Getting started with smoking meat

Introduction

Smoking is the process of adding flavour to meat by burning various different types of wood. Its an ancient technique and one that is growing in popularity at the moment.

Now i had only really cooked with a gas BBQ, i had used charcoal BBQs when i was young, but those times would usually be squirting a load of lighter fluid onto it and creating a huge mess. Being older and wiser i realize the errors of my ways, and thinking back on those tainted burgers i must have cooked make me feel very uneasy.

Now if you’re like me, who wants to get into smoking however you don’t want to shed out a load of money before you’ve really learnt enough to warrant that investment, you may think what can i do? You can actually very easily get started with smoking by using a normal charcoal barrel BBQ. The main point of smoking is to cook your food low and slow to really take on that flavour, so all you need to do is ensure you’re barrel bbq can be kept at a low temperature for a long enough time. In comes Direct vs Indirect Heat.

Direct Vs Indirect Heat

Direct heat is when the heat source is directly under the food. This will give food a char and will cook fast and hot as it is really close to the coals

Indirect heat is when the heat source is totally away from your food. Take a barrel bbq. All your coals are on the left and your food is on the right.

By using Indirect heat in your BBQ you create a low temperature in your bbq similar to an oven without having the food really close to the heat. This allows you to cook low and slow, and as such will allow you to add wood to your fire to smoke and ensure that smoke is circulating around the bbq.

Smoking with a Barrel BBQ

A Barrel BBQ is a great inexpensive way to get into smoking, especially if you already have one available! Using a Barrel BBQ is sometimes seems as creating a DIY smoker. As such it really gets you thinking and learning about the smoking process, and understanding this process more will allow you to take those skills onto the more expensive better known BBQs.

Tools Needed

• Barrel BBQ
• Coal Chimney
• Eco firelighters - To get your coal started.
• Cooking Blow Torch (A lighter will do but a blow torch is must easier)
• Coal - Any coal just make sure it has 0 chemical additives and is 100%. Many people will tell you lump wood is better than briquettes, but you have lots of time to join in on that conversation, at the moment just know Chemical additives wil change the flavour of your food so is bad.
• Instant Read Cooking thermometer - To test all areas of your meat
• Digital temperature probe with alarms - To give a constant output of your meat
• Oven thermometer - To check the air temperature in the BBQ

Smoking Process

Before you start grab a good handful of your choice of wood chips/chunks and soak them in wood for 30 minutes- 1 hour.

1. Fill your coal chimney with charcoal
2. Place an eco firelighter on one side of the grate in the bbq
3. Place your chimney starter on top

1. Usually it will be 15 minutes until the coals are read, but what you want is the top coals to be going grey, then its ready
2. Pour your coal onto one side of your BBQ
3. Place your oven thermometer on the grate and close the lid
4. Open all air vents so the coals will burn hot and get the BBQ up to temperature
5. Wait for your BBQ to be at the optimum temperature.
6. Open the lid and put your wood chips/chunks over the coal
7. Put a pan of water on grill on top of the coals
8. Close the lid and close the air vent on the side of your coals, keeping the one on your meat side open which will work as a smoke outlet and creates a convection within the BBQ to actually smoke your meat