May 05 2009
Smoking tools and techniques!
Hi there and welcome to the Dakota Blue Smokin Grill blog. If you read my last couple of blogs, I talked about charcoal vs. gas and then how to turn your charcoal grill or gas grill for smoking. I am going to take it bit further on and talk to you about the meats that you will be using in your smoking process, Also some of my favorite tools and techniques that I use pretty much, most of the time. So lets get fired up and get smokin.
Instant read meat thermometers: I remember the first couple of times that I smoked some meat, I smoked a brisket, and then a pork loin. And boy I just had no Idea what to use for a thermometer to check the meat for done-ness, I had an old probe meat thermometer, and stuck it in the meat to check the temperature, then pulled it back out and closed the hood of my grill, They both turned out OK, but it took me longer to cook them because I lost so much heat due to having to wait to see what the temp was. Then, I decided to go shopping for a digital thermometer, these are very easy to use, and some are inexpensive, and some have a portable handheld digital device that tells you what the inside temperature of the food is at. Most of the ones I looked at had automatic food temperatures for the types of food, (pork, beef, lamb,chicken)they all had a steel probe with a metal mesh cord over the wire going to the base unit, so the wire does not melt in high temperature settings. The one that I bought is portable, so I can just clip it to the side of my jeans and be able to program it for a certian temperature, and it will beep when it reaches that temp, and you can choose a higher or lower temp setting. The other nice thing about it, is that I can accomplish other things I have to get done. (chores, peeling, cutting veggie’s, etc.)
I use mine for brisket, pork loin, roasts, whole chickens, whole turkey’s and a few other foods that need to be at a done temperature. For safety and simplicity, providing a quick and more accurate reading of food while cooking. I have also found through the use of this type of thermometer, I know when the inner temperature is dropping, and that I need to add more charcoal to get it up to temperature. I also can save on charcoal by not lifting the lid every so often to check the temperature. So if you are thinking about getting this type of thermometer, I would give you a double smokin thumbs up!
