Bark

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Cliff H.

Master Chef
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Messages
6,143
Location
Jonesboro, Arkansas
I may have already asked this question.

I am starting to collect a good mix of wood.

From the nut trees I have hickory and pecan.

From the fruit trees I have mayhaw, pear, cherry and some newly aquired apple from a June apple tree.

I always peel the bark off the hickory and pecan. The cherry wood has a really thick inner layer under a really thin outer layer of bark. I have been told not to burn it.

The pear and apple have a thin bark that is pretty clean looking on the outside.

Does everybody peel the bark off of every type of wood ?
 
I do - but I must admit that I don't really know why. I may have read a post somewhere claiming that the smoke from bark is more bitter and sooty - so that's why I get rid of it. But in all honesty I'm not sure if it makes a difference.
 
Mr. Big Wheel and I had this discussion a while back. I believe he has a buddy that cooks with nothing but bark.
I leave it on but I have also heard it is bitter.
 
With a few cooks under my belt on the Klose using only wood with the bark on it for the whole cook...I have not noticed it being "BITTER" or noticeably different then WSM cooks.
 
I usually try to remove the bark.

The bark and the cambium layer on the outside of the wood contain sugars that will make the tase bitter.

Heartwood is the stuff that has the taste you are seeking, also green wood should never be used.

Wood that is cut in the spring and early summer will be easier to strip of the bark than wood that is cut in the winter when the sap has retreated to the roots, and the outer layer of cellulose has started to harden into heartwood.

A little bark won't hurt though.

img_158911_0_f7b3cd141941c2c8f325ef20c8989479.jpg

I bought a small wood chipper from DR Power and chip up hickory and fruit wood. The wheelbarrow is filled with apple wood from a dead tree on my property. I usually try to pick out most of the bark fragments when I bag it.

Mostly I like hickory that has been laying on the ground for a year or so and has a little spalting in it. It imparts a sweet savory taste to the meat that reminds me of the taste I remember when I was a kid and eating barbecue in south central Virginia.

It is that taste I have been hunting for all my life.
 
I use the logs with the bark on. I will pull some bark off and save it and use it if I need to bring up the temps quickly. I have not noticed any bitterness in Oak.
 
monty3777 said:
Greg Rempe said:
With a few cooks under my belt on the Klose using only wood with the bark on it for the whole cook...I have not noticed it being "BITTER" or noticeably different then WSM cooks.

No pics - no cooks ;)
ROFL!
 
Bark is where the flavor resides in most woods. Might be some exceptions but cant think of any. With Pee Can the best flavor is in the nut shells. Suspect it work the same way with Hickory..just aint never had no Hickory Nut shells to play with. I had some barkless Oak one time and the flavor was so lacking might have well been cooking with cardboard boxes.

bigwheel
 
This question has been played out over the innertubes for years....from
my own minimal experience, I truly desire a little bark on my wood.
I do believe too much can leave a bitter taste on chicken and maybe
ribs, but I find the flavor lacking if I don't some bark in there...ymmv
 

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