Smoking Meat (10 page)

Keep Meat Cool

On the road

Once you have purchased your meat, you need to bring it home. Take special precautions to make sure it stays cold during the trip, especially in the summer. To get from the store to my home is usually about a 15-minute drive, so I don’t worry about it. But if you take more than 30 minutes to get home, find a way to keep the meat cool. If you are driving, it would be very smart to keep an ice chest in your vehicle with a single bag of ice. Place the meat in the ice chest and put the bag of ice on top for the trip home. Ice is cheap and you can rest assured that the meat will stay at a safe temperature until you get home. If you aren’t shopping with a car, consider bringing an insulated bag and a small ice pack to keep the meat cool.

At home

Be sure to put meat in the refrigerator or freezer as soon as you arrive home. It’s a good idea to make space in the refrigerator before you go shopping to ensure you can place the meat in it right away. To ensure meat doesn’t spoil before its expiration date, it must be kept below 40°
F
. I highly recommend using a thermometer in your refrigerator to ensure that this is actually the case instead of assuming that your nice shiny appliance is doing its job. Commercial refrigerators require this, but it is a good thing to do at home as well.

When you take meat out of the refrigerator to prepare it for smoking, you should process it quickly. Allowing meat to sit on the counter for 30 minutes prior to smoking is a good practice to avoid creosote, but if further delay occurs, put the meat back in the refrigerator.

Avoid Cross-Contamination

Cross-contamination occurs when foodborne pathogens from one item are transferred to another. This occurs when raw or undercooked meat comes into contact with food that is ready to be eaten. Wash your hands often with soap and hot water while handling and preparing meat, and place dishes, utensils, and other tools used in the preparation of raw meat into hot, soapy water immediately after use to make sure they are properly cleaned and sanitized. Be sure to use clean plates, utensils, and tools for removing and serving meat from the smoker.

Cook Meat at a Safe Temperature

Once you place the meat on the grate of the smoker and the lid is closed, the smoke will naturally retard the growth of bacteria. However, the
USDA
recommends that meat be cooked at 225°
F
or above to ensure it does not stay in the danger zone longer than necessary. I recommend cooking at the lower temperatures of 225°
F
to 240°
F
for the true smoking experience.

Food safety summary

Here’s a summary of what you should and shouldn’t do to ensure your food is completely safe.

Chill

• Keep meat as cool as possible while traveling from the store to your home.
  
• Keep meat refrigerated, and ensure your refrigerator is maintaining a proper temperature of 33°
  F
  to 39°
  F
  .
  
• Thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator, not on the counter.
  
• Make sure meat is completely thawed before smoking it.
  
• Minimize the time that meat is out of the refrigerator when preparing it for smoking. (Allowing it to sit on the counter for 30 minutes prior to smoking is a good practice to avoid creosote, but any longer than this opens the door to bacteria.)
  

Clean

• Wash hands with soap and hot water often while handling and preparing meat.
  
• Wash all surfaces, dishes, utensils, and tools that have been in contact with raw meat with hot, soapy water.
  
• Never reuse plastic bags that have been used to transfer or store raw meat.
  

Separate

• Use separate designated cutting boards for meats and vegetables.
  
• Use clean dishes and utensils for removing meat from the smoker.
  

Cook

• Smoke meat at or above 225°
  F
  .
  
• Refrigerate meat within two hours of removal from smoker.
  
• Ensure meats are cooked to my recommended safety temperatures (below).
  
• Use a calibrated and tested thermometer to check meat for proper doneness.
  

EATING AND ENJOYING SMOKED MEAT

How Much Is Enough?

This is the age-old question that many folks ask when they are about to have a party or get-together. You don’t want to run out—that would be a disaster—but neither do you want to blow the budget and have a ton of food left over. Although sending guests home with doggie bags would make them extremely happy and only too eager to come back soon, your wallet suffers.

So how do you figure out how much is enough? Well, it’s not an exact science. There are formulas out there, but I just don’t think a pound of meat per person fits every scenario. For example, men eat more than women, older folks eat less than middle-aged folks, young children don’t usually eat that much, and teenaged boys are garbage disposals with legs, able to eat enormous amounts of food. Quantity also depends on how the food is being served. If hot wings are the only thing on offer, I can eat at least a dozen, if not two dozen before I land the plane and call it a night. But if the wings are served with bread, baked beans, potato salad, and possibly other sides, then I might eat half a dozen at the most.

Bottom line: the better you know the demographics of your get-together, the better you can plan. Estimate the number of men, women, and children at the very least. Any more details will just help you further.

For a main entrée, I generally plan on about 1½ pounds for men and teen boys; 1 pound for women, teen girls, and seniors; and ½ pound for children. This formula works out for me in almost every case, with a little left over—but it is based on averages and does not work if you’re serving the meal buffet-style. For buffets, adjust the amounts upward, because people tend to pile up their plates. When serving meat as an appetizer, I cut the total amount by about half.

I have a phobia about running out of food, so I tend to overcompensate. It’s nothing for me to throw on an extra brisket just to make myself feel better. Most of the time, though, I find that the math works and that I should plan the meal using the facts.

Keeping Smoked Meat Warm

Dinner is at eight p.m. and it’s only five-thirty. You notice that the brisket is already creeping up on 195°
F
, and since the dinner guests will not be arriving for another two hours, what in the world can you do to keep the meat warm without drying it out or cooking it further? There is a simple solution, and it involves heavy-duty foil, towels, and an empty ice chest.

Wrap the meat in a double layer of heavy-duty foil, making sure the shiny side faces in. Air gets trapped between the layers and creates an insulating effect. The heat also reflects off of the shiny foil on the inside of the package, thereby staying inside with the meat instead of leaking out.

Place the package in a deep pan just in case there are any leaks. Wrap the package and pan in a thick towel and place it in an empty ice chest lined with another heavy towel folded in half. Fill the remaining space above the pan of meat with more towels, pillows, or a small blanket if necessary.

The meat will stay above 140°
F
for up to four hours in this state, and will be juicier and more tender when you take it out than when you put it in. I have been known to do this on purpose for that very reason.

Transporting and Reheating Techniques

I receive many e-mails, especially around the holidays, from folks asking me how to cook a turkey or other meat at home and then transport it to Grandma’s house. I will tell you right up front that the best way to eat smoked meat is right out of the smoker (or within four hours if kept warm using the method described above). It tends to lose that certain something when it is reheated. But sometimes reheating is necessary, so here are my recommendations for making the best of a not-so-ideal situation.

Vacuum pack

The best method for preparing smoked meat for reheating later is to slice, chop, or pull the meat, then pack it into 1- to 2-pound vacuum packs. I am a big fan of vacuum packing at home. The equipment on the market these days is easy to use and fairly affordable.

To reheat the vacuum-packaged meat, bring a pot of water to boiling, then turn off the heat. Drop the packages in the hot water for 12 to 18 minutes to reheat to a perfect eating temperature.

Slow cooker

The second method requires a slow cooker. First, slice or pull the meat immediately after it has finished smoking and has rested for the prescribed time; save the meat’s drippings as
jus
for the reheating process. Place the meat in the removable part of the slow cooker and cover it with foil or plastic wrap before putting the lid on. This container can be placed in the refrigerator for up to three days.

To reheat, remove the foil or plastic wrap from the meat and pour some of the saved
jus
or some broth over the top. Set the removable pot back into the slow cooker base and heat on high for three to four hours, or until the meat is warm enough to serve.

Oven

Using the oven is the best method for reheating quickly when you do not have a vacuum sealer. After the meat has finished smoking, place it in a deep pan covered with foil and refrigerate until you are ready to reheat it (not to exceed three days). Save the meat’s drippings as
jus
for the reheating process.

To reheat, preheat the oven to 350°
F
. Remove the foil from the meat, and pour some of the saved
jus
or some broth over the top. Recover with foil and set in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the meat reaches the desired serving temperature.

COLD SMOKING BASICS

An entire book could be devoted to cold smoking, so while I don’t intend to delve too deeply into this topic here, I can give a few pointers on how to set up your smoker for creating smoke with little or no residual heat.

Cold smoking is great for cheese, bacon, seafood, and lean meats such as steak or wild game. For the last three items, which are typically grilled, I recommend cold smoking for 30 to 45 minutes right before grilling. Although they would be exposed to smoke from grilling only, the smoke flavor would be minimal because of the short duration spent on the grill. By adding a cold smoking session just before grilling, the smoke flavor can be greatly enhanced.

For cheese especially, it is imperative that the heat be no higher than 90°
F
to prevent the cheese from melting all over your smoker. There are several options for creating the much-needed smoke while keeping the heat to the bare minimum.

Dual Smoker Method

This method of cold smoking is the most difficult. I mention it because it has been used so much over the years, but I don’t recommend it since there are much easier ways to accomplish the task.

Basically, smoker A is filled with lit charcoal and some wood chips or chunks to create smoke. A dryer hose or other pipe is attached to the top of smoker A and run slightly uphill about 6 to 10 feet to smoker B. The hose is attached to the bottom of smoker B, which contains the cheese or other food you want to smoke. As the smoke travels from smoker A to smoker B, it cools down and does not increase the temperature in smoker B beyond 90°
F
.

Soldering Iron Method

Fill a large metal coffee can with a mix of wood chips and wood chunks. Plug a soldering iron into a wall outlet and insert the end into the coffee can. Place the cheese or meat on the top grate of your smoker or grill, and the smoking apparatus on the bottom grate or in the firebox, and let the magic happen. The can will need to be shaken occasionally to knock down ash, but it will create smoke with minimal heat production.

Three Hot Coals and a Wood Chunk

I know it sounds like a nursery rhyme, but this is actually a simple way to cold smoke. Place the cheese or meat on the grate of your smoker. Set three lit charcoal briquettes flat in the charcoal pan or firebox of your smoker. Place a flat wood chunk on top of the charcoal to create smoke. Provide a little airflow and replace the charcoal and/or wood chunk as needed to keep the smoke going for the desired period of time.

Smoke Generators

Devices designed to create smoke and turn any smoker or grill into a cold smoker can also be purchased. They are inexpensive and are recommended for real hassle-free cold smoking. The two devices I have used extensively are the Smoke Daddy and the A-Maze-N-Smoker, both of which do a wonderful job.

Smoke Daddy

The Smoke Daddy is a cylinder that attaches easily to your current grill or smoker via a ¾-inch hole using a washer and a nut. The cylinder is filled with wood chips or pellets and is lit with a butane torch to provide smoke. A fish-tank air pump attached to the cylinder provides positive pressure to push the smoke into the grill or smoker. It works for several hours at a time and can be easily refilled on the fly for extended cold smoking sessions. Visit
www.smokedaddyinc.com
for more information on this product.

A-Maze-N-Smoker

This small, 6-inch-square device looks like a maze and uses very fine wood dust lit at one or both ends to create smoke. Once lit, the wood dust smolders from one end of the maze to the other, creating smoke for up to six hours if lit at one end and up to three hours if lit at both ends (though more smoke is produced in the latter scenario). It’s very simple to use, can be washed in the dishwasher, and can be used for cold smoking in any smoker or grill. They also have a new model that uses pellets (instead of wood dust), which produce more smoke and burn for up to 11 hours unattended. More information on this product can be found at
www.amazenproducts.com
.