subject: The More You Barbeque, The Better You Smoke! [print this page] The method of smoking foods is not a very modern one. It is an old age process of preserving and extending the shelf life of food items, especially the meat. But today smoking has acquired a broader meaning. It tenderizes the meat, adds flavor, and turns out some of the most wonderful meals.
In a traditional barbecue, smoking might take a couple of hours to over 20 hours at a stretch. For the long smoking process, one must have the right equipment. Basically there are three things one requires for smoking. The first is a container to hold in the smoke i.e. a smoker, and then next is the source of that smoke and last but not the least, definitely some food to smoke.
A smoker could be a natural hole in the ground or a smoker bought from the market, lots of them are available in the market. For the source, the best thing would be hickory, oak or just about any hardwood.
For the third thing, what matters is your taste and mood. One can smoke meat, fish, cheese or steaks whatever they want to try. What really matters regarding smoking meat are the cuts. There are certain tough cuts of meat like brisket, which requires to be cooked slowly at a temperature that is kept low.
Rest of the smoking is bit science, but most part it is an art and therefore comes with practice. One needs to learn the basics of temperature control. The best range to smoke meat is around 220 F. For achieving better results, 145 degrees F of internal temperature for most meats is just fine and 165 degrees F is the requirement for poultry. However, for tenderizing it further, raise the temperature to a final limit of 80 degrees F. To put it simply, smoking is a lengthy process of cooking meat for a long time to enjoy soft texture and delicious flavor. Two thermometers, one to be kept in the smoker itself with the meat to gauge its temperature and one thermometer with the meat to measure the internal temperature of the item being smoked, are recommended.
Temperatures are kept low for two reasons. First to give the smoke sufficient time to rise and float around the meat and the other is to let the meat tenderize by itself. The slow fire breaks the connective fibers of the meat, gradually resulting in tender meat and finally converts to sugars. This final process is a distinct process of barbecue. The connective tissues of meat, Collagen are tough, while getting cooked over the slow fire breakdowns and change into different composition of basic sugar rendering a sweet flavour to the meat.
Another rule for enhancing the flavor of the meat is to let thick flow of smoke envelope the meat completely while in the smoker. The smoke must move around the meat so as to be in contact with each other while not leading to add any bitterness to the meat.
In the end what makes it more special is the feeling of doing it on your own for your own special people.
