Spotted a huge difference in bark quality after I switched to post oak chunks

I've been using hickory for years on my offset smoker in Austin, but last Saturday I tried post oak for the first time on a pork shoulder... The bark came out way darker and crunchier, almost like a crust, even though I cooked it at the same temp for 10 hours. Has anyone else noticed that specific wood makes that big of a change in bark texture?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant5698d agoMost Upvoted

Same size chunks" is the part that caught my eye, but honestly I wonder if the moisture content in the wood itself is what really matters here. Post oak tends to be denser and drier than hickory, so it might just be absorbing moisture faster off the meat surface and creating that crust. Most people overlook how much the wood's own water content affects bark formation during a long cook.

rowanp158d ago

Hold up, were you using the same size chunks when you switched? I've noticed bigger chunks make a huge difference in how long the smoke lasts and how even the bark sets up. Could also be that post oak just burns cleaner at lower temps for that long cook, which might dry out the surface faster than hickory does. Did your fire management change at all or was it strictly a wood swap?

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