Preparing your favorite foods by the use of an offset smoker is quite a manly thing since you use wooden logs for setting fire to give a smoky flavor to the food. It requires proper skills in order to operate the offset smoker. This is a picture below that might come in the minds of many whenever they think about a smoker. It’s a very traditional way to cook your food, so you better have the proper knowledge about its functions and uses.
How to Use an Offset Smoker?
Using an offset smoker does not only involve setting a fire and forgetting about it. Out of the different types of smokers out there, you will always find one that requires more technical skills and work. Therefore, the basic instructions have been broken down into several steps, which are simple and very easy to follow.
How to Start the Fire?
Use of charcoal in the first preparation of an offset smoker is the traditional and the most original way to set a fire. When you notice the coals have caught sufficient fire, you can go ahead and place wood logs.
Make sure you don’t place them directly on top of the coals. The appropriate size of logs to be used should have a diameter similar to a soft drink can.
After the logs are well heated and well dried out, place them at the top of the coals.
As you wait for this to happen, have another log placed on the firebox in order to warm up. Every time another log is rolled on the fire, have another inside the firebox to heat up. The heated logs will be able to catch up fire more easily and they are not likely to produce the white smoke we all don’t really like. This will enable your cooking to run more smoothly.
Note: Always ensure the vents remain open while the door of the firebox is cracked open as you wait for the cooking chamber to absorb the high temperatures.
Maintain the Required Temperature
If you have a calibrated smoker and the inbuilt thermometer is reliable, an efficient smoker thermometer will be more important. Ensure you get a probe of the area where the meat will be cooking.
Once the desired temperatures are attained, put vents on one side of firebox at a third open. Regulate the cap of the chimney to open half way.
Keep on checking the temperatures and regulate vents through the cook process, since factors of the temperature, wood, and the wind are likely to affect the temperature. At this level, you can check out the fire. If the logs turned into coal, roll the logs that you have been using, and have another log heat up.
Avoid making big adjustments on the vents at a go. It is good to put up the finest adjustments slowly in order to rein the temperatures.
Cooking Meats
Many offset smokers let you cook the meats and other ingredients in a few different ways. You are either able to use the grates inside or you can use a rotisserie grilling. This gradually rotates the meat in the smoker’s barrel and makes sure the smoke will get absorbed by all the areas of your meat.
Add more Taste to your Meat
If you desire to cook your meat even tastier than usual then try to make cuts in your meat and marinate it well with spices and seasonings. Salty water or a bit of pepper will add a delicious flavor to your meat. You should have to soak your meat in salty water for up to 24 hours for a better taste.
A dry seasoning massage of your meat also helps to add lots of finger licking taste. Mingle your seasonings and spices with a tablespoon of Olive Oil and apply a moderate coat of the spice mix over the meat and massage it gently with your hands.
Enjoy your cooking! And the meat…:)
If you like smoking your food – you’ll surely like reading our review of Brine…Check it out!
