Using green oak for pork butt???

[lspilot82]

Well guys im about to do a pork butt and the only wood i have is some fresh cut oak. Now I've heard that green wood is bad to use and I've also heard its fine to use. So my question is this....can I use unseasoned oak for my smoke or will it ruin my meat. Also how much should I use when smoking my butt. Thanks guys and im looking forward to the responses.

 

[eman]

When i had my stick burner i never used green wood to smoke. That being said ,i have seen and heard of folks using green hickory , oak and pecan to smoke with. Is it bad to use ? i don't know.

 

[hemi]

I have gotten by in a pinch with useing charcoal to do the grunt of the cookin and adding just a

few slivers from time to time of green oak for taste.    Just a judgement call.  at worst it will give a bit of bitter taste .  If I am out of seasoned wood I just use charcoal.   Hemi.

 

[lspilot82]

So far so good...shes smoking pretty good and it smells real good also. Im using small pieces so I think they are drying out pretty quick. Hopefully there isnt that much of bitterness in the meat when its done.

 

[chadpole]

In my experience when I only have green wood ,I just cook it down to coals and then add it to the fire. That is the only way you get the creosote out of the smoke. But it is always best to have a dry ,seasoned wood for smoking. When the coals are right you probably can't see any smoke at all. They call this the "Thin blue smoke". Good luck and good smoking.

 

[hemi]

As Chadpole stated, burn the green wood and add the coals to the cookin fire.  When we were kids and had a pig pickin we would have a big piece of metal to burn the wood on and feed the cooker with a flat shovel.    I think it was mainly to avoid buying alla that charcoal. 

 

[lspilot82]

Does that still work with the Electric Brinkman...thats the smoker I have.

 

[lspilot82]

Well I've hit the stall so I decided to try a piece of bark and I was surprised. It taste pretty good and at all isnt bitter. I havent been putting a ton of smoke on it but so far so good. It's a 5 pounder and I put it on at 11:30 and here it is 6:30 and I'm stalled out. Figures. The last 5 pounder I did took 7 hours...it just goes to show each meat has a mind of its own.

 

[wntrlnd]

well, as long as it tastes good, the stall is the least of your worries!

nice to know there's hope even if you're stuck with green wood

good luck with the rest of the process!

 

[lspilot82]

Here it is finally 9:20 and she just started to climb, now im finishing it in the oven since its getting later.