Is there a better time to harvest smoking wood? Last few batches have had a bit of an off taste (cherry). I'm curious if it could be the specific tree or possibly time of year when harvested?

Ide like to gather a few years worth and dry/prep it but want to avoid any weird taste.

Thanks.

Try hickory. Have harvested it all times of the year and
Love the taste of it for pork chicken and fish

The only time I encountered bitterness or off taste was from slightly green apple wood

Make sure you remove the bark.

are you using petroleum-based bar oil?

You bring up a great point.

Yep... and I'm cutting everything into slices with the saw. We may have found the culprit. Thank you

Too much smoke also makes meat bitter. Farmers almanac says it is a good time to cut fire wood today.

Are you seasoning the wood or using fresh? Green wood gives heavy and potentially bitter smoke

been using cherry for all the outdoor grilling and smoking for several years. Only gets bitter if it gets to heavy smoked. I discovered that when I got my first smoker.

I've always used hickory chips that I buy at Walmart or wherever they are sold.

Never understood the difference, but in MO, we have a wild cherry that grows in fence rows and other places. When used for smoking meat, that stuff is nasty. Nothing at all like the cherry wood chips, chunks or pellets sold in stores for smoking.

I only use fruit wood.....mostly cherry but also mulberry now and then....... for pork.......pork ribs and pork shoulders. All beef and sausage gets oak, pecan or hickory.

I do season the wood by leaving it near my wood stove in smaller chunks. I've never used the moisture meter on it but it's dry when used. I haven't been removing bark.

I got a new smoker and I also suspect I may be getting a lot more smoke on the meat than with the old one. I think it's multiple factors after reading the thread. We have very few hickory around, I mainly use maple, cherry and apple. I'm going to throw some of each in bags and hang them inside the shed. I'll debark this time and not use the chainsaw when prepping.

Thanks all

What kind of smoke are you getting on your smoker? if its black, thats not good because your combustion is incomplete and throwing all sorts of nastiness around. You want that bluish color smoke

I much prefer pecan to fruit wood

Is the new smoker electric?? Electric ones need a lot less wood.

Yes, new one is electric. The propane smoker I would pour the wood to it, this one I apparently need to back way off.

Have you tried using mulberry? Mulberry is by far my favorite wood to grill and smoke over. It gives a sweet, pleasant, Smokey flavor.

My friend Thad is in Boar's Night Out, a group that frequently wins the World Championship Barbecue Competition. They use mulberry in their blend.

Keith

It's probably just to much smoke causing the bad taste. Most recipes for electric smoking only call for 2-3 oz of wood. That's about a 3" x 2" x 1" block.

What brand/model of smoker?

Very good point SNIPPERBBB.

I'll different give mulberry a try. I have never heard of using it but now ide really like to

I have a cabelas commercial grade smoker now, this one
https://www.cabelas.com/p/cabelas-commercial-grade-smokehouse-digital-smoker