I used to think wood choice didn't matter much for grilling but a guy in Kansas City proved me wrong

I've been doing backyard BBQ for about 5 years now and always figured any hardwood chunk would do the job. Last summer I was at a competition in Kansas City and this pitmaster named Dave let me taste ribs he cooked with post oak versus the ones with hickory. The difference was night and day honestly. The post oak gave this clean subtle smoke that didn't overpower the meat. His hickory ribs had a sharper taste that I actually liked less. He explained that post oak burns slower and more steady at lower temps. I went home and ordered a 40 pound bag of post oak splits from a place in Texas. Now I'm a believer and I don't think I'll go back to messing around with random wood from my backyard. Has anyone else had a moment where a specific wood type changed their whole approach?

1 comments

1 Comment

daniel5114d ago

Post oak is all I use now. Hickory tastes like licking a campfire to me.