North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mark Lee" <markl@nytec.com>]

In the Seattle area, fancy restaurants often market their BBQ salmon as
grilled over applewood or some other locally obtained wood.  I have been
making batches of smoked salmon for the past few months, and I have been
using chunks of mesquite and hickory that are trucked in from
out-of-state.  The Thanksgiving turkey was similarly processed in my
smoker and got great reviews.  I don't have any apple tree stumps laying
around, but I do have 1 foot diameter log of hawthorn (a minor fruit
tree) sitting half-burned in a firepit.  The hawthorn wood is very dense
and takes forever to completely burn.  It seems like this hawthorn would
make a good local replacement for the commercial mesquite and hickory
that I have been using.  I think I will try this for my next batch of
salmon.  Other than trial-and-error, how does one identify a hardwood
that would result in a good smoked salmon or other smoked food product?
-Mark Lee, Seattle, zone 8a