About right smoker for your food
There is large selection of smokers on the market and it may be confusing when it comes to selecting the best one for your needs. All of them are used for the same purpose… making smoke and exposing food to smoke environment in order to preserve the product and enhance its flavor.
But not all the smokers created the same… different smoking processes are served better by different smokers.
About Smoking Processes
Smoking, is the process of flavoring and preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Smoking also involves heat exposure which maybe from the same or additional source.
- Meats, fish and poultry destined for smoking, require initial preparation such as spicing, curing or drying which may take from few hours up to several days.
Processes used for meat smoking differ in duration, temperature, smoke exposure and smoke properties. Please note that the temperatures we are referring to, are applicable to the interior of the smoke chamber.
Smoke-Roasting (Smoking meats in Slow and Low process)
Just as stated above, the process require temperatures in the range of 107-125°C (225-257°F) and long up to 7-10 hours cooking time. These parameters will create desired bark on the meat and bring it to required tenderness. Active Smoke time is much shorter then cooking time and usually 2 hours of active smoke is enough to introduce smoky flavor. It is important that during cooking process the temperature is kept as steady as possible, never dropping below 100°C (212°F) or exceeding 130° (266°F). This process is used for fully cooking meats, intended for immediate consumption.
Hot Smoking
Hot smoking is done at 50 to 60°C (120-140°F) over shorter time, usually from 30 minutes to 2 hours, with smoke from medium to very dense and slow air movement. The products lose up to 20% of weight in the process. Hot Smoking is often followed by short (20 minutes), partial baking of the outer layers of the products. The baking temperatures are from 80-90°C (175-195°F), with fast air movement through the smoker. Hot smoking with surface baking is mostly used for sausages intended for drying. These sausages require poaching and secondary smoking in warm smoke, followed by drying the product over several days.
Smoking with Baking
Sometimes, hot smoking maybe followed by fully baking the product in the smoker. After Hot Smoking is complete, the temperature is raised to 80-90°C (175-195°F) and the product is baked until the desired, internal temperature is reached, usually 64-70°C (150-160°F). Baking in the smoker is mostly used for fish and sausages. The baked products are ready for consumption right after smoking.
Smoking in warm smoke
Warm smoking is done at the temperature range from 28 to 45°C (82-115°F) over a period from 4 to 12 hrs, with similar smoke densities and movement as for cold smoking. The products lose up to 10% of weight in the process. Smoke penetrates only the outer layers of the food, so it requires further processing before consumption, usually poaching or baking. The process is used for smoking products such as sausages, hams, bacons or cottage rolls.
Cold smoking
Cold smoking is typically done in low temperatures between 20 to 26 °C (68 to 79 °F) and does not involve cooking of the product. Foods for cold smoking are usually already cooked or fully cured with salt and other spices. Cold smoking is usually long process, from 8 hour and up to 14 days to ensure complete smoke penetration and smoky flavor. Medium smoke density and smoke flow are typically used. Cold smoked products lose from 5 to 20% of its weight during the process. Cold smoked foods usually have longer storage life due to preserving qualities of smoke, cure and lower moisture content. They are ready for consumption after smoking, but can be processed further if desired.
For quality results, the smoker should be preheated to desired temperature and foods should be at room temperature when placed in the smoker.
Different smoked products require different smoking processes and while some functionality of different types of smokers is overlapping, the fact is, they are not exchangeable. Some foods, especially deli meats require reliable temperature control of the process, as overheating nice piece of ham that you have been curing for the last couple of weeks, or accidentally searing piece of Nova Scotia Cold Smoked Salmon may definitely ruin your smoking day.
Therefore, the first consideration in your smoker selection process, should be deciding which food you plan to make most often. Are you planning to make deli meats or sausages to feed your family on daily bases, or you looking forward to weekend gatherings and some slow smoked dinners?
Deli meat products, fish or sausages require temperatures from 26°C (80°F) for cold smoking and up to 90°C (195°F) for baked products. Most common temperature for smoking deli meats does not exceed 50°C (125°F) and internal finish temperature never exceeds 75°C (167°F). In fact, cooking them to higher temperature is not desired. Your smoker need to be equipped with temperature control device allowing controlling temperatures from ambient to 120°C (250°F) and external smoke generator to achieve that control.
Electric smoker with temperature control and external smoke generator is capable of Cold and Hot Smoking.
Slow-and-Low cooked products require up to 10 hours of cooking in 107-125°C (225-257°F) temperature, with low density smoke (thin and blue smoke). If done in a smoker producing white denser smoke, the smoke exposure should be limited to about 2 hours. To produce fully cooked, smoke flavored product, smokers or BBQ-Smokers used for this process don’t need to be capable of Cold Smoking, but need to be able to achieve temperatures up to 150°C (300°F) and the temperature needs to be controllable.
For best results Slow-and-Low cooking should be done in a BBQ Smoker, but any smoker capable of higher cooking temperature will provide for Slow-and-Low cooking. Wood over the fire, Smoke box or smoke generator can be used for providing smoke.
The secondary consideration needs to be given to quality and features of the smoker. If you have done already some food smoking and enjoy your hobby, you most likely know what kind of smoker you want. You should also have good understanding what features and qualities you need in your smoker. The most important features in any smoker are good temperature control, good heat retention and versatility. Ability to do Cold and Hot smoking is also very important as the cold smoked foods are some of the best treats you can make in your smoker. Setting and cleaning the smoker before and after smoking session is never pleasant so, it is important that the smoker is easy to clean and permanently installed outdoor for instant access. Your smoker should also give you long steady service in any season and weather conditions.
The third consideration should be given to the depth of your pockets. As usual, the more you pay the better smoker you get. If you really enjoy your hobby and plan to use your smoker frequently, it is wise to invest more money and in exchange expect good durability, hands on but easy usage, little and easy maintenance and great looks that make you proud of your smoker every time you look at it in your backyard.
Different foods may need specific cooking processes and equipment most suitable for that. As there is no single appliance meeting all this cooking/smoking requirement and it is not practical to own so many pieces of cooking appliances, therefore some compromises are needed.
Some electric smokers capable of ambient to 150°C (300°F) temperature are most flexible, easy to service and clean up, with quickest start time and full range heat control. When combined with wood chip smoke generator it will provide for smoking all the foods your family may desire.
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BBQ grill should be capable to cook Slow-and-Low dishes, excellent steaks, hamburgers and more. Charcoal grill offers different flavor, some say better, but require much more work in set up, clean up and controlling the temperature. Propane grills are easy to set up, clean up and control.
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Between the two you can cook every dish you may desire. They seem like very good combination for backyard smoking. Make sure to buy quality appliances.
