Taking down a 50 ft. Cottonwood tree in my yard an since its been dead for a year or so, figured I would burn some sticks.
Catches fast and gives a lighter flavor than oak. Coals up well but coals dont last as long. With plenty to burn, may do a brisket or pork butt overnight.

Anyone else ever cook with an "alternative" wood?

NO.

It can work if you're running low on a more flavorful wood but does a pretty poor job on its own. You'll have a long/busy night if you plan to cook overnight with it. Different strokes for different folks, you may enjoy the heck out of it! I'll try darn near anything once.

You oughta try some Bois d'Arc wood. That smells great burning.

No coals means hard to maintain temp. Better grilling wood that smoking wood. Smoke with any wood that makes a nut or berry. Even Hackberry.

Try Pine next time

I'm sure you will be fine but I prefer cedar.

I usually use old bridge timbers or utility poles. This is definitely an upgrade. The smell of the creosote burns my eyes.

When I don't have any mesquite, my alternative wood is pecan or oak. You're not gonna want to smoke with cottonwood. As mentioned above, any wood that produces a nut or fruit...and a pinecone is not a nut!

What don't kill you will make you stronger!

While you are at is you can make some horse apple jelly to go with it ~

So where do pine nuts come from?

I wouldn't do it.

Living in south texas, I do almost all of my cooking with mesquite. Oak is good but a lot harder to split and I don't have near as much of it. Pecan works great and my grandmother keeps me prett supplied with that and I have used elm quite a bit too and never had a complaint.

To whoever said hackberry above must have a secret... I struggle to get hackberry to do anything but smolder even when just burning brush.

Pine nuts come from East Texas of course!