Not all smoking is bad for you

I consider myself a pretty decent hand at the grill. Rack of lamb, burgers, shrimp and peaches have all hit flame under my spatula and tongs. But something I have always wanted to try is smoking.

On Father's Day 2011, my family bought me a smoker. Well, actually, my wife handed me some cash and said, "You've been talking about wanting a fire pit, so now you can get one. Or, maybe get yourself a smoker. Your choice."

With cash in hand, I walked into the hardware store and checked out the prices of the fire pits. There was one that would take half the cash in hand. So I ran over to check out the smokers. Most were out of my price range -- all except for a little Brinkmann Smoke N' Grill charcoal smoker. In fact, it was the same price as the fire pit and that meant I could get both. I eagerly purchased the fire pit and sought assistance on the smoker. The only one they had in stock was too badly damaged to sell so she told me to come back the next day, when a new shipment was expected.

I did just that and ... no smoker. The department manager told me they had delivery trucks out back and it might very well be there, but he'd have no way of knowing until much later into the evening. I struck out again. "Try again tomorrow," he said.

On my third visit to the now getting-on-my-nerves big box hardware and home supply store (which shall remain nameless), I decided to call ahead first. They patched me through to a guy on the floor. "Yes, I have one left," he said. "I'll set it aside for you if you get here in the next hour."

I did and there it was. Yes, I had my smoker.

With the box shoved into the back seat of our big sedan, I arrived home and proceeded to set up my new toy. Assembly wasn't too bad and even my 2-and-a-half-year-old son tried to help me. The reviews I've read on the smoker are pretty good, considering the price is under $50 and it can be used as a grill as well.

Once it was together, then came the next question. What in the world was I going to do for my first meat? I settled on an 8-pound pork shoulder roast. According to the instruction manual/cookbook that came with the smoker, it should've taken about 8 hours to cook. After 14 hours, I waved the white flag and put the roast back in the refrigerator, to finish it off in the oven the next day.

I had severely miscalculated the timing. I wouldn't be so foolhardy the next time. Which brings me to a 5-pound pork butt roast. My griller's ego was certainly bruised the first round, so I felt like I had something to prove.

Get Started Early
I made the mistake the first time of starting too late in the day, so on this morning by 7 a.m. I had scored the roast (fat side) and rubbed it with pepper, paprika, garlic powder and a light drizzle of Worchestershire sauce. You can also do this the night before and store it overnight in a zipper-seal plastic bag. Have wood chunks (I prefer mesquite for lighter meats like fish, poultry and pork) soaking in water for at least an hour.

 Soak wood chunks in water (or wine or fruit juice) for at least an hour. I kept a large bowl outside by the smoker with chunks soaking for four hours, adding them as needed to the coals.

I got the coals going with a chimney starter. I prefer to use the Trader Joe's brand of briquets (similar to other name-brand briquets but without the additives and fillers) or wood-chunk charcoal. With the Brinkmann Smoke N' Grill, I removed the top and second grill grates and the water pan so I could easily dump the coals in the smoker's fire pan. To light the coals, I set the chimney starter on my trusty Weber grill. Get enough coals going to fill the pan (for me, that's a full chimney).

 Here the front gauge reads "ideal" and that's the area where you want to keep it throughout the smoking process.

The water pan
The next step is to fill the liquid pan with water and a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of red wine. The water/drip pan will need to be refilled at least three times during the process.

Place the water pan in the smoker, careful not to burn yourself. It sits very close to the fire pan. I wore gloves for this purpose. Place the grill grate directly on top of the water pan. Allow the smoker to heat up a bit while you retrieve the roast.

 The meat is positioned with the thermometer facing the access door. The water/drip pan sits underneath it and will need to be refilled throughout the process.

The meat
Place the roast on the grill, fat-side up, with a meat thermometer in place so you can see it easily through the fire-pan access door. Keep the thermometer away from fat pockets. Do not lift the lid! Leave it on there throughout the smoking process.

The lid isn't designed for a snug fit and neither are any of the other internal parts. According to the owner's manual, it's to allow for airflow.

I could easily check the meat thermometer throughout the process. If it gives you a false reading, as it did with me, reposition the probe so it is clear of any fat pockets.

After three hours, I had to reposition the thermometer. Since I couldn't find a good spot in the cramped confines of the smoker, I quickly removed the meat, found a spot, and returned it to the grill. This maneuver probably set me back an hour in cooking time, but at least I had accurate readings afterward.

My smoker - The Brinkmann Smoke 'N Grill
The Brinkmann is designed to be "loose fitting" for airflow, so resist the urge to try to seal the equipment by bending it (yes, I've read about others who are so concerned by the gaps they actually squeeze the equipment to get it to 'fit').

Keep an eye on the temperature gauge on the front of the smoker. The stock equipment reads "Warm," "Ideal" and "Hot." I haven't replaced the gauge yet, but advise you to do so when you get the opportunity. I tried to keep the needle straight up as much as possible, adding charcoal every hour. To add more coals, open the access door and toss them in (I used at least five to seven briquets, but you'll need to determine the right amount for yourself).

The process is SLOW. Do not try to speed it up by making the fire too hot. You'll simply dry out your meat, which is what you don't want to do.

Wood chunks soaked for an hour can be tossed into the fire pan during the first three to four hours of smoking the meat. While adding wood and charcoal (usually every hour), check the temperature of the meat.

Timing is everything
Watch your temperature gauges on the front and the one you placed in the meat. The first should stay relatively constant and the latter should steadily climb. The smoker isn't something you need to babysit and fuss over. Every hour is sufficient. To get the meat to read 180 degrees F (done) took about 12 hours, which is far more time than the cookbook (that came with the smoker) claims. To get the meat to 190 (the minimum temp for pulled pork) took 14 hours. The ideal pulled pork range is 195-210, but I didn't wait that long.

Patience is the key. My advice is to start as early as possible and have a backup plan for dinner, just in case the smoking process takes longer than expected.

 A good 14 hours later and the meat had hit the desired 190 degrees. Carefully remove the meat and cover with foil and a heavy towel for one hour, allowing the juices to redistribute. Tongs were sufficient to remove the meat, but larger pieces may take two people and heavy gloves.

The meat came out perfectly. Remove the fat and excess skin. For pulled pork, begin pulling the meat after the rest period and add your favorite barbecue sauce. Smoked pork will have a pink-to-reddish tint. As long as the temperature gauge is reading 180, you're good to go.