just got some oak wood for free wanting to know should I take the bark off it
Totally unnecessary to remove the bark.just got some oak wood for free wanting to know should I take the bark off it
I have played around trying it both ways and for me, I can taste a bit of a bitterness in my finished product, more so in my jerky over a smoked ham or turkey. I started to make sure I didn't have bark mixed with my smoking chips and the bitterness went away and I figured the bark was the cause for it?
I know some people don't like using bark, but I don't think you'd ever notice it in the end product if you leave it on.
I'm a charcoal burner, so the only time I encounter bark is on smoking wood chunks and then usually only on the stuff I've pulled from my firewood pile.
I have played around trying it both ways and for me, I can taste a bit of a bitterness in my finished product, more so in my jerky over a smoked ham or turkey. I started to make sure I didn't have bark mixed with my smoking chips and the bitterness went away and I figured the bark was the cause for it?everyone is different I guess.
I play around with trying different things, I am now toying around with the idea of making my own little oven to make Char from my hardwood.
I'm a charcoal burner, so the only time I encounter bark is on smoking wood chunks and then usually only on the stuff I've pulled from my firewood pile.
It may be a situation where if one burns enough bark during a smoke you'd notice it. Are you a stick burner by chance, BB?
I've considered making my own lump charcoal. I've seen a deal you can build from two different sized barrels that looks like it works well. Dunno, might be too much trouble.
I play around with trying different things, I am now toying around with the idea of making my own little oven to make Char from my hardwood.
Char unlike charred wood pulled from a fire pit, is made by baking the hardwood in a controlled oven in the absence of oxygen. The new product Char has no nasties in it like hard wood and will burn hotter, longer, and cleaner with less ash. Just something I thought would be neat to build and save a little money from buying Original Kingsford briquettes to have on hand as backup fuel for smoking.
May I suggest, you build a bed of charcoal and add BARK ONLY and smoke some meat.... Then do the exact same only use CLEAN WOOD with NO bark...just got some oak wood for free wanting to know should I take the bark off it
A buddy and I did this a few weeks ago. Turned out pretty good. We took a barrel and cut a hole in the side at the bottom and in the center of the lid. Welded up an 8" pipe and put it through the holes and put our fire in the pipe. Stuffed wood all the way around inside and let it go about 5-6 hours. Turned out good, next time we will cut the wood up into smaller pieces though. We used whole logs and most were done but a few weren't. Plus your input output is so different so I think we would get more volume by cutting them up and filling in the spaces better than logsI've considered making my own lump charcoal. I've seen a deal you can build from two different sized barrels that looks like it works well. Dunno, might be too much trouble. :icon_mrgreen: