Cooking With Fire what tastes better, Fir or Cedar?

[piddy3825]

I have done my share of camping and cooking over an open campfire.  And while outdoor cooking in the wild does present it's technical challenges I have found that the firewood used can have a huge impact on flavor.  Now hands down I would have to say Cedar if we are cooking fish, especially trout or salmon, 'cause that's how we do it up here in the PNW.  That being said, although I do prefer to roast my venison over an Alderwood fire,

what tastes better for roasted venison, wolf or bear, Fir or Cedar? 

 

 

[Vhalkyrie]

I've never smoke anything with Fir, but wouldn't it taste piney?  I'm guessing like a strong, woodsy rosemary.

[Scyzara]

I've already eaten trouts, ham (black forest ham) and cheese (oscypek) smoked with fir wood and all of it tasted very good. Fir smoke creates an intense, but certainly not unpleasant taste.. it's a little bit like the smell of resin, but less pungent.

For grilling red meat (e.g. steaks for barbecue), I personally favor beech wood, btw. 

[piddy3825]

5 hours ago, Scyzara said:

I've already eaten trouts, ham (black forest ham) and cheese (oscypek) smoked with fir wood and all of it tasted very good. Fir smoke creates an intense, but certainly not unpleasant taste.. it's a little bit like the smell of resin, but less pungent.

For grilling red meat (e.g. steaks for barbecue), I personally favor beech wood, btw. 

You mentioned oscypek and that brought back some good old memories of a 6 week skiing vacation to Garmisch-Partenkirchen that my parents took us on when we were kids.   We stayed with cousins there, meine mutter ist Deutsch, and there we were introduced to that wonderful smoky sheep cheese.  I gotta say, as a teen, that culinary experience shaped my love for cheese!    Now I am going to have to add "milkable reindeer" and subsequently craftable cheese to the Alpha Wish List.  

[cekivi]

Sorry, but I don't think we have reindeer in BC

At least not as a native species. Although maybe you could find a farm...

[cekivi]

@piddy3825 in a survival situation, taste doesn't really matter much!

I'm sure most woods - except the toxic ones - are fine to cook over. Especially if you cook over the coals which just radiate heat. Most of the flavours you're describing come from the smoke. Odds are if the smoke smells good, your food will taste good

[piddy3825]

41 minutes ago, cekivi said:

@piddy3825 in a survival situation, taste doesn't really matter much!

 

How true, how true.  Isn't there a saying, something like, "I'm so hungry I could eat the a** of a rhino if you cooked it right!"  

 

[cekivi]

In my case it's canned spaghetti. The no-name stuff sure don't taste good but if you're outdoors it's the meal of kings!

[SteveP]

Maple >> Birch >> Fir for smoking meat. All those fruit trees in PV would be fantastic for smoking meat/fish. Plums, apples, pears, peaches but never cut a life and healthy fruit tree since the fruit later in the year would be too valuable. Maple and Birch trees would be useful for tapping in the spring for sugar / syrup.

Cedar smoke can be toxic or mildly toxic. I wouldn't use it. You can burn it for heat and the smoke is not that bad.

Trivia: There was some kind of a desert plant that has extremely toxic smoke that kills people. Desert Tobacco I think.

[illanthropist]

29 minutes ago, SteveP said:

Cedar smoke can be toxic or mildly toxic.

I thought that too but have used Cedar chips on a BBQ, mixed opinions with the guests as I think some prefer their food tasting like grease proof paper from a fast food chain.  What campfire cooking I've ever done has been on hot embers or in pits so not really a topic I know anything about.

[SteveP]

22 minutes ago, illanthropist said:

thought that too but have used Cedar chips

Moths don't like it and splinters in the finger fester a bit. Cedar sawdust is not good for you but the smoke problem is probably over rated.

[illanthropist]

8 minutes ago, SteveP said:

splinters in the finger fester a bit

Done a fair share of property development, didn't know they used cedar in old woodchip wallpaper

[cowboymrh]

Of the woods presented in TLD that could be used for smoking, I would have to say "maple" would be the best for flavor.......

But then again, are you going to sacrifice a fine hand crafted bow for good tasting meat?? ..........

[piddy3825]

9 hours ago, cowboymrh said:

Of the woods presented in TLD that could be used for smoking, I would have to say "maple" would be the best for flavor.......

But then again, are you going to sacrifice a fine hand crafted bow for good tasting meat?? ..........

too bad you cant harvest the wood from a "ruined" bow, I'd throw that in if I could...

[cekivi]

That always did strike me as odd that I couldn't burn my birch and maple saplings. Sure, it's a waste of resources but if I'm desperate for warmth I'd burn anything to survive.