Valley Oak, Live Oak for BBQ

[DFoster]

Anyone have experiencing using Live Oak or Valley Oak for BBQ?
How's the flavor and smell compare to Post Oak or White Oak?

I typically get white oak and post oak, but with gas prices I haven't felt like driving 5 hours to Anaheim, CA to get wood. I live in the Central Valley in California and have an abundant amount of access to Live Oak and Valley Oak.

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

All are good and will taste basically the same. I have bought oak that has claimed to be either red, white, live and coastal live. Honestly not sure I could tell any difference at all (or that I trust the wood guy to know what he's talking about)

Driving down to the Woodshed from where you are seems crazy to me. You should be able to find all the almond wood you could burn. That plus oak is a pretty nice local supply.

 

[sackedbysapp]

Burns hot and slow.

 

[1MoreFord]

I echo JAKs view. All are good.

There are really only two Species of Oaks. They are all either Red Oak or White Oak. Within each species there are a large variety of each.

 

[Seefyre]

Live oak is abundant here in Florida so that's what I use. It's tasty, similiar to other oaks.

 

[Shiv]

I think that should be the same of our Holm oaks here in Spain.

Is the best.

 

[DFoster]

I usually head to the Woodshed when we are there for a Disneyland trip. I mainly go there to get post oak. I have a couple buddies who have an abundant supply of live oak, so I am going to give it a try. Thanks for the info.

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

I usually head to the Woodshed when we are there for a Disneyland trip. I mainly go there to get post oak. I have a couple buddies who have an abundant supply of live oak, so I am going to give it a try. Thanks for the info.

How do you like the Fatstack? I am on the list for an 80 gallon. I just stopped by the shop and saw a few 288s that were about to go out, they looked pretty sweet.

Let me know if you notice any difference between what you get locally and what you get at Woodshed.

I have a pile of oak and pecan from a few different sources, mostly tree services places. Doesn't seem to make a difference in any of my cookers, but this will be my first offset. I could justify stopping at Woodshed when I'm down that way if it really makes a difference.

 

[DFoster]

It's a quality smoker and Erik is a great builder. I made some modifications to it, but all in all FatStacks is a great smoker. Being from LA you will save a lot of money in shipping if you went other routes. What's the price up to these days? 4200?

Have you looked into Workhorse Pits or their parent company Primitive Pits? Mill Scale?

A friend of mine is a welder and has looked at all the builders out there. He said you can tell the craftsmanship in the Mill Scale. He just build two backyard smokers and is contemplating building more. He's out of Bakersfield.

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

I am already on the pre-order for an 80 gallon. Still another 10 months or so to wait as they get the production line going for the backyard pits.