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Decision on Oak Wine Barrel Chunks

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P pagsMember
I called a couple of the foothill wineries outside Placerville, CA to see if they had any oak barrels they wanted to discard. None. I'm sure they probably sell them to nurseries for resale.

A young lady at Lava Cap said they had oak stays (they look like wood slats, 3/8" by 2" by 30"), and she would save some for me. The stays are placed right into the barrel and into the wine to help age and mellow the wine. I drove up yesterday to get them. She had saved about 25 of them. Since they sat in the wine they were totally purple. I'm going to cut them into 2" pieces and try them on one of my next smokes just to see what happens. I'll let you know.

Oh. And I did a little wine tasting and then bought two bottles of their Chardonnay (seemed like the right thing to do). It wasn't that big a sacrifice since their Chardonnay is smooth and buttery. Besides I was the only guy with four ladies so I thought I'd bring them a few laughs.
P pagsMember
I walked out of Christmas Services yesterday with my family and smelled something. It was smoke. Someone was barbecuing something. It smelled great, but it occurred to me that the smoke was HICKORY! It was definitely hickory. I knew the smoke. Now I suspect our experienced folks could take a whiff and also tell what was being cooked, the temp, sauce or not, and type of rub. Heck, at least it's a baby step for me. Big Grin
cal 2cal 2Member
they say you have to take baby steps before you can walk and have to walk before you can run.Having said that, it sure would be nice for me to be able to turn over.

If I remember right I thought you were suppose to drink red wine with beef, but I also like the taste of a cold glass of Chardonnay, but prefer the oak taste myself, rather than buttery. I guess it is like smoking, everyone has a little different taste that they like,but you can't beat that hickory smell in the air when there is the smell of beef with it that I agree with.
T tomMember
We tend to find that oak,the "Queen of Woods"is often used about 70%,with 30% flavor woods, by many cooks.

The oak mellows the other smoke,without really affecting the flavors.

Now,many grillers will hot cook restaurant steaks over oak,as they aren't over the coals for long.

I realize that Ca folks like tritip over an oak grill, as the traditional Santa Maria cookout.
cal 2cal 2Member
Tom,
I guess that explains it, when I was a boy and I would watch the old time smokers around here start a fire with seasoned oak and put on one little stick of green hickory to do the smoking.It was just some backyard Q, but it sure was a big deal back then. I guess I always thought they did it for a good bed of hot coals, but it seems to make sense now.
V vixitMember
@pags posted:
I called a couple of the foothill wineries outside Placerville, CA to see if they had any oak barrels they wanted to discard. None. I'm sure they probably sell them to nurseries for resale.

A young lady at Lava Cap said they had oak stays (they look like wood slats, 3/8" by 2" by 30"), and she would save some for me. The stays are placed right into the barrel and into the wine to help age and mellow the wine Rotwein. I drove up yesterday to get them. She had saved about 25 of them. Since they sat in the wine they were totally purple. I'm going to cut them into 2" pieces and try them on one of my next smokes just to see what happens. I'll let you know.

Oh. And I did a little wine tasting and then bought two bottles of their Chardonnay (seemed like the right thing to do). It wasn't that big a sacrifice since their Chardonnay is smooth and buttery. Besides I was the only guy with four ladies so I thought I'd bring them a few laughs.

Any brethren smoke anything with wine barrel wood chunks? Seems like they might be good for a cook when you're dealing with a piece of meat that's been marinated in particular. I'd love to hear any experience y'all have had with this type of wood. Thanks.

Last edited by vixit

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