More on the Sugar Maple

[Whitespider]

I've been burning some of the (dryer) ugly chunks in the fire pit the last few nights for cookin' fires, and I gotta' say, I'm impressed. I just may have found a new "favorite" cookin' fire wood. That stuff coals-up unbelievably well and holds those really hot coals for a long time... and it don't take a lot of wood either. I built a nice fire with it Sunday night for cookin' and last night when I got home there was still enough hot coals in the bottom of the pit to start the fire... 24 hours later!! Smells good too, and adds a nice flavor to the food. I took a small trailer load of uglys down to dad and told him to try it for his cookin' fires. I'm half temped to save it all for fire pit cookin' wood only... but it would probably rot to mush before I could use over three cord for cookin'. Thinkin' I'll give some of it a try in the smoker this summer. Stuff certainly beats the heck out'a oak for cookin'... and I didn't think anything would coal-up and cook better than oak!

 

[greendohn]

Yeah, I agree with ya' on the cooking virtues of the maple. Good campfire wood as well. Even when somewhat green it burns bright and the mild smoke smells good.. It seems the limb wood wanted to smolder and hiss while the bigger splits lit up pretty well. I have had great results using it in the smoker....(i still hate cutiin'/splittin' maple)

 

[Whitespider]

....(i still hate cutiin'/splittin' maple)

Yeah... I ain't become a fan of that by any stretch.

 

[Iska3]

I was the same way as you. I never touched the stuff for heating and only used it up north in the inside stove and one day "the wife" and grandkids were doing hotdogs in the open fire. We soon changed from the gas grill back to wood. Beer and Brats on the open fire.. :msp_ohmy:

I soon realize why grandpa called them big o'l nasty chunks night time wood.

 

[AIM]

It does make a great cookin wood but not so much as a beer drinkin fire in my experience. Doesn't seem to get the big bright flames you can get out of silver maple, willow, ash, etc.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, beats Maple-smoked bacon. Here I figured a guy from a state with more pigs than people woulda already knew that!:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[blacklocst]

Besides native chestnut which was wiped out thanks to a blight, sugar maple has to be the most valuable tree. How many other trees have as many uses as the sugar maple.

1- syrup.
2- you can take the sap and drink it and sub it for anything you use water for.( i e take the sap right from the tree and make coffee with it).
3- yes you can also make beer form the last run of sap.
4- you can made fine furniture.
5- smoke food with it, yes I agree maple smoked bacon is awesome.
6-oh yeah, firewood.

I'm I forgetting something......

 

[Whitespider]

I'm I forgetting something......

Yeah... hard maple makes one heck of a shade tree.

 

[Steve2910]

Yeah... hard maple makes one heck of a shade tree.

Shade indeed... Hope you don't want any grass to grow under one of them

 

[J1m]

J1m sorry to hear of your troubles

Ahhh...What? I didn't even post in this thread (until now). Did you mean to reply in the Portange & Main thread?

I love me some Sugar Maple, btw.

 

[ShaneLogs]

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, beats Maple-smoked bacon. Here I figured a guy from a state with more pigs than people woulda already knew that!:hmm3grin2orange:

X2, Maple smoked bacon is very good! I love Cherry smoked bacon or apple smoked bacon to though

 

[Iron Head]

Maple is good but alder is better.

 

[CTYank]

Lots of sugar maples in these parts, but they're seldom available as fuelwood, except as a result of severe storms. Got many truckloads from one a year+ back, right next to a turnout next to a road. Got it processed down to size for my little stove and stacked, and hardly burnt any yet.

First, there was the winter that wasn't. Second, all that maple is protected from rain, slowly improving in quality. I test a few pieces now and then, to monitor its progress.

Local arborist dropped off a load of sugar maple logs a few months ago besides.

'Round here, sugar maple is THE stuff for the stove when the temps are forecast to DIVE overnight, or when you really need to get the stove up to temp. Not for fire-pit. IMHO.

None of this wood was notably difficult to split. Much tougher than red oak, much easier than local, twisty grain, black cherry. (I hand-split everything, very rarely with partial noodling.)

 

[doobie57z]

hard maple is our main firewood

 

[stihly dan]

Maple is good but alder is better.

Alder sucks, is it evan a hard wood. How can you compare to sugar maple. sugar maple has about 40% more heat.

 

[ShaneLogs]

Alder sucks, is it evan a hard wood. How can you compare to sugar maple. sugar maple has about 40% more heat.

Yeah I am with you, I like Sugar Maple a lot better then Alder. To bad Sugar Maple is hard to come by around here :frown:

 

[Iron Head]

Alder sucks, is it evan a hard wood. How can you compare to sugar maple. sugar maple has about 40% more heat.

I wasn't comparing btu. In the Pacific Northwest, we are famous for our alder smoked salmon. That's what the natives use for ages. You're right that alder is a semi-hard wood that is why they burn off so fast and charcoal up so nicely just for cooking, and the smoke is amazing. Alot of people use apple wood for cooking and smoking. Apple has more btu than oak. But we like the cooking quality of alder best. I guess it all depends on personal preferences.

 

[dsell]

KSU shows sugar maple and red oak at the same 24 million BTU's per green cord. Silver maple is most plentiful in our area and it's only 18.9 M BTU.

 

[ShaneLogs]

Got any pictures of the Sugar Maple ?

 

[stihly dan]

I wasn't comparing btu. In the Pacific Northwest, we are famous for our alder smoked salmon. That's what the natives use for ages. You're right that alder is a semi-hard wood that is why they burn off so fast and charcoal up so nicely just for cooking, and the smoke is amazing. Alot of people use apple wood for cooking and smoking. Apple has more btu than oak. But we like the cooking quality of alder best. I guess it all depends on personal preferences.

oop's my bad. sorry about that. It did seem crazy that someone liked that over sugar.