Tips For Buying a Charcoal Smoker
There are 2 common varieties of charcoal smokers for home use readily available on the market:
# Vertical smoker: A vertical smoker, also known as a bullet smoker due to its shape, is among the most popular cigarette smokers, which is not too bulky nor too expensive. It utilizes a water pan in between the heat source and cooking grate, keeping the meat moist. The meat is prepared at a distance above the heat source.
# Balanced out horizontal smoker: With this kind of smoker, the fire in the compartment and the meat are kept separate. There is a big cooking surface area along with vents, which allow you to control the heat and keep it moving in the cooking chamber.
Constructing a Barrel Smoker
If you're feeling adventurous, have a long time on your hands and want that cowboy feeling, this could be a Do It Yourself project for you. A barrel smoker uses a drum, switched on its side and split down the middle. This is extremely inexpensive to make but on the drawback, it's not really consistent and shouldn't be anticipated to last long. You can find out how to turn a barrel into a smoker from many offered resources on the internet.
Using an Electric or Gas Smoker
By eliminating charcoal from the process, you miss out on much of the smoke flavor that makes barbecue intriguing for eaters and cooks alike. While you can use wood with an electrical or gas smoker, you simply won't get the same effect. Some barbecue cooks might argue this point, but the majority of would choose to cook with charcoal to boost the flavour.
Electrical and gas cigarette smokers however, permit much easier control of the heat. Instead of charcoal, just experiment with the dial and voila!
Handling Heat
Charcoal is used as the heat source in the Hakka 14-Inch Multi-Function Barbecue and Charcoal Smoker Grill majority of cases, while the wood is used to add smoke and flavour. You might wonder why not use the wood for both heat and smoke. When you try to eliminate both birds with the exact same stone, or wood in this case, it typically results in over smoking. It is much easier to smoke and to control heat using charcoal. Excessive cigarette smoking of the meat will likely result in the meat becoming too bitter, therefore ruining your culinary masterpiece.
Eyeing charcoal types
Charcoal is offered in two ranges, each having their own fans:
# Charcoal briquettes: This is the most commonly used kind of charcoal for barbecuing at home. It is made from charred wood and coal. However, this type is shunned by hardcore barbecue cooks in a lot of cases, due to the additives used in them to keep them burning and holding them together longer.
# Lump charcoal: This is just made from charred hardwood, without any of the ingredients found in the charcoal briquettes (and also does not have the smooth shape thereof). This charcoal burns quicker and hotter than the briquettes. They also cost more, and depending on the sensitivity of the meat being cooked, the extra cost may be worth it as it also prevents unwanted flavor from being added due to the chemicals found in the briquettes.
If you still decide to use charcoal briquettes, as many great barbecue do, make sure to avoid the ones with the lighter fluid in them. The chemicals used to light the charcoal can burn off the charcoal and get into your food. This will give it an unpleasant, acidic taste. Using lighter fluid directly from the capture bottle is a similarly bad idea as it will have the exact same impact.
Using a chimney starter
Instead of using the unpleasant tasting chemicals found in lighter fluid, you can rapidly and easily light your charcoal with a chimney starter. They can be found easily in home-supply or hardware shops.
To use it, things newspaper into the bottom area and fill the leading section with charcoal. In a safe place, light the paper. You coals need to be ready in 15 to 20 minutes. Then dispose them in the smoker.