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Red oak

We have red oak and live oak in North Texas. Live oak is more like white oak, IMO. Holding a chunk of each in opposite hands, red oak has a stronger aroma, to me. It seems to have a stronger smoke, too. I have not done a side-by-side taste comparison, but I would think that a little red oak would go a long way on smoke flavor.

CD
 
I've cooked over a red oak fire, but never used it in my smoker. When first split it has a rather strong, almost urine like smell. I bought some up near Tallulah falls and carried it back to our tent-site at Stone Mountain inside the van. The family was not very pleased with the smell, but the food tasted great.:-D
 
Just bought a box of it from Joe's Smoking Wood to try it out. I'm rocking some green peach wood today. I will probably wait for a brisket cook to use the red oak.
 
The traditional wood used for Santa Maria grills in California is red oak, but I don't think it is the same species that we call northern red oak in the northeast (Quercus rubra).
 
realspaazz said:
I've cooked over a red oak fire, but never used it in my smoker. When first split it has a rather strong, almost urine like smell. I bought some up near Tallulah falls and carried it back to our tent-site at Stone Mountain inside the van. The family was not very pleased with the smell, but the food tasted great.:-D
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I wonder if the different climate, namely dry here and more humid there, matters. I don't get a urine smell from local red oak. The aroma is pretty pungent on fresh cut wood, and still stronger than most woods when dry, but it is never an unpleasant smell.

My kitchen cabinets are red oak, as well as a lot of trim in my house. I loved the woody smell of my house when it was new.

CD
 
I had never used red oak until August.Trigg delivered my Jambo in July and cooked here in a comp. He brought red oak from Texas and placed 3rd out of 61 teams. He gave me the wood that was left. I used it in a comp in Amelia Island and placed 5th out of 41.
I use peach or apple most of the time. IMO the flavor profile of the brisket was the most noticeable difference. We still had a 6th place brisket. I'm back with apple and peach. Red oak isn't easy to find in east TN.
 
I have a fireplace in my house. I burn a cord to a cord and a half of wood a year. Living on Long Island, I have to buy my fire wood. A lot of the wood I get is red oak.

I started cutting it up into chunks and using it in my WSMs.

It's mild, I like it.

Bob

Sent from my Android phone.
 
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East coast red oak is different from west coast red oak. But, I use red and white oak here in VA and like both. VA Red oak may be better suited for grilling than VA white oak but I still use both in my Jambo wth no complaints and grill with either one.

Here is some white oak cooked Tri-tip. Red oak would have done just as well.

picture.php
 
Just cut down a big 36" diameter red oak. Top half was dead. Some of it is dry enough to cook with. Gonna give it a try! It smells super strong and my initial thought is that it will be strong. Will give it a whirl though.
 
I will say this..... a good seasoned Red Oak with brisket or beef ribs is AWESOME! It has a very strong aroma when wet, but seasoned it goes great on beef.... White Oak is for sure a great wood, if you have a chance try some Red Oak for yourself and you wont be disappointed....:wink:
 
yea, here we get three kinds but mostly coastal or valley oak.
i get valley oak. not a big deal, still tastes great.
 
wjwheeler said:
I had never used red oak until August.Trigg delivered my Jambo in July and cooked here in a comp. He brought red oak from Texas and placed 3rd out of 61 teams. He gave me the wood that was left. I used it in a comp in Amelia Island and placed 5th out of 41.
I use peach or apple most of the time. IMO the flavor profile of the brisket was the most noticeable difference. We still had a 6th place brisket. I'm back with apple and peach. Red oak isn't easy to find in east TN.
Click to expand...

Both times I saw Mr. Trigg's rig there were a couple of splits of post oak there.

Not saying anything except what I saw.

In a former life I was a wood tick. Lucky enough to still know a few that keep me in the good stuff.
 
Red oak is good wood. Green red oak does have a bit of a small, but for that matter, nothing smells nastier than green cherry wood. Cherry has a really nasty bitter hydrocyanic acid smell until it seasons.

Another thing to consider: We talk about red oak and white oak. There are a lot of different species of each that are lumped into those categories. Just here in my area, "red oak" can mean northern red oak, southern red oak, scarlet oak, black oak, shingle oak, shumard oak, willow oak, and a few more. "White oak" wood in my area can be actual white oak, swamp white oak, chestnut oak, post oak, or swamp chestnut oak. Each one is a distinct species and area all probably subtly different, but I haven't tried any of them for cooking yet that were bad.
 
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