Is this really hickory or did I get screwed?

[Salberts24]

Hi All,

New to the forum. Long story short, I bought 1/2 cord of hickory from a firewood guy two days ago to use in my smoker. It’s been drying as logs for 7 months, he split it roughly 5 days ago. I measured the moisture around 25% so definitely still a little green.

The thing is it reeks like pee. I’ve read hickory can be this way, maybe even manure-like. But I’ve read elm and red oak can as well. I’d really like to avoid my first steak I smoke smelling like it came from my cat’s litter box.

Thanks for any help.

 

[begreen]

I would imagine hickory in Idaho might be a bit uncommon. Is it very hard and dense? Maybe it's pignut or mocker nut?
FWIW. Wood doesn't dry much or quickly in log form.

 

[KDubU]

Could it be locust? The bark in the first pic remind me of it.

 

[cygnus]

It would help to get a close-up pic of the grain but that looks like hickory to me.

 

[Salberts24]

I haven’t come across much hickory up here which is why I jumped on the opportunity to buy some. It is around though from what I understand.

Locust is an interesting guess, I wouldn’t rule anything out. Someone else suggested ash maybe?

I tested some in my fire pit, it smells better without the bark on it and burning hotter.

Here’s a few pics of the grain. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Salberts24]

Pic of when they were splitting it if that helps at all.

 

[patrickk222]

How heavy are they ?

 

[patrickk222]

Could it be locust? The bark in the first pic remind me of it.

Definitely not locust

 

[Salberts24]

Moderately heavy, I’ve felt heavier splits comparatively but this stuff is by no means light.

I realize there are several species with differences but I bought a small bundle of hickory from the store just to compare the smell and textures.

 

[patrickk222]

From what i'm lookin at in the pics plus it be in mod heavy i dont think it's hickory if i had to guess id prob say its a some sort of maple native to id or could possibly be fir/pine speceies based on the white stuff on bark in last pic

 

[cygnus]

Definitely not locust.
The bark in the first and last pics are all so different that it's tough to tell. Pics of the grain are also difficult to pinpoint but I'm leaning toward hickory myself.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

not hickory

 

[Salberts24]

To clarify the last pic I posted, I laid this mystery wood next to some hickory I bought at the BBQ store from a local outfit for comparison.

The big thing to me is the off putting urine smell, for the time being I’ll just hold off putting it in my smoker.

Hickory is a bit more scarce up here in Idaho for sure, I’m just really curious now to figure out what this is. I’m leaning myself towards some type of Elm or Ash.

 

[Jags]

Take a splinter and light it. Blow it out and smell the smoke. Does it smell like a smoker or not? I'm betting on Hickory.

 

[Simonkenton]

Looks like ash.
Around here in the NC mountains, hickory in the woodpile in June is totally infested with bark beetles. The pile is covered with fine powdery sawdust.

 

[Simonkenton]

He said "moderately heavy." That is not a description of hickory.

 

[Woody5506]

kinda looks more like some type of maple to me. Hickory can be shockingly heavy. Like when you pick up a split, it's surprising how much weight it has. If this doesn't seem "that" heavy to you then I have my doubts its hickory. That said, I've also been thrown off plenty of times by hickory. If it's shagbark, it's super easy to identify. But when it's others like pignut I've been thrown off before.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

Reading the post and the thread, looking at the photos, I'm not guessing hickory. Though hard to know for sure from photos. I'm very familiar with hickory, at least the types we get here in Indiana -- like shagbark and pignut. The wood is generally tough to split -- stringy and dense. The splits are heavy, a little heavier than red oak.

I've also never had it smell bad.

 

[Woody5506]

I've also never had it smell bad.

The stuff I've gotten has had a dank smell to it although I don't really call it bad, per say...I could see how some might think it's bad.