# Red oak



## mudbug (Aug 24, 2014)

Anyone here ever use Red Oak as their main cooking source? It's readily available to me through a friend that works for a logging company local to me. So is hickory, pecan, and just about any tree here in East Texas.


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## noboundaries (Aug 24, 2014)

Red oak is used a lot out here on the Central Coast of CA.  I use white oak because I have a tree in my backyard.  Fairly mild compared to hickory but good flavor.  Closer to pecan.


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## kapdon (Aug 24, 2014)

I just recently acquired some red oak on account a property owner needed the tree removed because it was dead and I needed the wood. Been smoking with it as a base for a week now. Have used it often before as well as white oak. I have a harder time coming across hickory and pecan mainly because I will not cut down a tree simply for cooking. I stay north of Houston and might try to talk you into sharing some of your stash haha.


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## foamheart (Aug 24, 2014)

<in my best Homer Simpson imitation>

Mmmmmmmmm........ Pecan!


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## mudbug (Aug 25, 2014)

Kapdon, Let me know the next time your up this way about a week or two in advance. Bring your trailer, I'll see what I can do to fill it for you. Last time I "got wood", I loaded my 16' trailer to the rail with red oak, hickory and white oak....for $100.00  They were cut into 10' sections so there was a little work on my part. I yeilded about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cords of wood from what i picked up.


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## grillmonkey (Aug 25, 2014)

I mostly use red oak, mainly because that is what I have the most of on my property. But abundance isn't the only reason, it's good for smoking. When good and seasoned it burns clean, smells good and imparts a good flavor to the meat. I also have lots of wild pecan. The wood is the same as commercial pecan trees, it's just that the tree hasn't been grafted from a commercially viable nut producing tree, so the nuts are not that good (i.e. too small, meat too spongy, etc.). I also have some white oak, and enough apple, pear and peach that I can cut some chunks when I prune to keep my electric smoker going.

If all I could get was red oak, it wouldn't upset me. I like it a lot.













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__ grillmonkey
__ Jul 19, 2014






Some red oak splits and some that need to be split. This tree fell over after a particularly heave rainfall. I rarely cut down live trees, there is always some with large limbs broken off or that fall for one reason or another.


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## kapdon (Aug 25, 2014)

Don't think I won't take you up on that offer MudBug. I mostly use oak as a base and throw the other stuff in for the flavor. I love mixing hickory and mesquite together but it is sometimes hard to get both at the same time here. There are no mesquite trees in the area and not enough dying hickory here either. I usually have to resort to buying them and both are not always for sale. I just got an entire tree of red oak because it was dead and property owner was afraid it was going to fall on his house. I have another oak tree that is dead on my property that I will be collecting soon. I purchased some mesquite last week but the only hickory I could find was pecan, which doesn't have the same flavor as regular hickory. It's a nice smoking wood though so I have an advantage I guess, smoke with just pecan or mix it with mesquite. To have a trailer load of mesquite would be the most awesome for me.


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## oldschoolbbq (Aug 25, 2014)

Red Oak  is very good. ('ve used it several times . Hot fire , so watch.

Man , wish I was still in Texas. I miss that good Oak and Pecan I could get. . . Oh well , I can get Hickory , Cherry ,  Maple , Apple , and (some Oak-white).

Have fun and . . .


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## kapdon (Aug 25, 2014)

I can't get any fruit wood around here. Not even chunks. Only chips.


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## mudbug (Aug 25, 2014)

Yeah man, I'd love to get my hands on some fruit type wood as well. Cherry, peach, apple would be st the top of my list. 

Kapdon, if your up for a little drive, I saw a place just south of Tyler, tx that sells hickory, oak, and pecan pre split. I'm not so sure on the pricing of it, but I can stop and find out if your interested.


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## bobbybirds (Aug 25, 2014)

Where I live in Canada, I get mostly apple and cherry as my mom's house is on 20 acres of orchard. I sometimes get lots of new, unfinished oak and maple (sometimes cherry and alder as well) flooring from a buddy who collects it for me when he has leftovers and cutoff pieces from jobs. Only the completely unfinished stuff of course. It is nice a dry stuff too!


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## kapdon (Aug 25, 2014)

Tyler is a long drive for some split wood. There are some local folks who sell split wood around here, including fruit wood but the cheapest wood, red oak, they want $1/stick. You don't want to know what they want for other types of wood. And they often don't know what wood they are selling. I had one guy try to sell me cotton wood as hickory. I have also heard of a guy buying sweet gum as he was told it was white oak. I would say Bobby birds is a lucky person but if I had mostly fruit all the time I would probably want more oak. However, since I have mostly oak I have to say I am envious bobbybirds!


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Aug 25, 2014)

kapdon said:


> I can't get any fruit wood around here. Not even chunks. Only chips.





MudBug said:


> Yeah man, I'd love to get my hands on some fruit type wood as well. Cherry, peach, apple would be st the top of my list.
> 
> Kapdon, if your up for a little drive, I saw a place just south of Tyler, tx that sells hickory, oak, and pecan pre split. I'm not so sure on the pricing of it, but I can stop and find out if your interested.



Check out Amazon, they sometimes have good deals on chips & chunks !


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## mudbug (Aug 25, 2014)

WaterinHoleBrew said:


> Check out Amazon, they sometimes have good deals on chips & chunks !


Good idea. Ive looked at wood chunks from places such as Academy Sports and Gander Mountain.  I've thought about that purchase, but is it really such a "good deal", talking about price, for this?

http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/wes...-pack/pid-451111?N=578846090&Ntt=wood&Ntk=All

I've personally never purchased wood of any sort.  I'm the backyard type, not into competitions.....even though I'd attend and cheer on. However, I would like to "hone in" my abilities. This is a great place for my needs, thanks everyone.


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## welshrarebit (Aug 26, 2014)

The best smoke wood is free smoke wood!

 I have access to tons of local fruit wood: apple guava, strawberry guava, cherry guava, mountain apple, rose apple, coffee, and (not a fruit) ohia. I could also get mango, avocado and mac nut wood from my wife's dad property. I also have a friend with a tree trimming business that gets me kiawe (Hawaiian mesquite) for free. 

If you want to eat fish buy a fishing pole; if you want good smoke wood buy a chainsaw! :biggrin:


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## mudbug (Aug 26, 2014)

Damn man....where do you live? I'm in my way with chain saw. Lmao, jk. I do understand what your saying and I wish we had those types of trees around this area. Sounds like you have the hook up on ALL of your wood needs.


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## welshrarebit (Aug 26, 2014)

This is from my driveway. The bushy trees in the front with the purple leaves are apple guava (aka common guava), right behind them with the dark green leaves and about five feet taller is a stand of cherry guava, and behind that is the tall trees that are ohia trees. 













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__ welshrarebit
__ Aug 26, 2014






My wife wants all of the guava off of my property! It's a weed here!!! I tell her I'm smoking as fast as I can...:icon_lol:


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## mudbug (Aug 26, 2014)

~Jealous~


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## oldschoolbbq (Sep 10, 2014)

Yes , good wood . Grab it and don't look back...

Have enough available . . . sell it to us poor guys with no good  Texas wood . . . Post Oak , Mesquite and Pecan... partner with your friend and you both win 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Send me a bunch for the idea . . .
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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Have fun and . . .


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## oldschoolbbq (Sep 10, 2014)

Welchrarebit , send me some . . .


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## welshrarebit (Sep 11, 2014)

oldschoolbbq said:


> Welchrarebit , send me some . . .:rotflmao:



Dude, I've seen your stick burning behemoth! You'd go thru a large priority mail box of wood in one smoke!!!  I use a couple of chunks with charcoal for my smokes. You can have the wood for free but the shipping costs would be ridiculous!!! I actually did send another SMFer some Hawaiian smoke wood about six months ago and he payed for the shipping. 

If you're serious I have all the guava and ohia that you could want... I'm waiting for my neighboring coffee farm to trim their trees again to stock up. Kiawe, the king of Hawaiian smoke wood: Hawaiian mesquite, is something that I use all the time but isn't as available to me...

BTW, ohia plus beef: awesomeness!!!


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