Charcoal smokers are a great deal when it comes to slow cooking of foods. They can be used to smoke and barbecue foods and they give the food the desired flavor based on the type of wood that one uses. Many people prefer using the smokers on their vegetables and meats since they facilitate a slow cooking process. However, not all of them are equipped with the right information on how to use charcoal smokers. In this article, steps will be outlined on how the smokers ought to be used and in what manner. Also, read here to find out about some high end grills.
How to use charcoal smokers
On the charcoal smokers, there is a charcoal pan that is used for holding charcoal. In order to prepare it, one has to remove the pan from the smoker to fill it half full with charcoal briquettes. One has the freedom on the type of briquettes to use, either regular or flavored ones. The smokers consist of a charcoal pan, wire rack and water tray. The wire rack is used for laying the meats or vegetables while the water tray lies below the wire rack in the base. This will be followed by lighting the charcoal. Once the briquettes have been lit and for a few minutes, then the rest of them can be added to fill up the charcoal pan. All the charcoal should catch fire before the pan can be returned into the smoker.
The charcoal pan should be inserted back into the smoker slowly to avoid upsetting the distribution of charcoal briquettes. The next component to be inserted back into the smoker is the water tray. It should be filled ¾ way with water before being put into the charcoal smokers. The water tray is used in regulating the distribution and temperature of heat. The water is vaporized, which helps in the evenly cooking of vegetables and meats.
Other instructions to be followed
The grill is the last and top most part of charcoal smokers. Food should be placed on the grill plate. In case of more than one plate, then smaller items, such as vegetables should be placed on the top grate while meats should be put on the lower grate. Once all the foods have been put on the grill plates, the lid of the smoker should be closed while the vents opened. There are two vents on each smoker, whereby one of them is used for ventilation purposes only while the second one is for both ventilation and circulation of fresh oxygen into the smoker. These two vents can be controlled based on the needs of the smoker.
Final details on what to be done
There is a tendency that one will be tempted to check the meats now and then. However, this is not advisable because the many times that one opens the lid, more smoke and heat escape. The lid should be opened after a longer period of time, but not frequently. Lastly, the meats should be allowed to sit longer in a smoker than when on a grill. This is because they will take a longer period since they are being cooked by an indirect source of heat.
