Don't Try This Barbeque Method at Home

[BristolCavendish]

A neighbor just brought over some brisket that he had been smoking for the past few hours at 225F. He has one of those high-end smokers that looks kind of like a steam locomotive with a cooking cabinet. Anyway, this guy is somewhat frugal and originally from another country where cooking techniques tend to differ from here in the US. Having had a new patio deck built along with some tree removal, he decided to use the remnants (2x4 redwood blocks along with some split eucalyptus stumps) in his smoker as he felt procuring the conventional hardwoods was just another added expense and needless bother. The guy even researched the viability of such a method via this URL.

http://ucanr.edu/sites/oak_range/Oak..._Heating_Wood/

His finished product left something to be desired. The brisket had an unusual 'crust' (perhaps due to the natural creosote/soot emanating from the burning redwood) and a medicinal taste reminiscent of Listerine. He is planning on bringing his self-proclaimed 'Texas-Style' brisket to a pot-luck gathering later this afternoon and I shudder when thinking of the consequences.

When asked for my overall opinion, all I could reply was that his BBQ was different perhaps an acquired taste.

After perusing that UC forestry article, I came to the conclusion that there must be some academics out there with cast-iron taste buds as firewood is one thing and smoking wood another.