cottonwood for smoking?

[redneck1676]

Had anyone ever used Cottonwood in their smoker? I just picked up a load for the fire pit, but wasn't sure about using it in the smoker. What do ya think?

 

[jeoberg]

Doesn't burn hot and the smoke stinks. At least that is my experience.

 

[redneck1676]

Yeah I wasn't sure about it. Its real green so I figured ask the experts. straight to the burn pile for it then. Thanks

 

[Dutch]

I don't even use it for camp fires. Like jeoburg said, "it stinks"~to me it smells like someone pee'd in a fire (I'm a veteran Scouter~I know these things). Just imagine what your food would taste like!

 

[turnandburn]

I don't even use it for camp fires. Like jeoburg said, "it stinks"~to me it smells like someone pee'd in a fire (I'm a veteran Scouter~I know these things). Just imagine what your food would taste like!

the fact that that smell is burnt into your memory is disturbing....lol. it mustve been bad. lol. funny but bad.

 

[redneck1676]

Well if smell like that when you burn it anybody want a mess of cottonwood. Lol

 

[jrod62]

I wish it was good to burn. I would never have to buy wood chunks again . my cottonwood tree is a monster. By far the biggest tree in town.

 

[jeoberg]

For what it is worth, cottonwood also takes a long time to dry (up to two years) and will sometimes rot before it dries. Smell isn't quite so bad when fully dried.

 

[smokinhusker]

Stinky stuff

 

[mr t 59874]

I agree with the ones below.  Very light flavor.  I put dead cotton wood in the chipper and use the chips.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/106132/cottonwood

Tom

 

[Dutch]

the fact that that smell is burnt into your memory is disturbing....lol. it mustve been bad. lol. funny but bad.

With about 17 years as a Scoutmaster under my belt, that means a lot of overnight and summer camps with a lot of new Scouts getting the ol' double dog dare ya to pee in the fire" from the older scouts.

 

[turnandburn]

With about 17 years as a Scoutmaster under my belt, that means a lot of overnight and summer camps with a lot of new Scouts getting the ol' double dog dare ya to pee in the fire" from the older scouts.

haha. classic!

 

[foamheart]

Not only can you not cook with it, never use it for lashing anything. It like weeping willow and bends terribly. It is funny to watch a new patrol lash a rope bridge with it. The bark does strip off nicely though if you need to tie something in primative form.

 

[jeoberg]

I agree with the ones below.  Very light flavor.  I put dead cotton wood in the chipper and use the chips.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/106132/cottonwood

Tom

This and other discussions I found on cottonwood make me wonder if we are talking about the same tree.  Even dry, I wouldn't want cottonwood anywhere near my food.

 

[redneck1676]

Never had any cottonwood so didn't know. Now I've just got to get rid of it all

 

[mr t 59874]

This and other discussions I found on cottonwood make me wonder if we are talking about the same tree.  Even dry, I wouldn't want cottonwood anywhere near my food.

Black Cottonwood variety here.  Don't have any idea what variety yours might be.

Tom

 

[jeoberg]

I imagine when dried you could use it in a fire pit. At least on windy days.

 

[jeoberg]

I'm not sure, I think it is eastern cottonwood.

 

[redneck1676]

As long as we stay upwind may be fine

 

[garand555]

Could be a variety issue. As was stated somewhere above, it can take a long time to cure. (Not so much here, where triple digit temps + single digit relative humidities happen.) It can smell like cat piss when not cured, but when cured it is very mild. It's like night and day between cured and not cured. I've never used it in a smoker, but I've used very well cured cotton wood for open flame cooking with great results. It can also be a PITA to split, but splitting it will help it cure faster. FYI, I have a cottonwood forest behind my house, which explains why I've burned a lot of it. When properly cured and split into smallish pieces, it will burn very hot and fast and leave a fairly small amount of coals. Big chunks tend to smolder for a while, especially when not quite cured. I've heard that well cured cottonwood is good for fish, but I've obviously not tried it.