Water Oak For Smoke?


 
M

Mike_G

TVWBB Member
Has anyone tried using wood from a Water Oak tree to smoke? They are part of the red oak family and very abundant down here in the South. Thought I would ask for feedback before I tried it.
 
I find all of the southeastern oaks --water, live, shumard-- kind of insipid. Imo, hickory or pecan are better options for the nutwoods.
 
Bumping an old thread here, but can anyone else comment on their use of Water Oak for smoke wood? It is very abundant here in the south - including eastern Texas.
 
Never used it in particular but my guess is that it's fine. I got some "oak" that I've been using occasionally and I have no idea what particular species it is, but it works and works well. I just have to let it get seasoned first and for my particular offset smoker, cut it into small splits.
 
I don't think I've used water oak either. From it's properties, it seems a bit like post oak, but a little less dense. Oak is widely used down here in Central Texas and adds a mild flavor -- not in your face like hickory or mesquite. Most of the better-regarded restaurants down here don't go for a strong, smoky flavor, preferring a sweeter, deeper smoke that enhances the meat flavor. How about up your way, Dustin?

Jeff
 
Unfortunately, Jeff, I'm in mesquite country and I'm not a big fan. It's ok in the right hands, though. Down around Dallas they use a lot of oak. We do have a lot of pecan here. I used some chunks from my tree out back on my last brisket and it turned out phenomenal.
 
Seems strange that the tree is so abundant in these parts considering that I am near the edge water oak's natural range. I smoked a few organic chicken legs, today, with water oak twigs, and a few small hickory chips. Couldn't detect very much smoke flavor, but the legs did taste good. Organic bird usually does.
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
Unfortunately, Jeff, I'm in mesquite country and I'm not a big fan. It's ok in the right hands, though. Down around Dallas they use a lot of oak. We do have a lot of pecan here. I used some chunks from my tree out back on my last brisket and it turned out phenomenal.
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I'm with you. I do like pecan, especially for shorter-than-an-hour cooks. It gets some nice flavor going on and doesn't overwhelm. I put a chunk on when I grill cedar plank salmon for 20 minutes and it seems to mellow out the fishy taste. Wish I had a pecan tree. I have a lot of post oak and live oak here at the Lucky J Ranchito. I use mainly the post oak because the live oak is so hard to cut and split. It lasts forever in the fire and the smoke seems the same as from post oak.
 
Not sure if Texas water oak is the same as what we call water oak here in California. Water oak around here is a very pourous wood and does not create a lot of BTU for heating. I tried it once when I had a stick burner and found it to be a very very mild smoke...
 
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