KILN DRIED HICKORY FIREWOOD
FOR SMOKING & HOME HEATING
Wisconsin Hickory Wood for Smoking, BBQ & Home Heating
Hickory is Wisconsin's premier wood for smoking. Our kiln-dried split-face hickory produces the dense smoke profile and long coal bed that professional pitmasters demand, with approximately 29 million BTUs per cord. Whether you're smoking ribs, brisket, and pork shoulder on a backyard offset, firing a restaurant wood-burning grill, or heating a Wisconsin home through winter, kiln-dried hickory performs without compromise.
Why Choose Hickory Firewood?
- Intense Long-Lasting Heat Approximately 29 million BTUs per cord, the highest in our catalog. Outburns oak, maple, and birch with a slower, deeper coal bed.
- Best Wood for BBQ & Smoking Signature bacon-smoke aroma. The go-to hickory wood for smoking ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, ham, and traditional Wisconsin smoked sausage. Trusted by 20+ Milwaukee-area restaurants.
- Used by Professional Chefs Supplied to Smoke Shack Milwaukee, Council Oak at Hard Rock Casino Rockford, Mr. B's Steakhouse, and 17 other SE Wisconsin restaurants on standing weekly orders.
- Multiple Hickory Varieties Sourced across five species: Shagbark, Pignut, Bitternut, Shellbark, and Mockernut. All split, sorted, and graded in-house.
- Premium Kiln-Dried Quality 24 to 32 hours in our kilns at 265°F. 15% moisture, USDA-compliant heat treatment, WDATCP certified (HT#2019086).
Hickory Wood for Smoking Ribs, Brisket & Pork
Hickory is the defining wood of American BBQ. Its strong, bacon-forward smoke profile is the reason pitmasters reach for it first when smoking ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, ham, and traditional Wisconsin smoked sausage. Unlike lighter woods like apple or cherry, hickory produces a deep, penetrating smoke that builds bark on competition-grade briskets and gives backyard ribs their signature color. Best Burn hickory is supplied to over 20 Milwaukee-area restaurants and smokehouses on standing weekly orders because it delivers a consistent moisture profile of 15% on every cord, which means predictable smoke, predictable burn time, and repeatable results every cook.
Hickory Firewood for Home Heating in SE Wisconsin
Whether you're heating a Waukesha farmhouse through a Wisconsin winter or loading splits into a Traeger for a weekend brisket, our kiln-dried hickory arrives graded, screened, and stacked to exact specification. Delivery available to Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, and Racine counties. Shipping cost is calculated by zip code at checkout.
Order Hickory FirewoodWhy Kiln-Dried Outperforms Seasoned Firewood
Every cord we ship spends 24 to 32 hours inside our commercial kilns at 265°F. The result is a category-leading firewood specification that seasoned wood cannot match on any axis: ignition speed, pest sterility, or burn cleanliness.
Burns Immediately
Kiln-dried hickory lights in seconds, no kindling fight, no seasoning wait. 15% moisture means every log ignites on first match.
Ready out of the truckBug Free
265°F kiln heat exceeds the USDA threshold for sterilization. Eliminates ash borer larvae, mold spores, and powderpost beetles. Safe to stack indoors.
USDA HT compliantBurns Clean
Ultra-low moisture content equals minimal creosote buildup in your chimney, less smoke output, and more usable heat per stick. Cleaner stove, cleaner air.
Less than 15% moisture
Hickory Firewood Spec Sheet
| Classification | Hardwood |
|---|---|
| Species Varieties | Shagbark, Pignut, Bitternut, Shellbark, Mockernut |
| Best For | Smoking ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, BBQ / Home heating & wood stoves |
| BTU Output | ~29 Million BTU per cord |
| Moisture Content | 15% WDATCP HT#2019086 |
| Kiln Time | 36 to 40 hrs |
| Weight Per Cord | 4,000 to 4,200 lbs (kiln-dried, 15%) |
| Piece Length | 15 to 16 inches |
| Piece Diameter | 1"×1" to 3"×3" split face |
| Weight Per Size | 1/2 Face Cord 600 lbs / Face Cord 1,200 lbs / Half Cord 2,000 lbs / Full Cord 4,000 lbs |
| Color | Gray bark, pale cream-to-tan wood. (Shagbark & Bitternut Hickory) |
| Bark | Present |
| Certification | WDATCP HT#2019086 (request with delivery) |
| Sourced From | Northern Wisconsin |
7 Steps to Delivering the Best Firewood
Every cord we ship goes through seven discrete, audited stages — all handled in-house at our New Berlin, Wisconsin facility. Most competitors stop after step two.
Direct-Sourced from Wisconsin Loggers
All hickory comes directly from Wisconsin DNR select cuts, land clearing jobs, and mill surplus in Northern Wisconsin. No brokers, no out-of-state wood. Every load is species-identified on arrival before entering our yard.
Multitek Processor — Cut & Split On Site
Every log is cut and split in-house on our own Multitek firewood processor at our New Berlin, Wisconsin facility. The Multitek produces uniform 16-inch splits at consistent diameter — the same size, every piece, every cord, year-round. No outsourced processing, no variation between loads. You get the same split in January that you get in July.
Kiln Dried In-House at 265°F
We operate our own commercial Kiln-Direct kilns on site in New Berlin, Wisconsin — 265°F for 24 to 32 hours per batch. 15% moisture, USDA compliant, WDATCP certified (HT#2019086). Most firewood sellers buy wood dried by someone else. We dry it ourselves.
Stored Under Cover on Concrete
After kilning, every cord moves into our covered, concrete-floor storage facility. No ground contact, no weather exposure. This protects the 15% moisture certification from kiln to delivery — the same number that leaves our kilns is the same number that arrives at your door.
Commercial Firewood Screener
Every batch runs through our in-house commercial firewood screener before it touches a truck. Dirt, bark debris, undersized splits — removed by machine, not by eye. Our 20+ restaurant accounts depend on a consistent product. The screener is how we guarantee it on every order.
Purpose-Built Delivery Fleet
We built our own delivery trucks from the ground up, with compartments sized to the exact cubic footage of every product we sell. When you order a face cord, that compartment holds exactly one face cord. No estimating, no eye-balling, no padding. Most firewood companies load by weight or by sight. Our trucks make it physical. What you order is what fits. Full stop.
Delivered Ready to Burn
Dried, screened, measured, and ready to burn off the truck. Every step — sourcing, drying, storage, screening, loading, and delivery — is handled in-house by our team. No subcontractors, no hand-offs. Same-week scheduling available throughout SE Wisconsin. Optional stacking service available at checkout.
Buy Kiln-Dried Hickory Firewood For Sale Now
Hickory Firewood — Frequently Asked Questions
Everything Wisconsin homeowners, pitmasters, and restaurant buyers ask before ordering. Don't see your question? Call (262) 746-7416.
Is hickory good firewood for a fireplace?
How many BTUs does hickory firewood produce?
Where can I buy hickory firewood near me in Milwaukee or Waukesha?
What meats is hickory wood best for smoking?
What is hickory wood for smoking and why is it the best BBQ wood?
Is hickory good for smoking ribs?
How does hickory compare to oak for smoking?
How is kiln-dried hickory different from seasoned hickory?
Does Best Burn Firewood deliver hickory outside Milwaukee?
What sizes of hickory firewood do you sell?
Customer Reviews
See what our clients say about us
Best hickory I have ever burned in my smoker, hands down. Dry, clean, no junk in the pile, no popping. Bought a full cord for competition season and it has been worth every dollar. Delivery was on time and the driver stacked it neatly behind the garage where I asked.
Read More →We run a small smokehouse in Wauwatosa and have been ordering hickory and oak from Best Burn for two years. The consistency is what keeps us coming back, every load is the same moisture, same split size, same clean wood. Tyler and the team are professionals.
Read More →Ordered a face cord of hickory for my wood stove and the fireplace. First load lit on the first match, no kindling needed. Burns hot, burns long, and zero bug issues stacking it in the garage. Have already reordered.
Read More →Some Of Our Customers
Ready to Order Wisconsin's Best Hickory Wood for Smoking & Heating?
Delivery available to Waukesha, Milwaukee, and all of SE Wisconsin. Order online or call (262) 746-7416 to schedule same-week delivery.
