# I have yet another question for you guys.



## neens (Feb 20, 2008)

Well really two questions. First one is a mom and pop type hardware store near me is selling English white oak at a rate of about 20 logs for $5 and I saw that oak was a smoke heavy wood but didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know if that included English white oak if it does not include the English oak is it at least ok to cure my new cooker in?

Second is what is a good way to tell what kind of wood I am looking at? Apple is pretty easy but I found someone selling hickory who said they took down a tree in their yard and that I could take as much as I wanted for $50. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really know how to tell if it is what they say it is. Is this just a time when you have to take someone at their word? If it was someone I knew or was a friend of a friend I wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t question it but I found the listing on Craigâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s list and shot the guy an e-mail.


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## walking dude (Feb 20, 2008)

i supposed there is no leaves on this hickory...........????

sometimes you can tell by the bark.........google it, and see if you can


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## meowey (Feb 20, 2008)

The oak sounds like a deal.  I use oak when I want a smoke that is a bit less intense than hickory.

Hope this helps!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey


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## walking dude (Feb 20, 2008)

also........any wood that bears fruit OR nuts, is GOOD wood......no matter


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## setitandforgetitsmoker (Feb 21, 2008)

the hickory in my area is what we call a shag brk hickory and their are not any trees around similar to it. the bark has real distinctive look to it very loose and apears to be falling off. remember if this tree was just dropped it will need to season for a while prior to burning. and hickory does not last real long outside. so if you are going to keep the wood outside dont get more than what you might think you are going to use for this season. bugs will get this wood even tarped.


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## gunslinger (Feb 21, 2008)

Oak is very mild, not at all robust. Remember, most if not all charcoal is made from oak. 
Quickest way to tell what kind of tree you're dealing with; look at what is on the ground beneeth the tree. IF the tree is a nut producer, you'll see.....you guessed it..... nuts. Look for hickory nuts where the tree stood. No one can pick up every nut these trees bear, not even the local squirrels.
Also, if you can get your hands on shagbark hicory, it's very light and the sweetest of all the hickorys.


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## neens (Feb 24, 2008)

How sweet are they? A friend of mine has 3 shagbark hicory trees in his back yard. He is going to trim some branches for me and I am going to let them season under my house for a while.


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## gunslinger (Feb 24, 2008)

I honestly don't know how to answer this other than to say, of the nut woods, I believe hickory to be the sweetest and of the hickoy, I KNOW shagbark is the sweetest. Native hill folk have known this for generations and because of this, shagbark has become the rarest of wild nut woods here in the Ozarks.


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## tsulcoski (Feb 24, 2008)

Personally, I use white hickory for flavor and cherry for color, cherry will give you a nice deep red color when you are using it for sausages with natural casings. I can get a 50 # bag of white hickory chips for $11.00 from a local butcher shop.


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