# What do y'all think about oak?



## steadyeddie (Jan 4, 2013)

I used oak chips this past weekend on baby backs on my MES30 and I was REALLY happy with it. It's got this complex flavor to it, it's a good smoke, not subtle, you KNOW it's been smoked, but not overbearing or harsh like mesquite can be. 

I had used apple wood chips on a rack of baby backs and found it was too suble, maybe it was me? I don't know. I've done hickory or mesquite for years, mainly because that's what my store carries. But now they're stocking oak and pecan and apple. I've always liked pecan also, might mix some of that in with oak. 

But I'm really liking oak right now.


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## roadkill cafe (Jan 4, 2013)

I love Oak. I prefer it over hickory. Tried Pecan recently and like that too. New Years Day I did a double-smoked ham and mixed the Pecan & Apple and it was awesome.


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## bbq bill (Jan 4, 2013)

Being from Kentucky, we use hickory and oak. Both are strong flavors, but make for some great BBQ once you get used to using them.  I live in Florida now and use primarily pecan.  Just like oak and hickory, pecan has good flavor, but after being used to hickory and oak I had to get used to it.


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## mneeley490 (Jan 4, 2013)

I use oak primarily with beef. Especially good with roasts.


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## steadyeddie (Jan 4, 2013)

Pecan is great stuff too, very smooth flavor but not overly mild. I like pecan for chicken.


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## daniekr1 (Jan 4, 2013)

I live in Arkansas and we have an abundance of many types of oak. I generally use oak for the main burning and accent with a stick of hickory, pecan, apple wood, maple wood, or just recently used some wild cherry and it was literally awesome. I am still experimenting on the best combo for the large smoker that I built, but I think I like the wild cherry the best so far. You can never go wrong with pecan in my opinion.


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## johnnyrockford (Jan 4, 2013)

I agree with mneely490.  I used oak for the first time new years day on a beef roast.  Only used 2 small chunks but it gave the meat a whole new level of flavor.....sorry I just drooled all over the keyboard.... Until then, I've only used hickory so I didn't know what to expect.  Use it sparingly the first couple times until you get used to it.

Have fun


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## goinforbroke (Jan 4, 2013)

I like oak for stick burning because its that 'middle of the road' wood that's all over the place around here.  Good for making coals, and cheap fuel for when things are foiled up.   Helps save my harder-to-get wood in between   City boy here..


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## smoking b (Jan 4, 2013)

Chalk up another guy who likes oak - especially on ribs as you've noticed. It makes some pretty good salt too


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## phidelt1736 (Jan 5, 2013)

I've only really used oak on beef and i do really like it.  I've been using peach wood on ribs and am very happy with the results.


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## jarjarchef (Jan 5, 2013)

At home I primarily use oak. Basically it is free around here, so the price is right. :biggrin:
My favorite combination is some oak with a bit of orange wood. To me that is the cats meow.......

But when we we oak chips at work, it is a different flavor then I get at home. Thinking different variety of oak.


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## cooknhogz (Jan 8, 2013)

I've herd white oak is better than red oak for smoking. Can anybody comment on this? I have a few friends that are loggers and cutting red oak and hickory and I can cut all the tops I want.


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## woodcutter (Jan 8, 2013)

Cooknhogz said:


> I've herd white oak is better than red oak for smoking. Can anybody comment on this? I have a few friends that are loggers and cutting red oak and hickory and I can cut all the tops I want.


I've narrowed it down to apple, red maple and red oak. About 90% of the time I use red oak.


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## black05tj (Jan 8, 2013)

I was in Academy looking for Pecan the other night, and almost picked up a bag of Oak.  After reading this thread I may have to go back...


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## humdinger (Jan 8, 2013)

GoinForBroke said:


> I like oak for stick burning because its that 'middle of the road' wood that's all over the place around here.  Good for making coals, and cheap fuel for when things are foiled up.   Helps save my harder-to-get wood in between   City boy here..


I like oak for the same reasons. I usually accent it with a fruit wood though, as i do with hickory and mesquite. It all depends on what mood I'm in that day. I like to experiment with different blends.


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## flash (Jan 9, 2013)

Most popular wood out there for smoking. 

And red is better than white. Seems to be more flavorful. Turkey oak, black jack, blue jack are my favs. Try mixing it with Cherry.


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## cooknhogz (Jan 10, 2013)

Sweet, red oak it is. I can cut all I can hull. Its nice to live in the country and have the opportunity to get all the free wood you want. In the last month I've cut a ton of apple, shagbark hickory, and hard maple.


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## flash (Jan 10, 2013)

Down in North Florida I can get plenty of Oak (Red or White), Pecan and Cherry. As you state, it is nice to live in the Country.


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## frosty (Jan 10, 2013)

I generally use Pecan, but toss in some Oak from time to time.  Great wood, not to strong, but has nice flavor and aroma.

Either way, good luck!


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## swinn (Jan 10, 2013)

I use oak all the time, and throw a little fruit or nut wood in for another level of flavor but oak is my base for smoke most of the time.


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## mountainhawg (Jan 10, 2013)

I use only a few small chunks of oak as a secondary flavor to either cherry or especially apple. I've tried straight oak, oak and pecan, and oak and hickory and felt the flavor was a tad to strong although not as strong as straight hickory.


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## steadyeddie (Jan 12, 2013)

That's what I like about oak. It has a strong flavor but it has never seemed like overkill. Pecan is probably one of my other favorites but is a touch smoother. Living in the South, it's what people burn in their fireplaces and I love that smell. Never tried maple but I bet that's a good hardwood.


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## cliffcarter (Jan 12, 2013)

Cooknhogz said:


> Sweet, red oak it is. I can cut all I can hull. Its nice to live in the country and have the opportunity to get all the free wood you want. In the last month I've cut a ton of apple, shagbark hickory, and hard maple.


If you have apple, hickory and maple you don't need the oak IMHO.

In the past I have always differentiated between northern red oak and southern red oak as the 2 "red oaks" used outside California. Recent research into local tree names indicates that "red oak" is a common name for at least six different eastern species of oak which further complicates which tree everyone is talking about when they cite BBQing with "red oak". I do not believe all these trees have the same smoke flavor profile, indeed I will not use northern red oak(the dominant oak species in Maine) because it takes so long to season properly, and if you don't the smoke has a nasty sour smell when the wood is burned. JM2C.


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## nickyb (Jan 12, 2013)

I love red oak and I normally mix it with hickory.  Other times I get pecan wood and that also has great flavor.  I get all the different varieties from a local wood yard in Pace.


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## garand555 (Jan 13, 2013)

I regularly use Gamble's Oak.  Those in my geographic region commonly refer to it as scrub oak because most trees are not that big.  But, I have a chainsaw and it gets big enough.  I really like it.  I have a reasonable amount that is cured, and the stuff that should be cured by now isn't quite ready because of this blasted cold snap we've been through.  It was 4.6f at my house when I woke up this morning, a temperature that does not lend itself to the curing of wood.  It needs to be cured very well as smoke that looks just fine from some of the bone dry stuff we get out here will leave hints of creosote if the wood is merely cured well enough to burn easily.  Mixing the two (cured vs marginally cured), however, eliminates that and provides a very robust flavor that I like.


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## splitshot (Jan 30, 2013)

garand555 said:


> I regularly use Gamble's Oak. Those in my geographic region commonly refer to it as scrub oak because most trees are not that big. But, I have a chainsaw and it gets big enough. I really like it. I have a reasonable amount that is cured, and the stuff that should be cured by now isn't quite ready because of this blasted cold snap we've been through. It was 4.6f at my house when I woke up this morning, a temperature that does not lend itself to the curing of wood. It needs to be cured very well as smoke that looks just fine from some of the bone dry stuff we get out here will leave hints of creosote if the wood is merely cured well enough to burn easily. Mixing the two (cured vs marginally cured), however, eliminates that and provides a very robust flavor that I like.


You must cut above 7,000' and we dropped to 9, brrr.

Here in Southern Az, I have sources for 5 species of Oak, one of which is in the 'black' (or red) family, and the rest in the white family.

I would suspect, as someone posted earlier in this thread, that the species might have a lot more to do with the quality of smoking than the color of wood. Guess I need to get experimenting.


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## norbs (Feb 13, 2013)

This is norbs, oak is a slow cooking wood, medium heat, cant stick to much in the fire or you can over heat, I used to use alot os Mesquite a hot wood, easy to keep the tempature at a steady number, start off with it and then put some oak in it after a while, or just use the mesquite, if you want the mesquite to smoke alot you have to soak it in water, in time you will figure out how and what type of woods to use, Ps i am the one they stole the 14 ft smoker from,i have 30 plus years experience smoking meat,good luck with my tips


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## woodcutter (Feb 13, 2013)

norbs said:


> This is norbs, oak is a slow cooking wood, medium heat, cant stick to much in the fire or you can over heat, I used to use alot os Mesquite a hot wood, easy to keep the tempature at a steady number, start off with it and then put some oak in it after a while, or just use the mesquite, if you want the mesquite to smoke alot you have to soak it in water, in time you will figure out how and what type of woods to use, Ps i am the one they stole the 14 ft smoker from,i have 30 plus years experience smoking meat,good luck with my tips


I have often wondered, did you ever have any luck finding it?


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## rubrchickenhead (Feb 13, 2013)

I found some red wine barrel oak chips at the store and they produced wonderful smelling smoke and great tasting tri-tip. I wish I could find chunks of the stuff instead, but if you get a chance to use red wine barrel oak, go for it!


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## vtmecheng (Feb 13, 2013)

I got some oak chunks from a distillery in Virginia.  The wood is cut up pieces of used barrels and they don't let the wood dry out so it's still soaked with whiskey when you buy the bag.  While I don't notice any whiskey flavors in the meat, the oak provides a nice flavor for my pork butts.  The wood I get from this distillery is better quality (more solid) than what most stores carry for smoking.  Chunks last a lot longer and provide a steady smoke.


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## mneeley490 (Feb 13, 2013)

RubrChickenHead said:


> I found some red wine barrel oak chips at the store and they produced wonderful smelling smoke and great tasting tri-tip. I wish I could find chunks of the stuff instead, but if you get a chance to use red wine barrel oak, go for it!


Check places like craigslist for used wine or whiskey barrels. Not the ones you see at Home Despot for planters, but the real McCoy that was made to produce wine/whiskey. Or if you live near a winery, see if they are getting rid of any old barrels. You may be able to find one for a reasonable price. Then pop the cooperage rings and cut up the staves into chunks. That's what I use for beef in my electric fridge conversion, and the wine-infused oak makes for some heavenly meat!


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