Post oak vs. live oak

All other competition related questions or comments about recipes, techniques, and related topics.

Moderator: TBBQF Deputies

coach USER_AVATAR
Coach
Pilgrim
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 6:12 pm
Contact:

Post oak vs. live oak

Postby Coach » Fri Feb 15, 2013 10:28 pm

Can anyone contrast the difference between post oak and live oak, given that both are well seasoned and split? I usually cook with live oak, but I wonder if others prefer post oak, ala Franklin and Mueller BBQ.
Comal-Q
rambo USER_AVATAR
Rambo
Deputy
Posts: 8410
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:39 pm
Location: Lufkin, TEXAS
Contact:

Re: Post oak vs. live oak

Postby Rambo » Sun Feb 17, 2013 4:52 pm

I've never used Live oak. i don't know what could be bad about it. Most of the Hill Country places use post oak
stan41 USER_AVATAR
Stan41
Bandolero
Posts: 647
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 9:01 pm
Location: Goldthwaite Texas
Contact:

Re: Post oak vs. live oak

Postby Stan41 » Sun Feb 17, 2013 6:55 pm

In my opinion Live Oak makes too much Black smoke. Meat comes out black and with a very strong smoke taste. Besides dry Live Oak is very hard to cut or split.
Stan
Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
3 star redneck USER_AVATAR
3 star redneck
Chuck Wagon
Posts: 2609
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 8:29 am
Location: Glen Rose TX
Contact:

Re: Post oak vs. live oak

Postby 3 star redneck » Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:26 pm

My supplier carries both...the funny part is most restuarants around the metro-mess.. :dont: .....buy and prefer Live oak......they say it burns hotter longer.....but it tends to smoke very heavy if not seasoned well.......and the Post oak I have been using burnes good and fairly clean after the initial fire starts.......My favorite is Black Jack oak, but hard to find in North Central Tx........IMHO for Comp bbq the post oak is a msmoother milder smoke for most judges palates.... :wink: :D
R&O Custom Offset....It rocks!!!!
http://www.redneckcooker.com



Hook Em' Horns
coach USER_AVATAR
Coach
Pilgrim
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 6:12 pm
Contact:

Re: Post oak vs. live oak

Postby Coach » Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:18 am

No doubt live oak must be very dry and split to burn clean. Jeff I am going pick up some post oak and I will keep on eye out for some black jack too. :twisted:
Comal-Q
jtilk
Outlaw
Posts: 2074
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:41 pm
Location: Lake Jackson, TX
Contact:

Re: Post oak vs. live oak

Postby jtilk » Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:46 pm

I could be wrong on this but I think live oak seems to be a lil more dense than post oak as well. Maybe this explains the lasting longer thought.
-Josh

Big Green Egg
Pitmaker Vault

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson
coach USER_AVATAR
Coach
Pilgrim
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2013 6:12 pm
Contact:

Re: Post oak vs. live oak

Postby Coach » Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:17 pm

I bought some well seasoned split post oak yesterday, so I will update y'all on my next cook how I think it compares to live oak. Thanks.
Comal-Q
exotool
Pilgrim
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:19 am
Contact:

Re: Post oak vs. live oak

Postby exotool » Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:21 am

Some say he's still BBQ'ing to this day.
Barbra
Pilgrim
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2018 2:33 pm
Contact:

Re: Post oak vs. live oak

Postby Barbra » Sun Sep 30, 2018 2:42 pm

Major commercial species included in the white oak group are white (so this is a bit confusing), chestnut (leaks if used for liquid barrels), post, overcup, swamp chestnut, bur, chinkapin, Oregon white, and swamp white (really hard to dry swamp white without checks).

Included in the red oak group are northern red (often just called red, so a bit confusing), southern red, scarlet, Shumard, pin, black, cherrybark, water, laurel and willow.

Live oak is indeed a white oak, but its properties (including density, strength, interlocked grain, evergreen) are quite a bit different than the other commercial white oaks, so it might be best considered separately. Actually, there are several important species called live oak; they are all similar in properties.

There are around 20 commercial red oak species and 20 white oaks. A dendrologist might find that in North America we have over 100 species of oak.

For the most part, the species in the commercial red oaks are quite similar and also the commercial white oaks, so from a practical point of view, we do not separate them within a group (except live oak and sometimes California black oak). However, we do separate the oaks within a group into those with rings spaced about 1/4" or more apart from those with closer ring spacing. The wider spacing (sometimes called Southern, but not too accurate) is harder to dry, a bit more dense, and higher shrinkage, with some resulting processing differences.

Also, those oak trees with anaerobic bacterial infections will produce drying and strength issues. As the bacteria are more common in wet sites, and some oak species prefer wetter sites, we see more issues with the wide ring (Southern) oaks. As the species listed above are often found in one region of the country (northern or Appalachian, for example), we often say that one species is harder to dry than another, but it could be due to the higher risk of bacterial infection and not the wood itself.

Assignment writing structure: Look at tree or log quality factors (straight grain, growth rate, knots, color, shake or odor, sweepy log, etc.) rather than being overly concerned about the species within the white or red group.
oldusedparts USER_AVATAR
OldUsedParts
Deputy
Posts: 21541
Joined: Sun May 15, 2011 7:09 pm
Location: Montgomery, Texas
Contact:

Re: Post oak vs. live oak

Postby OldUsedParts » Sun Sep 30, 2018 2:59 pm

WOW, that critique just makes me even happier that I use Charcoal and Pellets :laughing7: :lol: :D :whiteflag: :roll: :dont: :scratch:
I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country—Victory or Death. William Barret Travis - Lt. Col. comdt "The Alamo"
allenayres USER_AVATAR
allenayres
Rustler
Posts: 188
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2018 3:10 pm
Location: Beaumont
Contact:

Re: Post oak vs. live oak

Postby allenayres » Mon Jan 07, 2019 1:52 pm

We seem to be getting a few 1-post wonders here...

Return to “Competition BBQ Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests