smoking hams

[dr good]

New bloke from Ilbilbie Australia. They call me dr good. Hope I have the correct forum. I have been smoking,mainly home grown pork & chickens, for a little while and using mulberry wood. Another couple of pigs and I will be out of this supply. I have a huge supply of mango wood available but has anyone tried it successfully or is it a no no. The American hardwoods are very expensive here down under, if you can get them, and I am trying to stay with fruit trees. Any ideas?

 

[cajunsmoker]

I would make sure it was dried first, then i would burn a little and check out its aroma and smoke characteristics(oily, smelly, etc) and if it checked out to be OK I would try something small like a chicken. If it's good, then you're in bizness 8)

 

[dr good]

Cajunsmoker. Thanks I would like to be as ignorant as you. Just a matter of 1,2,3 I guess. That looks like a mean smoking machine in your pic.

Will come back with results. It may help another brother. Will take a bit of time though. Busy planting turnips for the pigs.

cheers

dr

 

[larry maddock]

yo,
aussie dude.
im glad to meet you!

if its a hardwood and a fruitwood ,
i dont see how you can go wrong.

let us know how it works.

yo ,
larry

 

[Dutch]

dr good, welcome to SMF. As a general rule, and tree that produces nuts or fruit is considered "safe" for smoking foods-keeping in mind what cajunsmoker said about oiliness and smell.

I figure since mango's are fruit, "Why not?"

Check the "Woods for Smoking" sticky on the Woodburners forum in Smoker section. Maybe some of the woods listed can be found in your area as well.

Good luck with your smokes!

Enjoy!

 

[larry maddock]

yo cajunsmoker ,
tell this missouri show me state dude,
what is, and how do you check for oiliness in wood??

 

[dr good]

Finished the two hams this morning. Ended up de butting (?) them to make a bit easier handling. They were both about 13 kg ( 28 lbs + ) so anything for an easy task. That is the end of Joh the pig. We are hoping that the family will be happy with the results.

Thanks to you blokes for the info on the suppliers, still working on the sites.

Re mango wood. Might get a chance to try it as a test but I think it is NOT a hardwood. It is very porous timber and rots to barely nothing , perhaps in one year. Something like papaya (paw paw here) but not as pulpy or as stringy. Anyway no harm in giving it a burl. Will try to put hams on attachment if anyone is interested.

 

[bwsmith_2000]

Dr. Good,
Now that's what I call good eats! Those hams look great and I'm sure you will enjoy them. Great job.

 

[cajunsmoker]

I mean in the smoke. Just put some paper or a towel or something like that in the stream of smoke and if it is carrying any sooty or oily substances it will show up on the paper. Pine and cedar will show up big time and you can usually actually see it on the wood. I don't know anything about mango's so I would sure want to know something about it before I wasted any meat.

 

[dacdots]

Nice looking hams Dr Good,Its almost time here for for hams and bacons.This year Im waiting for deer season to end before I start on the pigs.Do you cure bacons as well?Id be interested in hearing about your methods of cureing and smoking.

 

[joedo]

Dr. Good,

Just a thought. Can you order bags of hardwood chips via the internet. www.charcoalstore.com, or other sites that sponser this forum. Not sure if the shipping charges would kill you though. It might be worth checking out.

I also roast my own coffee and have ordered beans from downunder and the shipping wasn't that bad.

Joe