ottawa foodies

I'm getting a nice board of white oak this weekend that I'm going to be cutting up into specially sized 'tablets'. I need to char them on the outside, but don't really want them to turn into charcoal. I'm doing this so I can have some pieces to put into jars with alcohol so I can oak-age them. This gets around the pesky need to find charred white oak barrels.

Does anyone have any experience with anything like this? I'm not sure if using the barbeque would do it or using my Weed Dragon would be better or if there would be a better way. Ah, experimentation. Also, a bit of pyromania. HEE HEE!

I would use a blow torch for the fine control you'll likely need - I guess that is what your weed dragon is

I have been making my own charcoal for a while. Am sure you dont want a 45 gallon barrel size. Get a new paint can from the BORG, cut 6 - 8 ....1/2" size holes in the side at the bottom of the paint can. Load up with your oak blocks. Leave the lid off, light oak with torch through the bottom of 1 hole. Once it is going, put lid on top leaving one side of lid propped up 1/2" inch. Should smoke like no tomorrow for maybe 30 mins. Then seal up lid properly and cover holes in bottom with sand, dirt, gravel. Let it burn itself out and check on it a few hours later. May be done enough for you, may need another fire to get it going again if not done enough.

Krusty,

You could do it like they do in Lynchburg. The tour was awesome.

Okay, I made a bunch of charred oak 'tablets' and am experimenting with a weak alcool solution to help mark the differences. It's been in the jar for about 3 weeks now and I'm going to play around with it this weekend.

I'm curious about trying this with beer now. What off-the-shelf beer would be suggested for barrel-aging? I know of a couple of major brewers' products that could certainly do with a bit of improvement, but am looking for suggestions. As an experiment, I'll probably do a couple of bottles in a big canning jar with a couple of aging tablets.

BTW, I took some time to cut that nice 14' board down into sticks about 1" x 1/2" x 5", laid them out on a hard surface and charred to blacken the surfaces with my propane weed torch. It worked really, really well. I didn't make them complete charcoal as I thought that might be too brittle.

I'm going to do some test growlers with the tablets you gave me on Thursday. I'm going to put one in a growler of Kichesippi Blonde and one in Kichesippi 1855 and let it sit.

How long do you think it'll need to get some flavour into the beer?

First, I don't think it will fit in the neck of the growler. I may have to rethink the size. Maybe charred dowels is the way to go in that respect.

For beer, I'd go with one tablet for a quart of liquid, cap it tight and leave it for a week or so. Swirl around once a day or so. Put it next to your coffee maker (or in your case, your kegerator) so you make sure to see it. ;)

Sample it after that and see if it needs more. I'd bet on 2 weeks, but I'm sure you could taste some difference after one.

BTW, I sampled the alcool I had soaking and it was marvelous. The caramel and raisin accents were really noticeable. Just from a piece of burnt wood. Next I'm going to pick up a medium quality whiskey and see if it helps that any.

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rizak.ca

Here's a picture.
Mmmmm. Delicious.

I used it in a Caesar instead of vodka. Wow.

Are any of these extracts carcinogenic ?

Many of them, yes. But what a way to die!

Carcinogenic? You know, I never thought about that. It's charred wood, acting inside a solution, so there isn't really much in the way of a charcoal filter effect happening. No, it's mostly for flavour enhancement.

I suppose you have a point there. It could be, but only in the same way that bourbon or scotch or any other barrel-aged liquor is as well.