Smoking Food Guide

[KingRadicalPhil]

The modern method of smoking foods has evolved from a process of preserving. Long before refrigerators and chemical preservatives, smoke was used to extend the shelf life of food, particularly meat. Now days smoking, as it relates to barbecue is so much more. Smoking adds flavor. It tenderizes. And it turns some of the worst cuts of meat into a wonderful meal.

Most people know about smoked ham, bacon or fish. In the world of traditional barbecue, whether it is Texas or North Carolina, smoking means something else. In barbecue, smoking takes anywhere from 1-2 hours up to 20 or even more. To do the really long smoke will require the right kind of equipment. To get a feel for the kinds of smokers on the market, check out my article on buying a Smoker.

To smoke something you need a container to hold in the smoke, a source of the smoke, and something to smoke. A smoker can be anything from a hole in the ground to a $2000 smoker. The source of the Smoke is typically hard wood. There have been people who assert that what you burn to make the smoke really doesn't matter. Long time ago there was a guy in Kansas City who claimed that he had fed people in his restaurant ribs smoked with Hickory and some smoked with corncobs. Supposedly no one could tell the difference. He passed on a while back and the restaurant that bares his name denies that it ever happened. Believe what you will. I myself stick with the traditionally hardwoods like Hickory, Oak and Apple.

What to smoke is purely a matter of taste. The most popular items smoked by enthusiasts are ribs, brisket and pork shoulder. But don't limit yourself to these. You can smoke just about anything, from nuts to cheese to steaks. However, the process of smoking has grown around cuts of meat that traditionally don't come out well in any other cooking method. A good example of this is brisket, which is very tough and not very easy to eat if you bake it in the oven.

The basics of smoke are as follows. You need to practice good temperature control. Meat smoking is best done in the range of 200-220 degrees. You need to bring the internal temperature of the meat to at least 165 degrees to be safe for consumption, but you don't want to go too far above this. I recommend two accurate thermometers for smoking. One inside the smoker in the area where the meat sits to tell you the smoker temperature and one meat thermometer in the meat to tell you the internal temperature of what you are smoking. Whatever it is, take it out when it hits a safe temperature.

There are two reasons to keep the temperature low. One is to give the smoke enough time to sink in and the other is to naturally tenderize the meat. Slow cooking gives the natural fibers in meat time to break down and become tender.

Another basic rule of smoking is to place the meat inside the smoker so that it is surrounded by smoke. You want a good thick stream of smoke around the meat at all times to give it the kind of exposure you need to enhance the flavor. The smoke needs to be moving, always moving to maximize exposure and prevent the smoke from making the meat bitter because of a build up of creosote.

The last thing to remember is that smoking is far more an art than it is a science. Practice and patience are the secret. For specifics on different types of meat to smoke you can read up on Brisket, Ribs and Pulled Pork.

Starter Recipe for Ribs

The biggest complaint most people have with ribs is that they turn out dry and tough. The 3-2-1 method of smoking ribs nearly guarantees you tender, fall off the bone ribs with out a lot of extra effort. All you need to use this method is to big sheet of aluminum foil. Everything else follows the normal process of smoking ribs.

3-2-1 Basics: If you know how to smoke pork ribs, then all you need to know about the 3-2-1 method is that you smoke as normal for 3 hours, followed by 2 hours cooking wrapped in foil, and finally 1 more hour unwrapped. This gives the meat time to soak in smoke during the first three hours, when most smoke is absorbed. During the wrapped period the ribs are steamed, making them tenderer and loosening the meat from the bone. During the last hour the ribs are exposed to the dry, smoky heat again to form a surface crust.

The Specific Steps:

1. Prep the ribs by removing the membranes and applying your rib rub
2. Place ribs, bone side down in smoker at 225 degrees F. (108 degrees C.) and cook for three hours
3. Wrap ribs tightly in aluminum foil to form an airtight seal, return to smoker bone side up and smoke for 2 hours
4. Unwrap ribs and return to smoker bone side down for 1 hour
5. Apply sauce to ribs (if you want) during the last 30 to 20 minutes of the cooking time

Variations: The 3-2-1 method is specifically designed for pork spareribs and the timing works best for that cut of rib. If you prefer back ribs then you should use a 2-2-1 method for the ribs or they will get overcooked and dry out. If long term smoking isn’t something you are up to you can place wrapped ribs in the oven and finish them off (at a low temperature) on a grill or in the oven. Since most of the smoke flavor is delivered in the first three hours this method won’t affect the overall outcome too much.

The Downside: The 3-2-1- method gives you tender, fall of the bone ribs. Most people think this is the pinnacle of smoked ribs. However it probably won’t win you any barbecue competitions. For many people a good rib as meat that holds the bone but doesn’t stick to it. In other words the meat should pull away cleanly from the bone when you bite, but certainly not fall off. The wrapped cooking causes steaming and the steaming loosens the meat from the bones. Of course, not wrapping your ribs means you run the risk of dry, tough ribs.