Smoking, Grilling, and Chewing Guide for Beginners

Smoking and grilling are essential parts of cooking today. Barbecues have always been great to eat, but not so easy to make sometimes. If you are a complete beginner in the art of barbecuing, and you want to know the basic things to kick off your barbecue journey, you are in the right place.

 

This article contains a comprehensive guide to smoking and grilling. And it goes a step further to describe the best way to chew so that your mouth extracts every bit of sweetness from the barbecue.

 

Without wasting time, let’s dig in.

Guide to Smoking Meat

What’s Meat Smoking?

There are two common definitions of smoking. The first one refers to a traditional method of preserving meat by exposing it to smoke and heat. This method removes the moisture content from the meat so that food-spoilage microorganisms would have no space to exist in the meat.

 

The second definition refers to the modern barbecuing where you cook over indirect heat slowly. This process usually takes a lot of time, from 12 hours up. During the entire process, the meat soaks up flavors from the smoke and the end product is flavorful meat.

 

The second method is what we’re talking about here.

Is It Really Worth It?

Smoking takes a lot of time. It also takes a lot of monitoring, especially if you are doing it for the first or second time. So, it is normal to ask yourself if smoking your meat is really worth it when there are alternatives that take just a few hours. 

 

Well, there are a couple of reasons that more than justify the time and effort invested in smoking meat. The first one is

• The Flavor

The key idea of smoking is usually not about the heat, but the flavor from the smoke. When you smoke your meat, you are giving the meat enough time to soak in as much flavor as it can absorb. So that when you eat the meat, the flavor spills into your mouth in a way that is unique to smoking alone.

 

There is a little science behind why smoking your meat makes it taste good. Smoke has a lot of compounds in it. Some of them are solid (ash), gases (carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide), and liquids (water vapor). The content of the smoke differs from the kind of wood you burn. That is why some woods are better at smoking some kinds of meat than others. More on that later.

 

The compounds that are responsible for the smoky flavor of smoked meat are guaiacol and syringol. The more of these compounds you have in your smoke, the more the smoky flavor your meat absorbs. Of course, too much smoke would make your meat uneatable.

• The Bark is Another Reason To Smoke Your Meat

When you smoke your meat for as long as it is required, something forms on the outside of your meat. It is called bark. The bark of smoked meat is the chewiest part of the meat, and probably the tastiest part of the smoked meat. 

 

Bark forms when the meat reacts with the smoke, spice rub, and moisture.  The whole process is called the Maillard Reaction.

• The Juiciness and Tenderness

When you smoke meat over too high heat, you are blasting the moisture content out of the meat. This is what the traditional smoking method involves. What you have as an end product is a meat that is hard, devoid of flavor, and hard to chew. But when you smoke your meat over low heat, the meat still retains some moisture content. Also, the low heat breaks the meat fats down slowly, allowing it to melt. Combine the moisture with the sweet fat and what you have is juicy and tender meat that fills your mouth flavors beyond explanation.

Grill Or Smoker?

The next question that probably comes to mind is if you have to invest in a new smoker. Truly, the smoker is the ideal machine for smoking. If you owned a restaurant or you were competing in a smoking competition, you would need a smoker. Otherwise, your best propane grills can handle the job perfectly. It doesn’t even matter what kind of grill you use, charcoal or gas. You don’t have to buy a new grill if you are smoking for your family or friends. If you are looking for the best meat smoker, please visit Club Mandude blog.

 

A fire pit could even do the trick. You would just need some firewood. 

The Smoking Process

Now that we are done with the introductory part, let’s face the real smoking process. Here is where you would learn the basics of smoking. When you are smoking your meat, there are four basic things you need to pay attention to. These are the four pillars of the whole smoking process. They all work hand in hand to give you the perfect smoked meat taste. Either of them could easily change the taste of your meat, so everything you do here has to be deliberate and for a reason.

1. Choosing Your Meat

This is the first thing you need to consider. No matter how expensive and super your smoker or grill is, the meat you are smoking still holds a massive sway in the final taste. So here are a few things about meat that you should know.

Fresh Meat is Best

Head to your local butcher to get fresh meats instead of buying frozen ones. This is because frozen meat could be old and already full of fillers. Also, it now has more water in it that could make your result unpleasant.

 

You should also know that it doesn’t have to be expensive meat. In fact, tough meat that has more fat is best for smoking. Remember that smoking does the tendering for you. So, already tender meat being put through hours of smoking could give you some results you wouldn’t be proud of.

 

Generally, there are four meat types that are good for smoking. They are beef, chicken, pork, seafood. But the most common types are brisket, pork butt, and ribs.

2. Preparing the Meat

After selecting your meat, preparing the meat comes next. There are things you want to put under consideration here too.

• Should You Trim Your Meat?

The question of trimming your meat comes into play when you are about to smoke brisket or pork butt. But that decision mostly depends on you. You may think it is good to remove the fat cap so that the fat doesn’t penetrate the meat when it melts. But in reality, fat cannot penetrate the meat. Fat is mostly oil and meat is mostly water. Water and oil don’t mix. So whether you trim your meat or not, it makes not much difference.

• Should You Tie or Truss Your Meat?

The whole essence of tying is just to make your meat look neater. Pork butt usually comes tied from the store, but this is so that it can be easily packaged. It makes sense to leave it tied so that the meat remains even and some parts don’t cook faster than others.

 

Trussing could make your chicken or turkey even better. This is because these animals have wings and legs, and if left untrussed, could make the limbs cook faster than the body.

3. Seasoning the Meat

The seasoning plays a huge role in the end product of your smoked meat. Apart from the flavor from the wood, the seasoning you use is another source of flavor for your meat. With seasoning, there are four basic options;

• Salt Seasoning

Salt is the most common seasoning that many meat smokers can’t do without. When you add salt to your meat, it gets into the meat and helps in tenderizing it. Salt also allows moisture to get to the deepest parts of the meat so that even those parts are just as juicy as the outside. Another thing salt does to your meat is adding flavor. It makes your meat sweeter and makes the meat taste a lot better.

• Dry Rubs

Adding rubs to your meat before you smoke it is a common thing. It adds more flavor to your meat. Unlike the salt seasoning, however, dry rubs don’t penetrate the meat. They remain on the surface.

 

The most common ingredients used to make dry rubs are garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and oil. However, you can get creative and add some spices and herbs.

• Sauces

Sauces are the other types of seasoning that could give your barbecue that extra tastiness. Of course, whether you decide to use it or not depends on your preference. You can enjoy your barbecue just as well, with or without sauce.

4. All About the Wood

With different types of wood, you get different kinds of flavor in your barbecue. The kind of meat you’re smoking also plays a role in the taste of your smoked meat. So, the combination of the wood type and meat type has to be perfect for you to get the best results. But knowing the perfect meat type and wood type is another thing entirely. Here is a table that might be of help to you.

 

Type of Wood	Beef	Chicken	Pork	Seafood
Alder	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Apple	No	Yes	No	Yes
Cherry	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hickory	Yes	No	Yes	No
Maple	No	Yes	No	No
Mesquite	Yes	No	Yes	No
Mulberry	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Oak	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Peach	No	Yes	Yes	No
Pear	No	Yes	Yes	No
Pecan	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Walnut	Yes	No	Yes	No

 

Knowing the wood type is just half of the equation. The other half is the size and shape of the wood. You can have your wood in three ways; in chunks, chips, and pellets. And each wood size has what it is best used for.

Wood Chunks

If your smoking time will last for a really long time, then cutting your wood into chunks is what you want to do. Wood chunks last for a long time, meaning more flavor for you. You may also soak the wood chunks for about an hour before you use them, but bear in mind that the temperature of wet wood is harder to control.

Wood Chips

Wood chips are perfect for just a couple of hours of smoking. It doesn’t last as long as wood chunks, but it lasts just long enough to give your meat the flavor it needs for a few hours.

Wood Pellets

These are the smallest sizes of all three. Wood pellets only last for a short time. So if you don’t want your meat to have that much smokiness to its taste, then you can go for wood pellets. 

Grilling Guide

Grilling is the cooking method that involves the use of direct heat to cook your meat or vegetables. The heat either comes from the top or the bottom, depending on the kind of grill you are using. 

 

What is most important is that the meat, fish, or vegetable is exposed to high heat until it cooks. Some grilling methods don’t require too much heat, and there are those that do.  Depending on what you are grilling, it should take you from minutes to a couple of hours to finish up.

What’s The Point of Grilling?

If you are comfortable with just cooking your meat the traditional way, it’s okay. But I can assure you that you are missing out on a lot. There are some benefits grilling brings to the table that other forms of cooking can’t provide. Some are these:

• Time

Grilling involves high heat. At such a level of heat, you can conplete your grilling in as little as a few minutes. And if you are taking your time, you may spend a couple of hours at most. 

• Taste

There is a particular flavorful taste that comes with grilling your meat. It is wonderful and exquisite at the same time. And when you marinade or add dry rubs to the meat, and maybe eat it with some sauce, you’re in for the meal of your life.

• Texture

When you grill, you burn the exterior of the meat to the point that the juice in the meat has nowhere to escape to, but not to the extent that it is uneatable. Even the slightly seared exterior has a unique, delicious flavor.

• Nutrition

Grilling does not require the use of too much oil. This is good news for those that don’t want some extra fat in their bodies.

Different Grilling Methods

There are two primary methods of grilling. You either do charcoal grilling or gas grilling. Although there is also wood grilling, that is for the seasoned barbecues

     1. Gas Grilling

Gas grilling is the more convenient and easier method of grilling. It is easy to control the heat, and it burns efficiently. However, it doesn’t get hot enough for some grilling needs. 

Sometimes you need the heat to be cranked up to more than what the gas grill can offer. And that brings us to the next grilling method.

     2. Charcoal Grilling

This involves the use of charcoal as fuel for your grilling. The advantages of charcoal grilling involve the freedom to arrange the coal in a way that is best for your meat, and the capability to reach very high temperatures.

 

Charcoal grills require some maintenance, however. Apart from the common cleaning that you should do for all grills, gas or charcoal, charcoal grills require that you keep the charcoal away from the elements in a dry place. 

 

There are two main types of charcoal you can use for grilling, and they are lump charcoal and briquettes. Lump charcoals can burn at very high temperatures but their heat is not consistent. And as a result, there isn’t much you can do to control their temperature. 

 

Briquette charcoal, on the other hand, provides more stable heat. This is because briquettes are by-products of wood that have had chemicals and additives added to them. These chemicals and additives are there to make briquettes burn more steadily and to maintain a high temperature for long.

Other Things To Consider Before Grilling

Apart from the grilling methods, some other things deserve your consideration before grilling. They are:

• The Use of Grilling Plank

Grilling planks are those thin boards that help you add more flavor to your meat. You use them by placing them between the source of heat and the meat. This way, they get hot and release some of their flavors into the meat.

 

As you might expect, many wood types can be used for this purpose for their different flavors. You also have to be careful to not burn the wood when you are cooking. However, the important question is whether or not to use it, and what wood type to use.

 

To use or not to use plank? It all depends on you. Do you want the extra flavor from the plank or you can do without it? Let your preference be your guide. And if you decide to use it, use ash or cedar for seafood. Use any old maple, pecan, and apple planks for poultry meats and pork. And for beef, game, or lamb, mesquite, oak, and hickory are perfect planks to use.

 

Bear in mind that the choice of planks is just based on rules of thumb. Many people have tried using a different plank and meat combinations, and they have found the ones above to be the best. However, nothing stops you from exploring.

• Keeping Watch Over the Temperature

There are two main ways to maintain the temperature of your grill. One is through the lid and the other is through the vents.

 

If you are grilling meats that are less than ¾” thick, keep the lid of the grill open. Anything thicker should have the lid covering it. When you close the lid, you can attain a higher temperature that helps cook the thick meat faster.

 

Also, opening the vents of the grill can lead to an increase in temperature. This is because the hot air escapes and fresh, oxygen-filled air gets in. And when there is more oxygen, the temperature increases. So if you need a lower temperature, consider keeping the vents shut. Otherwise, open them up.

• Cleaning Your Grill

The best times to clean your grill are before and after your grilling session. Before you place your meat on the grill, preheat the grill for about 10 minutes. This is so that the food from the last grilling burns off. And while you wait, you can use a grill brick, or a grill brush to clean the grates.

 

After you clean the grill, rub the grates with cooking oil using a paper towel held with tongs. This helps to prepare the grill for the session. And after the grilling session, wait for the grill to cool down a little before you run your grill brush across the grates once more. 

 

Clean the exterior and empty the grill of ash. You may then store the grill away from the reach of the elements afterward.

Guide To Chewing

Now that you know how to smoke or grill your meat, what is left is for you to enjoy your barbecue. There is a proper way to chew your barbecue. Chewing it this way would help give your mouth enough time to savor the taste while making it easy for your digestive system to do its work.

 

Here are some things you should know about chewing your meat properly.

1. Chew Your Food About 32 Times Before You Swallow

Chewing your food for this number of times helps to ensure that your food is properly broken down before you swallow it. This 32 is just the average number of times. You should chew foods like meat and nuts, which have harder textures, for up to 40 times or more. 

 

Foods that have enough moisture or water content only need you to chew them about 10 to 15 times. For instance, there isn’t much to chew in a watermelon. So, 10 to 15 chews are sufficient.

2. The Benefits of Chewing

The first benefit of chewing is that digestion starts in your mouth. The saliva that mixes with the food you chew helps you to break down and mix the food in your mouth. 

 

Another benefit of chewing your food slowly is that it helps you eat less. A study was carried out on 30 women, and it was discovered that those that chewed their foods slowly felt fuller on lesser food. 

3. What Could Go Wrong If You Didn’t Chew Your Food Properly

You could suffer several digestive problems if you didn’t chew your food properly. Examples of the digestive problems include bloating, headaches, cramps, diarrhea, acid reflux, gas, indigestion, and some others. Other things you are risking are aspiration, choking, dehydration, and malnutrition.

How To Chew Your Meat

The first thing to do is to not overload your fork or spoon. Just take as much as you can chew without opening your mouth too wide. And when food gets into your mouth, close your lips and chew. Let your tongue roll the food from side to side in your mouth and let your jaw rotate slightly. 

 

Count to 32 chews before you swallow. By then, the food should have lost its hard texture. This is the best time to swallow. This way, your stomach doesn’t have much to do and digests the food faster.

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