Green Alder for smoking

[gallows]

I have just tried using green alder for smoking up my fish for the first time. It was recommended to me by a friend who says it is superior. It doesn't give any slight bitterness to the fish after smoking. Works great and it is free. I will never go back to using the commercial wood chips again. Just find a few thin branches no more than an inch thick. Peel or cut the bark off then split into smaller strips and cut into 2 to 3 inch lengths. Always use fresh green alder, once it had dried out it doesn't work so good.

 

[Karlo]

A good compromise between green alder, which can generate creosote and unwanted flavors, and commercial chips, which cost money,is to use dry alder. I have a big smokehouse that's been mistaken for a burning outhouse by the uninitiated,and use an electric element to regulate the smoke. We go out on the logging roads and find small-diameter alder that have been knocked over in keeping the right of way clear, and take a few stems between an inch and two inches in diameter tha have benn down for a year or so. We buck them into suitable lengts for the smoking pan, and we're set.

Sometimes you need to soak the pieces in a bucket of water for an hour or so if the wood is too dry, but the flavor is outstanding,and it's an easy smoke to maintain.