Jack Daniel's wood chips

skihorn · December 2009

I went ahead and bought some Jack Daniel's wood chips this weekend for the first time. Definitely a little more expensive but thought I would give it a try. Two questions:

1. Is there a particular meat that is recommended. My chart simply says "red meats" so I assume it is fairly strong smoke.

2. Is there really anything special about this or is it really going to be the same as using ordinary oak. Note, that oak is one of the few flavoring woods I haven't used so I will not be able to tell if there is a difference.

As always, thanks for the advice.

Freddie
League City, TX

Gator Bait · December 2009

Hi Freddie

Jack Daniel's wood chips are one of my favorites. Those old barrels share a lot of the goodness of Old No.7. I find the smoke very smooooooth and even tempered compared to many other woods. It is great for any red meat and I would include pork and chicken only with one reservation. It is my opinion that pork and chicken soak up smoke woods faster or more then red meats. I think it is easier to over smoke pork or chicken so I use much lees until I know how it is going to react. I store my smoke wood in a clean trash barrel for convenience and the first time I opened it after storing the Jack Daniels chips there it about knocked me over. The whiskey fragrance was fantastic!

Have a great day,

Gator

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · December 2009

ever the skeptic here.
let us know how they work out.
the reason they age in oak barrels is so the alcohol can leach out as much flavor and sugar and color as possible from the barrels.

it stands to reason that the oak may not be as flavorful as regular oak, but who knows.

in a strange way, the oak may be leached, but it also soaking in jackdaniels. hahaha a little loop of logic there.
still, i'm thinking it's more a branding thing than anything else. so let us know if you notice a difference as compared to regular oak

BHE1 · December 2009

I really like JD wood chips for steaks; they provide a unique flavor. I think you will enjoy them.

Little Steven · December 2009

Gator,

On a trip to Avery Island a few tears ago, the Tobasco folks claimed that the JD Barrels were used for two batches only. After that, many of them were purchased by Tobasco for aging their brew. They used them for ten batches and disposed of them. I have bought the Tobasco barrel chips and they are the bomb! I swear you get the Tobasco flavour superimposed on the whiskey flavour.

Steve

gdenby · December 2009

Oak chips will have a pretty strong flavor, so I use them for big pieces of meat. Usually, I use oak if I want the richness of smoke, but not the sweetness that comes from a fruitwood.

I had a bag of JD chips. They worked pretty well, had a very faint bourbon odor. A lot of the chips were very small, and tended to vaporize pretty quickly. The bag didn't last very long.

This summer, a local place was selling some chips advertised as "Texas Oak." Pretty generic packing. I don't know if they are the classic Post Oak from Texas, but they are really good. The flavor is different, and somewhat stronger than hickory. Seem to burn slower that JD, although many bits are pretty small. The price was about half the JD.

So, while both were good chips, bang for the buck, the generic wins for me.

rrgator · December 2009

Don't know if they are any better than any other wood or chips for smoking, but it sure smells good when you open the bag.

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker · December 2009

that's good to know. thx

NibbleMeThis · December 2009

I've used them for about a year and have liked it with chuck roasts, eye of round, and rib roasts but for some reason, didn't like it with a roasted tenderloin. I even toss a few on during the roast phase of doing ribeyes.

As far as an objective noticeable difference, I'm not sure how you'd quantify that. From a subjective viewpoint though, I like the smoke it puts off and the sweet hint of bourbon while cooking.

Granted, I liked them better during the first two bags when my wife had bought them and I had no idea of their cost :pinch:

Fast Eggie Felsom · December 2009

I like to use them with steaks.

Eggie

skihorn · December 2009

Thanks everybody. I may use some this weekend on some steaks. Since I don't normally use oak I won't be qualified to differentiate between JD and regualr oak.

Freddie
League City, TX

Ricklesss · December 2009

My local home building stores sell those old oak barrels cut in half for planters, and better yet, the broken ones, or the ones that are missing a slat or two are cheap.
I'm thinking maybe this would be a great way to get a bunch of the wood for little investment.
Probably get it the same price as a bag of JD chips!
:laugh:

Gator Bait · December 2009

Ten batches of Tabasco, WOW! That could be an interesting combination. They have them on their web site, I might have to try them. I think it is $5.25 for a 2# bag. I wonder how they would mix with other woods such as Maple or Pecan. Thanks for the tip Steve.

Gator

Little Steven · December 2009

Gator,

IMHO they impart a lot of flavour on their own. I haven't been able to get any this year but they, and Steven Raichlen's olive wood are my favourite.

Steve

Gator Bait · December 2009

Thanks Steve, Steven Raichlen's olive wood I may be able to get in Sarasota, about an hour from here. I need to head up there for some Dizzy Pig rubs also. Fort Myers is beyond the end of the road, I have to go to Sarasota for a good grilling store and as far as I can tell that is also one of the closest camera stores. Weird.

Gator

Ricklesss · December 2009

I meant to say, in my earlier post, that those wooden oak barrels that have been cut in half for planter pots, were used in making whiskey (bourbon).
Sorry, I wasn't clear on that..
I don't know what brand, but think I will try to pick up one to smoking with.

Jack Daniel's wood chips

Comments

Categories