Expert: Kris Yager - 9/26/2011

Question
I have chinese elm trees in my yard and have a lot of dry fallen branches and have been using the wood for grilling and smoking fish,beef,chicken,and pork i havent noticed any bad effects from the elm. Do you think I can continue to use the elm because I like the flavor it produces? Thanks

Answer
Hello Wilbur and thanks for your question. To dive right in to your question, sometimes experimentation is half the fun of smoking.  I have some crab apple wood drying out in the backyard as we speak. Chinese elm trees are a hardy lot. If you're asking me about toxicity, then it depends on this; sap. Sap in a tree's live cells contains a natural antifreeze in winter - so it does not 'run' as smoothly, although it will still show under the bark glossy in some cases. Safe woods also contain sap but the wood is 'tighter to the bark' when dried. If the wood leaks quite an amount of sap - it's generally presumed to be toxic. A lot of folks I talk to do not care for the smell of elm burning. Maybe you're doing something right! Enjoy and I hope this helps! Let me know if I can help you more.