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Cooking with Smoke - Real Way to Barbecue

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Ranked #5,815 in Home & Garden, #72,034 overall

Smoking is a slow form of cooking that can pack in more flavour than probably any other form.

It involves soaking the ingredient, whether it be fish, meat or vegetables, in the smoke of an aromatic wood.

An optional method of smoking food is through the cooking of the food in a covered grill. In a sense, all grilled or barbequed food have some aspect of smoking involved, usually through drippings on hot fire causing smoke, or by the fire smoke itself.

Barbecue done the right way

This is absolutely the best barbecue book I have ever seen! Warning: This is NOT a cookbook. Of course it has recipes, lots of them. But more importantly to me, it explains *why* certain things are done the way they are, not just what to do. Any robot can add two tablespoons of brown sugar on command, I want to know why rubs do what they do, when to use a mop, how to modify a recipe for a water smoker vs. a log pit. This book does that and MORE. It's cliched to say if you only own one book, but it's true. This is the one.

Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue (Non)

by: Cheryl Alters Jamison, Bill Jamison

Amazon Price: $9.75 (as of 05/26/2012)

Pack in more flavour

Ingredients and Materials

Smoker or smoker grill
wood, charcoal or other fuel for fire
Smoking woods, leaves or herbs. Each has different attributes and favors. Some complement the meats more than others.

* Alder - light smoke, good with fish
* Bay leaves - spicy herbal smoke, good for meats, vegatables, and general purpose
* Apple - somewhat sweet. Good with ham, beef or poultry
* Cedar Plank - used with fish.
* Cherry - sweet smoke, good with poultry or fowl
* Grape - unique sweet smoke, good with poultry or fowl
* Hickory - traditional favorite. Sharper flavor
* Maple - Mild smoke, good with pork, bacon and ham
* Mesquite - southwest flavor, somewhat sweet. Burns hot and fast when moisture is depleted so replenish frequently.
* Oak - medium smoke, good with meats
* Peach - somewhat sweet, good with poultry or fowl
* Pecan - rich smoke, burns slowly
* Seaweed - Sharp unique flavor - unique flavor for seafood
* Wine barrel chips - combination of fruity wine and oak smokes, good with meats and poultry
* Herbal smoke - Bay leaves, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Peppermint, Rosemary, Tea
* Fruit smoke - Lemon Peel, Orange Peel

Great Smoker- even for Newbies!

Weber 721001 Smokey Mountain Cooker 18-1/2-Inch Smoker

Amazon Price: $294.99 (as of 05/26/2012)

Purchased this smoker to replace the previous Weber version (model 2820), which I enjoyed for several years. Used the new one on arrival to smoke the Christmas turkey, and it worked like a champion. Two major improvements I noticed were increased water pan capacity, and the new, larger door, which makes adding charcoal and water easier. I recommend this smoker.

Building a Smoker

Building a smoker is not a complicated process, but may take a bit of time and effort. An old style barbecue (the round ones you put coals in the bottom of) is easily modified into a "grade A" smoker. Just get the barbecue, find a thick piece of metal tubing (about 10-15 cm diameter) and cut a hole to fit it into the bottom of the barbecue. Another smaller metal drum is now needed; similar to an oil drum. Attach the other end of the pipe to the lid. The pipe needs to be long enough so that the meat doesn't actually cook while being smoked, just picks up flavour. Put a light bulb at the bottom.

A metal mesh goes above the globe and this is where you place your leaves, wood and/or wood chips.

Best Book on Smoking out there

While various recipes usually get the spotlight, it is the authors' opinion that the technical know-how behind preparing meats and sausages is far more important. There is a section with some basic recipes, but after reading the book one should be able to create his own recipes without much effort.

Meat Smoking and Smokehouse Design

by: Stanley Marianski, Adam Marianski, Robert Marianski

Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 05/26/2012)

Cooking by Smoking

To cook, just pick the leaves and wood chips from an aromatic tree (Bay leaves are good) and put it on the metal mesh. Put the meat in the smoker like you would if you were barbequing it. Turn on the light and wait 6 hours. After this you can refrigerate it and cook it on a grill later.

Smoking food is time-consuming, and can be expensive and a bit tricky, but the results can be superb.

Variation
In this method, the foods are cooked slowly with a smokey fire. This usually involves an indirect cooking method, where the food is covered with the smoke and heat, but not directly over hot coals. The smoke is provided through water soaked wood chips or aromatic leaves placed on the fire or coals. It is a slower cooking method taking an hour or longer, depending on the food being smoked.

References

Grill Smoking

Add Flavor

Alder and maple give a rich and distinct flavor commonly used with seafood hams and bacon

The stronger and very distinct flavors of mesquite and hickory are commonly used for smoking beef and pork products such as pork shoulders and beef brisket

Bradley Smoker 5 Flavor Variety Bisquettes 60 Pack

Amazon Price: $20.15 (as of 05/26/2012)

I love the flavor they impart into anything I've smoked in my new Bradley original Smoker

Warning

Warning: If you can't cure it, do not cold smoke it. While cold smoking food is quite a simple process, there are issues of safety. All smoked products must be cured. The reason for this is the threat of botulism. The bacterium responsible, Clostridium botulinum, is ubiquitous in the environment, grows in the anaerobic conditions created in the smoker, and thrives in the 40°F (4.4°C) to 140°F (60°C) temperature range. For this reason, anything you cold smoke Should be cured.

Wikibooks

The Barbecue! Bible

Get Smokin': 190 Award-Winning Smoker Oven Recipes [Paperback]

Get Smokin': 190 Award-Winning Smoker Oven Recipes

by: Editors at Cookshack

Amazon Price: $9.17 (as of 05/26/2012)

Cooking with Smoke - Real Way to Barbecue

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Barbecue done the right way

Ingredients and Materials

Great Smoker- even for Newbies!

Building a Smoker

Best Book on Smoking out there

Cooking by Smoking

Add Flavor

Warning

The Barbecue! Bible

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Bradley 4-Rack Propane Smoker

Build a Smokehouse: Storey Country Wisdom

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by jeffryv

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