Paul Rodgers - Gas Smoker Cookbook: Ultimate Cookbook for Making Great Barbecue, Complete Guide for Smoking Meat, Fish, Game and Vegetables

Mastering the art of smoking foods makes the objective of every cook around the world. And in order to be able to perfect the smoking foods; there are some basics and instructions each of us needs to follow in order to achieve it.

So now that you are ready to begin, start by lighting your smoker and get started, here are some tips that can help you enjoy the taste you are seeking:

1. Smoking food needs a low heat and keep it low for a few hours allowing the smoke to penetrate through the meats. Maintaining a consistent heat makes a key factor that can positively affect your smoking process and this process can be quite simple. You can use a chimney starter to get your coals to a temperature of about 250 F. And if you dont have a thermometer, the best way to determine the right temperature is to hold your hand on top of the coals.

It is very simple; all you have to do is to pile the coals over the bottom; then add the smoking wood and put the meat onto the grill right into the opposite side of the coals you use. You can always add coals from time to time to maintain the same temperature.

1. Smoking meat needs patience

Smoking meat is a long process that needs a few hours. For instance, slow cooking meat through smoking it breaks down the meat into tender pieces and keeps its flavours and juiciness.

There are different types of meat, each type takes between about 5 to 7 hours to be perfectly smoked. Make sure not to peek at your ingredients while it is smoking, except for adding more coals to maintain a balanced temperature or to refill the water pan.

1. Decide whether you want the smoking process to be dry or wet:

The wet smoking process includes a pan filled with water and coals that can create a smoky atmosphere that will help moisturize the meat. You can also use a fruit juice or any other types of equipments to add extra favours. Wet smoking results in a flavourful bark that people will love.

1. Make sure to choose the right meat for you

Not all types of meat are suitable for smoking meat; turkey and chicken make a good meat choice; but since the smoking process takes a long time, the skin wont stand up. Besides, brining will help you through the process of smoking.

1. Using a rub is substantial in any smoking process

Making the rub is very important before smoking food and for a perfect rub you can combine about cup of kosher salt with 1 tablespoon of lemon pepper, cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of black pepper, and about 2 teaspoons of chilli flakes; then Rub this mixture over the meat right before you start smoking.

1. Choose the right wood

In order to smoke meat properly you should carefully choose the wood you are going to use. For instance, apple wood will offer you a sweet and fruity smoke that goes very well with pork while using Hickory wood makes a perfect choice that you can use with red meat like ribs. You can use alder meat with poultry, fish and any type of white meat.

Pecan wood burns in a cooler way in comparison to other woods and makes a perfect choice to cook pork and brisket roasts. You can also use oak wood, cherry wood and other types of food according to the type of meat and the type of flavour you want to use.

1. The importance of brining in the process of smoking:

Brining any type of meat can keep it meat keeps it from drying out during the process of smoking food. The salt within the brine can make the used proteins more water absorbent. Indeed, when the sodium and the chloride ions get into the proteins tissue so that they can hold onto the moisture. It is recommended to soak the meat in the brine for about 10 to 12 hours right before smoking it.