Smoking meat forums?? (2024)

FAQs

What is the #1 meat to smoke? ›

Best Cuts of Meat for Smoking

Our top choices are brisket, pork shoulder (for pulled pork), pork chops, and ribs. You can also give our St. Louis Ribs a try in your new smoker.

Brisket is the holy grail of smoking. Everyone from competitive cooks to dedicated pitmasters and barbecue enthusiasts agree that beef brisket is the hardest meat to get right. Since it's lean and doesn't have as much fat content, it has to be cooked just right to transform it into a tender piece of smoked meat.

This slow-cooking method naturally tenderizes the meat and breaks down the tough connective tissue in it. The process converts collagen into different types of gelatin, which is a more tender product. You may need to wait longer for tough cuts of meat, such as brisket, but the result will be worth it.

3 hours of smoking unwrapped at 225 degrees, followed by. 2 hours of cooking wrapped in foil (with a little liquid, such as apple cider), followed by. 1 hour of cooking unwrapped at a higher temperature, with a generous basting of barbecue sauce.

The grilling and smoking processes that give meats that charred appearance and smoky flavor generate some potentially cancer-causing compounds in the food. Charred, blackened areas of the meat – particularly well-done cuts - contain heterocyclic aromatic amines.

Over-smoked meat typically has been exposed to too much smoke for too long. Over-smoked meat isn't usually bitter but has a strong, pungent smoke flavor that is unpleasant. Badly smoked meat has a bitter taste. It might even make the tip of your tongue tingle from the creosote.

Mist Your Food

Every couple hours or so, lightly mist the meat. This will help preserve moisture, keep humidity up, and draws smoky flavor particles to your food like a magnet. Be careful to keep the mist on your meat (where it can do its work before dripping into your water pan) and not on the steel of your smoker.

So the chances are you've actually undercooked it. Make sure you wrap anytime from 160f on, just make sure that bark is properly set first. And then make sure you start checking for tenderness around 203f and make sure it probes like soft butter. Then rest that sucker for at least an hour!

Do you turn over meat when smoking? ›

You will need to rotate the meat about half way through a four hour cooking process. When cooking for longer periods, we never rotate more than 3 times. Rotating the meat will help ensure that all parts of the meat are cooked evenly.

You can use different options to wrap your brisket, pork, or chicken before putting it into the food smoker. These include Aluminium foil and butcher paper. Wrapping your brisket in aluminum foil speeds up cooking time and keeps in the meat's fat and juices, leaving it tender.

Smoking requires good temperature control. Meat smoking is best in the range of 200 to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. To be safe, most meats need to be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees and poultry to 165 degrees. However, to get real tender barbecue you want a higher final temperature, say around 180 degrees.

Beef brisket can take up to 20 hours (but it's oh so worth it), while tenderloin usually takes 3 hours. Tri-tip, which is similar to brisket, becomes insanely tender if you smoke it for 2 hours. Some argue that the best meat to use is prime rib. It's a splurge, but well worth it for the rich and flavorful beef.