Years ago, decades to be exact (but I'd rather not think I'm that old), people would ask me what wood to burn in their grill. I'd reply simply to just go pick up sticks. Stay clear from cooking with pines and cedars, but the rest will be ok to cook with. And instead of just burning the downed sticks in a burn pile or letting a city take it away for mulch, you can cook dinner with it. I'd tell them don't try to use damp wood. Whatever you think would be good in a campfire will be good to cook with. And then as you go along you'll get a feel for it. And then you'll start to taste the differences in the wood but also in the fire techniques. Next thing you know, you'll be eyeballing branches that fell and when people are cutting down trees.
Fast forward, a few months ago a severe storm came through nearby knocking down some large trees. Amongst those trees were some mature white oaks belonging to a friend. They brought some chunks over, we waited a bit for them to dry and age a little bit and today is smoked wings cooked over the white oak. That heartwood is absolutely fantastic to cook over.
