can I use wood instead of coals in my outdoor charcoal grill?

Question

if so how and what types of wood? thanks

Answer 1

You sure can. My husband works as a lumber inspector, and he says that you can use the wood only if it isnt chemically treated. He likes to use the cherry wood mostly. It gives the food an extra special taste. We have been using the wood in our grill for over 10 yrs. He gets cut off pieces from work. You could probably go to any lumber company, and I dont mean like Lowes or Home Depot, I mean an actual lumber company and ask for their cut offs. they may or may not charge you. It depends on the company.

Answer 2

Why can't you,.....after all it's "YOUR" grill. Hardwoods like oak and hickory etc are best. You can also experiment with different kinds of fruit-wood like apple and cherry etc. to get a more different or suptle flavour. Let them burn down till you get a nice bed of coals. The flavour in the food is far better than from a gas grill or charcoal. Of course it takes more time and work but when you taste the results you'll find it worth the extra effort. Don't forget that only a generation or two ago ALL outdoor cooking was done over wood fires. Your family and guests will rave about the difference and flavour. The down side is they'll want more invitations.
GOOD LUCK and have FUN !!!!!

Answer 3

Yes, it takes a little longer for hardwood to heat up but it lasts longer and makes a better flavor than softer woods. Get wood like oak, hickory and cherrywood. Make sure it's not impregnated or chamically treated. Sometimes I soak hardwoods in water for a while and then put them on the coals for taste.
But wood is fine. Get one of those lighter chimneys at Target or Wal mart so you can time how long wood burns or stays hot and you can have some embers ready when they cool down in the BBQ.

Answer 4

Absolutely! Just about any fruit wood makes a good cooking smoke, but apple wood and mesquite, and hickory are the best. It also works best to use in conjunction with charcoal. Soak chips overnight and let them smoulder over hot charcoal.

Answer 5

Using wood alone would create too much fire and smoke...overpowering your food and leaving it unevenly cooked.
Use real charcoal with wood chips instead. Soak the wood chips in water at least an hr before using to reduce the burning and flaming.

Answer 6

It depends on what you're cooking and how long you need to cook it. If you're going low and slow woods like hickory, apple, and pecan are great. If your straight grilling over a fire, mesquite and oak can be tasty. There is no one size fits all answer unfortunately. Try www.about.com and look for BBQ and Grilling guide Derrick Riches. He's a great source.

Answer 7

Man...of course! People been cooking on wood for millenia...maple is awesome for pork...hickory too...oak, cherry walnut, crabapple, apple, mesquite, use hardwood, not soft like pine or fir...and check out http://www.highmountainbbq.com

Answer 8

You can use mesquite briquets, with bits of mesquite wood in them, or the mesquite chunks. They sell it in the charcoal isle.

Answer 9

No... thats why its called a Charcoal Grill..
if you could it be called a fire pit.

Answer 10

Sure.

It will make a real nice fire, and when the firemen get there you can serve them lunch.

That is AFTER they get through filling out the report on how some d_u_m-b_s_h_i_t burned his house down while cooking lunch for them.

Should make interesting reading!