How does hickory compare w/ white or post oak?

[jjdbike]

Hey folks,

Thanks for looking, and hopefully replying here.

As I wrote in my previous thread, I was looking for some seasoned white or post oak to combine with cherry to smoke some beef short ribs. I could only find hickory.

Can these who know please give me a comparison between oak & hickory? Is one stronger, more bitter or smokey than the other?

When cooking beef ribs, to get a clean, suite smoke, but not bitter or too smokey, what ratio would you use of fruit wood (cherry and or apple) to hickory? 1/2 & 1/2 or one part hickory to two parts cherry?

Thanks in advance for helping w/ my stick burner learning curve!!!!
JD

[Steve B]

I find hickory has a much more heavy smoke profile and it can give a bit of a bitter taste. I don’t use it anymore in my LSG offset.
I only use white, red oak and cherry. Red oak being my favorite for beef. White oak and cherry for pork. And cherry for chicken, but that is done at a higher temp 350+.

[smokin fool]

Agreed, I've stopped using Hickory and also Mesquite for that matter.
In order of preference it would be Pecan, Cherry, Oak, Maple, Apple.
Pecan seems to have dried up around here, haven't found any in months now.

[jjdbike]

I find hickory has a much more heavy smoke profile and it can give a bit of a bitter taste. I don’t use it anymore in my LSG offset.
I only use white, red oak and cherry. Red oak being my favorite for beef. White oak and cherry for pork. And cherry for chicken, but that is done at a higher temp 350+.

Thanks Steve,
I know that not everyone will like the heavy smoke profile. I'll do two pieces of cherry to one piece of hickory. I'll also take special care to keep the smoke as clean as possible, which is not a difficult task w/ a KBQ. The work comes in constantly feeding wood into it.
JD

[58limited]

I use primarily red oak but I like hickory a lot. On most of my smokers I add hickory occasionally during the cook, relying on oak most of the time. It goes well with beef and pork. On the KBQ, if you keep the top poppet closed the smoke will be cleaned by the coal bed and the hickory will not be as strong so you can probably use more of it. Maybe buy a little and experiment on your next cook.

[MsTwiggy]

Hickory leaves a darker finish on the meat. You can almost tell just by looking when you pull it off the grill. 🔥🔥🔥🐿

[Mosca]

All I can get commonly are the usuals: apple, pecan, hickory, mesquite, and cherry. I’ve pretty much settled on hickory, I don’t use the others at all. I’ve gotten used to how hickory works in my cookers, and I’ve gotten used to the way my food tastes when I use it.

Understand, I’m of the opinion that you can’t really tell the differences in the finished product. Not in the sense that there aren’t any differences, but like you can’t tell the differences between Pepsi and Coke. Yeah, they’re different, but not as different as you might think, and in a blind taste most people can’t pick one or the other better than 50% of the time. (Strong preference for Coke, took the test, failed it. Still prefer Coke anyhow.)

[Steve B]

Funny about the Coke Pepsi test. For me there’s a world of difference. I can always tell when someone brings me one or the other.

[Mosca]

I can tell that they’re different, but I couldn’t tell you which is which when tasted blind. When I can see the can, Pepsi obviously tastes like Pepsi, and Coke obviously tastes like Coke.

[Finster]

Don't drink much soda anymore, but unless things have changed, coke has way more carbonation than Pepsi. That's the tell.

[rlozinak]

I have a treager pellet smoker and use hickory because of the strong flavor. At least with hickory I can taste the smoke, with others not so much

[Bkhuna]

For me, Hickory is too strong to add as chunks to a kettle or other charcoal based cooker, but I've eaten at many BBQ places where coals made from hickory are shoveled into pits and I've never be put off by smell or taste. Treated right, hickory has a great flavor.

Oak varietals are milder and are my favorite for beef.

[Mosca]

This indirectly explains why I use hickory: I’m used to it. I started out using too much. But now, I can toss in a couple or three chunks and think, "That’s about right." Or look at what I’ve added and think, "That’s too much, take one out." So now I don’t want to change!

[jfmorris]

I use hickory chunks a lot, and have smoked about anything you care to mention with it over the years. While I go with post oak chunks for authenticity these days with my Texas style brisket, I use hickory for about everything else. I think it gives what I feel is a more traditional smoked flavor, especially with pork. I use 3-4 chunks on the kettle or kamado, and that is about it. On the offset, I'll feed them to the fire throughout the cook, along with oak or charcoal (I use a bed of charcoal to get the fire going in the offset firebox).

A lot of it has to do with what you are used to. Some folks might eat food from a pellet smoker and things its too smoky, while others (me!) can feed 10 pounds of hickory chunks to the offset firebox and feel it could be smokier. Hickory and mesquite to me are the two strongest flavored smoking woods I can use. Oak to me is the lightest. And fruit wood of about any sort to me tastes the same in the smoke profile. I.e. cherry, apple, pecan to me produce similar results, so I don't bother stocking all of those anymore. In fact, right now I think all I have are post oak mini splits, and hickory chunks. Maybe a bag of pecan somewhere.

With a stick burner, the chunks do not smolder and smoke like they do in the SNS on my kettle, assuming you have a small hot fire with clean smoke. So I feel I end up using a LOT more wood on the offset to get my smoke than I would the 3-4 chunks it takes on the kettle or kamado.

[RickyBobby]

I laughed out loud when I read the part about 10 pounds of wood and still thinking it needs more smoke! I am the exact same way! I know some people don’t like it and I temper my personal tastes when I’m cooking for others, but I have never and will never utter the term "over smoked."

[jfmorris]

RickyBobby on my old offset I tend to use charcoal and wood chunks. Smoking a half dozen butts or a brisket for 16 hours would involve 40 pounds of Kingsford and an entire bag of wood chunks. That’s why I love my kettle and kamado - so much less fuel consumption…

Even with the SNS.. I tend to add wood all through the cook…

[Dadof3Illinois]

The key is not to use too much of either. I categorize my woods into groups, like "Fruitwood" or "Nutwood". For me it's hard to really tell much difference between Apple, Cherry or Peach or the Nutwood's like Oak, Hickory or Pecan. But I can usually tell if someone has used either of those family's of wood.
If someone has some bad smoke going in their smoker then it doesn't matter what wood they use it's going to taste "Off". IMO beyond what type of wood is being used the most important thing is fire management and the ability to control the level of smoke applied to the meat.

[Murdy]

I mostly use Pecan, which I regard as similar to Hickory but milder. Been using Oak a lot lately too.

[Potkettleblack]

I like Hickory, but use fewer chunks that you would with oak, as it's a stronger smoke flavor.

[Spinaker]

I do not use a lot of hickory since it does not really grow in MN. I use a lot of oak and cherry, though. I always thought that oak and hickory were pretty similar when I have used them in chunks s on my PBCs and Kamados.

[mrteddyprincess]

We have plenty of oak trees in Indiana, but for whatever reason, hickory is the more prominent wood available for stick burners (along with wild cherry). I love hickory smoked anything in my off-set and so do my guests.

My best buddy, Dave, has a pellet smoker, and he and I regularly argue about whether or not the type of wood has any effect on the taste of the BBQ. He argues that he can tell the difference if he uses fruit vs. hardwood and I tell him that he's smoking something other than fruit or hardwood because I can't tell a difference. Perhaps, that's because I'm using a stick burner and I'm only burning wood, and that there are more subtle differences in a pellet smoker. I also have a PK360 and I can't tell a darn difference whether I add hickory, cherry, or apple chunks to my hardwood lump charcoal. Nada. It all tastes good, but I'll be darned if I can tell a difference.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Hickory or mesquite for grilling

White oak (cherry if I have it) for smoking....