Barbecue Smokers Take Your Barbecue Cooking To A Higher Level.

If you’re a barbecue lover then you owe it to yourself to take a look at barbecue smokers. There’s not a lot that can beat food that’s been grilled on a barbecue but if you’re looking to add another dimension to your barbecue cooking then you have to consider smoking your own food. If you’ve ever been to a restaurant, particularly the pit barbecue type, and eaten smoked ribs or pulled pork you’ll have noticed that the meat just fell apart. The good news is that it’s easy to smoke your own food at home and achieve the same, if not better than, restaurant results. You can use your usual barbecue grill to smoke food, or even some old pans or a wok. But special barbecue smokers are really the only option if you want meat that falls apart, has a real smoky flavour and is really succulent. The great thing with barbecue smokers is that they are not just meat smokers, they’re food smokers and can be used for lots of different types of food.

How Do Barbecue Smokers Work

The general theory behind food smokers is low heat and slow cooking. Leaving lots of time to mellow out with a long cool drink! This low, slow method of cooking means that the smoked meat, or smoked fish, or any food that you’re cooking is never going to overcook or dry out. So how long does it take to smoke food? Well, pork ribs can be cooked within 2 hours, but for meat that falls apart, it can take up to 24 hours! If using charcoal in the barbecue smoker, it is lit and is left until there is a grey ash covering it, just as in grilling on a barbecue. The wood that provides the smoke is dampened and then placed on the charcoal. The food is placed on the racks and when the smoke begins to form, the smoker is closed and the food is left to cook. Easy as that, time for a cold drink! Every couple of hours a little extra fuel is placed in the smoker.

Barbecue Smokers And Which To Buy

Charcoal and wood barbecue smokers are basically a cylindrical chamber that comprises of a firebox and a cooking chamber. The firebox is where the fuel is burned as well as the wood that creates the smoke. There are also one or two cooking racks, ventilation vents and a thermometer. It is possible to buy a smoker barbecue grill, sometimes called chargrill smokers, which can be used as both a conventional barbecue grill and also as a barbecue smoker. Barbecue pit smokers are also available, or you could buy either a gas smoker or electric smoker. So which is best? All good quality barbecue smokers, if used in accordance with the manufacturers instructions will provide excellent results. Notice I said “good quality”. Go for a smoker that has working vents as these allow you to regulate the airflow and hence the temperature. A really good quality smoker has vents at both the top and the bottom. If it’s within your budget, get a smoker with a good quality thermometer. If it only has a crude thermometer that shows low, medium and high, then you’re better off without and it, use a normal meat thermometer. Two good quality barbecue smoker manufacturers are Weber and Brinkman. You’re typical barbecue smoker is going to be in the region of 20 inches (500mm) in diameter and 3 feet (900mm) tall. If you’re interested in barbecue pit smokers or a barbecue smoker trailer, then the dimensions can be significantly different. It’s very likely to have two cooking racks for your food and a place for a water pan above the heat. The water turns to steam whilst the smoker is in operation, keeping the food moist and also helping to flavour the food. There’s usually a side door that allows you to add more fuel or water, and a removable lid. Some smokers however don’t have a water pan and work in a slightly different way.

So which heat source should you go for? It doesn’t really matter if you use charcoal, gas, wood or electric. The smoky flavour comes from the wood chips that are placed on the heat source. Most enthusiasts say that charcoal barbecue smokers are the best for smoked meat or smoked fish. But go for the fuel that you prefer. Charcoal smokers need more cleaning than electric smokers or gas smokers. If ease of use is preferable, then go for one of these. It’s better to buy something that you’re going to enjoy using.

Wood Chips For That Smoky Flavour

You can use wood as fuel and to create the smoky flavour if you’d like but you need to be very careful which type of wood you use. It’s recommended that you buy the wood from a specialist supplier. Most people use wood chips or chunks and there’s a good selection, each type providing a subtly different smoky flavour. Once again though it’s a good idea to purchase your wood chips through a specialist supplier as unsuitable chips can totally spoil the food. Prior to putting the wood chips or chunks into the smoker you’ll need to soak them for at least 30 minutes. This prevents them from bursting into flames before they can smoke the food. You can use other liquids in place of water, such as beer, fruit juice or wine, and these will add to the smoky aroma and flavour of the food. Some of the types of wood chips available for using in a barbecue smoker are: mesquite, hickory, pecan, maple, alder and apple.

Brines And Rubs

To brine or not to brine? It’s a matter of personal preference. If you brine you meat before you smoke it you’ll add flavour from the brine and keep the smoked meat moist during the smoking process. Brine is usually a strong saltwater solution, but it can include other ingredients such as wine, herbs, spices, sugars or honey. You make up your brine solution and soak the meat or fish in it overnight in a refrigerator. Just before you’re ready to smoke your food, remove it from the brine, rinse it thoroughly in cold water, and pat it dry.

Something else down to personal preference is a barbecue rub. Before you put the meat in your barbecue smoker, you can flavour it with a rub. A barbecue rub is just a mix of herbs and spices that are rubbed liberally into the meat. Because the smoking procedure significantly lessons the strength of the flavour of the rub you do need to use it liberally!

Smoking!

There you have it then, buy your barbecue smoker, purchase the wood chips that’ll give the flavour that you’d most like, brine your meat or fish, apply your barbecue rub and get smoking!! It really is as easy as it sounds and you’ll not be able to keep your neighbours away once you start smoking. The aroma will bring ‘em from miles around. Just do it!!

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Barbecue Smokers Recommended By The Barbecue Hut

The Weber 2820 Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker

The Weber 2820 Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker has a review rating of 5 stars on Amazon by everyone who’s left a review. There seems to be nothing that can challenge this product. If your looking for a top class smoker, I recommend that you read the reviews on Amazon before you consider any other smoker.

Brinkmann 810-5000-0 All-in-One Cooker

The Brinkmann 810-5000-0 All-in-One Cooker does not have a review rating quite so high as the Weber, but with an average rating of 4.5 stars it’s still a highly rated smoker, and it’s nearly half the price of the Weber. Take a look at the reviews for this product at Amazon.

The Char-Broil 4754512 Electric Water Smoker

The Char-Broil 4754512 Electric Water Smoker is nearly one third of the price of the Weber and has a review rating of 3 stars. It’s still a decent smoker though and is made by a reputable company. If your budget doesn’t stretch to the Brinkman or the Weber it’s well worth considering. Review this and the other smokers at Amazon