Smoking Times and Temperatures Explained
January 29, 2007 | Issue 30
Hello dear friends and welcome to the January 2007 edition of the Smoking Meat Newsletter. I am so happy that you have taken the time to read and further your knowledge about smoking meat and while you do have a choice as to what you allow into your home, you chose us and for that I am eternally grateful!
We are growing by leaps and bounds and there is no doubt that this newsletter is no doubt the largest and most subscribed to newsletter of its kind. I try to keep the information fresh and on the cutting edge so folks like yourself can continue to increase in your knowledge about this wonderful sport.
I am pushing for this sport to be added as an event at the world olympics but I have yet to prove the physical aspect of things other than carrying wood, chasing away the hungry neighbors, etc.
All kidding aside.. we have a great issue this month and I for one would like to get right into the juicy details!
Here is the lineup for this month.. enjoy!
- Smoking Times and Temperatures Explained
- ALL NEW! Smoking Meat Store
- Barbecue Competition Calendar
- Featured Products
- Joke of the Month
Smoking Times and Temperatures Explained
I have had so many emails these past few weeks on times and temperatures and how to know when the meat is ready to be pulled out of the smoker. I try to stay in tune with the main questions that are being asked and gear my newsletter topics to cover these in detail.
Many people are used to cooking with regular recipes indoors under preset conditions and are used to knowing exactly how long to cook something but with smoking and almost any cooking outdoors it is not always so black and white as that.
To start with I strongly recommend a good digital meat thermometer.. the kind with a probe attached to a metal braided wire that can remain in the meat throughout the entire smoke.
I have really good luck with two different ones.. the Taylor digital thermometer from Amazon.com and the pyrex version found at my local Wal-mart store.
I have several of each one of these and could not really recommend one over the other.
Using a thermometer does not mean that you cannot guess when the meat is done and get it fairly close but it is a tool that turns your "pretty close" guesses into "exactly knowing" the status of the temperature inside the meat you are cooking.
Just a few degrees can make the difference between just right and juicy and overcooked and dry.
The main thing to remember about smoking meat is that it the temperature rather than the time that denotes when the meat has reached a state of perfection.
Smoking is something that cannot be rushed.. the amount of time in the smoker can be adjusted by raising or lowering the temperature in the smoker however if the meat is cooked too quickly then you may not end up with the nice strong smoky flavor that you are wanting.
By the Way.. If you have not taken advantage of my rib rub and barbecue sauce recipes then I think you should take care of that right now.. the sales of recipes and other products are what keeps this website going day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year. Many of you have been so generous in giving money to the tip jar at the top left of this page and that is appreciated so much. I get emails almost daily from good folks telling me how the rub and sauce recipes are worth every penny and are absolutely the best they have ever eaten.. here is one of those emails.. Hi Jeff, Just wanted to drop you a note and let you know how helpful the eCourse was. It was just what I needed to get going. Your Rib Rub is out of this world as well. Family couldn't stop talking about the first butt I did a couple days ago.. Thanks again. Thank you for supporting the greatest smoking meat site online with your finances (every dollar counts) and in return I promise to keep answering emails, writing newsletters, producing helpful products and doing everything in my power to support your smoking habit! |
I have included a link to a time and temperature table that is located at our wyntk.us website which gives some basic times and temperatures for smoking meat. Please keep in mind that these are only guides and other factors must be kept in mind such as weather, type of smoker, type of wood, wind, etc..
One other thing that must be looked at is the proximity of the meat to the heat. Some smokers namely the horizontal with side fireboxes tend to have lots of radiant heat that enters through a small opening in the firebox end of the smoker. Any meat that is placed near this opening can be burnt due to extreme radiant heat as it enters the smoke chamber even though the temperature readout may be within range.
There are modifications that can be done to this type of smoker to help even out the temperatures but we will cover that at another time. What you need to know is that it is usually a good idea to place the meat in the center or further away from the firebox end to allow the meat to cook properly without offering burnt sacrifices to the family and friends.
Smoked meat should NEVER be burnt. If you are experiencing burnt meat then you need to make some adjustments to allow the meat to cook without being burnt to a crisp on the outside. This can include lower temperatures, foiling the meat for part of the cooking time, and/or moving the meat to a cooler area of the smoker since this may be indicating that your smoker has hot spots.
If you are using rubs and sauces, especially those with sugars in them such as my naked rub or special barbecue/finishing sauce then it is imperative that the temperatures stay low and slow and not be rushed.
These are some basics that will hopefully help a lot of you who are having trouble with times and temperatures.
As always.. if you need further help just shoot me an email and I will do my best to get back with you as soon as possible. For an even faster response you can go to the Smoking Meat Forum and post a question there.
The New Smoking Meat Store
If you are in the market for supplies and equipment to help you in your smoking meat hobby then look no further than our very own smoking meat store. We have everything from thermometers to smoking tools to aprons so check it out today and help support this website.
Go to the Smoking Meat Store
Smoking Meat Forums Get Together
For all who are interested.. the guys and gals at Smoking Meat Forums are planning a get together and would like to have your input on planning this event. I am planning to do my best to be there and I would love to meet all of your there as well.
For more information and to add your 2 cents to the event planning simply go to http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=3073 and get in on the action!
For those of you who have not signed up yet at the forum then use this as an opportunity to sign up and be sure to introduce yourself on the "Roll call" area of the forum.
Looking forward to meeting a lot of you at the forum and beyond.
March 2007 BBQ Competitions
I have no record of any competitions scheduled for the month of February so I have included a few of the ones listed for March 2007.
01/25 - 01/27
Lakeland, FL
State Championship
Lakeland Pig Festival
Contact: Kristin Phillips & Dara Broomfield, PO Box 8797, Lakeland, FL 33806
Phone: 863-682-2112 Fax: 863-682-7113
E-mail: lakelandpigfestival@jlgl.com
KCBS Reps: HOFMAN WALTER, WELCH CLIF, SMITH STEPHEN R, WELLS CAROLYN
Please go to www.kcbs.us for even more competitions scheduled in the upcoming months. If you know of other competitions, KCBS sanctioned or otherwise, please drop me an email at least 2 months in advance and I will try to add it to the list.
Share This Newsletter
Be sure to share this newsletter with all of your friends and family.. send it to them and tell them how to subscribe for themselves at http://www.smoking-meat.com/subscribe.html and they will thank you time and time again.
Jeff's Naked Rib Rub and BBQ Sauce Recipes
If you are truly serious about barbecue and cooking outdoors for family and friends then you need my rub and sauce recipes. It is the two tools that you absolutely need in your barbecue toolbox and the are the second most important investment next to your smoker in my opinion and lots of folks agree.
These recipes are a result of my passion for barbecue and smoked meat and I am only too happy to hear when they are a huge success at your house.
If you would like to experience these recipes for yourself (and you should) simply click the link below to read more testimonies or click here to go ahead and order.
Note: This is an immediate download which means just as soon as you order you should receive a download link within minutes.
Please email me right away if you do not receive an email within just a few minutes of ordering so I can jump into action and find out what is going on.
I have an outside company that handles this for me and I have to keep them on their toes.. my goal is 100% satisfaction and I won't be satisfied until you are. I PROMISE.
Joke of the Month
The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that, "When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount." However, in modern business, education and government, a whole range of far more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:
1.) Buying a stronger whip.
2.) Changing riders.
3.) Threatening the horse with termination.
4.) Appointing a committee to study the horse.
5.) Arranging to visit other countries to see how others ride dead horses.
6.) Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.
7.) Reclassifying the dead horse as "living impaired".
8.) Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.
9.) Harnessing several dead horses together to increase the speed.
10.) Providing additional funding and/or training to increase the dead horse's performance.
11.) Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.
12.) Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead, and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.
13.) Rewriting the expected performance requirements on all horses.
14.) Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position
Submitted by ultramag at SmokingMeatForums.com
Thanks Larry and all of you who regularly submit jokes into the jokes section of SmokingMeatForums.com .. we all get a great laugh out of them and it makes our days a little better.
Thank You for Supporting Smoking-Meat.com!
Until next month... thank you for being a part of the best smoking meat/barbecue site on the world wide web! At this time we are supported solely by sponsored ads and the few items that we offer for sale.
Every time you purchase one of our excellent products it helps pay for the hosting, domain and other expenses required to provide this excellent service to you.
We have also added a "Tip Jar" link to the site and if you have been helped at all by this newsletter or the website then please consider a small $1, $5, $10 or $20(or more) gift of appreciation to help keep this site going. We are forever grateful to all of you who constantly let us know how much the site means to you.
Have a Wonderful Day and Keep Smoking (meat that is)!!!
Jeff Phillips
Pitmaster/Webmaster
www.Smoking-Meat.com
www.SmokingMeatForums.com
Feel free to drop us a line about anything at all by using our contact us page or the speedy form below.
My good buddy Bruce keeps me supplied with his wonderful Cajun Put-it-on-everything Bayou Shakedown and I invite you to give it a try.. I think you are gonna love it as much as my family and I do.
Check out his stuff at CrazzyCajun.com
Note: This newsletter can be freely reprinted or used without permission as long as it stays intact, as is and is not changed in any way from the format in which it was set by the author and/or editors of this publication.
Tip Jar 
Reminder 
