chopping

[ibear]

Alder although being softer than most good BBQ/Smoking woods sure makes for a tasty smoke for meats and fish though. Me Likey.

Mesquite has always been my favorite for barbecue. Mesquite is also popular for fireplaces in Arizona, especially. Alder tastes very good, along with several others, like Hickory, cherry, maple, oak and apple chips. More or less in that order.... more or less!
Me likey.... also!
Thanks,
iBear

 

[Dave Rishar]

Mesquite has always been my favorite for barbecue. Mesquite is also popular for fireplaces in Arizona, especially. Alder tastes very good, along with several others, like Hickory, cherry, maple, oak and apple chips. More or less in that order.... more or less!
Me likey.... also!

Since we're talking of smoking meat now...

Most of my friends like alder. I'm a big fan of fruit woods; apple is good, cherry is better. There's a bit of a bite there with these woods. If I have to use something else, I'm forced to make up the bite with the marinade - certainly not a problem, but it's not exactly the same and I like the idea of producing spicy food without using spicy ingrediants. (Sort of like making a heavy-use cutting tool without using expensive steel...sound familiar? )

I've tried everything you've mentioned, Ibear; cherry's my favorite but the others certainly aren't bad. Come to think of it, I don't believe that I've ever tried a bad batch of jerky...that's one of the great things about it. 2x4's from Home Depot would probably work.

Actually, I retract my previous statement. My room mate one time attempted to smoke some fresh trout while drunk. He burned these poor fish to the point where the flies wouldn't land on them and the cats ignored them. If you broke one of these pieces of charcoal open, you'd find a bit of meat in the middle roughly the diameter of a pencil. To make matters worse, I (the non-fisherman) had made all the big catches that day and I still bring this up, years later. As I often point out to him, he teaches me how to fish and I do the hard work by bringing up the lunkers. Think of it as several years' worth of beginner's luck.

I ought to be a little easier on him. He brings in a whole lot more venison than I do and it's always turned out excellent.

 

[Yvsa]

Never had BBQ smoked over a Cherry fire but I'll bet it is good. I like Apple pretty well myself too. Another source of smoking material that's just pretty damned good that you'll find strange is plain old corn cobs.

No Bruise, not the used ones.

Chestnuts that have dried up beyond eating aren't bad either.
But my absolute Favorite is good ol' Hickory!!!! Hickory seems to produce more of the tang that Satori is talking about than any other wood I know of. Well seasoned and soaked Pecan will pinch hit for Hickory if it's unobtainable.

Edit:
The Alder and other milder flavored woods are the best for the mild taste of most fish methinks.
Catfish may be the exception too the rule though. I knew a fellow that BBQ'ed catfish over plain old Kingsfod charcoal that is some of the best eating I ever layed a lip over!!!!
Dale would add a bit of Hickory towards the end of the cooking he said, I never saw him do it, just tasted the results.
Catfish can be a real wet and oily fish but Dale BBQ'ed it until it was dry and flaky but still moist inside, kind of an oxymoron I know but it was.
Also towards the end of the cooking he would start basting the fish with the BBQ sauce, maybe that added the moisture back, I dunno.
All I know is that the catfish was flaky and out of this world with a nice crust of baked on BBQ sauce that wasn't burnt on.
Maybe Dale is one of those Aliens DIJ keeps talking about.

 

[ibear]

Never had BBQ smoked over a Cherry fire but I'll bet it is good. I like Apple pretty well myself too. Another source of smoking material that's just pretty damned good that you'll find strange is plain old corn cobs.

No Bruise, not the used ones.

But my absolute Favorite is good ol' Hickory!!!! Hickory seems to produce more of the tang that Satori is talking about than any other wood I know of. Well seasoned and soaked Pecan will pinch hit for Hickory if it's unobtainable.

All I know is that the catfish was flaky and out of this world with a nice crust of baked on BBQ sauce that wasn't burnt on.
Maybe Dale is one of those Aliens DIJ keeps talking about.

YEAH... aliens... that's it!

THE ALIENS DID IT!
Thanks,
iBear

 

[ibear]

Since we're talking of smoking meat now...

Most of my friends like alder. I'm a big fan of fruit woods; apple is good, cherry is better. There's a bit of a bite there with these woods. If I have to use something else, I'm forced to make up the bite with the marinade - certainly not a problem, but it's not exactly the same and I like the idea of producing spicy food without using spicy ingrediants. (Sort of like making a heavy-use cutting tool without using expensive steel...sound familiar? )

I've tried everything you've mentioned, Ibear; cherry's my favorite but the others certainly aren't bad. Come to think of it, I don't believe that I've ever tried a bad batch of jerky...that's one of the great things about it. 2x4's from Home Depot would probably work.

Actually, I retract my previous statement. My room mate one time attempted to smoke some fresh trout while drunk. He burned these poor fish to the point where the flies wouldn't land on them and the cats ignored them. If you broke one of these pieces of charcoal open, you'd find a bit of meat in the middle roughly the diameter of a pencil. To make matters worse, I (the non-fisherman) had made all the big catches that day and I still bring this up, years later. As I often point out to him, he teaches me how to fish and I do the hard work by bringing up the lunkers. Think of it as several years' worth of beginner's luck.

I ought to be a little easier on him. He brings in a whole lot more venison than I do and it's always turned out excellent.

Two years of beginners luck is more than just luck! My Uncle Bill, an excellent fisherman that has raised four fishing legends, (my cousins), swears that their is some sort of energy..... and according to him, probably odor, that transmits to fish and that some people got it and some won't ever get it, no matter what! Some fisherman spray the bait with WD-40, tobacco saliva juice, cayenne pepper, lemon juice... etc. to obfuscate the smell transmitted to the bait. But, he knows, because he and his family have caught more fish than any family in Oregon.... I think! YEAH, we are from Oregon. My ancestors settled there in Camas Valley, Oregon.... years ago.
A long time ago. One of my famous ancestors is 97 and still alive there, last I heard.
Thanks,
iBear

 

[arty]

I have a GK 16" Panawal AK that weighs about 24oz. I tried it on the plywood, and it did not do as well as the 15 1/2" HI BAS (21 oz or so).
The 17" BGRS and 19" Chitlangi went about 2X as deep in the ply.
All were sharpened, but the AK did not do that well.
I think that much of the extra weight was in the handle, and not the blade.

 

[arty]

I tried this one out yesterday on the 1/4" ply. It is 21" and 30 oz. It is a chopper - went about as deep as the 19", but removed a much larger/wider wedge shape from the wood.
This one is more of a chopper and less a slicer than the lighter and shorter Chitlangi.

 

[Yvsa]

I tried this one out yesterday on the 1/4" ply. It is 21" and 30 oz. It is a chopper - went about as deep as the 19", but removed a much larger/wider wedge shape from the wood.
This one is more of a chopper and less a slicer than the lighter and shorter Chitlangi.

Arty, is it a double fullered model? I'm understanding that some of the Chitlangis came in with a single fuller and I just don't see how they could be the equivelent of the double fullered model.:grumpy:
Mine is double fullered and cuts like a wailing banshee screams go through your ears!!!!

 

[arty]

Yvsa - It has a double fuller. I got it from the specials from around April 12 or 13 or so.
How heavy is yours? These large ones by Kumar went around 30 oz. Mine is 30 1/2 oz.

 

[hollowdweller]

How often do I have to clear brush and small limbs? Often. Constantly, actually. How often do I have to drop, section, and split trees? Occasionally. Neither khuk is a maul, both are better than some hatchets.

I was thinking about this this weekend. I had to cut this big tree off my fenceline. It was an elm that had hung on the fence for a few months and was hard and dry.

I broke out my Reeves hatchet and my YCS. The YCS was heavy but it has a very fat convex edge so it doesn't penetrate as far into the wood. Also it is like 2 lbs. I put it down pretty quick. Then I picked up the Reeves hatchet. It has a pretty thin convex edge and only weighs a pound. It was still slow going the tree was so hard, but the little hatchet chopped way better and was much less exhausting to use.

Then I was thinking about general use, and while the hatchet chops great, and does a decent job of machete with it's light weight and thin edge, both of my ganga Rams are easier to cut brush with.

So I have quite a few khuks around 2 lbs or so I never use cause a hatchet is easier. However the pound and a quarter, pound and a half khuk I can swing like a machete, or cut stuff up to about 6" with get used all the time.