Food safe wood for skewers?

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Everything Mac

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 30, 2009
3,112
83
36
Scotland
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
 
Dec 27, 2015
125
28
Pembroke
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

Sent from my SM-G110H using Tapatalk
 

Macaroon

A bemused & bewildered
Jan 5, 2013
7,209
362
73
SE Wales
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.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
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

Full Member
Feb 19, 2013
3,000
215
58
Stockton on Tees
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 :)
 

didicoy

Full Member
Mar 7, 2013
541
12
fens
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

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
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

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
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.
 

Macaroon

A bemused & bewildered
Jan 5, 2013
7,209
362
73
SE Wales
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

Full Member
Jan 23, 2009
1,094
313
Southampton
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

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
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.
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,141
88
W. Yorkshire
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

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 30, 2009
3,112
83
36
Scotland
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
 
Last edited:

didicoy

Full Member
Mar 7, 2013
541
12
fens
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?
 

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