A charcoal smokehouse is the perfect tool for cooking tender and delicious meat while enhancing all its flavor. Smoking is a different technique than barbecue cooking, since its goal is to cook meat with indirect heat; the arrangement of the embers plays a crucial role, as does the addition of water to keep the meat moist. By making the necessary changes during the process, you ensure that the internal temperature remains constant and at the right level, at 105 ° C, but not higher than 120 ° C.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Creating the Smoking Environment
Step 1. First heat the charcoal in an ignition chimney
It is a cylindrical device that is used to obtain the embers before adding them to the barbecue or smokehouse; go to the hardware store or search for such a tool online. Put the charcoal in it, set it on fire and let it burn for about 15 minutes.
- The chimney should come with instructions for use which you must follow to make sure the charcoal burns properly.
- If you don't want to spend money on this tool, it is still essential to form embers in the smokehouse before adding the meat.
Step 2. Transfer the glowing charcoal to the smokehouse
Create a pile of dead charcoal in one side of the device and slowly pour the embers over it; it is imperative that they are only on one side, as you will put the meat on the other.
- By placing the charcoal and the meat in different areas, you allow the meat to cook with indirect heat and smoke instead of direct heat.
- Alternatively, you can prepare piles of embers on the sides of the smokehouse and arrange the meat between them or create a ring of charcoal in the center of which to place the food.
Step 3. Improve the smoke quality with wood logs
Wood chips and pieces of wood are used to flavor meat, but logs are better suited because they smolder longer. Generally, oak, apple, cherry and American walnut are used; put them in the chimney together with the charcoal, but arrange them on the opposite side when you transfer them to the smokehouse.
There are other types of lumber you can use, but limit yourself to hard ones; the soft wood generates a soot-laden smoke that spoils the flavor of the meat
Step 4. Fill the water tray to 3/4 of its capacity
The smokehouses are equipped with this compartment which is generally not present in barbecues; if it is absent, you can replace it with a disposable aluminum pan. The tray is located in the center section or, in the case of the barbecue, place the pan on the opposite side of the grill from the meat.
- If you do not add water, not enough steam is generated which allows food to cook evenly.
- Cold water helps to temper the high initial temperature that develops inside the smokehouse; moreover, it allows you to adjust the heat level in a localized way to obtain the best results.
Step 5. Put the food on the grill
If the tool has more than one shelf, place the small cuts and vegetables in the upper portions. This area is reached by a less intense heat than the lower one; for this reason, distribute the large cuts of meat on the low shelves or on the bottom.
Step 6. Close the lid so that the vents are above the meat
You need to ensure that there is a flow of air inside the smokehouse, so check that the vents are positioned correctly. This arrangement ensures that the smoke passes through the entire cooking chamber and is carried right over the meat before exiting.
Part 2 of 3: Maintain Smoking Quality
Step 1. Open the top and bottom vents
The smokehouse should have a socket at the base, which allows air to enter the cooking chamber, and one on the lid, which allows the smoke to escape. Adjust the internal temperature by adjusting the lower one as needed. If the fire is dying, open the vent at the base more; if the temperature is rising excessively, close it a little.
Generally, the top one (the drain) should be left open all the time; close it only if you cannot change the temperature as you wish by acting on the lower one
Step 2. Maintain a constant level of heat
The ideal smoking temperature is 105 ° C, but make sure it doesn't exceed 120 ° C. You can increase it by adding new embers and reduce it by slightly closing the base air intake (if necessary), which lowers the amount of oxygen entering the cooking chamber.
If your device does not have a thermometer, insert the probe of an oven thermometer into the hole of an air vent
Step 3. Keep the lid closed
Each time you lift it, you let out both the heat and the smoke. The best smoked meats are those that are cooked at a constant and uniform temperature; remove the lid only when you need to add charcoal or water to the tray.
- You can control the meat during the process, but make sure there are enough embers to keep the heat constant; however, do not do this more than once every hour or so. Smoking is a slow and constant technique.
- This cooking method requires little or no intervention, so rest in the certainty that everything is going well without having to constantly check the meat.
Step 4. Have a second batch of embers on hand to add if needed
If the temperature inside the cooking chamber starts to drop and the opening of the lower air intake does not help, add more charcoal; it is worth keeping them always ready in the ignition chimney just in case.
- This method is more effective than adding the extinguished charcoal over the nearly spent embers.
- If you don't have an ignition chimney, use a disposable aluminum pan to keep the embers hot.
Part 3 of 3: Experimenting
Step 1. Cook most of the meats for 4 hours at 105 ° C
Smoking is not an exact science; the quantity and type of meat you are preparing, along with many other factors, determine the time required to obtain a perfect dish. Prolonged times at low temperatures generally guarantee more tender meat.
However, there is a limit beyond which it can be said that the meat has been smoked for too long; if it gets completely hard all the way to the center, you've waited too long
Step 2. Smoke some flavored pork cutlets
Rub them with salt, pepper, brown sugar, thyme, onion powder, and cayenne pepper; let them soak in the aromas of the spices for a few hours. Preheat the smokehouse to 135 ° C and cook the cutlets for 70 minutes.
- Enhance the flavor by adding apple shavings to the coals as you cook the meat.
- Coat the cutlets with barbecue sauce before serving.
Step 3. Make beer chicken
Take a whole chicken and smoke it along with an open can of beer or soft drink inserted into its body; make sure that the chicken remains upright so that the liquid softens it without overflowing. Cook for 90-180 minutes, depending on the time you have available.
- Add other flavorings such as garlic, peppercorns, and lime juice.
- Remember to place the meat on the opposite side of the embers and not directly on top of them.
Step 4. Smoke some simple spare ribs in barbecue sauce
Choose the St. Louis cut, marinate the ribs in your favorite barbecue sauce and smoke them for 3 hours at 110 ° C. Then wrap them in aluminum foil and continue cooking for another two hours. After this time, open the foil and cook the meat for another hour, thus obtaining ribs so tender that they detach perfectly from the bones.
