When spring and summer start to make themselves felt, it seems like we always want to spend more time with our BBQ. It's like the perfect time to hot smoke food and let it cook slowly! We put on a nice smoke show and melt what's left of the snow while taking advantage of the warmer temperature. (Of course, we can also cook "low and slow" in winter. I'm not going to stop you! 😜)
There are several foods that can be smoked. In this article alone, I will give you 8 different options!
You can use any smoker you want to smoke your food, but personally, I really like the Camp Chef XXL Vertical WiFi Smoker because there is a lot of "stock" that fits in there. 😎 The advantage of a vertical BBQ is the large quantity of food that can be produced in a "restricted" space. These BBQs have a high production power.
Also, when working with a vertical BBQ, you should know that everything inside cooks at the same temperature. If you "set" the BBQ to 225°F, whether they are on the top or bottom grill, the food will cook at 225°F.
What can you smoke in your beautiful machine? Quite a few things!
Cheese
To give your cheese a nice smoky taste, there's nothing better than placing it in a smoker. You can leave it "pure" or put a little dry marinade on it before placing it on a grill. A tip, however: spread a sheet of butcher paper on the grill beforehand so that your cheese doesn't collect in the bottom of your BBQ while cooking. 😉
Boiled eggs
Once your eggs are hard-boiled and peeled, place them in the smoker to give them a delicious smoky touch.
Chicken wings
For a phenomenal result, I recommend sprinkling Steven Raichlen's Project Smoke Carolina Spice Powder on your wings. Once they're a nice reddish color, place them on the bottom rack of your smoker and let your BBQ do its magic. (You don't want the chicken juices dripping onto your other food!)
Carpaccio
It's usually eaten raw, but there's no harm in "spicing" it up a bit. 😉 Without letting the meat rest first, season your top sirloin steak with Booster BBQ Québec flavor enhancer on all sides, then add Steven Raichlen's Project Smoke Malabar Steak dry rub to give it a nice crust while it's still cold. When you're ready to cook your beautiful piece of meat, place it as high as possible in your BBQ so that its juices can drip onto the food below and give them more flavor. (Also, you don't want your meat to receive too much radiant heat, you just want it to be in contact with the smoke.)
Jerky
Also made with top sirloin beef, jerky can be marinated or not. You can let your meat soak in Coke or alcohol, for example, before sprinkling it with Booster BBQ Québec flavour enhancer and Steven Raichlen's Project Smoke Malabar Steak dry rub and slicing it into thin slices. At the end of cooking, you will have super nice pieces of jerky that will shred easily.
Ribs
A recipe I particularly like to make with ribs is to season their tops with Kansas BBQ Québec dry rub and a little Argentina BBQ Québec dry rub . Then, using a butter knife, I remove the membrane on the back of the ribs and season their backs the same way as their tops. I let everything cook and it gives a great result.
Salmon
Salmon is eaten raw, but it's also delicious cooked and smoked! If I season it withCaribbean BBQ Québec dry rub andMontreal BBQ Québec dry rub before cooking it, I get something that tastes like heaven. If your fish doesn't have skin, however, I would say don't put spices on all sides, because the final taste could be too smoky. Also, place it on butcher paper so that the grill doesn't damage the flesh.
As for its placement on the grill, the middle of the grill is the best place because salmon doesn't really drip, and because you want to soak it in smoke.
Bacon Wrapped Cheese Stuffed Peppers
Similar to how you would make jalapeno poppers, simply stuff a sweet pepper with cheese and wrap it in bacon slices to make this great snack. As it cooks, the cheese will melt and leave you with something really hot. Mmmm!
Basically, a smoker is for cooking and/or enhancing the flavor of something. It's super simple to use and the only thing you have to consider is time. The longer you leave your food inside your BBQ, the more it will be cooked and the more intense its smoky flavor will be. (You can even choose the intensity of smoke to project onto your food with some BBQ models!)
For optimal smoking, I recommend leaving your BBQ at 225°F. You can't go wrong at this temperature. Pork-based meats (pork shoulders, ribs, etc.) and wood-fed meats (original, venison, etc.) often need to be cooked at the lowest possible temperature, and most meats need to have an internal temperature of 200°F to be ready and tender. So 225°F is a perfect temperature if you have time for long cooking times.
For example, soft-boiled eggs will be ready after about 30 minutes to 2 hours in the BBQ at this temperature; ribs about 4 hours; and stuffed peppers about 1 hour 30 minutes. You should always rely on the internal temperature to verify that your food is indeed perfect.
There you have it! I hope I have inspired you to create delicious smoked meals and enjoy your BBQ to the fullest!
Happy BBQ!