Barbecue Smoker Recipe Man asked:


I’ve seen many lists about wood chips and what meats best accompany them and it’s always struck me that this is approaching the problem for the wrong side. The wood chip is choosing the food and in my book it should be the food choosing the wood chip! So when you scroll down to view my list it’s written in a way that hopefully will allow you to decide on your barbecue recipes first and let the flavouring follow. To be honest, hickory takes a lot of beating (especially on ribs) but there’s an incredible variety of wood chips to choose from these days so it’s worth experimenting a little.

The idea behind smoking is that wood burns when heated but by reducing the oxygen available to the fire, the wood smokes rather than burns so by adding wood chips to your barbecue smoker, a beautiful range of flavours can be imparted to meat or fish. The best wood to use is “green wood” ie. wood that’s not fully dried out because green wood burns at a higher temperature, it makes more smoke than aged wood and it lasts a long time. When buying wood chips in a bag it’s important to soak the wood for 30 minutes to get moisture into it before popping it on the coals.
One last tip from me before the list:-

If you have a BBQ grill rather than a smoker, try wrapping some wood chips in aluminum foil and then puncture the foil a few times with a fork or the point of a skewer. Pop the foil pack in hot coals and see what you think but do try with one of the stronger smokes otherwise you’re unlikely to notice any difference.

The following chips are good with all kinds of meat so it’s good have some in stock:-

Acacia - a strong smoke
Almond - sweet and nutty (as you’d expect)
Apricot - mild and sweet and an interesting alternative to Hickory (just a little milder)
Cherry - sweet & fruity
Cottonwood - a very subtle flavour, worth a try but not my favorite
Grape Vine - beautifully aromatic and sweet if you can get hold of it
Nectarine - again similar to hickory but sweeter and quite mild just like the Apricot
Peach - slightly sweet flavour
Pecan - strong smoke similar to oak but just a little more gentle
Plum - similar to hickory but milder and sweeter

For red meat try the following:-

Grapefruit - a good medium smoke with a fruity note
Lemon - again medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
Mesquite - strong and earthy so try it with beef
Mulberry - beautifully sweet apple flavour
Oak - really heavy smoke so definitely one for beef
Orange - another fruity one with medium smoke

Lamb of course is a red meat so any all in the above category can be used but I’ve got one recommendation dedicated to lamb:-

Lilac - it’s light and subtle with a floral hint

Pork:-

Alder - supremely sweet
Apple - sweet with dense fruity smoke
Birch - strong and earthy
Grapefruit - medium smoke with a fruity hint
Hickory - the original pungent smoky bacon flavour ready for your ribs
Lemon - medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
Maple - strong and earthy
Mulberry - beautifully sweet apple flavour, pork and apple goes so well together
Nectarine - similar to hickory but sweeter and quite mild and still good for ribs
Oak - a really heavy smoke so go easy
Orange - medium smoke with a light fruit hint
Pear - Another one with a slightly sweet flavour
Plum - similar to hickory but milder and sweeter, compare it with Nectarine

Most wood chips have now already had a mention further up but that doesn’t mean they don’t go well with Poultry:-

Alder - sweet
Birch - strong and earthy
Grapefruit - medium smoke & lightly fruity
Lemon - again medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
Mulberry - sweet apple flavour
Orange - more medium smoke with a light fruit hint
Pear - another one with a slightly sweet flavour

Game, generally strong smokes for strong flavoured meats, but there are some exceptions:-

Alder - sweet
Apple - sweet with dense fruity smoke
Maple - strong and earthy
Mulberry - beautifully sweet apple flavour
Oak - really heavy smoke
Pear - sweet flavour compare it with Alder
Walnut - very heavy smoke and can be bitter so put it with a strong well hung meat

Fish sometimes works well lightly smoked and sometimes it’s good to go for a really heavy smoke

Alder - sweet
Apple - sweet with dense fruity smoke
Ash - light and distinctive flavour, it burns fast so ideal for fish
Lilac - light and subtle with a floral hint, fantastic on seafood
Oak - really heavy smoke

I’ve got two recommendations for Vegetables both of which are strong and earthy:-

Maple
Mesquite

Hopefully that’s given you a few ideas to try at your next barbecue, just don’t forget to soak them before putting them on the coals. Happy smoking!

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jimgadzie asked:


I have a built in charcoal grill at my house, but would prefer gas because I dont grill a large qty and want to just turn on and off as needed. Calling places have suggested purchasing an insert, but that is very expensive. I have to imagine you can buy “replacement” parts for a gas grill and mount them in the charcoal grill insert and hook up to the gas (which is like 30 feet away)
Any suggestions on how to get started?

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K*G asked:


INGREDIENTS:

one large onion, diced
two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
one red pepper, diced
one green pepper, diced
250g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
one large tin ( approx. 400g) chopped tomatoes
one large tin butter beans, drained
one large tin kidney beans, drained
one large tin baked beans in tomato sauce
one small tin sweetcorn, drained
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
OPTIONAL: 6 pork or vegetarian sausages, grilled and chopped into bite-sized pieces (if desired)

WHAT YOU DO WITH THEM:

I came up with this recipe one day when trying to find something warm, tasty and filling to warm us up on a cold winter evening. Having tried several variations on this recipe I think the one I’m noding was unanimously voted the best version to date, and the one I’m sticking with now. It’s a handy one, because all the ingredients are basic store cupboard ingredients, and also, it’s really nutritious and packed with protein - a great winter warmer, especially tasty when served with boiled new potatoes in their skins.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan add the onions and fry until softened. Add the sliced mushrooms and continue frying until the mushrooms have softened add the chopped peppers and continue stir-frying for a couple of minutes. Add the drained sweetcorn and stir in. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the tin of tomatoes. Add the paprika, tabasco sauce, tomato ketchup and dried herbs, stirring well. Stir in the tin of baked beans, sauce and all, then add the drained kidney and butter beans. Turn up the heat, bring the stew to the boil and simmer, covered, for five to ten minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning and add more tobasco sauce if desired. Turn down the heat and continue to simmer, gently uncovered for a further five minutes.

Serve on a bed of boiled rice, or with some new potatoes (boiled with their skins on).

Guaranteed to warm the coldest of vegetarians on a winter’s day. And… good for you too!

For those of you who just can’t do without meat, this stew is just as tasty when you add a few chopped, grilled pork sausages to it just at the end of cooking. Of course, vegetarians could also add chopped, grilled vegetarian sausages (Linda McCartney’s sundried tomato vegetarian sausages are especially tasty.

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bigm789 asked:


Here is my recipe:
Shrimp, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, cayenne pepper, salt & limes. I am going to grill the shrimp instead of pan fry (recipe 21051 from recipezarr for you foodys). what would be a good side or sides for this meal? I’ve never cooked caribbean cuisine before… Any help would be greatly appreciated…. Did i mention i am cooking for a special lady friend;)

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wackyguy asked:


Or do you prefer another fish for grilling?

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Donna J asked:


Some easy recipes would be very helpful. Thanks ahead of time!

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JTPCREATIVE asked:

how to grill Ribs

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Barbecue Smoker Recipe Man asked:


Before firing up the BBQ smoker, many chefs will either cure or brine the fish or meat as a way of adding extra flavor.

Curing and brining however have been traditional methods of preserving food for donkeys years and in today’s refrigerated society the techniques and skills have been on the wane. That was of course until outdoor cooking became such a popular recreation. So rather than becoming obsolete they have started to make a comeback.

My research into curing started when I started writing for barbecue-smoker-recipes.com and as my research evolved, so did my interest. Even to the point where I started to experiment with curing and brining simply as a way to preserve food and forget about the smoker.

The science behind curing is that the salt slowly sucks the moisture out of the food, effectively acting as a desiccant and drying it out. Bacteria that normally would grow on the food are unable to do so because the substrate doesn’t contain the one essential ingredient to help it survive - water.

So in essence the longer something is left to cure, the less susceptible it is to bacteria and therefore the safer it is to eat. This is the principle for cured ham or indeed any dried meat.

The curing process today is essentially about salt for the desiccant and sugar for the flavouring. In the recipe below I’ve used treacle as a sugar substitute - you can also use molasses. The flavours are slightly different and I would argue that the molasses is slightly more subtle but as ever, it’s about what tastes good to you.

This recipe is a great tasty alternative to smoked salmon and it’s also really easy to do, certainly no need for a smoker. All that’s needed is a polythene bag, some salt, some treacle (or molasses) and a bit of time. It takes about a week to cure and I like to start out one Saturday so that it’s ready for the next weekend.

Ingredients:-

· 1 large salmon filet (skinned)
· 4 tablespoons treacle or molasses
· 1 tablespoon salt

Method:-

Place the salmon in the polythene bag and tip in the salt and treacle / molasses. Seal the bag and give the ingredients a good “mulch” around to make sure that the salmon is covered in the salt / treacle mix. Place the mix in the refrigerator and leave for a week.

When the week is up, remove the salmon from the bag and give it a rinse under the tap. Slap it on a board and slice really thinly. Please note that in order to slice thinly you need a very sharp knife - remember the sushi chef.

I like to serve it spiralled inside canapé cases with a little crème fraiche blob on top, you can also try it on a small circular cracker. It makes for a really tasty munchie to open up any barbecue cookout. But don’t feel you have to wait for a barbecue, if it’s raining outside that what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than preparing a treacle cured salmon for next weekend?

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ashley_p89 asked:


I had a really good salad at a restaurant that had citrus grilled salmon, raspberry vinaigrette, nuts, dried cranberries, etc. I’d like a good recipe that’s similar.

Thanks!!


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CALAVA asked:


I have a basic charcoal grill nothing fancy, but have always had trouble grilling chicken. How do I do it successfully? I don’t need a recipe for a marinade or anything like that. I just want to know how to grill legs and thighs on the grill without it taking me three hours because I’m so scared of serving raw chicken, which is also a problem I have. Sometimes certain parts of the leg are cooked but the wider top part is sometimes raw. And how do I keep it from sticking to the foil. Should I use foil? I always use foil because I don’t know if it’s good to have the chicken right over the coals. Thanks.

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