European Oak

crustyo44 · Post by **crustyo44** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 09:12

Hi,
Do we have any members that have used European oak for smoking. I can get any amount of timber, chips, saw dust fine and course in the New Year.
My cousin in Victoria (Oz) is going to cut down reluctantly the biggest oak tree on his property.
From what he read in the records, this tree was planted by the first land owner when settlement took place in the 1800's
He was a Pom so my cousin imagined it might be an English or Northern European oak, if there is such a difference.
Maybe our Polish friends have experience with oak as a smoking medium.
The tree will be milled into planks, correctly stacked, strapped and dried for a long time.
My cousin is a fish smoker and between us we will end up with enough chips and sawdust
until both of us get planted.
Any advise will be appreciated,
Cheers,
Jan.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 14:37

Don't overlook all of the slabs and limb wood that will remain from the tree after the saw logs have been cut. For lumber grading purposes oak is divided into just two classes, red and white. The distinction being macroscopic in the pores of the wood. White oak has tylosis's that block the pores and red oak has open pores that you can blow smoke through. The freshly cut wood of each type also had a distinctly different odor.

el Ducko · Post by **el Ducko** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 18:08

We have a lot of live oak in our part to Texas. It's a different species, sure, but we use it for smoking meats. It does tend to impart a strong taste, so go easy when you use it. ...tastes good, though.

Sorry for the loss. Some of our old oaks, given plenty of water, live long and grow to be huge. Losing one is always a tragedy.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 23:27

It is more complex than I imagined. there are 273 named species on this list: http://www.treenames.net/ti/quercus/quercus.html

Shuswap · Post by **Shuswap** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 15:44

ssorllih wrote:It is more complex than I imagined. there are 273 named species on this list: http://www.treenames.net/ti/quercus/quercus.html

Texas has 42 species and 2 varieties of oak - must be a challenge choosing which one to use for smoking but they make the Hill Country a great place to visit.

el Ducko · Post by **el Ducko** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 16:56

Shuswap wrote: Texas has 42 species and 2 varieties of oak - must be a challenge choosing which one to use for smoking but they make the Hill Country a great place to visit.

Luckily for us, the previous owner of the property simplified the selection task for us:
(1) Take chainsaw outside to woodpile.
(2) Cut.
There's enough out there for several lifetimes of bbq.

Two varieties: cut and un-cut. (The former is relatively rare.)

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 18:47

Wife and I stayed in Austin for three days a couple years ago, loved it there. We ate at Franklins for lunch one day, drove out of town to a restaurant called the Salt Lick for dinner the next day. Both BBQ place use the local oak for their fuel, and man is that BBQ good! I use applewood 90% of the time, hickory the rest, never tried oak. Tried cherrywood on some smoked salmon years back, didn't like the flavor the smoke imparted. RAY

Cabonaia · Post by **Cabonaia** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 20:04

We get all our heat from the trees growing around us, most of it being live oak and Oregon white oak. Occasionally black oak, though only in the tragic sense as it is in decline here and my favorite of the three. (We also burn California bay laurel, which smells great when it burns but would not be very good for smoking.) So there are always a lot of oak chips and chunks lying around the wood shed, and I use all types for hot smoking and grilling. I couldn't be happier with oak. I don't think you can lose with it, no matter the species. Whatever species you've got, go for it!

Cheers,
Jeff

Shuswap · Post by **Shuswap** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 20:44

Hey Redzed, have you tried smoking with the VI Gary Oak? I've got some 30yr old Brunswick
oak flooring from the Revelstoke high school gym - have to chip it up and try it.

Post by **redzed** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 21:53

Shuswap wrote:Hey Redzed, have you tried smoking with the VI Gary Oak? I've got some 30yr old Brunswick
oak flooring from the Revelstoke high school gym - have to chip it up and try it.

Even though I live in an area where there are many Garry Oaks, I have not tried to smoke with it, but will have to give it a go sometime. I really would be careful in using plank flooring for smoking. It has more than likely absorbed all kinds if finishing and cleaning materials that might give off toxic fumes. Several years ago I acquired some new unfinished red oak flooring and costructed a lid out of it to press my sauerkraut. It leached out something that turned the brine brown and imparted an unpleasant flavour to the sour cabbage. I threw it out.

crustyo44 wrote:He was a Pom so my cousin imagined it might be an English or Northern European oak, if there is such a difference.
Maybe our Polish friends have experience with oak as a smoking medium

Quercus robur, (aka English Oak, German Oak, French Oak), is the most common variety of oak growing in Poland, and widely used in smoking. Since it is a white oak variety it results a milder flavour than red oak varieties. I really don't know whether Northern European Oak is also Quercus robur.

We had a good discussion on this forum about using oak here:
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5641

Shuswap · Post by **Shuswap** » Mon Nov 25, 2013 23:06

I really would be careful in using plank flooring for smoking. It has more than likely absorbed all kinds if finishing and cleaning materials that might give off toxic fumes.

Point taken Chris

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Tue Nov 26, 2013 03:57

Oak is a very reactive wood and stains readily when wet with organic acids. For this reason most food service surfaces are maple which is a very neutral wood.