Canadians: Where can I get Large Chunks?

[backcountry]

All I can find at the various retailers here is small bags of small chunks and chips. I'm looking for some larger chunks the size of my palm. Anyone seen any at any of the retail chains or do I have to order them online?

 

[herkysprings]

Go to the Okanagan (interior BC) and cut down some trees. They should have quite a few flavours...

 

[backcountry]

I've got an apple tree in my backyard... Wonder what Mrs. Backcountry would say when she came home and it was all cut up into 3x3 chunks? I think I'd rather buy my wood...

 

[gnubee]

Can't really help ya there, I live in the Okanagan Where all you have to do is drive around in either the spring or fall when they are pruning and the orchardists will give you all the fruit wood you can carry off. Also there is Mesquite growing just south of here for the taking. However even out there in Central Canada, where there is a girl behind every tree, just not many trees, you probably can find some Alder down by the creek or river or Mulberry Or maple, or oak or grapevines, or saskatoon berry bushes etc etc et al. Its out there you just have to look for it. I did order some nice chunks from Cabellas once, I can't remember what type I got but it was a nice size and smoked well.

Here's another idea. I bought a lineal foot of an Oak board at the lumber yard, it was in a 2x6 piece. I just put it on the table saw ripped it in two. then took the resulting 2x3's and cut them into 1 inch thick chunks for the smoker. Worked just fine.
There is a hardwood specialty store in town that has a large assortment of different types of woods Including alder , cherry , apple etc. Perhaps there is one near you where you can pick out some good smoking wood.

Check out this sticky for which woods to look for. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=50439

 

[snowball]

Take a look here:

https://www.cabelas.ca/index.cfm?pag...hunks&x=23&y=7

Cabela's
1300 Ellice Ave.
Winnipeg, MB
R3G 3N1

Regards,
Snowball

 

[backcountry]

http://www.finmaclumber.com/woods.html

Found a distributor. Thanks for the idea of going to a lumber supply company GnuBee!
Who'd have thought to buy wood at a lumber store? Lol...

Snowball, I buy those exact chips/chunks right now from Cabela's and other outdoors stores in Winnipeg. They work ok, but they're the really small chips and chunks I was talking about. I'd like to continue using those, but have a nice big chunk of wood in the middle of all that for a slower burn and steadier, thinner smoke.

 

[gnubee]

Yep that's the kind of lumber store we have about 1/2 mile from my house. You can usually check the scrap bin, sometimes the wood is marked as to species sometimes knot. <------ attempt at humor.

If the guy has a cracked piece or small chunk I get it for nothing. I took him some pulled pork once. Sure it was a

Shameless bribe but it worked cause he saves me small pieces of free wood now.

Glad you found a good source for your chunks.

 

[halljm]

Gentlemen/ ladies: something to consider here, I am in the lumber business and have visited many hardwood lumber processing facilities and yards. Most if not all of them dip the lifts of oak,maple, and cherry in an Anti-bacterial/anti-fungal solution for 1/2 hr to an hr prior to placing them in the kilns to dry them. That being said I am not sure that is something I would want to use to smoke food with, I am not 100% sure that it all dissipates when dried in the kilns or if some remains behind. I am going to check today with the Alder suppliers and see if they are doing the same thing and will post my findings. Just something I thought I would share

regards
mike

Update the alder is free and clear of any chemicals