What tree makes the hottest fire? What wood "seasons" food the best?

[Primalclaws1974]

As you can see, this is a two-part question. There is a nature preserve not far from where I live that sets up a shelter in the winter time, complete with wood-burning stove. The fine employees there even chop up wood for the visitors to use. Each year when I heat that stove for the first time I am awed by the amazing heat the wood produces in the dead of winter, and the wonderful smell from it burning. I have even cooked fish and other meat over this fire and it tastes superb. But I don't know a lot about different kinds of wood. I am curious what this wood could be. It is in Iowa, USA. It burns a long time, and produces a very hot fire, and smells wonderful. I realize that is not a lot to go on, but any help would be appreciated.

 

[DancingLady]

Hickory has an incredible smell, they even sell hickory chips to put in your barbeque specifically to flavor your meat. My dad loves to use it, he puts a handful of chips in a tin foil pouch and sets them on the grill so that they will smoke up inside the closed BBQ and give the flavor to the meat. Doing this also causes a lot of white smoke to pour out the back of the BBQ. I don't know if they are using a bit of hickory for flavor where you are going, but I know that is one of the most popular for cooking.

 

[Chuck]

I doubt if the employees would leave hickory as it is valuable They would probably take it home with them. Oak is probably what they left behind as it is much more common. It also has a wonderful aroma and folks all over use it for BBQ and heating as it burns hot. I think the only hotter burning wood used for cooking and heating is mesquite but I don't think it grows in Iowa

 

[headfullofbees]

Your burning OAK?
We can't even get it for furniture, here.

It would burn hot because, as a hard wood, it's likely to be quite dense, and density would be the prime factor.
Mahogany would probably burn hottest, because that is so dense it doesn't float on water.
As for seasoning food, some are lighter than others, but, since you have different requirements, each has its place.
Applewood is great for smoking cheese, but too light for red meat or fish, whilst oak is good all-round, but some may prefer the intensity of hickory on beef or venison.

 

[Chuck]

Your burning OAK?
We can't even get it for furniture, here.

It would burn hot because, as a hard wood, it's likely to be quite dense, and density would be the prime factor.
Mahogany would probably burn hottest, because that is so dense it doesn't float on water.
As for seasoning food, some are lighter than others, but, since you have different requirements, each has its place.
Applewood is great for smoking cheese, but too light for red meat or fish, whilst oak is good all-round, but some may prefer the intensity of hickory on beef or venison.

Yep, oak is the most prevalent hardwood we have. We have 2 types of oak, white oak and live oak. White oak is the type used for furniture. Live oak is too crooked and knotty to be commercially suitable for anything except charcoal bricquets used in backyard BBQ's. I don't have any white oaks on my property but I have literally hundreds of live oak trees. I have attached a pic of the biggest one I have. It is in my front yard. It was measured about 15 years ago and was 78 ft. tall.

 

[headfullofbees]

How big is your property, Chuck?

 

[Pat]

This post has been a good lesson in wood types. I have never paid much attention to th types of wood being from the big city. When I look at movies where the onlyheat is from a wood stove I always wonder how that could be possible as the fireplace I use does not heat up that much space, now I know it is the type of wood being burned that will make the heat.

 

[Chuck]

How big is your property, Chuck?

It is only 10 acres of mostly rocks and woods.

 

[Chuck]

Yep, oak is the most prevalent hardwood we have. We have 2 types of oak, white oak and live oak. White oak is the type used for furniture. Live oak is too crooked and knotty to be commercially suitable for anything except charcoal bricquets used in backyard BBQ's. I don't have any white oaks on my property but I have literally hundreds of live oak trees. I have attached a pic of the biggest one I have. It is in my front yard. It was measured about 15 years ago and was 78 ft. tall. View attachment 3867

Well actually we have 3 types of oak. I forgot to mention red oak. It isn't evergreen like the others, doesn't burn near as hot and isn't long lived. But it is a great BBQ wood for pork

 

[Primalclaws1974]

Your burning OAK?
We can't even get it for furniture, here.

It would burn hot because, as a hard wood, it's likely to be quite dense, and density would be the prime factor.
Mahogany would probably burn hottest, because that is so dense it doesn't float on water.
As for seasoning food, some are lighter than others, but, since you have different requirements, each has its place.
Applewood is great for smoking cheese, but too light for red meat or fish, whilst oak is good all-round, but some may prefer the intensity of hickory on beef or venison.

I spend a lot of time at this reserve. I know there are a lot of acorns on the ground, so it very well could be oak. Another common tree at the park (and Iowa in general) is walnut. They seem to be as common as dandelions. It most definitely is a hardwood. Where do you live where oak doesn't grow? It is common here in the Midwest, but from what I have heard, takes a long time to mature.

 

[Primalclaws1974]

Hickory has an incredible smell, they even sell hickory chips to put in your barbeque specifically to flavor your meat. My dad loves to use it, he puts a handful of chips in a tin foil pouch and sets them on the grill so that they will smoke up inside the closed BBQ and give the flavor to the meat. Doing this also causes a lot of white smoke to pour out the back of the BBQ. I don't know if they are using a bit of hickory for flavor where you are going, but I know that is one of the most popular for cooking.

There is a tremendous amount of white smoke come from the chimney of the shelter. I notice this every winter. This doesn't mean it's hickory. I am leaning toward it being doubtful. I think it is not common in my region, and is too valuable to be burned up. I have seen hickory chips for sale, however. They were not cheap. I might have to buy a bag to see if the smell is the same, just to be sure.

 

[gata montes]

The answer to this question is not quite as simple as sounds - as although all hardwoods and the denser the better - will burn hot and for a long time too - what really is the deciding factor as to whether a particular wood will give off plenty of heat - is whether or not the wood has been seasoned for the required amount of time - because if it hasn't - regardless of what is used - unseasoned wood does not give off much heat - a lot also depends on whether the wood is being burnt in a stove or in a fireplace - as some woods burn hotter and better in stoves than they do in a fireplace.

As you've already mentioned Oak and Walnut - am thinking that as Ash, Maple and Cherry are also fairly common in Iowa - it could be any of those too or maybe even Pecan.

Although Oak doesn't grow where I live either - we burn Olive wood instead - which not only gives off amazing heat but smells wonderful too

 

[Rosyrain]

I am not sure about how hot it is, but cedar is another wood that smells wonderful when it is burning. It is a rather soft wood, so I imagine it does not burn that hot. The amazing thing about cedar is that it can be used for many things...even to make clothes.

 

[Primalclaws1974]

Thank you for the responses. Cherry is pretty rare in my area at least, but I am not sure about all of Iowa. Cedar, ash, and especially variants of maple are abundant. When you say "seasoned" wood, do you mean wood that has dried for a year? Is this wood that is chopped up to burning size? I see stacks of dried wood against barns, sheds, and houses everywhere. They are usually outside, exposed to the elements, so I don't understand how this would be better than picking it up off the ground?

 

[Chuck]

Thank you for the responses. Cherry is pretty rare in my area at least, but I am not sure about all of Iowa. Cedar, ash, and especially variants of maple are abundant. When you say "seasoned" wood, do you mean wood that has dried for a year? Is this wood that is chopped up to burning size? I see stacks of dried wood against barns, sheds, and houses everywhere. They are usually outside, exposed to the elements, so I don't understand how this would be better than picking it up off the ground?

The reason it is stacked is so it doesn't get wet on the ground where it would become water logged and rot. Seasoned wood has been cut for a minimum of a year. It takes live oak 3 years to become good firewood. Cedar is a softwood and ash is in the middle. Cherry is fairly hard but way too expensive to use for firewood. You can find small scrap pieces of cherry once in a while used for BBQ.