Post Oak


 
A

Adam Cook

New member
I've been attending a lot of "services" online at Meat Church. He preaches the virtue of post oak (which is what you would expect from a Texas based "denomination") and I have been looking around for some.

Four questions:

1. Do you have any "testimonies" about the virtues of post oak?
2. Have you ever heard of gourmetwood.com? They have 40 pounds of post oak chunks for sale for $44.99.
3. If you have, what is your opinion of them?
4. Any other sources of post oak that you would recommend?
 
no one will determine what lump or briq you like best but you. get a sample size and cook with it, whatever it is you're choosing. and decide, "do i like this and does it work well for me and does it fit my budget?"

sorry to avoid your questions but fuel is a personal choice and you'll hear lots of opinions on this board.
 
Post oak is great on all things beef. Down here in TX it's post oak or mesquite and I am not a mesquite fan. When I need chunks I order from fruita. Now that I have an offset I use b&b wood from academy.
 
Adam Cook said:
I've been attending a lot of "services" online at Meat Church. He preaches the virtue of post oak (which is what you would expect from a Texas based "denomination") and I have been looking around for some.

Four questions:
1. Do you have any "testimonies" about the virtues of post oak?
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Post Oak is just a smallish white oak, variations of which are common all over the U.S. I like white oak for beef, but it's also not bad on pork. YMMV, of course.

Adam Cook said:
4. Any other sources of post oak that you would recommend?
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I'll bet your local firewood seller has all kinds of white oak, and that they'd sell you 40 lbs worth for much less than $45.
 
I've been looking for a good oak source around here and found a couple firewood guys that do stock it regularly. Should the source of the wood be a concern when buying from these guys? Insecticides, grown over a dump, etc?
 
Russ in CFL said:
I've been looking for a good oak source around here and found a couple firewood guys that do stock it regularly. Should the source of the wood be a concern when buying from these guys? Insecticides, grown over a dump, etc?
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No. I've never heard of anyone spraying oaks, and they don't grow on landfills. It's a non-issue.
 
I think it'd be interesting to do a comparison between post oak and other oaks. Wood suppliers typically just have oak around here and don't differentiate.
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
I think it'd be interesting to do a comparison between post oak and other oaks. Wood suppliers typically just have oak around here and don't differentiate.
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The only differences you'll find are between the white oak and red oak varieties, because the wood structure is completely different.

White oaks are mostly natural hybrids of each other; any difference in taste between them will be more likely due to the soil in which they grew, which can change from one side of a field to the other.
 
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Lynn Dollar said:
I think you'll do well with whatever wood is available in your area. For me, that is pecan and hickory, with some oak of different varieties.
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I agree: use what you’ve got. I’m of the firm opinion that some (maybe even a whole lot) of the oft-discussed flavor differences between certain woods is all in people’s minds. Kind of like audiophiles arguing about cables.

This brought to mind something I’ve thought a lot about lately, and that is not only using what you have, but also limiting what you use. Get to really know what a couple of species will really do, rather than fiddling around with a half-dozen or so varieties.

On my property, I have white oak, peach, apple, cherry, pear, maple, madrone, and a little bit of red alder. Realistically, it would take me the rest of my life just to learn what any ONE of those woods does with every different cut of chicken, pork, and beef in various kinds of cooks. I’ve pretty much settled on maple and madrone, because they’re very different species and produce wildly different smokes. (I will, occasionally, use some cherry just because of the wonderful color it adds!)

I think the reason certain central Texas pitmasters put out such good food isn’t because they use post oak, but because they ONLY use post oak and therefore know what it’s really capable of.
 
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I'm with Grant in that I've used many varieties over the years and for the most part it's hard to tell a distinct difference and even me personally I don't find a great difference even when I use mesquite. The only real difference I find is when I use sassafras and it's different and you know the smoke flavor is different I assure you, but a good flavor. But this is just my opinion and I'm an expert on my opinion.
 
Thanks for your opinions and tips. I found some Western brand post oak at a local Ace Hardware. Gonna give it a try.
 
Adam Cook said:
Thanks for your opinions and tips. I found some Western brand post oak at a local Ace Hardware. Gonna give it a try.
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I've wanted to burn some post oak, just out of curiosity and to find out for myself if it is special. But I gotta strong hunch the primary reason its popular in central Texas is because its readily available.
 
Just remember, store bought wood has to be heat treated to ship, it wont have the same flavor as local grown none kiln dried wood, not bad but not full flavor imo
 
I have a bag of B&B. They are big sticks. I use my SCMS (chopsaw) to cut them into chunks. Good smoke wood, fairly mild compared to Hickory
 
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