Has anyone ever thought about cutting and toasting your own oak? I have a friend that has hundreds of oak trees on his property and I figure that a half dozen or so good sized oak logs should set me up for a long while with oak. I have tried to do some research and all I can really find is that I should make sure I am using white oak. I have seen some sites that tell you how to toast the oak in the oven. Has anyone out there tried anything like this? He is cutting down trees as we speak and I would hate to miss out on a good thing. Any suggestions?
Toast you own oak?
- Thread starter Milwood
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Dean
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if you are going to use white oak, you need to first cut it, then air dry it for 3 years. After that, you de-bark it, cut it into staves, or appropriate chunks that you want, and then apply the proper toast to it.
The only thing that kills me on the whole process is is the air dry for 3 years. That is the part of the process that helps to eliminate the resins that cause the off tastes, and sadly the one part that cannot be skimped on. Kiln dried white oak is VERY harsh. Trust me on that one
The only thing that kills me on the whole process is is the air dry for 3 years. That is the part of the process that helps to eliminate the resins that cause the off tastes, and sadly the one part that cannot be skimped on. Kiln dried white oak is VERY harsh. Trust me on that one
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A few logs? Good gawd man, that would be enough for 10 lifetimes!
What Dean says is correct. It should be air dried first to reduce the harshness- however there is a shortcut often overlooked. Have your friend let you into the woodlot to have a look around. Bring some orange ribbon flag to mark your results. First know what white oak looks like. Then scout around and look for the white oak trees. Within those selections look for standing dead ones or at least some with big dead upright trunks with no bark left on. Those died two to five years ago and are prime candidates to source your wood. Using the ribbon, mark the tree. The landowner will want to get rid of those anyways and they have no real value after dead because a beetle has invaded them and killed them. When the logger cuts, have him set the dead, dried wood aside for you. Cut to workable chunks. I cut them into firewood size, then using a bandsaw very carefully cut to staves and maybe chunks.Then you can bake it to toast it properly. Store it in gallon or quart baggies to keep sealed once toasted. Be sure to sample carefully as it will have it's own characteristics varying from store bought.
What Dean says is correct. It should be air dried first to reduce the harshness- however there is a shortcut often overlooked. Have your friend let you into the woodlot to have a look around. Bring some orange ribbon flag to mark your results. First know what white oak looks like. Then scout around and look for the white oak trees. Within those selections look for standing dead ones or at least some with big dead upright trunks with no bark left on. Those died two to five years ago and are prime candidates to source your wood. Using the ribbon, mark the tree. The landowner will want to get rid of those anyways and they have no real value after dead because a beetle has invaded them and killed them. When the logger cuts, have him set the dead, dried wood aside for you. Cut to workable chunks. I cut them into firewood size, then using a bandsaw very carefully cut to staves and maybe chunks.Then you can bake it to toast it properly. Store it in gallon or quart baggies to keep sealed once toasted. Be sure to sample carefully as it will have it's own characteristics varying from store bought.
