I’ve been using scraps, off cuts, etc. to fire up the smoker for a while now, and it’s just occurred to me that maybe I look for a little information.
Does anyone know if using hardwood scraps with yellow glue is a really bad idea? I do know enough not to use plywood, mdf, plastic laminate, etc….
I’d hate to not have a use for all those scraps, and it’s also the only way I’m ever going to make cherry smoked pork shoulder.
Thanks
Replies
I think I'd use the scraps for heating the shop or the living room.
If you're not too far from a sawyer, ask them about scrap when they cut cherry.
Alternatively, you could ask a local orchard about trimmings.
I am a mighty long way from any growing cherry trees! About all that's cut near here is yellow pine, not what you want to smoke your meat with.
PVA is non-toxic. (I've read that when it was first manufactured the raw material was cows milk.) That said, maybe it smells different from wood when it burns. Have you tried burning gluey wood to see if it smells different from non-gluey wood? Or, more directly, have you been able to smell or taste any difference in the smoked meat?
I haven't noticed any difference in smell or taste when burning glued wood. When I use scraps, though, I generally mix a whole bunch of different woods, so it does smell different than when I use oak or pecan logs.
The Titebond II label says it is FDA approved for food contact, but I'm pretty sure this is not what they mean.
Charcoal is made from wood, coal dust, and some sort of adhesive. Can yellow glue be any worse?
Speaking as a fanatic pork smoker, I would not use anything but raw wood. This means no glue. While I do have access to cherry, and do like it for smoking lighter foods (such as fish), I would suggest oak if you can't get hickory. And, no bark. My son-in-law, who is a scientist specializing in air polution, cautions against smoking with anything that isn't natural wood -- and he's not too keen on that as he often points out the creosote that has deposited on my smoker. "Do you really want to eat that stuff?"Most of the barbeque chains I'm familiar with use oak for their pork because it's readily available and imparts a nice smokey flavor. But, I would definitely advise against anything that's foreign to the natural wood whatever kind it is as some pretty scary things can happen to common substances when heated and burned. Maybe a little bit won't hurt, but all-day smoking is another dimension. My personal favorite is hickory and I've got a good post-hurricane inventory. Also, stay away from any charcoal that isn't "natural" charcoal. That self-starting/burning stuff should be taken off the market!
It sounds risky to me. Carpenter's glue is PVA or poly vinyl acetate. Plastic jugs, vinyl siding, and so forth are made from poly vinyl chloride. When PVC is burned it generates dioxins, which are quite poisonous and carcinogenic. I can't say that PVA is chemically similar enough to PVC that similar chemical reactions would occur, but it raises doubt that smoking food with burning PVA is a good idea.
I open a thread thinking to add to my store of learnin' about oat queasine only to find y'all gonna put MEAT in your guts and you're wondering if a little PLASTIC is going to hurt you??N-glycolylneuraminic acid is not your friend.
N-glycolylneuraminic acid is not your friend.
really?...I heard it was necessary for the synthesis of testosterone...
"there's enough for everyone"
Don't the half-time cheerleaders offer a similar long-term benefit, not to mention immediately improving blood-flow to the brain?
As far as I know, there is no known process which can increase the bloodflow to the male brain. You just made that up, didn't you?
So I found this:
http://www.titebond.com/MsdsTB.asp?Frames=Y&prod=5004&SUBMIT1=GO
The following section seems encouraging:
HAZARDOUS DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS: Oxides of carbon may be released during combustion.
Sounds no worse than wood or charcoal?
Maybe someone out there can get more information from the MSDS than I.
Perhaps she meant brain in the metaphorical sense.
Metaphorical sense? That's another thing we don't got.
...no known process which can increase the bloodflow to the male brain.
Oh. Bent wood syndrome. That's a rough break.
cheerleaders? - who needs them when we got WWE wraslin'?
tho I'm more of a sensitive artist type...
"there's enough for everyone"
Don't smoke meat with glued wood.
Long term testing on the in-laws? I wouldn't chance it. If you are using larger scraps you can cut the glue joint out before burning. Just a zip with the table saw or band saw and the glue is gone. Reminds me of working in a refinery... After lead was outlawed for gasoline, the lead additive storage tank was no longer needed of course. It resembled a propane tank. The 'rednecks' decided to build a smoker out of it. After burning a fire for 24 hours they pronounced it lead-free and promptly put it to for a company BBQ. I passed on the brisket.
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