Live oak wood from my backyard?


 
W

Warwick B (Waz)

TVWBB Member
Hi all,

I have some live oak trees in my front and back yards and plan to do some pruning soon. Can I keep the wood from a live oak for smoking? How do I prep the wood? Do I need to remove the bark? And should I let it sit in the garage to season before I use it or is it fine to use green?

Thanks,
Waz
 
Live oak should be okay but I would not use it green.

I wouldn't recommend any 'green' wood for smoking but some have used green fruit wood. NEVER use green mesquite!

You should probably season it for a few months or char it in a chimney for immediate use.

You could remove the bark but it's not necessary. It's a pain. Just ask Wolgast.
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Some say bark makes a slightly bitter smoke but most say they don't notice any difference. I don't.
 
Wood should season outside.
Wind, rain, heat, cold... all natural elements help speed the seasoning process.
 
I should probably keep my mouth shut, as I only have used my WSM twice, and that's it. I have used a small amount (two small lumps) of fresh oak on both occations, and it did not ruin the meat at all as far as I could taste. I also used two small lumps of dry appletree.

I think the smoke- aftertaste was fantastic, not bitter or bad tasting at all.

When you dry wood, there is only water evaporating. How can this quite small amount of water, compared to the water boiling in the waterpan do something to the taste of the meat?
 
Actually, Geir,... There are many folks that DO smoke with "wet" or unseasoned wood and prefer the difference.
I have not tried it... does not mean I will not, in fact, I may do just that this week yet.
 
Well, it's not just water. When you're seasoning/drying wood, you're also reducing the terpenes present in the wood's natural oils. Terpenes are what turpentine is made from, which should give you an idea of what they taste like: I wouldn't want THAT on my food!
 
As far as I know, turpentine is made of sapwood from pines. That may be a part of the reason that evergreens are "nono" as smoke wood.

The oaktree in my garden has never been green during wintertimes
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That said, we use "Einer", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniperus_communis manly in cold smokes, but also for hot smokes, for fish and bacon, and the taste is fantastic! No rules without an exeption.

The blue dried berries also give a very strong and pleasant flavour to for example moose meat.
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Do not pick the green ones. They are ripe the next year. The taste- this taste is used in gin.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Warwick B (Waz):
Are all of the wood chunk products that we buy for barbecuing from the stores normally seasoned? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Yes


Seasoning wood also has to do with the removal of chemicals in sap that, when burned inefficiently, as in a smoker, volatilize into the smoke and form creosote when it condenses onto the surfaces of the smoker ... and food.

Wood with over 35% moisture is deemed unsuitable for usage in wood stoves for this reason.

But, hey, if you want to use green wood, go ahead.
 
Just use less and try to get as much bark off as possible.

I use green peach or apple all the time with all the bark still on, and prefer it green. However, I wouldn't use any unseasoned nut bearing wood in my stickburner, and would prefer not to in my wsm. You'll be ok in the wsm though, if you don't use much. Mix it with some apple and you'll be pleased. Just smell the smoke occasionally, and if it smells too strong, yank out the offending wood chunk with your tongs.
 
I wouldn't use green wood in my smooker with food no mroe than I would toss green wood in wood burning stove here ! Using green wood in a wood burneing stove creates a TON a spelling ? creasote and IMHO it put that crapola on your food just like a stove pipe . But YMMV do nit to it your the ones that are eating it
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I believe Guy makes a good point, and on second thought, I'd save the oak to season and just go get some wood that's already seasoned. Hickory, oak, pecan....it's all good, and you can mix some apple or cherry chunks in too if you can find some.

If you want to try mesquite, I'd wait til you taste some smoked with the woods I mentioned. But, regarding the green live oak, a lot of folks use green in the wsm, but usually fruitwood, and it's a lot milder than nut bearing woods. I even read somewhere where a guy on one of the popular comp teams said you "couldn't oversmoke with apple". I disagree, but it is pretty mild smoke, even green.
 
I have live oaks and I find the wood to be not as dense as regular oak and therefore burns up much faster. Good smoke, though.
 
I have both live oaks and red oaks in my yard. I use both wood regularly with no problems. Most of the wood dries (seasons) outside. I do keep some in the garage in buckets which is where it is placed right after I cut it. Length of time to dry it out depends on moisture content of wood to begin with, humidity, wind circulation, temperature...yada yada yada. I just let it dry a couple of months and it's good to go.

Paul
 
Thanks for all the advice guys.

Paul you're right north of me in Round Rock so when you season it outside do you try to keep it in a dry place?
 
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