COOKING TECHNIQUES
PREPARATION:
1.Prepare food in advance to avoid delay and timing
problems. If using marinade or spices, they should be
applied before placing meat on the cooking grid.
2.Organize the area around the smoker to include forks,
tongs, oven mitts, sauces and seasonings, to allow you to
stay in the vicinity while cooking.
3.Leave excess fat on the meat to maximize the flavor of
slow cooked foods.
4.To avoid the problem of food sticking to the cooking grids,
coat the grids with vegetable oil or non-stick spray before
using.
5.Wood chips should be soaked according to manufactures
instructions prior to starting the smoker.
6.Vegetables are best done in aluminum foil with enough
moisture to create steam. Cooking time for vegetables will
be similar to baking or steaming on the electric range.
MEAT THERMOMETER GUIDE:
When slow cooking with your smoker, use a meat
thermometer for best results.
SMOKER COOKING. Smoker cooking or slow cooking is a
more time consuming form of barbeque that produces
excellent results with regards to flavor. Slow cooked meats
become tender and full of moist rich flavor from the process
of smoke and liquid infusion. The main characteristics of this
style of cooking are, low temperatures over extended
periods of time, wood smoke generated from hard wood
chips and a moist cooking environment created by steam
from the water bowl.
TYPES OF FOOD. Slow smoker cooking is useful and
delicious for all types of meats. Pork, beef, poultry, fish and
lamb are all excellent meat to cook in the Grillpro smoker.
As a general guide lean meats will need more liquid to keep
them moist and tender over the long cooking process. While
meats higher in fat will self baste during cooking.
Since the slow cooking process uses low heat, cooking
times are much longer then a barbeque grill. Any Guidelines
for cooking time should be understood as only approximate
and doneness of meats should be determined by
thermometer reading of internal temperature.
COOKING TIMES ARE ONLY APPROXIMATE AND
INTERNAL TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE TAKEN TO
INSURE FOOD SAFETY
WOOD CHIPS. Different hardwoods Oak, Maple and
Apple just to name a few are available as smoking chips
intended for use in barbeques and smokers. It is best to
use wood chips that have been prepared for smoking as
they are safest. You do not want to use most soft woods
(Pine, Spruce) because these contain lots of sap and will
impart a bad taste to food.
Prepare wood chips according to the manufacturer’s
instructions. Usually chips should be soaked in water for
30 minutes prior to use. Fill the smoker box with soaked
wood chips before starting the smoker. While you are
cooking if you need to add additional wood chips, take
care and use a long handled tong or pliers to remove the
lid of the smoker box. Drop freshly smoked wood chips
into the box while it is still inside the smoker. Do not
remove the hot smoker box until it has cooled
LIQUID INFUSION. The addition of liquid is essential to
keeping foods moist and tender during the slow cooking
process. The water bowl should be filled half way with
liquid. The liquid it self can be water or a desired flavor
like fruit juice, beer, wine, vinegar, oils, sauces that are
50 percent water and a variety of spices can be added to
a mix. Maintain the level of the water bowl throughout the
cooking process.
To Next Page
Loading...