Tips For Buying a Charcoal Smoker
There are 2 common varieties of charcoal cigarette 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 one of the most popular smokers, which is not too large nor too pricy. It uses 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.
# Offset horizontal smoker: With this kind of smoker, the fire in the compartment and the meat are kept separate. There is a large cooking surface area along with vents, which allow you to control the heat and keep it moving in the cooking chamber.
Building a Barrel Smoker
If you're feeling adventurous, have some time on your hands and want that cowboy feeling, this could be a DIY job for you. A barrel smoker uses a drum, turned on its side and split down the middle. This is very cheap to make but on the downside, it's not very stable and shouldn't be expected to last long. You can learn how to turn a barrel into a smoker from many readily available resources on the internet.
Using an Electric or Gas Smoker
By getting rid of charcoal from the procedure, you lose out on much of the smoke flavor that makes barbecue interesting for eaters and cooks alike. While you can use wood with an electrical or gas smoker, you just won't get the very same result. Some barbecue cooks may argue this point, but many would prefer to prepare with charcoal to improve the flavour.
Electrical and gas smokers nevertheless, enable easier control of the heat. Instead of charcoal, simply play around with the dial and voila!
Handling Heat
Charcoal is used as the heat source in the 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 read more using charcoal. Extreme cigarette smoking of the meat will likely lead to the meat ending up being too bitter, consequently destroying your culinary masterpiece.
Eyeing charcoal types
Charcoal is offered in 2 varieties, each having their own fans:
# Charcoal briquettes: This is the most typically used kind of charcoal for barbecuing at home. It is made of charred hardwood and coal. Nevertheless, this type is avoided by hardcore barbecue cooks oftentimes, due to the ingredients used in them to keep them burning and holding them together longer.
# Swelling charcoal: This is simply made from charred wood, with no 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 upon the level of sensitivity of the meat being prepared, the additional cost might 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, be sure to avoid the ones with the lighter fluid in them. The chemicals used to light the charcoal can burn the charcoal and enter your food. This will offer it an undesirable, acidic taste. Using lighter fluid straight from the squeeze bottle is a similarly bad concept 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 quickly and quickly light your charcoal with a chimney starter. They can be found quickly in home-supply or hardware stores.
To use it, things paper into the bottom section and fill the top area with charcoal. In a safe place, light the newspaper. You coals ought to be ready in 15 to 20 minutes. Then dump them in the smoker.