Red Oak vs. Oak


 
LarryR

LarryR

TVWBB Diamond Member
Newbie here with 3 smokes under my belt. I've been unable to find oak here in town so I went on-line and found this website - http://www.smokinlicious.com that offers "red oak." Has anyone used red oak and would the recommend it for smoking in the WSM? Also, if you have experience dealing with Smokinlicious any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
 
I always assume that chunks offered simply as "oak" are red oak. Interesting that the site talks about white oak, but apparently doesn't offer it currently, unless I am misunderstanding their copy.
 
All types of oak are suitable for smoking. Red Oak is widely considered the best oak to use. It is second to Hickory in popularity for smoking from what I have read about it.

I have never had any experience with smokinlicious.
 
I've smoked with red oak, valley oak and live oak. I can't tell the difference.
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I'm a new WSM owner also....6 cooks under my belt. I got some Red Oak, Sugar Maple and Cherry wood chunks from smokinlicious. Cherry is becoming my favorite.

Great service and pricing from smokinlicious, the wood chunks are excellent...I just wish they carried apple.

I would order from them again...no worries.
 
I have three different oak trees in my backyard; white, live and something else. When they shed a limb, they all go into my WSM. I can't tell the difference in any of them.

In my humble opinion, oak works very well with beef products.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Paul B:
I'm a new WSM owner also....6 cooks under my belt. I got some Red Oak, Sugar Maple and Cherry wood chunks from smokinlicious. Cherry is becoming my favorite.

Great service and pricing from smokinlicious, the wood chunks are excellent...I just wish they carried apple.

I would order from them again...no worries. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Paul, if your ever up towards northern VA, check out BBQ's galore, they have pecan, cherry, apple, hickory, mesquite, oak, alder and maple chunks available.

http://www.bbqgalore.com/retail/
 
Thanks for the info Matt. There is a store not far away from my in-laws in MD...I'll go check it out!

-Paul
 
I've ordered from the Smokilicous people and they have great products and are very nice people to deal with as well
 
They have scrub oak growing in SLC and no one uses it for anything. I wonder if it's good for smoking? Hey and BTW..red oak is really wite in color and white oak is really reddish. Really! Probably named by the same vikings who named Greenland and Iceland!

Aloha,

greg


<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jim Groom:
All types of oak are suitable for smoking. Red Oak is widely considered the best oak to use. It is second to Hickory in popularity for smoking from what I have read about it.

I have never had any experience with smokinlicious. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Greg Kemp:
They have scrub oak growing in SLC and no one uses it for anything. I wonder if it's good for smoking? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>[/QUOTE]

I don't know what you mean by SLC, but Scrub White Oak is used for smoking a lot in Florida. I'm not sure if the Scrub Oak to which your refer is the same stuff though.
 
As a former Utah boy, I think Greg is referring to Salt Lake City, Utah when he writes "SLC."
 
Greg,
As a former Utah boy, I know exactly what you mean by scrub oak. I think it will work. My suggestion is try something cheap (like a beer can chicken) and see how it tastes.

Good luck and let me know how it turns out.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LarryR:
As a former Utah boy, I think Greg is referring to Salt Lake City, Utah when he writes "SLC." </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Duh! LOL That sure looks obvious now. Thanks.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mitch:
I have Blackjack Oaks in my backyard. Has anyone used them for smokewoob? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Here is what Wikipedia has on Blackjack Oak (if it is on Wikipedia it must be true. right?):
Uses
The wood is very dense, so much so that it will rapidly dull chainsaws. The density of the wood causes a very hot flame when burnt, making Blackjack oak wood the preferred fuel for slow-cooked (Carolina style) pork barbecues and a good heat source for wood-burning stoves, but not desirable in wood fireplaces because the heat causes "popping", increasing the risk of external fires.

I cut down what I think was a Blackjack oak last year in my backyard and I have used it in numerous cooks. Seems good to me. By the look of its leaves, I would guess that it is in the red oak family (check Wikipedia to be sure
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The leaf of the Blackjack Oak is really unique large and lobed not cut as the white and red oaks are.

Mitch
 
Blackjack Oak is in the Red Oak group (at least according to wikipedia). Not meaning to divert the thread in a different direction, so here is something on topic: a list of oaks in the white oak group and the red oak group can be found here
 
Santa Maria Style Barbeque is supposed to be cooked over red oak. While I love this style of cooking meat, this is IMHO not true BBQ in the strictest sense of the word, but hey, who am I to argue!
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The meat is usually a Tri-Tip roast or a 3 in. thick Sirloin steak and is cooked slowly over Red Oak to a medium rare to medium finish. The meat is turned and rotated often on an open grill, and with each turn, the meat is basted with a corn oil and red wine solution along with special seasonings. After resting the meat, slice it against the grain in 1/2 in. thick pieces. Hmmmm good!

This recipe from the Food Network works really well for Santa Maria style BBQ. Just to make it more traditional, use corn oil.

RFB
 
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