Good sources for reading up on grilling woods?

Grilling over hardwood ... We all know what a delight it is, and most of us have heard of the "noble" hardwoods that are often used: Hickory and mesquite in the South; oak, maple and fruitwoods (apple, pear, even citrus woods), as well as ... grapevines!

But what about other, less-common, but possibly still usable woods (with the general exception of softwoods/conifers)? In other words: stuff that an opportunist would be interested in.

I've used green ash with great success in past years: it burns very hot and cleanly with almost no smoke (when the wood is seasoned of course). I've heard it casually mentioned that birch is also usable, as is willow - but you don't hear much about them being used.

What about the partly infamous yet fully naturalized Tree of Heaven, a.k.a. "Ghetto Palm" (Ailanthus altissima) which grows so profusely in some areas of our continent? I know the wood can be pithy due to the fast growth of this invasive variety, but I've seen milled staves of the stuff and it looks much like ash, and has a beautiful looking grain to it. Plus - if its fast regrowth is any indication, you could conceivably cut it back every year or two and have a near-constant fresh supply...

Any wood-grilling fans out there with ideas?

I'd be very wary of grilling with Ailanthus altissima. Not only does it smell, it has toxic chemicals in it that inhibit other plants from growing near it. Most people describe the tree as the Spawn of Satan.

That said, ask Steven Raichlen what he thinks: http://www.barbecuebible.com/

Grilling over hardwood ... We all know what a delight it is, and most of us have heard of the "noble" hardwoods that are often used: Hickory and mesquite in the South; oak, maple and fruitwoods (apple, pear, even citrus woods), as well as ... grapevines!

Paul, I would be very careful of grilling over any conifer at all. They have sap and esters that will infuse your cooking and taste like turpentine. Almost any hardwood including those that produce fruit and or nuts are ok, but in my opinion the availability of oak, hickory, apple, and mesquite make the using of any other wood a moot point. I really don't know about using grape vine canes except to say that IOW Victor De La Serna, they are the best available for cooking paella over a wood fire.

Thanks Bob.

Yes, I do avoid conifer wood - point well taken. I can't imagine grilling over burning conifer wood anyway: the soot and creosote it sends up are awful! Though I do confess to having once made sausages over hot pine coals; by that time there was only heat, no smoke, and they turned out alright. But this was over a campfire; I'd never use it in a kettle grill for example.

Larry - thanks for the warning on Ailanthus. I suspected as much, but thought for a moment, "well, technically, the thousands of seed pods produced by the tree are nuts, so ... "

Thanks guys.

Using your logic, I might also qualify. But I don't think my smoke would taste good, either.

I have often thought about trying Sassafras since I have a lot of this growing in my woods. Any thoughts on using this wood?

Bart

BBQ suppliers sell sassafras chips for smoking, so it must be okay. I think it imparts a sweetish flavor.

In my estimation, sassafras would be okay since the leaves are ground for file (used in gumbo), and the bark is used to make sasparilla. I'm pretty certain this is a hardwood. Any soft woods, confiers, or any that grows fast and has a lot of sap or pith would not be a good choice. Almost without exception, any fruit tree wood or nut tree wood will do you proud.

Since our last posts on the topic of Ailanthus, I've found an interesting read online (available here in PDF form).

It seems (see p. 37) that the burning properties of this wood are comparable to white oak, black walnut and birch (not too shabby in my opinion). The question which still remains unanswered is whether Ailanthus would be OK as a grilling, rather than a heating, wood; that would necessitate an analysis of the smoke produced during its combustion to - pardon the pun - "weed out" any possible toxic compounds. Maybe the allelopathic constituents that the roots produce are either absent in the wood, or if present, are destroyed by burning, so as to make it a moot point?

Some more interesting info as well:

Source: The Ailanthus Project, pp. 8-9

There is some evidence of Ailanthus being used as firewood and being promoted in other states. Virginia Tech will be looking at heat value and some other characteristics of Ailanthus for firewood. A portable charcoal kiln was used to convert Ailanthus sawmill slabs and branch wood into natural lump charcoal. Charcoal production was acceptable and more work needs to be done to compare it to other species and acceptance in local markets.

Black Walnut is another tree that produces natural herbicides from its root system. But it's too valuable a wood to burn for grilling anyway.