| outdoor cooks prefer barbecue while others prefer | | | | time to properly cook your food in a smoker. On |
| the slower method of smoking. While both methods | | | | average, depending on the cut of your meat and |
| have their advantages, many swear by the distinct | | | | temperature at which you maintain the grill, smoker |
| flavor advantages of smoker cooking. While cooking | | | | cooking a four-pound piece of meat will take over |
| with heated smoke will take considerably longer than | | | | two hours. By comparison, the same size slab on a |
| with straight heat, it is a more flavorful way of | | | | conventional grill will take less than an hour. |
| cooking. | | | | There is no limit to the types of meat you can cook |
| Typically, smoker cooking has an offset fire chamber, | | | | in a smoker, beef, pork, poultry and fish and there |
| which provides a means of the heat and smoke from | | | | are many recipes available to offer instruction on |
| the burner to pass over and through the meat. The | | | | how to prepare them all. Some of the more popular |
| flame itself never comes into contact with the food | | | | meats for smoker cooking are spare ribs, large fish |
| and therefore will not burn it. Neither will the oils and | | | | fillets as well as beef briskets. A four pound whole |
| juices that drip from the cooking meat ignite short | | | | chicken will take about four hours to be thoroughly |
| bursts of flame that can cause flare ups and | | | | cooked in a smoker. The best way to tell if the |
| scorched food. | | | | chicken is done is to insert a thermometer into the |
| The type of wood used in smoker cooking also helps | | | | thick part of the bird without touching any bones and |
| determine the flavor with most people using hickory | | | | making sure it reads 165 degrees. |
| to provide a heavy smoky flavor to the meat. Apple | | | | You can rub the chicken or other meat with spices |
| and pecan wood is sometimes added to lighten the | | | | to prepare it for smoker cooking and add other |
| wood smoke flavor and wood from fruit trees will | | | | sauces during and after. If you a smoker cooking |
| make for a slightly sweeter flavor. | | | | without an automatic turning device, you will need to |
| Smoker Cooking Not For The Impatient | | | | turn it occasionally to ensure even cooking and |
| When smoker cooking it must be realized that this | | | | browning. |
| type of cooking cannot be hurried. It is going to take | | | | |