Frequently Asked Questions

All You Want To Know About BBQ And The TOF Team

 
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Frequently Asked Questions

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  1. This BBQ is pink - is it still raw???
  2. Can I use my gas grill as a smoker?
  3. Do you have any tips for first time smokers?
  4. Are briquettes or wood charcoal best for smoking?
  5. What is the best kind of wood to use?
  6. "Is there any "SCIENCE" to smoked meats?

The Smoke Ring

The pink 'ring' you see on the edges of smoked meats is not only normal it is a thing of beauty.  These rings are produced by a chemical reaction between the meat and the penetration of the smoke.  The rings have a pink color that extends from the outside surface into the meat.  It's thickness is dependent on several factors, such as the type of smoke and the duration of smoking.

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Can I Use My Gas Grill As A Smoker?

Wood is what is used to generate the smoke.  That is the common denominator of all barbecues.  Some folks use charcoal, wood, gas, wood pellets, and even electricity.  Traditionalists use wood as a fuel, but many of the newer units work well with charcoal.  A gas or electric smoker with wood chips for the smoke can do a pretty decent job of making barbecue and be much less labor intensive in keeping the fire at a steady temperature.   Your common backyard gas grills are not usually air tight enough to do proper smoking, but you can still get some flavor by using the wood chips in a pan over the heat source.  Use one burner and keep it as low as possible and put the meat on the other side of the grill, elevated if you have a top rack.  You can also build your own 'ceramic' smoker as seen on some popular Food television shows for very little money.  Search the internet for "build your own terra cotta smoker".

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Do You Have Any Tips For First Time Smokers?

The internet is an amazing research tool today – with the advent of great search engines and video websites you can find instructional video and input from hundreds of people’s experiences on virtually any topic.  Use it to research the purchase of your smoker as well as how to use it.  Meanwhile here’s our 2 cents on this:  start the coals with a chimney starter and let them burn until a white ash covers the coals.  Put the water pan in place.  To make clean-up easier, spray it with a non-stick cooking spray (not WD40!) first and put in a foil liner.  Pour in some hot water.  I suggest hot (almost boiling) because it will get the food cooking faster instead of wasting the heat output to bring the water up to temperature.  To add water during the cooking session, use a long-nose water can or similar item. Open the door, not the lid, and pour. If you are using an electric or gas-fired water smoker, lift the dome lid and pour the water past the meat into the lower water pan.  MAKE SURE YOU READ AND FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER'S SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR YOUR SMOKER!!!   It is best to pre-start coals if you must add more than a few.  This can be done in a bucket or other pan.  Use tongs to transfer the coals to the smoker.  If the temperature drops, give the coals a stir with a metal rod or fireplace poker.   After you use the smoker a few times, you can experiment.  Instead of water, leave the pan empty, but cover it with foil, much as if you were making it into a drum.  You will still have the buffer, but the smoker will now operate at a higher temperature.  If you have a hole in the center, or place an aluminum pan on the top, it will still catch the drippings from the meat.  You may want to add a more accurate thermometer to your smoker to supplement or replace the simple thermometer that came installed in the dome of your smoker.  The most important thing is being familiar with your smoker.  Note the needle position of the factory gauge and the actual number will not matter; after a few tries, you will know if the temperature is running too hot or too cold.  The end result is what counts.  Resist the temptation to peek.  You release a lot of heat and smoke every time you lift the lid.  You can use wood chips, pellets, or chunks to get the smoke you want.  Just put them on top of the burning coals, the gas plate or on/near the electric element.  Chunks can be soaked in water for an hour or two before hand (there are lots of opinions on this) so they do not burn up too fast. It only takes a few chunks to turn out good smoked food.

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Are Briquettes or Wood Charcoal Best for Smoking?

Charcoal is made by burning wood at very low oxygen levels.  This leaves mostly carbon.  In this form, it is known as natural or lump charcoal.  It will be of irregularly-shaped pieces of broken-up wood.  If you shake the bag, it sounds like the tinkle of broken glass.  Most briquettes are very different.  The charcoal is ground into a powder and then additives are introduced.  The additives can include starches, coal dust, oil products and other binders.  Under high pressure, the ground charcoal and additives are formed to the regular shapes that are familiar to us.  The advantage touted by the manufacturers of briquettes is the consistency of the product in heat output and burn rates.  Lump charcoal has a higher BTU rating per pound and is preferred by many experienced ‘cuers’.  Never use the quick-light type charcoals for slow cooking.  They have additives that must be burned off at high heat and if used in a smoker will give your barbecued meat nasty flavors.  Same goes with charcoal lighter fluid – YUK – use a chimney starter every time!

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What Is The Best Kind of Wood to Use?

 They use a lot of mesquite in the SouthWest.  The South uses mostly hickory.  The NorthEast has maple.  The main reason is because these woods are plentiful in those areas.  Any wood from a nut or fruit bearing tree can be used.  Do NOT use any softwood.  The resin in conifer wood (pine, fir, spruce, etc.) will ruin the meat.  Here are some common woods and few notes about the use of each of them:

ALDER - Very delicate with a hint of sweetness. Good with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds. ALMOND - A nutty and sweet smoke flavor, light ash, very much like pecan. Good with all meats. APPLE - Very mild with a subtle fruity flavor, slightly sweet. Good with poultry (turns skin dark brown) and pork. ASH - Fast burner, light but distinctive flavor. Good with fish and red meats. BLACK WALNUT - Very heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter wood like hickory or mesquite. Can be bitter if used alone. Good with red meats and game. CHERRY - Mild, fruity, but slightly bitter if it comes from chokecherry trees. Good with poultry, pork and beef (turns skin brown). GRAPEVINES - Tart. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity. Good with poultry, red meats, game and lamb. HICKORY - Most commonly used wood for smoking. Sweet to strong, heavy bacon flavor. Good with pork, ham and beef. LILAC - Very light, subtle with a hint of floral. Good with seafood and lamb. MAPLE - Smoky, mellow and slightly sweet. Good with pork, poultry, cheese, and small game birds. MESQUITE - Strong earthy flavor. Good with beef, fish, chicken, and game. One of the hottest burning. OAK - Heavy smoke flavor. Red oak is good on ribs, white oak makes the best coals for longer burning. Good with red meat, fish and heavy game. ORANGE and LEMON - Light and citrusy. Good with pork and game birds. PEAR - A nice subtle flavor. Much like apple. Excellent with chicken and pork. PECAN - A cool burner. Nutty and sweet. Tasty with a subtle character. Good with steaks, ribs, and cheese. SWEET FRUIT WOODS - Apricot, Plum, Peach. Great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork, fish. The flavor is milder and sweeter than hickory.

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"Is There Any "Science" To Smoked Meats?

Why YES there is and we’re glad you asked!  Meats are made of muscle, connective tissue, fat and bone.  Muscle contains proteins and glycogen. As the temperature of the meat increases, glycogen, a long chain sugar, is reduced to simple sugars. This caramelizes and is responsible for one of the flavor components.   Proteins (flavorless) are denatured to amino acids, which not only have flavors themselves, but also undergo browning reactions, which adds another flavor component.   While bone adds no flavor itself, the marrow is rich in methyglobulin and other proteins. This reacts with smoke nitrites to give us the smoke ring. You may have heard that "the sweetest meat is next to the bone". The proteins are reduced to amino acids. Fat is a very simple molecule that fills the fat cells in muscle tissue.  Fat breaks down to sugars, fatty acids, and triglycerides at low temperatures.   Collagen is proteins that have lots of side chain bonds. This makes them elastic. It takes more energy to denature them than the simpler proteins of muscle tissue. Energy in the form of heat will denature these proteins into the flavorful amino acids.   If the temperature is too high, the water in the muscle cells and the fat is rendered out before the collagen melts. This results in dry, tough meat. Too low and you risk bacterial activity. Tough cuts of meat like brisket and ‘Boston’ pork butts benefit from low temperature cooking as the collagen adds flavor to the meat. Less tough, more expensive cuts do not need this phase and can be cooked at high temperatures for shorter periods. That is why ribs take only a few hours and pork butts take 20.

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