Sourcing wood for smoking your food
Sourcing wood for smoking food can be a very simple and rewarding task, especially after fresh autumn or spring winds suddenly make oodles of wood available. Most of the wood I’ve used for cold smoking has been sourced from pruning’s in one way or another. The best time for collecting wood is in the winter or ve ry early spring before the sap rises. The sap will add moisture and add time to the drying process. This can be avoided simply by choosing when to prune. Having said that, I have had some great success with woods harvested in the summer, it just takes longer to dry out than wood harvested in the winter. A few years ago I bumped into a cheerful band of tree surgeon in a café on the A10 in North London. They had a load of fantastic oak logs on their truck which had just cut down in one of the local municipal parks. I asked him if I could have a few logs and they were more than pleased to help load them into the car. It didn’t even cost me a cup of tea. Once you know whic...