Anybody used pear wood

[mneeley490]

I have a pear tree out back that used to put out large delicious pears. Now it just puts out really small ones. No idea why.

Many pear trees need another one of the same species nearby to cross pollinate.

 

[Rawhide99]

I have a pear tree out back that used to put out large delicious pears. Now it just puts out really small ones. No idea why.

Not sure how old this tree is, but in the 25 years we've lived here it has done the same. Hundreds of small pears that dry up and fall. The wasps love them. I assume that a good trimming might solve the problem, but the tree is so large I don't want to take it on, nor can I reach anything in the top half of the tree.

 

[Rawhide99]

From the seat of my tractor

 

[yankee2bbq]

I took down a fruit bearing pear tree 2 years ago. Cut into small splits and chunks. Light smoke. Liked it a lot.
Found a peach tree in town that needed a good trimming. Now I have peach wood!

Banjo man out.

 

[DougE]

As long as it's a fruit bearing tree , use it .
If it's a flowering ornamental , no fruit that you can eat , don't use it .

Not quite. Bradford pear is an ornamental pear that bears small inedible fruit but is fine for smoking. I've used a lot of it over the years.

 

[chopsaw]

Not quite.

Yes ,, quite . If you harvest at the wrong time , it's nasty .

 

[in. pred]

i dove into smoking woods years ago. its amazing how many you can use. try some lilac smoked chicken sometime. and if you can get ahold of some orange hoard it. thats some of the best wood i ever used for smoking. peach is another favorite. pear is very mild on the scale. youll love it.

 

[Newglide]

Bradford pear is an ornamental pear that bears small inedible fruit but is fine for smoking. I've used a lot of it over the years.

Thanks Doug, I was always wondering if it was worth using or able to be cooked with

 

[mneeley490]

i dove into smoking woods years ago. its amazing how many you can use. try some lilac smoked chicken sometime. and if you can get ahold of some orange hoard it. thats some of the best wood i ever used for smoking. peach is another favorite. pear is very mild on the scale. youll love it.

Orange is great on poultry.
I smoked some bacon once with peach. It was great, but since it's so light, I'd recommend double smoking it.

 

[Rawhide99]

I'll definitely try some of the pear. I have enough to last a lifetime. Especially since my new smoker is charcoal. Has me thinking I may need another offset because I have access to so much free wood. Pecan, oak, cherry, and just spotted a large mulberry tree on my property.

Years ago I had an offset and used up all the peach and apple trees that weren't producing much. Pecan was my favorite, but peach mixed with hickory was always good.

 

[radioguy]

I have cut down many a Bradford pear, they are weed trees in my area. Smoke is mild. Watch for the thorny branches.

RG

 

[DougE]

I have cut down many a Bradford pear, they are weed trees in my area. Smoke is mild. Watch for the thorny branches.

RG

Finally dubbed as an invasive species and no longer for sale. A little too late as the genie is out of the bottle. They continue to spread taking over areas and choking out native trees that should be growing where they are.

 

[DougE]

Watch for the thorny branches.

The actual cultivated version that were sold in nurseries have no thorns but the ones that propagate from the seed produced by them have some wicked thorns. wicked enough to puncture a tractor tire if you run across them in a field you're bush hogging.

A buddy of mine got 2 flats on his tractor. Ended up having to put boots inside the tires to protect the tubes since the thorns are pretty much there for good.