If you have a woody yard and an affinity for the outdoors, then you’ve probably noticed that crabapple trees are all over the place. These fragrant trees are beloved for their droopy green branches and sweet, tart fruits.
While you may have seen them in your own yard from time to time, did you know they also grow wild throughout most of the eastern United States? Crabapples grow as small as a shrub or up to 25 feet tall with a spread of up to 15 feet. They are deciduous and lose their leaves in the winter but sprout new ones in early spring.
The small, sour fruits (also known as crabapples) appear in clusters in late summer and fall. Much like other apple varieties, they can be used fresh or dried. When it comes to smoking meat with crabapple wood, there are two types of this tree that you will want to keep an eye out for: Bladder Crabapple and Red Dog Crabapple.
Bladder Crabapple
This type of crabapple is also known as bladders, snake apples, or bladder gums. These are the smaller trees with bluish green leaves on them, and they only grow to about 6 feet in height. The small, white flowers have a very strong, pungent scent that some people find unpleasant.
The fruit on bladder crabapples is a yellow-green berry that is edible and flavorful when raw but unpleasant when cooked. This type of crabapple is an excellent choice for fruit preserves and is also used to make crabapple brandy.
Red Dog Crabapple
This variety of crabapples is also known as red dog, French dogwood, or red-twig dogwood. Although the fruit is edible, it does not come close to the tartness of other crabapple varieties. The leaves and blossoms are also edible.
They are quite similar to bladder crabapples in appearance, except that the leaves are a darker green color. Red dog crabapples are deciduous and grow to heights of about 15 feet.
When to use crab apple wood for smoking
These fruit-bearing trees are found throughout most of the United States as far west as California and as far east as Minnesota and North Carolina. They are also native to southern Canada, Mexico, and Cuba.
If you live in an area where they are common, then you have the opportunity to enjoy fresh crabapple fruit year-round. Crabapple trees are deciduous, which means that the leaves turn brown and fall off in the winter months.
This is a great time to uproot the tree and start seeds indoors to grow a new crop of fruit the following spring. While they are edible, they are not as tart as other varieties of crabapple. They are also an excellent choice for smoking meat and fish.
What you need to smoke with a woody crabapple
This type of crabapple is also known as bladder, bladders, or snake apples. You can use them to make different types of brandy and syrup, as well as apple and pear e-liquid.
You can also give them as gifts and use the tree’s wood as a unique host for indoor garden containers. You can also use woody crabapples to make pork sausages and smoked fish. Crabapple wood can be used to smoke fish, pork, and poultry.
To use the wood, you first need to remove the leaves, then break the fruit off the tree. The best time to smoke with crabapple is in the late fall or winter, when the leaves are off the tree. This is because the limbs are less dense then, which makes it easier to burn the wood. The easiest way to break down the wood is with a hammer and a block.
Red Cedar or Balsam Fir
Red cedar wood is a type of conifer that is found in the eastern and central United States, primarily in the Ohio Valley. It is also commonly used to construct cathedrals and as a firewood. It grows up to 100 feet tall and has branches that are gray-brown on the outside and reddish-brown on the inside.
Balsam fir is another type of conifer that is commonly used to make smoking wood. It is native to the eastern and central United States, where it is found in the Adirondacks, the Catskills, and the Hudson Valley. It grows up to 50 feet tall and has needle-like leaves and a sweet, pungent scent. Both of these types of smoking wood are best used when they are dry.
If you choose to use cedar or balsam fir for smoking meats, you should also add some aspen or mesquite to the mix. These will help to balance out the strong, piney scent of the fir.
What you should know before you start smoking with a woody crabapple
Crabapple trees are common in many parts of the eastern United States and can grow up to 25 feet tall and 15 feet wide. These trees are deciduous, meaning that they lose their leaves in the winter.
Crabapple trees are excellent choices for bringing a bit of Midwest charm into your home or backyard. They are deciduous, grow up to 25 feet tall, and have droopy branches and sweet, tart autumn fruits. Crabapple wood is used to smoke fish, pork, and poultry.
You will need to break down the fruit and chop the wood to add to your smoking pit. If you are going to use the wood for smoking, then you will want to remove the leaves from the branches and break off the pieces.
Tips for Smoking with Woody Crabapple
Crabapple wood can be used to smoke fish and poultry, but it is not as strong as hardwoods such as oak or hickory. Alder wood, which is also known as alder bark, is a good alternative to use when smoking with crabapple wood.
Alder will help to balance out the strong scent of the fruit. You can also try using juniper berries for smoking with crabapple wood. Juniper berries are very aromatic and will add a nice flavor to your smoked foods.
Maple trees are deciduous trees that typically grow up to 100 feet tall and live up to 300 years old . These trees have reddish-brown bark and drop their leaves in the fall , making them excellent choices for decorating your home during the fall season . The leaves are edible and make great additions to salads or when used in tea. Maple sap can be tapped from maple trees if you want to make syrup or maple sugar.
While maple syrup is delicious on its own, it’s even better when used in conjunction with other flavors like vanilla or cinnamon . Maple sugar is an all-natural sweetener that tastes great on its own but also works well in recipes like pancakes and waffles.
What you need to smoke with a woody crabapple
1) You’ll need a crabapple tree, but you can also use an apple tree to get the same effect.
2) You will need some wood for smoking. As I mentioned before, the best wood to use with a crabapple is alder, though you can also smoke with apple wood or juniper berries.
3) You will need something to smoke your food in. I recommend using your smoker of choice. If you don’t have one yet, there are lots of great smokers that are reasonably priced and easy to use . If you do have a smoker, it’s probably best if you clean it out before using it with crabapple wood because the smoke will leave stains on your smoker.
4) You will need a charcoal chimney starter , which is basically an aluminum foil chimney that holds charcoal and will help keep the fire lit during smoking.
5) You will need some apple cider vinegar or white vinegar . This is used as a food additive when smoking foods and helps keep the smoke from going into your food instead of out through the vents on your smoker or oven. To make sure that you don’t end up tasting vinegar in your smoked foods, try adding about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar to each gallon of water when making your brine for smoking foods like pork butt or beef brisket . The acidity from the vinegar helps keep bacteria from growing in the brine and prevents them from getting into your smoked meat .
Conclusion
If you don’t have a smoker, you can still make smoked crabapple wood smoked sausage . It will just take a little longer to cook the meat. I suggest that you brine the meat first and then smoke it with apple cider vinegar. You can also use a food processor to make your sausage if you don’t want to mess with making your own sausage casings.
I hope that this recipe will help you get started smoking with crabapple wood . If you have any questions about this recipe, please leave them in the comment section below and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.