Had to pick between oak and mesquite for a whole hog cook last Saturday

I was set on mesquite for that big pork shoulder smoke, but my buddy warned me the mesquite would overpower the meat... he was right. Switched to oak at the last minute and it came out perfect, nice mild smoke flavor that let the pork shine through. The mesquite would have been way too aggressive for a 12 hour cook like that. Anyone else run into this kind of choice and regret the strong wood?

2 comments

2 Comments

emmam674d ago

Yeah the mesquite would have been way too aggressive for a 12 hour cook like that" is exactly what happened to my friend Dave. He did a brisket with straight mesquite and it came out tasting like a campfire, totally ruined the meat. He said it was a hard lesson learned and now he only uses oak or fruit woods for long smokes.

black.mark4d ago

@emmam67 campfire brisket sounds like a tragedy, but hey at least your buddy can tell people he ate pure Texas for 12 hours. Oak is the easygoing friend who doesn't show up and ruin the party unlike that loudmouth mesquite.