Red oak vs. white oak in a stick burner

[Onercr]

I am finishing up a reverse flow stick burner and am starting to get my wood supplys in order. Question is, red oak https://merrittsstoreandgrill.com/place ... oak-grill/ is much more available in this area but I have been told to only use white oak in a cooker for a much milder flavor. What is the general consensus? Thanks Breth!!ren

[Rambo]

Welcome to TBBQF. What area might that be?? Red Oak is a fine cooking wood.

[Chasdev]

I've used both red and white and while I prefer the taste of white oak cooked meat, red works just fine as stated above.
BUT, much more important is how much moisture is still in the wood?
In Austin oak for smoking meat is more valuable than gold these days and most I've seen for the last 5 years has been cut, stacked and sold without any aging whatsoever, but is advertised at "fully seasoned".
My best advice is to buy a moisture meter and test any and all wood before buying to see that it reads less than 20%, 15 being just about perfect.
Of course if you have room and funding to buy fresh cut sticks and store them for a few years before using, then good on ya!

[OldUsedParts]

Down here in East Texas my Son prefers Post Oak but as C.D. mentioned, the aging/curing of the wood is where the difference is. Good luck with your "Quest" and let us know how things work out for you.

[GRailsback]

Red Oak us just fine for BBQ

[k.a.m.]

Red oak is probably my most favorite wood to burn but I also like white oak as well. At the end of the day I doubt too many folks can tell the difference in flavor if the meat is cooked properly. I usually split my own and rack it once it sounds like two baseball bats slapping together I will burn it.