Various Smoking Questions
Q: I have a grill with a side fire box (not an upright smoker which you seem to focus on) and 2nd, I like to use wood. I have a friend who is an arborist and I can almost always get apple wood, cherry, etc. Can you translate? Do you use all wood if you smoke with wood or do you use a mix? Do you use a water bowl with a side box? Those are the kind of things I'm not clear on. Another big thing is do you put the meat in right away or wait until you get the heat regulated? And how do you regulate it? With the vents? If you can help, I'd really appreciate it. I'm a pretty good cook and I've kind of taken on smoking as my next project.
A: An entire book could be written on the few simple questions that you have posed.. I will try to give you a few basic answers that should help and as you run into issues you can email me or for an even quicker response, post your question at www.smokingmeatforums.com and see what the folks come up with.
Sounds like you are very lucky to have such a friend.. most of us would be envious of you. Whether you use all wood or a mix is really up to you. The problem with using all wood is that it can overpower the meat unless your smoker is large enough to handle it. At any rate, make sure to allow plenty of airflow into the smoker and out of the smoker and build the fire small enough so that with the intake half open and the vents 3/4 or so open it will not get hotter than 225 degrees or whatever your target temperature is.
You can also mix your various types of woods together to create your own flavor combinations such as apple/cherry or peach/plum, etc.
I think you will find that you will get better results from using lump charcoal for heat and chunks or sticks of wood for the smoke. You can also burn your wood down in a separate container and transfer the coals to your firebox as needed to maintain 225 degrees.
Place your meat in the smoker when the target temperature is reached and you have adequate smoke being created.
The water pan is mainly a barrier to prevent the radiant heat from bruning the meat.. this is something that you will have to deal with most likely. Where the heat enters the smoke chamber it will be hotter than at the far end. Meat right next to that entrance will overcook while the meat at the far end may not even get done properly.
There are modifications you can do to make your horizontal smoker/grill heat more evenly and is basically a piece of metal called a baffle that is placed below the grate with small notches at the firebox end and larger notches as you get toward the opposite end. This allows more heat into the cooler area and less heat into the hotter area and thus evens the temperature and serves as a barrier from the radiant heat.
A water pan can also be placed in the area where the heat enters the smoke chamber to serve as a barrier for the radiant heat and this may be the best option until you can modify the smoker with the baffle I mentioned above.
It is best to build the right sized fire to begin with so that you can have plenty of airflow and still not be too hot. For minor adjustments to the fire use the vents on the firebox but make sure to not shut them all the way down or you will have an improper burn and begin to create some nasty creosote on your meat and in the smoker.
The ideal situation is for the air to enter the smoker and create a nice draft so that the smoke moves quickly over the meat and out of the smoker. This will create the best flavor and will keep you out of danger of creating creosote.
If you find that you need more smoke flavor you can close the vents just a little where the smoke exits the unit on the smoke chamber end to allow the smoke a little more time with the meat before it exits.
Visit Smoking-Meat.com and WYNTK.us for hundreds of great tutorials and guides on smoking meat.
The Technorati Tag for this post is Smoking Meat
Jeff's Naked Rib Rub and BBQ Sauce Recipes.. a religious experience! Make everyone think you're a pro (even if you're not!)
A: An entire book could be written on the few simple questions that you have posed.. I will try to give you a few basic answers that should help and as you run into issues you can email me or for an even quicker response, post your question at www.smokingmeatforums.com and see what the folks come up with.
Sounds like you are very lucky to have such a friend.. most of us would be envious of you. Whether you use all wood or a mix is really up to you. The problem with using all wood is that it can overpower the meat unless your smoker is large enough to handle it. At any rate, make sure to allow plenty of airflow into the smoker and out of the smoker and build the fire small enough so that with the intake half open and the vents 3/4 or so open it will not get hotter than 225 degrees or whatever your target temperature is.
You can also mix your various types of woods together to create your own flavor combinations such as apple/cherry or peach/plum, etc.
I think you will find that you will get better results from using lump charcoal for heat and chunks or sticks of wood for the smoke. You can also burn your wood down in a separate container and transfer the coals to your firebox as needed to maintain 225 degrees.
Place your meat in the smoker when the target temperature is reached and you have adequate smoke being created.
The water pan is mainly a barrier to prevent the radiant heat from bruning the meat.. this is something that you will have to deal with most likely. Where the heat enters the smoke chamber it will be hotter than at the far end. Meat right next to that entrance will overcook while the meat at the far end may not even get done properly.
There are modifications you can do to make your horizontal smoker/grill heat more evenly and is basically a piece of metal called a baffle that is placed below the grate with small notches at the firebox end and larger notches as you get toward the opposite end. This allows more heat into the cooler area and less heat into the hotter area and thus evens the temperature and serves as a barrier from the radiant heat.
A water pan can also be placed in the area where the heat enters the smoke chamber to serve as a barrier for the radiant heat and this may be the best option until you can modify the smoker with the baffle I mentioned above.
It is best to build the right sized fire to begin with so that you can have plenty of airflow and still not be too hot. For minor adjustments to the fire use the vents on the firebox but make sure to not shut them all the way down or you will have an improper burn and begin to create some nasty creosote on your meat and in the smoker.
The ideal situation is for the air to enter the smoker and create a nice draft so that the smoke moves quickly over the meat and out of the smoker. This will create the best flavor and will keep you out of danger of creating creosote.
If you find that you need more smoke flavor you can close the vents just a little where the smoke exits the unit on the smoke chamber end to allow the smoke a little more time with the meat before it exits.
Visit Smoking-Meat.com and WYNTK.us for hundreds of great tutorials and guides on smoking meat.
The Technorati Tag for this post is Smoking Meat
Jeff's Naked Rib Rub and BBQ Sauce Recipes.. a religious experience! Make everyone think you're a pro (even if you're not!)
posted by Jeff at 8:09 PM
1 Comments:
Jeff,
Do you usually remove the bark from the wood when you smoke it or do leave it on. Thanks man.
Mark Stone
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