Oak Vs Mesquite

I can't say from actual experience, but a lot of members on the BGE forum like to use oak and say it has a milder flavor. I have both oak and mesquite chunks, but have yet to use either one. Guess I need to finish off the brisket and pulled pork in the freezer so I can smoke something new. Love to cook a shoulder clod. Jer

Of any wood out there, I'd say Mesquite is the "strongest". Oak can been heavy also, but not like Mesquite.

Give it a try and see.

^^^^^^ Agree. Also, I think Oak doesn't impart as much flavor as Hickory.

Interesting, looks like I have some experimenting to do.

quote:

Originally posted by Padrefan98:
I have used Mesquite for most of my beef and bought some Oak to try for a shoulder clod this weekend. Is it comparable? More or less?

Oak is an entirely different flavor than mesquite. Oak is called the Queen of smoking woods and Hickory is called the King. I use red oak.

I have very limited experience with mesquite, but I think it is a much stronger flavor than oak.

Oak is good for beef, IMO. Try smoking a rib-eye with red oak to 80-90 degrees and finish it on the grill...FANTASTIC!

Pastrami with red oak is very good, and brisket also...or a chuck roast.

A lot of the Q in the Texas Hill country is cooked using Live Oak which is a white oak species. It gives a very mild flavor and one which I enjoy very much as a change from the Hickory which is used in East Texas. I also enjoy Mesquite, but it can be overpowering if you know what I mean.

When I use my 020, I would use oak on everything, well maybe mixed with other woods is the way I should put it.What ever amount I used the oak would be the majority amount though.

Nice flavor that doesn't over power the other wood.

I was told that Mesquite is one of those woods that is good in small amounts, but gets bitter very quick in higher doses.

I ate at a place last night that advertised steak cooked on an apple wood fired grill. This was one of the best steaks I have ever had. Well aged beef, perfectly grilled to Medium rare.

A couple thoughts from being around a lot of good cooks from a lot of places.

Oak may be called the Queen,because it can round out/mellow many other woods.Thus many use blends of 20%-30% flavor wood to 70%-80% oak.

Around the country steak houses often use oak for the mellow and it accents fine beef.

Mesquite burns hotter than almost any wood,so will be used for short cooks that need high grilling temps.

A lot of great TX Q is cooked on live oak or post oak.

Guys that know how to smoke with mesquite ,how to blend it,and how to protect from oversmoking may still use it.

Like said above,it can be a fine flavor,but a little can go a long way.

In your CS traditional cookers,you might use a little and let the starting/yellow smoke burn off before putting in your product.

Hope this helps a little.

All this talk of mesquite has me hankering to give it a try. All I've had in the past is some bag of old mesquite I bought at Wally World back long before I was serious about BBQ.

Any suggestions where I should shop of mesquite? I usually buy my wood off a vendor I found on eBay.

I have a 22 pd shoulder clod going in tomorrow night. I think with what I have learned hear I am going to go with 4 oz of oak and 1 oz of mesquite. Thanks for the help guys!

Give us your impressions.

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinMAINEiac:
Any suggestions where I should shop of mesquite? I usually buy my wood off a vendor I found on eBay.

I get mine from the Charcoal Store.

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinMAINEiac:
All this talk of mesquite has me hankering to give it a try. All I've had in the past is some bag of old mesquite I bought at Wally World back long before I was serious about BBQ.

Any suggestions where I should shop of mesquite? I usually buy my wood off a vendor I found on eBay.

Since your 25 won't use much wood,you might still go to wally in the grill section and buy a smallest package.They might even be closing out their small bags of pellets for almost nothing.

Your local pool/ patio stores may have small pouches,as well.

If you still have your old bag of mesquite.,try some on a chicken quarter.If it didn't give a great amount of flavor,you can always add a couple more ounces.

I doubt you'll do many long smokes with it.

One thing to try it on is fish fillets.There used to be a post from Stuart about hot smoking catfish fillets for under an hr and they were excellent.

Ordering on line may give you a lot more than you'll ever use,which makes it expensive.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom:

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinMAINEiac:
All this talk of mesquite has me hankering to give it a try. All I've had in the past is some bag of old mesquite I bought at Wally World back long before I was serious about BBQ.

Any suggestions where I should shop of mesquite? I usually buy my wood off a vendor I found on eBay.

Since your 25 won't use much wood,you might still go to wally in the grill section and buy a smallest package.They might even be closing out their small bags of pellets for almost nothing.

Your local pool/ patio stores may have small pouches,as well.

If you still have your old bag of mesquite.,try some on a chicken quarter.If it didn't give a great amount of flavor,you can always add a couple more ounces.

I doubt you'll do many long smokes with it.

One thing to try it on is fish fillets.There used to be a post from Stuart about hot smoking catfish fillets for under an hr and they were excellent.

Ordering on line may give you a lot more than you'll ever use,which makes it expensive.

I didn't drag that old mesquite down to FL from ME when we moved last fall. Good suggestion though about buying a small amount. It isn't something I'd use very often. Thanks!

As a newbie I have only used Mesquite, Apple and Pecan.

The mesquite because I had it left over from an old cheap bullet type smoker that is gone for a while now. The Apple came with my CS and Pecan I ordered on the internet.

When I used the mesquite it was on a brisket (long smoke). There was a distinct bitter taste. I won't be using it again, at least not until I feel like ordering more and becoming more knowledgeable about the combos, etc.

I love my Apple wood and the Pecan is now my favorite. I want to try Peach because that is what Myron D. uses and I hope its good if a pro uses it.

Give hickory a try also.

quote:

Originally posted by Vicki B:
As a newbie I have only used Mesquite, Apple and Pecan.

The mesquite because I had it left over from an old cheap bullet type smoker that is gone for a while now. The Apple came with my CS and Pecan I ordered on the internet.

When I used the mesquite it was on a brisket (long smoke). There was a distinct bitter taste. I won't be using it again, at least not until I feel like ordering more and becoming more knowledgeable about the combos, etc.

I love my Apple wood and the Pecan is now my favorite. I want to try Peach because that is what Myron D. uses and I hope its good if a pro uses it.

I had to buy peach from three different vendors before I got some good wood. I also had to try peach becuase of MM on BBQ PM. I like to smoke ribs with peach. I sent some of my best peach to Q'n RN in his exchange box so we'll see what he thinks when he tries it.

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinMAINEiac:

quote:

Originally posted by Vicki B:
As a newbie I have only used Mesquite, Apple and Pecan.

The mesquite because I had it left over from an old cheap bullet type smoker that is gone for a while now. The Apple came with my CS and Pecan I ordered on the internet.

When I used the mesquite it was on a brisket (long smoke). There was a distinct bitter taste. I won't be using it again, at least not until I feel like ordering more and becoming more knowledgeable about the combos, etc.

I love my Apple wood and the Pecan is now my favorite. I want to try Peach because that is what Myron D. uses and I hope its good if a pro uses it.

I had to buy peach from three different vendors before I got some good wood. I also had to try peach becuase of MM on BBQ PM. I like to smoke ribs with peach. I sent some of my best peach to Q'n RN in his exchange box so we'll see what he thinks when he tries it.

Peach is very mild and Myron is a pork cook.His area is loaded with peach trees .

Since you are in central FL now,try any of the easy to acquire citrus wood.
Many find it is comparable.

CandySue also sells peach pellets,which can be picked up around the patio grilling stores.

quote:

Originally posted by Pags:
Give hickory a try also.

I'm partial to mixing Hickory and Pecan for my low and slow's. Just cut some dying branches off the crab apple tree last fall that I'm looking forward to try along with some red oak from a tree that was blown over in a storm last summer. Jer

quote:

Originally posted by Tom:

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinMAINEiac:

quote:

Originally posted by Vicki B:
As a newbie I have only used Mesquite, Apple and Pecan.

The mesquite because I had it left over from an old cheap bullet type smoker that is gone for a while now. The Apple came with my CS and Pecan I ordered on the internet.

When I used the mesquite it was on a brisket (long smoke). There was a distinct bitter taste. I won't be using it again, at least not until I feel like ordering more and becoming more knowledgeable about the combos, etc.

I love my Apple wood and the Pecan is now my favorite. I want to try Peach because that is what Myron D. uses and I hope its good if a pro uses it.

I had to buy peach from three different vendors before I got some good wood. I also had to try peach becuase of MM on BBQ PM. I like to smoke ribs with peach. I sent some of my best peach to Q'n RN in his exchange box so we'll see what he thinks when he tries it.

Peach is very mild and Myron is a pork cook.His area is loaded with peach trees .

Since you are in central FL now,try any of the easy to acquire citrus wood.
Many find it is comparable.

CandySue also sells peach pellets,which can be picked up around the patio grilling stores.

Tom-How do I go about getting citrus wood in Florida? I'd love to try orange

http://www.charcoalstore.com/q...rch/Wood_Orange.html

I went to this site because AndyJ mentioned it above in this thread.

I am ordering a sample pack of a few. Here is the link for their orange.

Gary, most fruit trees get trimmed every so often, with or without your help, so you might ask one of the farmers.

I did a search for "Citrus wood smoking" on google, and found this place: http://www.citruswoodchips.com/ . I have not used them, so can't say how they are. The Citrus trees in So. California are being attacked by a bug that was brought in from Asia. This bug transmits a disease to the tree, and kills it. There is no known cure for the disease. I would be cautious about the possibility of spreading this problem to other areas of the U.S.

A member of this forum has graciously offered to share some of his orange wood chunks with me, so I will give it a try and see how we like it

Is this a great bunch of folks or what???

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinMAINEiac:
A member of this forum has graciouswly offered to share some of his orange wood chunks with me, so I will give it a try and see how we like it

Is this a great bunch of folks or what???

From Satellite Beach?? Makes sense. He's a helpful guy.

Nope, from Streamwood IL. But I get to try some Maine wild plum in return.

alacratstore:

I have found that Musquite is good in small doses but if you get a little to much, it develops a bitter taste. I have some and use it, but my favorite is the Jack Daniels Oak.