs on !!

[Do©Hawk]

Nice! Do you have a smoker? Sounds like a dumb question, but I do all my smoking on a basic Weber charcoal kettle grill. I have a stash of Apple Wood after a friend asked me to cut down a couple gnarly old apple trees in his yard. I haven't used any of it yet. It's been drying since last fall.

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by Do©Hawk

Nice! Do you have a smoker? Sounds like a dumb question, but I do all my smoking on a basic Weber charcoal kettle grill. I have a stash of Apple Wood after a friend asked me to cut down a couple gnarly old apple trees in his yard. I haven't used any of it yet. It's been drying since last fall.

With two hungry boys 19-21 years old in the house, the grill is active every couple of weeks! I have a little Weber Smokey Joe for burgers, chops, brats, salmon (for me and me wife). Efficient little grill!

I got into smoking a couple of years ago. Nice deal on a Chargriller Champ offset got me going. Here is the first fire after the high temp RTV cured:

FirstFire.JPG

I split a bunch of white oak, and put it to use

WhiteOakPallette.JPG
Fire.JPG

Ribs are a common choice.

SzegedRibRubPlusPepper.JPG

Unsolicited recommendation... Szeged rib rub plus coarse ground black pepper. Overnight.

[Do©Hawk]

I'll have to look into that rib rub. My wife offered to get me smoker, but I don't want another outdoor cooking device to store. I'm pretty content with the Weber other than limited space.

Ever smoke cream cheese? Brush it with olive oil, coat the brick in the seasoning of your choice, put on foil or a foil pan and smoke away. It doesn't melt and it stays spreadable. Great on crackers, veggies, or whatever else you might like cream cheese on

[Texas Pete]

When I got my vertical drum smoker I got rid of my weber. I have no other BBQ gear than my smoker now. So theres that as a possibility.

[Thumper]

I ran a test burn on the new maple. The splits have been sitting in the sun, but I did the test on firewood from the same batch. This wood lights quick and has very short whitish smoke transience, then goes blue. AWESOME.

I picked up ribs during sales and had FIVE racks to go into this session. Plenty of room in the smoker after cutting most of them in half. A few baby back, and one rack of big spare ribs.

I left a small BB rack intack and split the rest to fit them in the smoker surface.

The tallow isn't WAGYU, but it was freshly rendered from good angus sirloin steaks a couple of days earlier. These went in for another ~3 hours after wrap for tenderization. The butcher paper got soaked in fat, but kept the moisture in. The flavor of these ribs is excellent, but I managed to keep them really juicy as well. Best session yet. NICE mild smoky flavor, juicy ribs. I am so hooked

[ClaraAshdown]

Originally Posted by Thumper

I found some excellent maple for smoking. I made splits but I don't think they are dry enough yet.
Attachment 31529
Hoping for a July 4th smoking session... Some splits had bark so I stripped that off with a hatchet. I'll leave these in the sun. Should be dry enough in a couple of weeks.

Hello,
Removing the bark and letting the splits dry in the sun is a good approach. Depending on your climate and weather conditions, they should be sufficiently dry for your July 4th smoking session in a couple of weeks. Keep them in a dry, sunny spot will help accelerate the drying process.