If you have ever played with fire, and more specifically with smokers, you know that no matter how much you practice for hours and hours, if you don't have a machine that lives up to your ambitions, it will be very difficult to move on to the next level.
A budding Pitmaster can watch over his barbecue 24 hours a day, but if the barbecue does not retain its heat, or if on the contrary it overheats too quickly or even worse if its combustion is not ideal and it gives off opaque smoke, he could not hope to become the best Pitmaster in the world.
There’s a reason why Pitmasters at the world’s biggest barbecue competitions use the best smokers; they know how much of a difference it can make. And there’s a reason why every meat category at barbecue competitions is smoked. The judges know that only the real deal will be able to control the amount of smoke and control their machine like an F1 driver would his car.
If we go back to the basics, we remember that the complexity of smoke is the same for everyone. Although delicious, the taste for smoke changes from one person to another. If you or your friends like a strong taste, go for a charcoal smoker. If you like the taste in a moderate way or should we say if you like the natural taste of smoke, go for log smokers. It is much more difficult to control than a pellet smoker, but it is the best way to live the real adventure of fire. With wood, it is more about building your experience little by little. Finally, with a pellet smoker, it is almost guaranteed that you will succeed in all your cooking, but the experience is much less great. It is a bit like if a computer (PID engine) made you become the Pitmaster in the world who uses the best smoker in the world, with the best technique in the world as well as the best fuel in the world.
We take the time to remind you of the basics because the type of smoker you choose will define the type of Pitmaster you will be.
In competition, whether small or large, you can really see Pitmasters of all three types. The Charcoal and Wood types are the purists and the pellet pitmasters are the "techno" of the barbecue world.
In reality, it's all about experience, feeling, and the quality of the smoker. Because if all three types of Pitmasters have the same piece of meat, the same size, with the same amount of fat, and all three have mastered their smoker, that piece will most likely taste the same.
Now that you have an idea of the Pitmaster you want to be, you need to choose the right smoker. According to our experts who have experience in competition, it all starts with a quality smoker. To be ranked among the "good smokers", they must first have good insulation. This element analyzed alongside other crucial points such as its mass, its inertia, therefore the capacity of the smoker to accumulate and retain heat are what you should look for in a quality smoker.
Anecdote in passing: People often wrongly believe that it is the coal or wood that heats and cooks their meat, but no, it is rather the smoker that cooks it once the heat is stored in its walls.
To have a smoker worthy of the greatest Pitmasters, it must have a combustion chamber isolated and distant from the cooking chamber.
Whether you are a charcoal, wood or pellet type Pitmaster, you will be able to reach the highest levels with a good quality smoker and above all one that offers you the maximum possibilities. Express yourself to the expert in store and tell him about the type of Pitmaster you want to be and he will be able to advise you in order to guide you in one of your greatest ambitions.
See you at the American Royal, the world's largest barbecue competition!
For any questions: www.bbqquebec.com