I made contact with an old friend today who manufactures furniture out of American Oak. He throws away a skip bin a week of offcuts. The wood is not treated and buys them in beams.
He mentioned getting both kiln dried and air dried.
I imagine both are ok for smoking with?
Is there a difference between the 2 if used for smoking and if there is which would be the better for smoking fuel?
I am so stoked I could stoke a fire.
the only difference in the drying is one is mechanical is faster and the other sets in an area probably out of the sun, stacked to allow air flow and left to dry. The Kiln Dried is just that, dried in a heated chamber til the moisture gets as low as they want it. The heat also kills any bugs if any.
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
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Thanks. I paid R60 ($4) for 1 pound of wood chips past weekend and my first use of oak and loved it. I will be dropping off 5 off 50 pound bags for filling tommorow for free.😊
Agree both burn just fine but my understanding is the kiln drying process may take some of the volatiles that add flavor out of the wood. Read that somewhere not sure it's true. Opt for the air dry if you can, but either will work. Nice find !!!
Awesome. I know where I live oak wood is hard to come by. There are plenty of fruit woods (apple, peach, cherry, etc.) available but not a lot of oak. I have a friend who works at a tree service and I asked him a few months ago if they ever took down any oak trees and he said he would save me some when they did. Talked to him a couple days ago and he said he had about a cord ready to go. I was only expecting a small load of branches and trimmings but he has full logs. Can't wait to get it chopped, stacked, and burnt.
Great find. Oak can be used on almost anything and provide a good flavor. In the US we have many varieties all with a slightly different flavor. From white oak in the east, to post oak in Texas.
Actually most of the wood chunks we buy in bags in the grocery store and big box retailers is kiln dry. The reason is concerns over transportation of wood that may contain certain little bugs or parasites. The moisture content gets down to like 8% which is why, like has been stated, it burns very quickly.
But hey if it's free, burn the heck out of it !! Nice score !!
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