# Question about this Oak



## ribwizzard (Jun 17, 2013)

Last weekend, was heading to the Chevy dealer and a county guy had just dropped a huge Oak that had died, so I stopped and had him cut me some of the limbs up.

After looking closer, I noticed the bark was different and after splitting I noticed it had a redish color to it.

Anybody know what kind of Oak this is and if you think it will be ok?


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## Bearcarver (Jun 17, 2013)

I'm better at boards than logs, but it looks like Red Oak to me.

It will be fine for smoking!!!

Bear


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## themule69 (Jun 17, 2013)

Red oak. Make sure it is dry and smoke with it.

Happy smoken.

David


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## parrish15 (Jun 17, 2013)

I have never smoked with red oak,  id does have a funny smell when burnt. I would burn a little and see what you think

as far as the btu factor its pleanty hot, it does take a long time to season


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## black (Jun 17, 2013)

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## pineywoods (Jun 17, 2013)

That's Black Jack Oak some people call it Scrub Oak and it's good smoking wood. It's in the red oak family and generally burns a little hotter and better than other oaks. Did you see the hollow spot in the main log? Don't think I've ever cut a black jack that didn't have a hollow spot


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## backwoods bbq (Jun 17, 2013)

yea its blackjack. It IS a type of red oak, however I PREFER PIN OAK when I use it but it would be great for fish and fowl.


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## ribwizzard (Jun 18, 2013)

Well, Im doing a charity cook out of 120 chickens Saturday. I didnt want to use up my stash of "good Oak" , thats why I grabed this.  I usually go for what we call 'Live Oak" which has a real coarse bark, white when split and has a mild sweat flavor.   I just never had come across this type before, and the redish color and the way the bark fell off leaving a smooth bark beneath was strange to me. The live oak bark will fall completely off when seasoned, Thats why I like it.


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## backwoods bbq (Jun 18, 2013)

No your good. That's actually a good way to tell when your wood is almost ready to use, when the bark is falling off freely!


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## ribwizzard (Jun 24, 2013)

This Oak did ok, was light in smoke and light in flavor, only real down side was it burnt up faster than Live Oak,  I had to add wood at 2hr mark instead of 2.5-3 hr mark. Was a bit hotter like someone noted. But like I said, was not too overwelming in flavor.  This pick was taken after the cook was over and I opened it up to burn out the coals before moving it, even then, not too much smoke.


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## backwoods bbq (Jun 24, 2013)

Oak is an essential part of fire management. As it does burn hotter and faster than hardwoods. I can't emphasize enough that great BBQ starts with good fire management. That's where a Pitmaster is born not with rubs, sauces, injections etc. being able to pick up a log feeling how green it is and determining how hot and how long it will burn compared to a smaller split log of different wood etc. THAT'S how you control your fire. Eventually you can get to where you don't use any charcoal at all even in the smaller smokers. The best way to get practice is not only with BBQ but to have campfires. Most of te people on here will not have to worry with this aspect of BBQ as they will be using electric smokers, lots of charcoal, and or plain wood chips. If you are working with big smokers it is imperative that you get to know your smoker and how different woods burn and which mixture of wood to burn at intervals to obtain and maintain that temp you line to smoke at.


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## ribwizzard (Jun 24, 2013)

> I can't emphasize enough that great BBQ starts with good fire management


I couldn't agree more. That's why I was nervous about using this Oak instead of the Live oak I have always used.


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## backwoods bbq (Jun 24, 2013)

True. But now you have blackjack under your belt!


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## ribwizzard (Jun 24, 2013)

I don't know if its just because its what I always have used....but I will stick with Live oak when possible.


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## pineywoods (Jun 24, 2013)

Ribwizzard said:


> I don't know if its just because its what I always have used....but I will stick with Live oak when possible.


Personally I like the black jack when I can get it but I guess that goes to prove that it's what you get used to


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## backwoods bbq (Jun 24, 2013)

Nothing wrong with live oak. On the family land in front of my moms house we have a lie oak that I over 500 years old! The low lying branches made for good climbing as kids! Nothing like driving though Texas and seeing a Mott in a shaded area off the Side of the road


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## tbjoebbq ss (Jun 24, 2013)

When I travel up to Alabama I usually stop at one of two BBQ joints around Perry fl.  One of them actually claims hey only use black jack oak. The Q is always good.


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## akhap (Jun 25, 2013)

Sorry to all that think this blackjack oak...  As a certified wood technologist frequently called on and paid for my opinion on woods I hesitate to identify wood from photos, especially when I can positively identify wood species from the average tooth pick sized piece...  But there are way too many incorrect features of this wood to call it blackjack.

It is probably a red oak, exactly which one I hesitate to call.  But if I was willing to guess laurel oak would be my first guess, based ONLY on the photo and with nothing else to go on.  There are several "laurel oaks" BTW.  The poster's comments on burning quality leave me with laurel and Chapman.  Chapman is a white oak though and usually not a real tree...  It is often reddish under the bark and when freshly split.  But it looks a lot like laurel oak in firewood form.
art


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## ribwizzard (Jun 26, 2013)

AKhap

This tree was dead in place, so I can not say what kind of leaves it had. A very tall tree, probably 50ft or better.very straight and even in porportions . As you can see, the bark is somewhat of a coarse ( not as much as a live oak) that peels back to expose a smoother bark underneath. The weight does not feel as dense as the live oak, and it split much easier than I expected it too.


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## mountainhawg (Jun 26, 2013)

I like oak as my second wood in the mix. Usually 2-3 chunks of fruit or maple wood and 1 piece of oak. Sometimes I will use only oak for steaks and burgers for a different but nice flavor. I use both white and red and once seasoned, don't see too much difference in smoke smell or taste. I do know of a place in the eastern part of NC that uses only oak for smoking/cooking butts for their Q. No charcoal, just split oak logs, it's very very good. I remember when we had wood stoves, the wet red seemed to smell more when I had it stacked after splitting.


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## ribwizzard (Jun 26, 2013)

I could smell the red when splitting, the live oak has no smell ( to me at least )


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## ribwizzard (Jun 26, 2013)

AKhap

I cant speak for everyone, but I myself would much appriciate any info you could add on identifying types of oak,

It would be nice to put names to what I generally clasify as Live oak.

I have surfed the web some, but usually they identify trees by the leaves, which does not help someone looking at a pile of splits.


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## mountainhawg (Jun 26, 2013)

Ribwizzard said:


> AKhap
> 
> I cant speak for everyone, but I myself would much appriciate any info you could add on identifying types of oak,
> 
> ...


Try This:

http://www.state.sc.us/forest/tidlob.htm

Dooes not have live oak though. Live oak is very tough wood. Great for wood fires.


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## akhap (Jun 26, 2013)

It is tough to distill the huge body of information it takes to ID wood from a photo with any reasonable degree of certainty...  So you have to look at clues that jump out at you.  Everyone that hangs around woods knows blackjack oak is a small tree and you started off calling it a huge oak.  That made me look a little closer.

Blackjack is loved for burning because it is hated for lumber and has a lot of BTUs.

Blackjack bark is deeply furrowed as the external layers hang on and are never shed except by mechanical damage.  The opposite of say madrone which has deciduous bark (gets shed every year) and as a result the tree splits the bark as it grows.  It also cross-checks to form square plates.  In the picture there is no hint of that type bark.  Rather, it has bark like several other red oaks.  The lichens growing on some pieces show the bark is intact and nothing like blackjack.

With live oaks the first test is obviously specific gravity as it is literally 33% heavier than most oaks.  Of course wet red oak can easily weigh as much as dry live oak.

White oaks have very long longitudinal bands of parenchyma tissue forming rays coming from the center of the tree out.  In Mission style furniture the tissue looks like glossy plates up to 4" long.  Reds have the same tissue but the rays are far shorter at 1 1/2" tops.  This is a dead giveaway between the two sects.  When splitting you have likely noticed them as the wood splits a little rough around them.

Live oak is smaller yet on the ray tissue, but there are more of them and they are much thicker than reds or whites.  Live oak also produces a lot of very interlocked grain.  Reds produce little and whites produce some...  That would translate to splitters' nightmares.

There are simply too many species for anyone to be able to nail them all without a ton of focused study.
art


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## ribwizzard (Jun 26, 2013)

No, thats very informative.  I have always judged the quality of the Oak I've used for smoking by the weight. and density.   Just going by experience and gut feeling.     Now that I know that Live Oak actually is that much heavier, I understand more about why and what it is Im looking for. Somewhat.

Thanks


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