# Chestnut wood



## JohnL

Hello,
I'm taking down a chesnut tree today for my Dad and was wondering if the wood would be any good for smoking. I usually use hickory or cherry because it grows out back and I really like the taste. Has anyone here tried chesnut?
John.


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## ronjohn55

I've never used it, but one of the BBQ sites lists it as a wood suitable for smoking. No real description of it though...

http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/8.html

John


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## JohnL

Hello John,
I did a search also and came up with the same result. I was just hoping that someone on DC had tried it and could make some recommendations. I just cut the tree down today, so I'll cut some up into chunks to let them dry out in the garage. When dry, I'll try it with chicken in the smoker. At 69 cents a lb. for chicken, I can't loose too much if I don't like the taste.
Thank you for the reply,
John.


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## jminion

John
Burn some and smell it, if you like what you smell chances are you like it on food. Trees that produce fruit or nuts can be used. I would go light so you can get a feel for the strenght of the smoke. 
Jim


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## JohnL

That's a good suggestion, I'll try it. (sure beats ruining a chicken) 
Thanks Jim.


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## Poppinfresh

Chestnut's a decent wood to smoke with, but not really on its own (at least for me).  It's a little "too" sweet.  Mix it with something like mesquite or (great if you can find it) lemon or walnut.  Chestnut doesn't really go too well with chicken, in my opinion...works well with game meats though.


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## 240brickman

Hi, JohnL!

I consider myself to be a (fairly) serious griller/smoker, but I've never used chestnut wood as a smoking medium. It's a hardwood/nut-producing tree, so it should qualify as a viable option for smoking, but I couldn't tell ya how the food would turn out. I certainly agree that if you burn a small amount if it, and it smells acceptable to you, then it ought to produce an acceptable "end product" if you smoke with it.

Since your chestnut tree is freshly cut, you might want to immediately sample the smoke properties (rather than waiting anywhere from 6 months to 2 years for the wood to fully cure). If you have an electric bandsaw, or a circular saw, just cut up a couple of larger pieces into little chunks....and save the sawdust. You can dry out the sawdust in just a day or two; then smoke a small amount of food with it. That'll be an accurate "preview" of how the wood will behave.

Here's a helpful site (usually) that I've relied on for ages. They don't have that much to say about chestnut, however! 


http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/8.html



--J


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## JohnL

Hi there P-fresh,
Thanks for the input. I haven't tried to smoke with it yet, so I really don't know how it will taste on it's own. I'm located on the mid-east coast, so lemon wood is out of the question and the only walnut that we have here is black walnut which is pretty intense. We can however purchase mesquite. I think I'll try the chestnut on it's own though before I try to mix it, so I can get a true flavor of the smoke. You mentioned that you thought that it was sweet. Do think that it would work as a light smoke with seafood such as scallops or mild fish  such as flounder?  
Thanks'
John


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## JohnL

Hello there brick,
I've never tried to smoke with green wood before.
I always thought that it had to be dried to develope the flavor. (go's to show you what I know)  It makes sense that the saw dust would dry out before the chunks or slices. If not full flavor, it should surely give a hint of whats to come!
John


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