West indies/cuban Mahogany

[Firemanfred]

greetings all, big question here. i live in SW florida and i have a west indies/cuban Mahogany tree in my yard. i have been cutting it for years and since i have started smoking i have wanted to try it, but i heard it was not good to use.
has anyone used it. i know there are several types of Mahogany and have read about the mountian mahogany in CA being good and somebody using mahogany scaps from wood shops. these trees bare a fruit in a hard shell and abondant in our area, but never heard of anyone. any thoughts?

[Mark R]

Like to see a pic of the tree? I didn't think we had any "real" mahogany growing in FL. Just curious...
As far a smoking with it, need to know what it is first.

[BYBBQ]

Yep, it is native to Florida. I'm not sure but, I thought it was an endangered species. It is a true mahogany. Not sure if it would be any good for smoking. I seem to recall it being considered a semi-evergreen. I never used scrapes of mahogany from the shop for smoking.

[Conumdrum]

I dunno, never seen it used. Maybe where it's originally from, look in some far east cooking type blogs meaning phillipines etc. Maybe in Hawaii. Evergreen? It's not like pine, it grows in places where it don't freeze, meaning it's not a normal evergreen like pine etc.

If it's a real Mahogany tree,it could be worth a few $1000, that stuff for furniture is VERY expensive.

[Firemanfred]

yes i believe it is endangered, i would be using the branches from trimming, and if a hurricane took it down, i guess i could sell it then. just curious, hate to not use it for something.

[Richtee]

Ain't mahogany a very oily wood? My inclination would be to say no... and Welcome to Smoked-Meat!

[BYBBQ]

You could check out some Peruvian or Honduran, West Indies, or Brazilian type of cooking.

It is native and original to South Florida. Most imported mahogany now comes from Peru since Brazil & Honduras banned cutting and exporting the wood back around 2000. Most of the so called mahogany now days is not a true mahogany, but other woods grown in areas that true mahogany does not grow, like the Philippines.

I'm not sure I would trust using it.

And you cannot sell wood from an endangered tree species in the Florida.

[Mark R]

You could check out some Peruvian or Honduran, West Indies, or Brazilian type of cooking.

It is native and original to South Florida. Most imported mahogany now comes from Peru since Brazil & Honduras banned cutting and exporting the wood back around 2000. Most of the so called mahogany now days is not a true mahogany, but other woods grown in areas that true mahogany does not grow, like the Philippines.

I'm not sure I would trust using it.

And you cannot sell wood from an endangered tree species in the Florida.

It is not original or native to Florida, it was imported for the lumber industry. For some unexplained reason (like manatees) "they" decided to "naturalize" it, and it is protected.
I cannot find anything definitive about it's smoke quality health wise, but I would shy way away from it as it is a dense oily wood.
Many woods used in furniture and cabinet making (vintage) are toxic to some degree.

On edit; it is native only to the extreme southern tip of Florida and the Keys.
It was introduced farther North by the Lumber Industry.
http://www.fs.fed.us/global/iitf/pub...%20%287%29.pdf

[Firemanfred]

Thanks guys, the verdict is in. i shall not use it.. thanks for your help!!

[Bearcarver]

Yup---I wouldn't use it:

I used to turn some of that along with some other exotics, like Bubinga, Padouk, and Zebrawood, and I had to wear a mask while turning, sawing, & sanding them. Didn't smell great either!! Also very oily.

Bear