There are three types of meat smokers: wood-burning, gas, and water. Wood-burning smokers are favored for their taste and use charcoal, wood, or pellets. They are not portable and have a cooking chamber, hearth, and smoke stack. The hearth is on one side of the cooking chamber, and the smokestack is on the opposite side. The smokestack helps keep the fire burning and the smoke circulating.
There are three basic types of meat smokers: wood-burning ones, gas stoves, and the newer water smokers. Traditionalists still favor the technique and taste offered by wood-burning models. These use charcoal, wood or wood pellets to slowly cook a variety of meats. Typically, people who enjoy cooking with their wood-fired models prefer larger cuts of meat, such as slabs of ribs, shells, loin roasts, or butt and shoulders cuts. Both beef and pork are popular choices for cooking in such a smoker, as are whole chickens and turkeys.
Smokers are not the same as backyard grill or hibachi. Most of the wood-burning ones are not portable and many of them weigh up to 90 kg. They’re made of various metals – some are as simple as 50-gallon (190-liter) steel drums converted into smokers, while the high-end wood-burning smokers are high-tech marvels in burnished stainless steel. Whether home-made or top-of-the-line, they have three basic components: the cooking chamber, the hearth and the smoke stack.
The cooking chamber is the area where the meat is placed for cooking. Most BBQ cooks start the meats close to the heat source, called a firebox, and move the meats away from the heat source to finish them off. It is the circulation of heat and smoke within the cooking chamber that imparts the smoky flavors of the barbecue during the cooking process.
The hearth in wood-burning smokers is the heat source for cooking the meats. Because it’s on one side or the other of the cooking chamber and the fire doesn’t come into direct contact with the meat, this cooking method is called indirect cooking. When meats are grilled, they are placed directly over the flames, so it takes less time to cook. When meats are smoked in wood-fired appliances, they take longer to cook due to the indirect heat, but the result is more tender and flavorful meat.
The smokestack on wood-burning smokers is normally on the opposite side of the hearth. An efficient smoke stack is designed to retain the heat needed to keep the temperature constant; they also allow for free flow of air which helps keep the fire burning and the smoke circulating to impart the desired smoke aroma.
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