Smoking Meat: A Guide for Beginners

Smoked meat is tender and flavorful – a real treat for the tastebuds. But if you’ve never smoked meat before, you might be reluctant to try it. Isn’t it complicated? Doesn’t it take a long time?

Yes, it does take a long time to smoke meat – at least a couple of hours, or longer, depending on the size and cut of meat. But smoking isn’t as complicated as it might first appear. It’s largely a matter of keeping your grill or smoker at the right temperature and keeping  your smoke steady. You need to use the right type of wood for the cut of meat you’re smoking, and prepare your meat beforehand by brining or marinating it. Here’s what you need to know.

You Can Smoke Meat Using a Barbecue Grill

If you’re just getting started smoking meat, you don’t need to invest in a big, fancy smoker. You can smoke meat using your charcoal or gas barbecue grill. To smoke meat in a charcoal grill, you will need to use charcoal and wood chips. Fill up one side of the grill with charcoal and get the coals going. Then you can place the wood chips on the top. Soak your wood chunks or chips in water for half an hour to an hour beforehand, so they last longer and emit more smoke. 

Place a drip pan on the side of the grill that doesn’t have coals, and fill it with about half an inch of liquid. This will keep the meat moist during smoking. The liquid can be water, but many people use apple juice, pineapple juice, or beer to impart extra flavor to the meat. Place the meat on the grill above the drip pan and close the grill to lock in the heat and smoke.

If you want to smoke using a gas grill, start by turning up all the burners to high for about 20 minutes to warm everything up. Then turn off the burners on one side of the grill. Place a smoker box full of wood chips over the flames on the other side of the grill, and place your meat on the other side. Make sure the flames are turned off on that side. 

No matter what kind of grill you use, you should close it during the smoking process, but leave it cracked just a little to allow for ventilation. This allows the smoke to circulate around the meat and escape. It also helps keep the heat down so your meat isn’t charred. You’ll have to check your smoking meat every hour or so. Check the internal temperature of the meat to make sure it’s within the safe temperature range for your meat. Add more charcoal and/or wood chips or chunks as needed. Once you get some practice smoking meat and you’re ready to invest in a smoker, you can buy an electric Masterbuilt Smoker that will automate much of the process.

Brine Your Meat Beforehand

Brining or marinating your meat beforehand helps the meat retain more moisture during the cooking process. Make a brine for your meat by adding three tablespoons of salt to one quart of water. You can also add spices or counteract the saltiness of the brine by adding honey, syrup, or sugar to your brine. Soak your meat in the brine for 10 to 12 hours before smoking. Alternatively, you could soak your meat in a marinade before smoking it. 

Use the Right Wood for Your Cut of Meat

There are a variety of different woods that you can use in your smoker. Fruit tree woods like apple, cherry, and peach impart a sweeter, fruitier flavor to meat, while woods like oak, hickory, and mesquite produce more subtle and savory flavors. Fruit tree woods are best for smoking white meats like poultry and fish, while woods like mesquite, maple, alder, hickory, and oak are better for red meats and pork.

Smoke Your Meat Low and Slow

To get a tender, flavorful cut of meat, you need to smoke it for a long time at a low temperature. You can smoke small cuts of meat, like steak, chicken parts, pork chops, or fish filets for one to two hours. Larger cuts of meat, like racks of rib, shoulders, lamb legs, pork bellies, or loins for five to 15 hours. Keep your smoker between 200 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the smoking process.

Apply Barbecue Sauces at the End of the Smoking Process

If you want to season your smoked meat with barbecue sauce, you absolutely can, but you should wait until the smoking process is nearly complete. Brush barbecue sauce onto your meat when it’s done, and then leave it in the smoker for another 15 minutes to bake the sauce’s flavors into the meat.

Throughout history, people have smoked meat to make it last longer, but today, people smoke meat because it’s delicious. Make your next cookout one to remember when you smoke a delicious cut of meat for your guests.