In the early days of barbecue, the trees that were native to a region had as much to do with the development of a regional style as the kinds of livestock the local farmers raised and the types of sauces, marinades, and rubs that were used on the meat. Over time it’s gotten easier to source different woods from around the country in the form of chunks and chips, but if you’re cooking with logs, you’re still likely to end up working with what’s growing around you.

Sourcing Wood 

If you use chunks or chips it’s easy to pick up a bag of wood online or at a local barbecue or hardware store. Logs aren’t quite that simple. Much of the packaged firewood sold in stores is kiln-dried and will burn up so fast, producing so little smoke it won’t do you much good at all. It’s better to look for wood that was cut down locally, allowed to dry naturally, and is available for sale in bulk. If you live near a rural area, you might find wood for sale just by driving around, but if you live in a city, you can find ads for firewood on Craigslist and in the classifieds.

 Firewood is typically sold in a measured amount known as a cord: four-feet wide by four-feet high by eight-feet long, a total of 128 cubic feet. A face cord is equal to a cord in height and length but less than half a cord in width. The price of wood always fluctuates based on supply and demand, but asking sellers their price per cord gives you a reliable way to shop for the best deal. Be cautious against sellers who offer wood by the trailer or truckload, as they’ll sometimes deliberately stack the wood in a way that makes it difficult to measure. He also says to watch out for sellers who try to pass off a face cord as a full cord.

Always insist on inspecting the firewood before you buy. You’ll never find a cord where every log is absolutely perfect but on the whole you want wood that still has some energy and life to it. Avoid wood that looks powdery, rotten, or waterlogged. If the wood was recently cut down it likely has more internal moisture than you’d want for a cook, but you can always store it for use at a later date. How long it takes to dry out will depend on climate. During a dry, hot summer the wood could be ready to go in a matter of weeks if it gets enough sunlight; during a cold, wet winter it may take months—or even a year!

The best way to tell if a log is ready for the smoker is to simply pick up different logs from your pile and compare how they feel. The heavier a piece of wood is, the more internal moisture it has. During the cook you’ll want some heftier logs that will burn longer and produce more smoke, but you don’t want logs with so much moisture that they have trouble combusting. If the bark on the wood is starting to fall off or there are noticeable cracks in the grain, that’s a good sign that the wood is properly seasoned. You can also thump the wood with your thumb: seasoned wood will give you a deeper, more full-bodied sound than fresh wood, which will sound more clipped and dull.

DO

• Use wood that’s aged naturally outdoors for six months to a year. This drying-out process is called curing or seasoning. A freshly cut piece of wood, known as green wood, has too much internal moisture, which will produce more smoke as the wood burns and slow down the combustion process.

• Have more wood on hand than you think you’ll need for your cook, especially if you’re using wood as your primary fuel source rather than coal or briquettes.

• Have a good mix of wood in terms of density, size, and quality. Drier, lighter pieces will burn much faster than denser, heavier ones, but they also won’t produce as much of the clean, flavorful smoke you want to taste on the meat. Both will come in handy at different stages of the cook.

• Source your wood from trees that have died of natural causes like drought, disease, or insects. Don’t kill healthy trees in the name of barbecue.