Food safe wood for skewers?

[Everything Mac]

Hi all,
Quick question for you all, what woods would be considered safe for using as a skewer? Or what woods should I avoid. Everything I read revolves around burning the wood...

All the best
Andy

 

[Wild wandering woodsman]

I would not use elder, laurel, laburnum and yew for sure. Oak, ash, hazel should be fine but De bark first and I would use green wood or if not soak the skewers in water for 12 hrs before hand. I suppose pine would be safe but once heated it releases it's resins which have a bitter taste so would avoid it personally

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[Macaroon]

Ash, Hazel and Birch are my go-to woods, and there are not many places you can't find one or t'other of them either on site or on the way in.

 

[HillBill]

Not sure about Oak, the tannin may affect the food.

 

[Janne]

All fruit trees, Birch, Oak, Beech, Pine (but burns easily)
And the best one, Juniper, but being full of resin, it burns easily.

Bamboo, well soaked, is superb, but then you have to raid somebody's garden!

 

[bopdude]

Sorry but why would you bother with the hassle I have 4 stainless ones that slot in the back support of my pack /s saves a lot of fuss

 

[bobnewboy]

Sycamore every time. Generally widespread, non tainting, easy to identify.

 

[didicoy]

No one mentioned spindle. I understand it's not growing everywhere, but if you look hard enough, it's out there in the old hedgerows.

 

[Toddy]

Hazel, ash, willow, sycamore, apple, chestnut and lime.
Birch, pine and oak and alder if nothing else at hand.
Not….cherry (cyanide smell) laburnum, yew, holly, elder, douglas fir or cedar.

There's an awful lot of trees out there though

M

 

[Robson Valley]

Fruitwoods should all be OK. Apple tree prunings would be my first choice (if I had one.)
But sure as Hello, I'm not fence-hopping to cut a few.

Grilling kebabs on the BBQ, I have a couple dozen flat stainless steel skewers.
As bopdudePost6 says: s/s is hasslefree. Essentially indestructable.
Plus and unlike a stick, they conduct the heat into the core of the food.

 

[Janne]

Yes, hassle free, but it has a kind of satisfaction to cut and fashion your own skewer.
And it is very difficult to keep the inside of the meat rare.

 

[Macaroon]

Is Spindle not highly toxic? I've always been under the impression that you don't want it near food.......Could be wrong, I often am!

 

[Muddypaws]

Dogwood is the traditional choice for skewers. According to the Reader's Digest guide to Trees and Shrubs of Britain, since mediaeval times, butchers have been using 'dogs' or skewers of dogwood to hold cuts of meat into shape, which is how Dogwood got the name. Of course, being Reader's Digest, the truth of this 'fact' may be a little suspect.

 

[Robson Valley]

Bison is so lean, like moose & elk, that anything beyond rare to nearly too tough to eat easily.
Pretty much had to re-think grilling when I got away from beef, 15 yeaars ago.
Wooden skewers? Maybe save some shafts when I prune my grape vines. Try them.

 

[forrestdweller]

I just googled it up to make sure I'm right: spindle (euonymus species) are not suitable for skewers, parts of the plant are poisonous!

my suggestion would be willow and hazel.....

 

[HillBill]

I always find it easier to learn what "not" to use.... the list is normally shorter..... everything else is ok. Same for wild foods, Everything is edible, some will harm or kill you, learn those... everything else is good.... as far as harm is concerned.... how nice/edible they are is another thing, but one which you can try out safely.

 

[Everything Mac]

Wow cheers guys. Hazel and Birch would have been my thoughts so that's good to know. Thanks for adding to the list. I wouldn't have thought of sycamore so that's good to know. That stuff is blooming everywhere.

I have been considering getting a set of skewers but I'm off out shortly after I get ashore and quite simply might not get the opportunity to pick some up.

All the best
Andy

 

[didicoy]

I always find it easier to learn what "not" to use.... the list is normally shorter..... everything else is ok. Same for wild foods, Everything is edible, some will harm or kill you, learn those... everything else is good.... as far as harm is concerned.... how nice/edible they are is another thing, but one which you can try out safely.

What part? Do you have the link?

 

[Macaroon]

Seems I have been under a false illusion about Spindle wood, it seems to have been used as pipe stems and tooth picks etc. for a very long time. Information seems scarce, but I found this:

http://www.druidry.org/library/trees/tree-lore-spindle

 

[HillBill]

Part? Link? For what?

What part? Do you have the link?