Part 1
Cranky Buzzard's BBQ Workbook
Smoking and Smokers
No I am not talking about sections at a restaurant I am talking about smoked meats!
A lot of people profess to know how to smoke meats. A lot of others wish they knew how to smoke meats. Smoking is not the art form that a lot of people make it out to be. To be successful at smoking you must have 3 things, the correct type of smoker, the correct wood(s), and patience!
The Correct Smoker
What makes a smoker the "correct smoker"? Simple, one that you can regulate the temperature on without a lot of hassle.
Smoking is a LOT different than grilling or barbecuing. With a smoker you are using indirect heat with smoke and sometimes water vapors. When smoking you want a bit of smoke, low temperatures, and a long cook time. When you are smoking, your end result should be tender meat with a distinct wood smoke flavor that is not over powering.
It doesn`t matter if you have a small vertical smoker or a trailer mounted 500-gallon tank when it comes to doing it right. I have cooked briskets, ribs, and chicken on both types, and several other types in between. The main 2 things are temperature regulation and patience.
What is the right temperature?
If you go out on the Internet and look for the right temperature to smoke with you will have brain overload shortly! Temperatures varying from 200 to 275 degrees will be stated. The correct temperature is simple; it is dependent upon your smoker. I have 3 smokers, 2 at the house and one at our place in East Texas. Each one smokes great somewhere between 225 and 250 degrees. That is a BIG variance for sure. It will take some testing and some possibly tough meats coming off the smoker to find out where your smoker is happy. There is no magic temperature; there is a range, 225 to 275 degrees with good almost clear smoke.
A BIG thing to remember about smoking foods... The ONLY thing you need with numbers on it while smoking is a thermometer! You simply cannot cook to time when smoking foods. For consistent meats you have to reach the magic internal temperature.
(Stay tuned for the next installment)
Maxell wrote:Cranky Buzzard, thank you for sharing Your book for our people on the forum. We will try to translate it to Polish language and for sure will be very useful for Polish forum.
BBQ in Poland only develops and your help in this very book.
Once again thank you very much.
Maxell
Maxell,
Thanks for your confidence!
Let me know if you need to raw Word document to make the translation easier, or if I can answer any questions.
Charlie