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FAQ Subject: Any poisonous woods for BBQ?

Hi Smoky,

My husband barbecues frequently. He doesn't wait for the wood to burn down to coals, he cooks the meat over full-flames because he says he likes his meat to be "sanctified!!!". Anyway, my concern is that he uses any wood that he finds, not knowing what the heck it is. One wood in particular from our backyard tree makes the meat taste like mothballs but it doesn't seem to bother him at all. We have been arguing back and forth about using 'unidentified' wood for barbecuing. Could you settle this once and for all? Are there any poisonous woods or is any wood fair game for BBQ? Thanks!

Lana

Hi Lana,

Know any good divorce lawyers??

There are several trees which can indeed kill you, others will only make you sick.

The smoke from poison oak, poison sumac, tung, oleander are seriously hazardous. Many landscaping trees are deadly.

China berry is hazardous to some folk.

Wood from any resinous tree would put a terrible stench into food.

Treated wood is deadly poisonous

The smoke of burning wood has 214 hazardous chemicals in it. If he likes the taste of meat cooked in burning wood, he is sure to like the smell of Lysol where the odor and the poison comes from phenol, a major constituent of wood smoke. And he would probably like sheep dip which was mainly cresols until the EPA banned its use.

Furthermore, your husband is not barbecuing, he is broiling. I suggest that you click into "According to Smoky" from www.barbecuen.com and read the "Glossary" for your info then download and print out "Burning Wood & Blowing Smoke" for your husband.

You might consider either getting him a copy of "The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual" (check it out in the Barbecue Store) and some mental counseling.

Luck,
Smoky