Used Oak

[markg]

Anyone do this? I have been saving my used oak chips & cubes from all my previous batches. I have them in plastic zip-locks and they have been in my wine refer since I cleaned the carboys. I'm thinking that I will use them on my outdoor grill that has a smoker draw you use when grilling or Barbeque.

 

[Bert]

I've used them in my smoker and they work great....Did have a problem with some mold on some I didn't dry enough before I sealed the bag [threw those out]....Good Luck

 

[markg]

I didn't dry them out but they are, and have been, refrigerated. Do you think I should dry them?

 

[Bert]

If you to use them soon, I don't it would be a problem.....I was saving some for about 6 months..

 

[Wade E]

How about freezing them?

 

[Goodfella]

I have never used oak for smoke cooking. I have used Hickory, mesquite, alder, apple, and cherry. I am not sure how oak would turn out???

 

[ibglowin]

Oak by itself would not do much for smoke flavor but the wine extract could prove to be a nice addition.

I have about 6 baggies of wine drenched oak chips and cubes.I dried them out for a day in the sun and then left the baggie open for a week or so in the utility shed to avoid the mold problem. The wine extract should still be locked up solid. looking forward to giving these a try next Spring for sure!

 

[xanxer82]

bake them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. dry them out and then store in a coffee can

 

[Cracked Cork]

Yes they are nice to use on the grill, just dry them out and store in a paper bag, putting them in the refrigerator isnt worth the trouble, if you really want to boost the wine flavor of the oak just soak it in little wine before you use them, but I prefer to put the wine in a merinade. I got one of those new BIG Red infrared grills, you just toss the chips or even staves into the bottom of the grill and the infrared roasts them and smoke pours out. Crackedcork

 

[markg]

I guess I could put them in my de-hydrater then vacuum seal them until summer. But then again I could freeze them like Wade says so I don't lose any wine extract. I know you really don't use oak to smoke but, this raises an interesting question. Does anyone use different woods to flavor their wines? Example; Apple, Cherry etc..

 

[vcasey]

Does anyone use different woods to flavor their wines? Example; Apple, Cherry etc..

I am seriously considering this, we have a local craft brewery that has used both cedar and pecan. I have not had anything he has aged on the pecan but the cedar one was pretty good.

I guess I could put them in my de-hydrater then vacuum
seal them until summer.

Why wait until summer to smoke? We use the grill rain or shine, and at any any temp all year long. Yep even during tropical storms!

 

[ibglowin]

I smoked a prime rib (over pecan wood) outside with 20 degree temps and snow all over the ground at Christmas. Oh man was that ever goooooood! I have a big smoker pit that I use during the Summer months for large briskets etc. but for smaller jobs I use my tried and true 23" Webber grill. Had to build a good base with charcoal to up the heat since it was so cold out then add the hardwood on top. It was cooked to perfection in about 1.5 hours.

It disappeared in about 30 minutes!