2 basic question on smoking

[Bobbert]

All, I have to thank everyone that has posted recipes, so far I have 2 Briskets and Pulled Pork (from Sauce Bauce, and was a huge hit!!  http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=178 )

But I have 2 somewhat simple questions:

1- when people talk about boating meat- does that mean to totally wrap the meat in foil and add liquid? or just put the meat in a pan or foil uncovered with liquid??

2- When you watch cooking shows about BBQ they talk about leaving the meat in the smoker with smoke for 12, 18, 24 hours, yet with my Bradley I only smoke for 4 hours and then cook low and slow for the remaining time.  Why with the Bradley do I only smoker for part of the time??

Thanks for everyones help!!!

[KyNola]

Hi Bobbert,
When I boat meat, I do enclose the meat entirely in foil or put in a roasting pan with the liquid and cover with foil.  As for why only 4 hours of smoke, it has to do with the fact that the smoke that the Bradley produces is a much "purer" smoke and as such is more intense.  The other smokers that burn sticks, chunks, chips, etc are also burning the impurities found in the wood thus making the smoke less intense.

Some of the other members will come along with a more complete and accurate answer I'm sure but that's the jest of it.

KyNola

[Caneyscud]

1- when people talk about boating meat- does that mean to totally wrap the meat in foil and add liquid? or just put the meat in a pan or foil uncovered with liquid??

Boating originally meant to put in a foil pan with a little liquid and cover with foil.  But wrapping in foil does essentially the same thing.  Boating without a foil cover on the pan is slightly different.  You do have a concentration of humidity, but any smoke you may have also comes into contact with at least part of the meat.

2- When you watch cooking shows about BBQ they talk about leaving the meat in the smoker with smoke for 12, 18, 24 hours, yet with my Bradley I only smoke for 4 hours and then cook low and slow for the remaining time.  Why with the Bradley do I only smoker for part of the time??

Good Question!  Some people like more smoke than others.  But the real difference is in the type of smoke, the size of the smoking chamber, and temps.  The Bradley puck mechanism is an efficient method of making very flavorful and true to flavor smoke.  Couple that with the relatively small (volume wise) cooking chamber and you have a high smoke to volume ratio and can deposit a lot of smoke flavor in the meat because most of the smoke is in contact with the meat.  The bigger smoker grills have a lot of volume ( because of the bigger grill surface) and you lose a lot of smoke that doesn't come in contact with the meat - it just goes out the smoke stack.  Additionally, when a big smoker is running correctly, the smoke coming out of the smokestack will be what's called "thin and blue".  That means you aren't having combustion, just the coals heating the air that eventually goes into the smoking chamber- theoritically.  If you have white fluffy smoke or black smoke, you have combustion (burning) or incomplete combustion (smoldering), both can bring on harsher, dirty, or even tarry/sooty tastes.  Meat protein starts to set or cook at 120 degrees F and is completely cooked at 140 degrees. Once the protein sets it can not and will not absorb any more smoke flavor. Especially the leaner meats. This is important to know and learn.  Smoke resins may deposit on the meat or bark, but the meat will not absorb any more smoke flavor.

So even in a Bradley, if you burn pucks the entire 12 hours of a smoke, that does not necessarily mean that you will have a smokier product.  Try it you will see what I mean.  You are just wasting pucks rather than doing something useful to the meat.  In a big smoker the wood/charcoal that generates the smoke also generates the cooking heat, so you can't just cut off the smoke.  So you tend the fire to produce "thin and blue".  If you have a sooty or dirty smoke, it will deposit soot, and smoke resins on the surface, but very little if any will be absorbed into the meat.  The way I like to do a big smoker is to start a fire, and get the smoker to temperature.  Put on the meat and some wood for smoke generating at the same time.  Knowing that cooked meat protein doesn't accept smoke I want to get my meat in the smoker as cool as possible - contrary to most recipes. The cooler the meat the better, but not frozen. The cooler the meat the larger the range of temperature you have to develop your smoke flavoring. Putting your meat in the smoker at 40 deg rather than 80 deg, gives you 40 more degrees for your meat to absorb more smoke.  After that initial smoke generation, ideally, the only thing to go into the smoker would be red-hot coals.  That means I will have to have a separate fire pit where I make red-hot coals from either lump charcoal or wood - then just shovel the coals in.  That way little if no combustion and you have the "thin blue smoke" that tastes sooooo gooooood!

[Bobbert]

KyNola and Caneyscud THANKS!!

I would have never expected to learn the science of smoking meats while drinking beer!!!

Next is Beef Ribs!!!!

Smokem if you gottem!!!