BBQHQThe world of cooking over fire

Smoking woods

Softwoods (pine, spruce, fir)

Resinous conifers, generally avoided for smoking. Recorded so the distinction between 'unpleasant' and 'dangerous' is made explicitly rather than left to the reader.

Not recommended for smoking

Resin produces heavy sooty smoke that tastes acrid and deposits on food. This is a quality problem rather than a poisoning one, and it is worth separating from the genuine hazard: TREATED, PAINTED OR MANUFACTURED TIMBER must never be burned for cooking, because the preservatives and adhesives in it can release genuinely toxic compounds. Conflating the two makes the serious warning easier to ignore.

What it is

Wood type
Not a hardwood · light grain
Smoke intensity
Not established — see below
Where
international

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