8 Steps For Using A Charcoal Smoker

8 Steps For Using A Charcoal Smoker

People love eating grilled and barbequed foods. To prepare tasty grilled foods, one can go with the wood-burning smoker, gas smoker, or charcoal smoker. Wood-burning smokers are difficult to use because it needs continuous monitoring to keep the temperature steady. The gas smokers are easy to use compared to the wood smokers but it does not give a good flavor to your food. Compared to the wood-burning smokers and gas smokers, one can prefer cooking their food by using a charcoal smoker. A mixture of charcoal and wood is used as fuel in a charcoal smoker. Charcoal has a good burning capacity than wood. Both beginners and experts can use charcoal smoker in an efficient way as it is easy to use.

If you prefer cooking your food using a charcoal smoker then pick the one which controls the air flow in the best manner. Always use a tightly closed cooking chamber so that the meat can be grilled evenly throughout. To use a charcoal smoker, one should have the ability to control the temperature and the smoke. The lower temperature for smoking is 225 – 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

Now let us follow the steps for setting a Charcoal Smoker

Step 1: Select the type of wood to be used

As I have mentioned earlier, charcoal and wood is the fuel in a charcoal smoker. So before setting up your smoker, select a flavored wood to make your food so delicious. Mesquite, Hickory, Oak, Cherry, Apple, Maple, and Alder are the different types of flavored woods available Choose any one of your flavored woods based on the type of meat which you are using.

Step 2: Decide the Smoking method

The charcoal smoker allows dry as well as wet smoking methods. If you need water for your smoking, then you can add water in a water pan and place it inside the smoker. The water poured in the water pan is used to control the temperature inside the smoker while heating the meat. For small pieces of meat, you can avoid water. Decide your smoking method based on the meat which you prefer to cook

Step 3: Set up the charcoal pan

Take the charcoal pan from the charcoal smoker and fill the pan with few charcoal pieces. In addition to the charcoal pieces, add a few pieces of your flavored wood. Wrap the wet pieces of your flavored wood in aluminum or tin foil and place them on the charcoal.

Step 4: Burn the Charcoal

Light the charcoal and allow all the charcoal pieces to burn. Add few more charcoal briquettes if needed Step 5: Place the Charcoal Pan into the Smoker Once all the charcoal pieces catch fire, slowly place the pan into the charcoal smoker without disturbing the flames. Don’t put on the fire.

Step 5: Set up the Water Pan

As I have mentioned earlier, if you have decided to use water then fill 3/4 of the water pan with water and place them in the smoker.

Step 6: Place the meat on the Grate

If you are going to smoke your meat then place the meat on the lower grill grate. Some smokers will have two grill grates. Always place the meat at the lower grate because the lower grate gets higher heat than the top one.

Step 7: Close the lid

After placing the meat, close the lid and open the vents. Two ventilators will be there in the smoker. One vent is for smoke and another one is to allow oxygen for burning. Regulate both the vents based on the fire.

Step 8: Seldom check the meat frequently

After some minutes, check whether the meat is cooked. Don’t open the lid frequently to check the meat, as more heat and smoke will move out.

Since the smoker is using an external source such as charcoal and wood as fuel it will definitely take a longer time to smoke your meat. Be patient till your food gets cooked. Once your meat is smoked well, open the lid and transfer the meat to a plate. Enjoy your Yummy Grilled Meat prepared using Charcoal Smoker!!!

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