I'll be honest... I like smokey flavor. So far I've used hickory on pork ribs, combos of hickory+apple or just apple for pork shoulder, apple and just a little bit of hickory for chicken, cherry plus apple on my Thanksgiving turkey, cherry and mesquite for the two flats I've tried and so on. I've got plenty of oak lying around and the variety happens to be red oak. There are a few varieties of white oak as well. Has anyone got any ideas if different types of oak give a noticeably different aroma/flavor? I just checked wikipedia and the northernmost range for post oak (which seems to be the oak of choice to the folks in Texas) goes as far as southeastern massachusetts... coastal areas such as Falmouth, Woods Hole, Fall River (Lizzie Borden took an axe...). Basically I'd like to know if "one oak is practically indistinguishable from another" when used in BBQ. I just may try sawing off some hunks of the red oak I have piled up for my wood stove...
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the specie has less to do with it than the ground/soil it grows in. You should not see much difference between the white and red oak if they are found in the same area. IMHO. The other properties that i like about oak is the BTU's are higher lb for lb and the coals seem to last longer. I consider it a good wood to use for the base fire (hickory is my #2 choice), and with the addition of Fruit woods (chunk), you can impact the flavor more better. The other reason i like it... more plentiful where i am than hickory.
This prompts me to wonder... what about Black Oak from Arkansas? is it Jim Dandy, Hot and Nasty or Strong Enough to be Gentle? -
A buddy of mine who smoked meat professionally for years at his restaurant and catering business once told me he didn't like white oak because it was a lot stronger. However, he used big stickburning offsets and I know he wasn't of the same school we are, that of small HOT fires and thin blue smoke. He just burnt wood and didn't give a thought to much beyond that....so was his fire management to blame? Is there complete truth to what he told me? Is Michigan white oak different than Massachusetts white oak? I have no experience with white oak myself, always used red since it's so abundant 'round these parts... so I can't answer those questions. There are so many variables really. You're gonna have to test it out and report back!
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Seems like once you get your fire management down (especially when stickburning), all woods will have almost the same flavor.
Major difference will be color of your finished food.Comment
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I think it is a bit like wine or whiskey tasting, it takes years of practice to notice some of the subtleties. I can taste the difference between oak, mesquite, and hickory but while I can tell you fruitwood, I can't tell peach from orange from apple. I don't think I could tell any difference between oaks.Comment
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In particular, I was wondering if post oak had some "magic" to it when combined with a nice big brisket! What say you, Jerod?Comment
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I've never been able to tell in the Pit Barrel. You've got so much juices dripping and igniting which is what real BBQ is...
I can't remember the last time I bothered with wood.
I've done red oak and cherry and hickory when smoking indirectly and all I can tell is the different aromas when cooking. Even with sausage I smoke.
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BBQr's Delight pellet grill fuel is made of oak (mix of mostly white and some red) and flavor wood sawdusts. I find white oak to be very mild -- gives smoked food a beautiful color but not an aggressively smoked flavor -- that's why it works well for the BTU part of pellet grill fuel! Post oak has a stronger oaky taste. My #1 wood man says he thinks red oak smells like pee and avoid Black Jack oak for cooking -- very nasty.Comment
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Thanks! A local establishment is selling packers this week for $3.99/lb. and if the boss doesn't give me one of those looks when I say I want to drive the 30+ minutes (a grocery nearby is selling chunks of flats for nearly $9/lb!!!) I'll see about picking one up. I'll try some sort of oak I've got lying around.... but maaaaybe not the red oak I have lying around!Comment
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Don't I remember that Aaron Franklin has standardized on Red oak for his wood? It was either on a YouTube video or from his book. I loaned my Manifesto to a friend and can't look it up at the moment.Comment
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Tuffy bases his wood of choice on what he could consistently get a good supply of.
All my post oak goes in the fireplace.Comment
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I am not sure I even know what post oak is or looks like, lol!Comment
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Ok, I guess I don't have any post oak then because I don't have any that looks like that. I buy bags of oak chunks that does not have any bark on it so I assume that it is white oak which is most prevalent in my area, it has a mild oak smell to it. I see a lot of what I have always called scrub oak around here, the only branches are at the top of the trees and not very thick at all. For all I know they may not be oak at all.
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BTW for best results, wood thrown into a smoker should be de-barked, no?Comment
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I have heard both sides of that argument, some say no bark and others say leave the bark on. I guess the best way to find out is to cook something both ways and let the taste of the meat determine which one you prefer. I honestly can not tell the difference myself whether or not the bark is on or off.
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