Florida Woods
To my Floridian Q friends, do you use any of the more common trees in Florida for smoking, such as Live Oak?
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I have in the past used live oak and hickory that came from cutting up trees felled by hurricanes. However, leaving a pile of wood sitting around the outside for many months to age is kind of a pain and just attracts insects, snakes, etc.
Now, I order my wood from Fruitawood instead. -
One of my buds down there likes to use orange and lemon wood to add a citrus flavor to there smokes.Comment
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Any hardwood will really do. It is more about the fire management than it is about the type of wood your are using. Citrus woods don’t add a lemon or orange flavor to smoke. Just like cherry smoke doesn’t smell or taste like cherries. Fire management is the key.
live oak will burn great!
more on that here....
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"According to The Forest Encyclopedia, smoke flavor is influenced more by the climate and soil in which they are grown than the species of wood. "This is very important to note, especially when you are caught up in the game of deciding which wood to use for flavor. This means that the differences between hickory grown in Arkansas and hickory grown in New York may be greater than the differences between hickory and pecan grown side by side." mountainsmoker -
Hi Spinaker the smoke flavors the meat not the air. Turkey flavored by cherry is sweet and fruity. I do 2-3 birds and several breasts a year. Maple accentuates maple cured bacon. We would not recognize cured ham without hickory. Red oak is different from NC to IA, to CA. I have lived and smoked in 4 states and noticed the difference in the taste of the meat from locally supplied wood. As I noted in another post I am familiar with books similar to it. What is it's Web site? -
You’re missing the point. Read the article or don’t. Doesn’t really matter to me. Its not worth going down another rabbit hole with you. Have a good night. mountainsmoker
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Oh, I have read the article several times. plus several like it. I do get it. I keep 5 different woods on hand. Other than pork butt and ribs I don't use any fancy rubs. I let salt and pepper or butter and herbs do the seasoning plus the smoke flavor the meat. This quote from you "Citrus woods don’t add a lemon or orange flavor to smoke. Just like cherry smoke doesn’t smell or taste like cherries" makes no sense. It refers to nothing I said even and it is the flavonoids in the smoke that flavor the meat.
Well I am done, good by.Comment
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Smoke, combustion, completely removes anything that would add any citrus quality to meat. It's a myth. It's a mindset: "I'm using lemon wood, this tastes citrusy". False. Juts like apple wood doesn't make your steak or brisket or burgers taste like apples. Smoke is smoke. Prove me wrong, not just hypothetically, actually try it!
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I have used a fair amount of citrus wood over the last while with different proteins and I have never found any hint of citrus flavour.
My opinion is that citrus has a milder smoke flavour versus other woods I've used. I have only used mesquite Weber chips (no other form available) and they have a more intense smoke profile very much like our local hardwood "Rooikrans". I find the two to be very similar in flavour.
I am now able to get as much American oak as I want, both kiln and air dried. The oak is middle of the road for me and is now my go to wood because of this reason. I do like it's flavour and it's free.
I have done specific tests with citrus and chicken to see if I could sense a citrus flavour and no matter how I went about the test I could not or those that I fed, detect any citrus flavour.
I have tried cherry, again only Weber wood chips and found it to be a little light for me.
In conclusion my taste buds can only distinguish between light and a more pronounced flavour in the many different woods I have used and I can say I have used a fairly significant amount of different woods.
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Guys, think about it: smoke is smoke. There is nothing citrusy about it. Citrus taste is acid with sugars. There's no acid or juice in smoke. It's burnt wood. No citrus flavor will come from burning wood, it comes from the fruit hanging on the end of the limbs. This is a myth, a mindset.Comment
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Indeed. Think of using grape wood and your meat come out tasting like grape bubble gum....mercifully that does not happen! -
ComfortablyNumb Lol, very true! I have 2 kinds of grapevine wood and orange on hand. NEITHER taste anything like their namesake fruit. In fact, those 2 are literally my least favorite of my woods. They taste like smoke, bland smoke. It will work, but nothing impressive. Cherry and peach are the most impressive, they're like incense, very aromatic and unique...but absolutely nothing like "cherry" or "peach" flavor. This isn't Jolly Ranchers, this is smoke.
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I used citrus wood for smoking on occasion back when there used to be orange groves around here. Like holehogg , I don't think I could tell any difference between the various citrus species and the apple and cherry fruitwoods that I now use. There used to be a roadside citrus stand down somewhere between Kissimmee and Haines City that had a smoker and sold pulled pork sandwiches that they claimed were smoked over citrus. To give it a mildly citrus flavor, they spritzed with orange juice! It was not great!Comment
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I think folks use an apple juice spritz, apple cider vinegar-based BBQ sauce and who knows maybe even applesauce on their ribs, or on the side....and apple wood on their smoker. Then they say their apple wood-smoke ribs have that nice delicious apple flavor. Lol. Like I say, it's a mindset. Psychology at play. -
My son is now living in Kissimmee - From Chico, to New Orleans, to Galveston to Kissimmee. He considers himself a BBQ restaurant critic. If you have any places to recommend in Orlando, send them my way and I will pass them on to me (messaging is fine). He said finding good BBQ in the Orlando area has been a bit tough. -
tbob4 - Your son will probably continue to find it tough. I'm not much of an expert on BBQ restaurants, as I enjoy making my own. Over the years, this area has morphed from fairly rural to 99.5% tourist, so the restaurants pretty much cater to tourists. I guess 4 Rivers in Winter Park is probably the best known, but I'd just give it maybe 3-4 stars. Not specifically BBQ, but there are several good Brazilian Steakhouses (Boi Brazil, Texas De Brazil) for a unique experience.
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tbob4 I'm like johnec00 , I don't seek out many BBQ places because I make so much myself, but a couple of years ago I had jury duty in Sanford for a week and there was a new place called Fuel that was walking distance from the courthouse, so I tried it. I actually thought it was pretty good, and definitely better than 4 Rivers. I'm one of the few that isn't a big 4 Rivers fan though.Comment
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tbob4 - Cryderman's BBQ in Cocoa is very good. Pearl Country Store in Minneola is good. Nothing much to recommend in Orlando proper. This is the land of mass market franchise food and hipster doofus renditions.Comment
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Lighter fluid still tastes like lighter fluid...Comment
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I think the point that certain people may not understand is that different woods do impart different flavors. Those different flavors may pair well with different meats. The wood smoke does not impart the flavor of the fruits the tree bears, or what it’s nuts taste like, or maple syrup, ...etc.Comment
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