Best Sawdust for the smoker

[Gordie]

G'day fellas, just wondering which you would recommend the best dust for fish smoking.
I have plenty of pieces of Ironbark, Bloodwood, Red Cedar (I heard that gives a good flavour) and could get some old Black Wattyl.

Avoid pines I have read somewhere.

Gordon

[Horse]

Any hardwood is good. I have to be honest and say I can't really tell the difference between most timbers. I have heard red Cedar is OK for hot smoking. Most fruit trees are popular except Mango and citrus

[murf]

I would be hesitant on the bloodwood as it has lots of sap rings in it???

I just use the first piece of timber I pick up from the wood pile out the back gate

cheers Murf

[googarra]

I put on a huge smoker cooker for the grey nomads each year, (about 80 people) which is usually a whole pig on a rotiserie inside the smoker hut, 12 chickens, 6 camp ovens full of vegies, and anything else I care to put in there on a high up rack inside. It is a part cook, part smoke affair, with the camp ovens on a huge slide in the top of the hut that comes out the end.

To cut a long story short, I copied what I paid someone to do years ago and he would not use anything but bloodwood, and I do the same.

Now this may be open to interpretation, but stick with the age old theory, always hardwood, never pines or any softwoods and you cannot go wrong.

I use an Australian Hardwoods mix, commercially mixed bag, in my smaller smoker, a Masterbuilt electric digital (like a small bar fridge) and am quite happy with this mix for fish or wurst or sausages.

Hope this gives thought to something, just experiment

Cheers

IMG_1186.jpg

[googarra]

Dont think bad about the smoker hut, its rough, meant to be, its all about the character of the cook, the bush setting
Didnt mean to attach the other pics, dunno

[Gordie]

Thank you fella's, great advise. Always get great advice on fishing info from this website

Happy fishing ,hey.

Gordon

[Noelm]

depends on how much you are going to smoke, those small box things you buy from tackle stores, use the bags of smoker sawdust you buy from the same places, easier and cheaper, but if you do a big job in a big smoker, I do more or less what Murf does, just wander out the back and pick up a bit of timber and away I go, just smoked a couple of Mullet and a Salmon in my small box smoker on Sunday, delicious.

[Jarrah Jack]

I've always got lots of hardwood shavings around the place and I've been told it works well although I've never used it myself.

When I had a factory a chef from the local high end restaurant came and got some. My mate took him to a pile and let him take a bag. He came back a few months later saying its the best he's ever used. We all broke out laughing but none of us had the heart to tell him it was from where we used to go for a leak. Might be worth a try.

[tunaticer]

I am very partial to dried out driftwood that has been chipped up with the chainsaw. A unique flavour devoid of any particular timber scents or flavours.
Outside of that I quite like hickory (pecan) or Qld nut timbers.
A mate two years ago had a lemon tree he had to remove, he chipped it up and used that in a smoker, reckons it was grouse.

[Gordie]

Good one Jack, like your style. Caught a few Yellowbelly and a Bass yesterday, going to give them a smoke up.

Thanks fellas

[killitfillit]

Tea leaves for smoke go ok too with bundy rum and brown sugar as a marinade.

[Ausfish]

If you are using the small smokers that use dust try the Bushmans blend by nipper kipper. For wood chips for the larger smoke oven I use the stuff from bunnings, Samba Smoking Chips, they have 3 different types, one for seafood, one for poultry & pork and one for Beef & lamb

Seafood - Mesquite & Alder wood chips

Poultry & Pork - Apple, Cherry & Mesquite wood chips

Beef & Lamb - mesquite & Hickory

Stick with the suggested meats as well as swap around a bit and even mix up a couple and try.

I also use Australian hard wood chips when doing whole rib roasts.

For small batches of salmon and duck I place the meat on pieces of cedar that have been soaked in water for a while, also use these to serve the meat on, adds a bit of flavour and flair.