Source for White Oak chunks


 
J

Jeff C.

TVWBB Member
I'm trying to get everything together so I can try out the BRITU once my Weber smoker finally gets here (rant to follow...). I haven't found any good local sources for wood other than the most common stuff. I need to get some White Oak, but don't want to get a huge bag or pay through the nose for shipping. Anybody have a favorite source for about 5-10 pounds of the White Oak chunks? The places I've looked so far want almost as much for shipping as for the wood, or require you to buy 20pound or larger bags.


On to the rant!! I ordered my Weber June 6 ($179 plus $16 shipping), and it was supposed to ship on June 8 for delivery this week. The delivery time would work out perfectly, as my dad is coming to town for Father's Day and I wanted to provide a rib feast. No delivery by Wednesday, so I call to get a tracking # so I can be sure it'll be here in time. Then I'm told they don't even have it in stock, contrary to the order confirmation. By the time they finally get back to me with a ship date, it's shipped ground service and won't be here till next week, and it's too late to order from another source. A buddy of mine ordered his from http://www.ewins.com this past Monday (1 full week after I ordered mine) and he got his this past Wednesday - 2 days after ordering!

The bright side so-far: after my first complaint about their ship date, they refund my shipping cost, so now I've got a good deal on the Weber at $179 delivered. After my additional e-mail complaint about their not being able to fulfill my order to my satisfaction, they offer a 15% refund if I keep the smoker when it shows up! That puts my Weber at my door for $153 (assuming it shows up!). My weekend plans are trashed, but at least I can still do the ribs purchased on my Weber kettle.
 
Hi Jeff,

What would you consider to be a good total price for 10 lbs. smoking wood chunks delivered to your door in a few days?

Thanks and Aloha!

Greg Kemp
 
I'd be happy if I could find the same type of price I find locally on the Mesquite - approx $9.00 for a 720 cubic inch bag. I realize the smaller the bag, the higher the cost per pound since it's not purchased in bulk. The places I've found online so far seem to have outrageous shipping costs when dealing with smaller bags. I want to get a variety of woods, not a huge pile of one type (yet!). At this point, I'd be happy with a good balance between cost of wood and shipping cost.
Thanks
Jeff
 
I seem to notice that the cubic inches and weights may not alway be the same for all woods, nor is the burn time.
How much does the 720 cubic inch bag weigh?
.

Aloha!

Greg Kemp
 
Probably around 5 pounds. The bag is a little smaller overall than a standard 20 pound Kingsford charoal bag.

Side note: The WSM showed up today! The down side: it arrived less than a half hour after I put a 6 pound pork shoulder on the kettle to indirect cook. Talk about bad timing!
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Have you tried guava wood chunks from Hawaii? You can get 10-11 lbs. for $15 which includes 3 day Priority Mail shipping cost to USA. It's not the white oak you were looking for though...

Aloha!

Greg Kemp
 
I've seen the advertisement, and consider that price completely reasonable. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places for White Oak and other woods. I'll very likely get the guava some day soon, too. It's just not at the head of the list yet. I'll have to look for recipes using it as well.
 
Do you have white oak trees in your area? If so, call a firewood supplier. Tell them that you want a small quantity for BBQ and ask if they'll sell you a few pieces. I paid $2 a log, as I recall, for some good size logs. Then split them in the back yard.

The other thing you can do is call around to the local Walmarts. Some of them have Jack Daniels oak barrel chips.
 
Jeff,
I recently placed a wood order from http://www.hawgeyesbbq.com/ and was very pleased with my order. It went as follows:

Wood Chunks LBS Price

Cherry 4 $4.36
Apple 3 $4.47
White Oak 4 $4.36
Peach 2 $2.58
Pecan 4 $5.16

Handling $1.50
Shipping $10.99

Total $33.42

I was able to get 17 lbs of woods that I cant find around here delivered to my door (3 days after order) for a price I found resonable. The shipping price is based on the lbs you buy, so it would be less if your order was smaller. They also have several other types of woods to choose from.

EDIT (Sorry about the way my order looks, The message board does not keep the format I type it in)
 
That looks 100% reasonable to me! After the ribs I made last night, I think my wife will let me purchase whatever I want (related to food, at least!) Thanks for the link.
 
Sound competitive especially for the variety. We only sell guava wood chunks, period.

According to that order the price per pound delivered priority is $1.96 per pound.

We offer ours at $1.50 per pound delivered. But again only one kind of wood not the variety hawgeyes offers.

Report back to us when you get some wood and how your next meal turns out!

Aloha!

Greg Kemp
 
Will do. In the meantime, is there a list of recipes featuring your guava somewhere? What meats go best with it, etc.?
 
You know Jeff that's one thing I still have to do. I'm not the greatest cook and to be honest there are folks on the mainland who have been using my guava for 8 years and have much more experience than me. I need to solicit from them some recipes they use guava for and put them on my site. The wood business is a hobby and my real job is a contractor. We are so busy I wish I could sit in front of this computer and enter in all that info. I'll have to wait for a slow period.

Most folks like it with pork butt and pork in general. I like it with chicken prepared with teriyaki sauce marinade. (if you call that a recipe!)

I have some folks who only use it for salmon.

I don't care for it heavy on beef because that seems to be the meat that if there is too much smoke can leave a bitter taste. A little goes a long way.

What kind of smoker do you use Jeff? And do you use lump or charcoal?

Thanks and Aloha!

Greg Kemp
 
I just took delivery Saturday on my WSM. It's maiden voyage was ribs (as close to the BRITU recipe as I could get). I've used lump, but prefer charcoal because it's easier to keep a smooth, even temperature band for me.
 
Product Price Quantity Total
Wood Chunks White Oak (by the pound) 1.09 3 Unit 3.27
Wood Chunks Alder (by the pound) 2.59 1 Unit 2.59
Wood Chunks Apple (by the pound) 1.49 2 Unit 2.98
Wood Chunks Grape (by the pound) 1.99 1 Unit 1.99
Wood Chunks Hickory (by the pound) 1.09 2 Unit 2.18
Wood Chunks Maple (by the pound) 1.29 1 Unit 1.29
Wood Chunks Pecan (by the pound) 1.29 1 Unit 1.29
Wood Chunks Sassafrass (by the pound) 1.49 1 Unit 1.49
Brushtech Basting Mop 4.99 1 Unit 4.99
Handling: $1.50
Shipping: $7.74 USD
Total = $31.31 USD

This should get me a good chance to test a few different types of wood. No idea what I'm going to do with a couple of them, but it gives me a good reason to experiment!
 
I'm lucky enough to live about 20 mins from Hawgeyes. I've been there. Nice place, and very knowledgeable about BBQ. They said their supplier for white oak may be drying up though. Could present challenges for the future.

BTW- I am in no way affiliated with Hawgeye's BBQ. I'm just a satisfied customer.

Chad
 
Originally posted by Andrew S. B.:
Just tried to order from http://www.hawgeyesbbq.com/ but realized it says in big letters NO SHIPPING OR SALE TO CALIFORNIA. What's the deal with that??
Click to expand...

Who knows? There are a number of companies that will not ship here, but I see the same products in stores. I can't buy snakeskin boots from a catalog, but I can buy the exact same boots from a local shop.
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As an alternative wood source you may want to consider is Cabela's. They do ship to California, and shipping is quite reasonable.
Go to Cabelas.com and search for smoker wood chunks. Delivery is usually quite prompt.

Jim
 
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