Smoking Meat (8 page)

I must admit that I don’t employ the use of foil very often. Call me lazy, or just set in my ways, but I’ve found I like to leave most things completely exposed on the grate for the entire cooking time.

That said, foil can be a helpful tool when used properly. In my recipe for
3-2-1 Ribs
, where the ribs are placed on the smoker grate for three hours, then wrapped in foil for two hours, then unwrapped and placed back on the grate for a final hour, the ribs are effectively steamed in the foil, which super-tenderizes the meat. These ribs are so fall-off-the-bone tender that a good number of people have become converts to this method.

Since smoke permeates meat more easily when it is uncooked and the pores are open, the smoking process should occur in the first stage of cooking, and the foiling or steaming process in the last stages. For the best results with foil, wrap the meat only after it has reached a fairly high internal temperature of around 165°
F
.

I must warn you that not all foil is created equal. I recommend purchasing high-quality heavy-duty foil for best results. I have been tempted into buying cheap generic brands of foil on several occasions, and almost without exception, I regretted my decision the first time I tried to cook with them. Generic brands just do not hold up as well as brand-name foils. The extra expense is well worth the lack of aggravation.

Chicken smoked in foil

Smoking meat in a pan

I sometimes smoke meat in a pan for a couple of reasons. First, it allows me to save the drippings from the meat so I can use it as
jus
. Second, the close proximity of the drippings to the meat seems to produce a juicier and more tender result.

The downside to this method is that while the surface of the meat will be soft and moist and tasty, it will not have that firm crust so many people enjoy. This bothered me at first, but after comparing the advantages and disadvantages of smoking meat on a grate versus in a pan, I’ve found I prefer the latter for larger cuts like Pork shoulder and brisket. Using the pan method for these meats produces a taste and tenderness that are unrivaled. I do recommend rotating the meat from top to bottom every two hours or so for the first half of the cooking session to ensure even smoke permeation.

Smoking Multiple Pieces of Meat

I always feel the need to fill my smoker with meat just so the heat, smoke, and time won’t be wasted. Maybe this is my frugal side coming out, or perhaps it’s just an excuse to make lots of succulent barbecue, but it just makes sense to me not to waste a grate when it could be the home for another rack of ribs or a nice plump Pork butt or brisket.

Multiple pieces of meat will cook in about the same amount of time as one piece. The smoker will take a bit more time to come up to temperature due to the extra cold mass from additional portions of meat, but this will not make much difference to the overall plan as long as you make sure there is ample space for air and smoke to get around the meat. The best thing you can do is to place as much meat as you like in the smoker making sure it is not overly crowded, then limit your lid removals to when they are absolutely necessary.

What about cooking different kinds and cuts of meat at the same time? Why sure! This just takes a little advance planning, because it’s all about timing. Start by determining how much time each individual piece will require. If dinnertime is at eight p.m., work backward to determine when each piece of meat will need to be added to the smoker so all pieces are done at the same time.

The table below shows a sample plan for serving a dinner of brisket, ribs, and chicken at eight p.m., assuming an average smoker temperature of 225°
F
to 240°
F
. My formula is Finish Time (T) – Required Time (R) = Start Time (S).

It’s not really as complicated as it sounds. In order to get all the meat done at the same time, you just have to be organized and look at it in a logical way. Once you do this a few times, you will likely be able to plan it out without even writing it down. Suddenly it will just start making a lot of sense.

FLAVORING MEAT

Using Rubs, Marinades, Mops, and Sauces

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted steak sauce on steak, lots of salt and ketchup on french fries, extra salad dressing on my salads . . . you get the idea. I love to add extra flavor to my foods, including when I’m smoking meat. While I want the natural flavor of the cut to come through, I also want a little something to enhance that flavor. This is where rubs, marinades, mops, and sauces come in. All add flavor to smoked meat, though they’re applied differently.

Rubs

A rub is a mixture of dried seasonings and spices that is sprinkled on or massaged into meat. A rub can be applied the night before or right before the meat is placed on the smoker. While some folks swear that putting a rub on for several hours prior to smoking is the best, I have not been able to detect a big difference in taste when I apply a rub several hours in advance versus right before the meat goes in the smoker. I prefer to do what’s convenient, so sometimes I rub the meat hours ahead of smoking, and other times I do it immediately before.

A rub can consist of any number of dry ingredients, but beware of rubs that have high salt content; they can cause the end product to be too salty and can even dry out the meat. Rubs can be applied directly to the surface of the meat or used together with a sticking agent, such as yellow mustard, which is put on the meat before the rub is layered on top. The mustard will lose its tangy flavor during the smoking process, but it creates a wonderful crust.

Marinades

A marinade is a liquid mixture of spices, oil, and usually some kind of vinegar, in which meat is soaked to flavor and tenderize it, usually for 12 to 24 hours prior to a smoking session. A marinade can be as quick and simple as a bottle of zesty Italian dressing, or it can be much more complex; some recipes for marinades are a laundry list of flavor-enhancing and meat-tenderizing ingredients. Marinades are also sometimes used to “mop” (see below) the meat while it cooks. This keeps the surface of the meat moist and adds extra flavor.

Mops

A mop is a liquid such as apple juice, apple cider, or even a marinade mixture, which is brushed or sprayed onto the meat while it cooks to keep the surface moist and perhaps to add another layer of flavor.

Some folks say you should not add any liquid to the surface of meat while it cooks. They claim it makes the outside of the meat too soft, does not actually add any flavor, and causes you to open the lid or door of your smoker way too often, thereby losing valuable heat and potentially increasing the cooking time.

I can say that I have tried it both ways—mopping versus just leaving the meat alone while it smokes—and there are times when mopping makes a difference and times when it does not. I don’t like it when the outside of chicken or ribs dries out while they cook, so I mop them at least a few times while they are smoking to keep the surface of the meat moist. For things like brisket and Pork shoulder, I usually don’t bother; the fat on the outside of the meat does the basting for me as it renders.

Sauces

Barbecue sauces vary widely depending on where you live. In the Midwest and farther south into some parts of Texas, barbecue sauce is ketchup-based and is usually both sweet and spicy. In South Carolina, barbecue sauce is mustard-based. Alabama has a mayonnaise-based white sauce that is out of this world. And then there’s the vinegar-based sauce you’ll find in North Carolina, which I grew up on. And that’s just the beginning of the wonderful but diverse world of barbecue sauces.

Barbecue sauce is usually applied at the end of the smoking process, about 30 minutes before the meat is done cooking or at the table. My favorite way to serve barbecue sauce is in individual condiment cups right at the table so my friends and family can help themselves if they like.

Injecting

Who would have thought that using a large injector to push marinades and other liquids into the center of meat would become a fad, but it seems that everyone is doing it these days. Many competitive smoking teams claim that their special marinade, injected into the meat, is the secret behind their winning streaks. I started experimenting with this only in the last few years, and while I don’t always inject my meat, I have become a huge proponent of this process. I think you will too if you take the time to try it.

But what kinds of meat can you inject? I love to inject butter and other seasonings into our Thanksgiving turkey before placing it on the smoker; the resulting flavor is nothing short of amazing. I make another tasty treat by combining equal parts of wing sauce and my favorite barbecue sauce and injecting the mix into chicken drumsticks for
monster wings
. You’ve never tasted anything so delicious—that’s a promise! I also inject white chocolate ganache into
chocolate cake
for that died-and-gone-to-heaven effect.

Almost anything can be injected into meat. I like to start with melted butter or olive oil and then I add ingredients depending on what type of meat and style of dish I am cooking. If you’re not the creative type, your local supermarket likely has a wonderful selection of injectable marinades (like the ones made by Cajun Injector) that will add some excellent flavor. You can also use most meat marinades as injections. Another fine example of an injection is my
mop water
, which is basically melted butter, water, and Cajun seasoning; this works as well on the inside as it does on the outside.

Some of you may be saying, “This sounds like something I’d like to try, but where do I get one of these injectors?” Many of the injectable marinades sold in supermarkets come packaged with an injector. You can also find several different types of injectors in the cooking utensil aisle of department stores, or online at Amazon.com. Most are similar in size and in the way they work, and in many cases the needles are interchangeable.