Is young oak good for smoking. 10" diameter 20' tall

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motolife313

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
Aug 27, 2016
1,334
462
I took down a nice cherry yesterday that actually grows cherrys, anyway there's a young oak in the back yard also. Home owner says he wants it gone too. Are young trees just as good as older tree? Thanks so much Kory. Sorry no pics
 
I'm no wood expert but I have a bunch of those around my place. The mature oaks are way too big for me to mess with so I cut one of the smaller ones over the summer. Used some a counle weeks ago for some baby backs and they came out great. So I say go for it and try it out.

Lance
 
There is no difference between old and young wood.  If you cut the small oak, it will be green (wet) and you will have to allow it to dry for a while before using it.  But the same goes for older wood, if it's alive when you cut it.  Unless you're into splitting logs, go for the smaller branches.  Easier to handle and the pieces dry faster.

And save the cherry for smoking, in case you were just helping your your neighbor get rid of a tree.  Cherry is a great wood for smoking.
 
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It all needs to be cured, no matter how old it is. I got some pecan out of a ladies yard about six months ago. It was about 18-24" diameter and the tree guy cut it into slices about 8-10" thick. Then all I had to do was rent a splitter and cut the pie.
 
Ok cool. I'll chop it down tomorrow. I'll check the age too. I plan to use this wood for bbqing. I've got about 10 -12 cords in the last 2 months from CL, all hard woods. Got a whole plum tree too. That bark and the cherry I got the other day looked a lot alike. The blossom cherry looks different. I've got some of that too. Thanks again
 
Moto -- You are on a roll. Need to start looking for someone to give you a cow, pig, goat and a couple of chickens. 
 
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Moto, FWIW, cherry, plum, apple, and apricot are in the same family of plants.  Hence the bark appears similar.  With 10-12 cords of wood on hand, why spend the effort to get more?  I heated my house with a wood burning stove for a number of years and burned only 3 1/2 cords each winter with the stove going 24/7.
 
I like getting the wood kinda. And could sell the some to campers and BBQ guys. There's places that sell Apple , maple alder for 3$ per pound lol. I'd sell it for 25 cents a pound. And I'm building a unicorn cone log spliter right now to help out. I like to have small bonfires too and cook over it.
 
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