BBQ Tip 3- Smoking

Looking for tips for smoking? Well you’ve got lots of options in Nova Scotia. David Wall from The Pork Shop suggests adding soaked hardwood chips to your grill to impart that wonderful smoked meat flavour to whatever you are grilling. Coal or gas grill both work fine for this method. At-home smoking may seem a laborious task but here are three simple steps to follow:

1. Bank your coals – You can either use a gas or coal grill for smoking. If you are using coal, heat coals first then push most of them to one side of your grill, this is called “banking”. Smoking works best over indirect heat, so the less heat under your meat is best. If using a gas grill, be prepared to cook meat longer over low.

2. Use hardwood chips– You can buy prepackaged would chips or source your own. What type of wood you use will affect the flavour of your meat, just like the type of wood used for casking fine wines and whiskeys. Do your research and figure out what flavours work best with what kind of meat. If your sourcing your own wood chips, be sure to find pieces that are clean, dry, and free of glue or nails. There’s a lot of debate whether to soak your chips or not. For novice smokers, it’s best to pre-soak your wood chips. This stops chips from burning up too quickly and also provides humidity, a necessary element when smoking meat.

3.Wrap it up– Depending on the cut of meat and your personal reference, try wrapping your meat in aluminium foil or covering it in a foil pan. This keeps larger cuts of meat and poultry tender and juicy. You can even add a marinade or juice to enhance the moistness of meat. Do this once your meat is almost cooked (use your thermometer) and return covered meat to the smoker until it reaches the proper internal temperature for the cut. If you want a crispier, more caramelized outer skin for ribs or drummies you can skip this step.