Does it matter which kind of Oak it is?

[GratefulDave]

I've never smoked with oak before and was wondering if it matters what type of oak it is. I've got 11 Pin Oaks in my yard and have plenty of limbs to be trimmed off yet. Was wondering if it would make good smoking wood.
What'dya think?

Dave

[Slanted88]

Yep....be allright....get after it!

[BBQ Engineer]

Oak (of an variety) is an excellent smoking wood...a lot of people use it as the heat source and then suppliment with another flavor wood too. Just make sure that it is good and seasoned, and you have a great source for smoke wood in your own yard!

[Texas-Hunter]

Oak is good.. To me it has a medium to heavy flavor.. Great with beef.. I have used White Oak, Shumard Oak, Live Oak (Hard Ass Wood) and Red Oak...Never had the opportunity to try Pin

Of the ones I have used I prefer Red Oak..

[Zeeker]

I use a lot of White Oak and just love it...

[Gunslinger]

White oak user here too. Pin oak here gets you a heavy fine, they claim it's endangered.

[SMOKE FREAK]

White oak user here too. Pin oak here gets you a heavy fine, they claim it's endangered.

Endangered? Not in my neighborhood its not.
I think pin is a white oak but you know my memory

[minnbill]

JUst my two cent's but Ive found that I have to be carfull when using oak Its easy to over smoke but awsome when carefull.

[RowdyRay]

Not sure if it's red or white oak, but dad's yard is full of it. I get all I want free. Like Bill said, it can be very heavy smoke. I like to mix it with other woods that I have to pay a premium for. Oak and cherry is really good on beef or venison.

[Gunslinger]

Endangered? Not in my neighborhood its not.
I think pin is a white oak but you know my memory

That's what the MDC claims. I don't have any, but the farm that I hunt on has 500+ acres of trees and he has several good patches of it. If fact they're tagged by the MDC. And I'm pretty sure pin is of the red variety.

JUst my two cent's but Ive found that I have to be carfull when using oak Its easy to over smoke but awsome when carefull.

Some oak is more robust than others. I've had post oak (white variety) and it seems more robust than the common eastern white oak. But still I think oak is a pretty mild smoke, if thin and blue. But taste buds differ.
Also a huge factor is how long and how good the wood is seasoned. Wood can be wet with stale water and still be considered seasoned. It's important to keep your smoking wood covered. MOST green wood will ALWAYS have a nasty bitter robust flavor.

[davidmcg]

The Pin oak or Swamp Spanish oak (Quercus palustris) is an oak in the red oak family. The endangered label I have never heard of but that doesn't mean it isn't.

I prefer to smoke my meat with red oak over the white varieties. But wood preferences are more one of personal taste than any other.

[GratefulDave]

I'll give it a try then

Thanks guys. I'll give it a try...in like a year! I have some that I cut last summer but it's buried in snow right now. So I figure to cut some more this spring and keep in clean while it cures instead of using the stuff that's just sitting in the reg wood pile. Not sure if its considered red or white, but when you look at a cross section it is a very white wood. Not sure if that means anything though.

Dave

[Richtee]

Yes... it does. Red oak is definatly a pinkish color. Most oak is white tho..so..we know it ain't red oak LOL!

Splitting it hastens curing BTW.

[curious aardvark]

I pretty much just use oak - to me it's one of the milder smokes.
So far I've used english oak and america white oak.

The white oak is definitely milder and richer in flavour than the english (mind you I do throw on the bark as well for that lol) great for fish and cheese and awesome with nuts.

As for how long wet wood takes to get ready.
Bear in mind you're not seasoning it for wood working - so you don't need to be gentle ! It matters not one jot if it splits and cracks - you're gonna burn it, it does not have to be pretty :-)

One of the best ways to speed dry wood for smoking is to create yourself a small kiln.
For this cheap plastic greenhouses Are perfect. Cheap as chips and you can stack a decent amount of wood on the shelves.
The clear plastic let's the sun heat the wood and as it's mostly sealed the wood speed dries. If you preslice the wood it'll dry even quicker.
In summer slices of wood will go from fresh cut to dry enough for smoking in weeks - days if it's hot enough.
Sort of thing I'm talking about:


To reiterate - this is almost the exact opposite of how you would normally season wood for woodworking - that can take years.