Thursday, February 15, 2018

A Beginners Guide to Electric Food Smokers

If you’ve ever had smoked meats, then you probably know how flavorful they can be. Smoking is actually an age-old tradition that used to be done to safely preserve meat. Although we now have modern refrigeration and freezing available, smoking adds a great deal to the flavor of a good meat. Electric smokers make the process much easier today. If you’re interested in trying smoking on your own, use this guide to get started.

Choose a Smoker

There are a huge number of electric smokers on the market today, so do some research before purchasing one. Sites like Electric Smoker Center can give you some guidelines and expertise in this area. However, you’ll want to consider the size, price, ease of use, durability, and brand to make your choice. Decide how much meat you’re going to be smoking and how often. These factors will help you find the best option for your needs.

Prepare the Smoker

Before you get started, make sure that the smoker is in a safe place. It can’t be in a house or garage, so make sure that it’s in a well-ventilated area and on a flat surface. A concrete slab is a good place if available.

Before adding the meat, you’ll add water to the water pan and wood chips. Some people don’t use the water pan to smoke their meat and this is an area of personal preference. It does help keep temperatures stable though and may be a good idea when you’re just starting. Add wood chips or chunks of your favorite type of wood, as this will affect the flavor of the meat.

Start the Smoker

Turn on the electric smoker to the recommended cooking temperature without the meat. After the smoker has been preheated, check to make sure that there is adequate smoke. You may need to wait a little longer. It’s a good idea to wait until the wood chips start to ash and you begin to see coals.

Add the Meat

After you’ve gone through these steps, open the smoker doors and place the meat on the doors inside. Do this as quickly as possible to retain heat. Now that you’ve gone through these steps, all you have to do is wait for the meat to finish cooking. This time will vary depending on the amount of meat, types of meat, and your smoker itself. You should monitor the temperature and condition of the meat throughout the cooking process.

Once the meat is done, take it out and allow to cool slightly before enjoying. You can also store smoked meats until you’re ready to serve them. Most people smoke larger batches at one time for efficiency so that they can space out their smoking times.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve got the basic directions for smoking meats, you’re ready to get started. When you get a smoker, make sure to read the user manual carefully, as there may be some more specific directions to follow. These electric smokers are easy to use and will help you make delicious smoked meats at home easily.

Do you like smoked meat? 

Disclaimer: This is a guest post.

4 comments:

Theresa Mahoney said...

We have an electric smoker, but haven't used it in 2 years since I stopped eating meat. Jason is pretty bummed about it. Port a Pit has awesome smoked potatoes, so I may break it out this summer and try making those so we can get some use out of it still.

Harry Flashman said...

Smoking meat is a big deal up here in the Appalachians. I buy smoked hams, because they taste good and will keep forever. Lots of the small cafes here sell smoked trout, but I don't like that so well!

~ Noelle said...

This would be great to have! One of my co-workers actually had his father in law smoke some meat for our Christmas party... it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO Good! My brother has a smoker, but since he doesn't live down here, we don't get to enjoy it that often!

Indah Nuria Savitri said...

My hubby loves smoked brisket and I love smoked salmon! but frankly I haven't tried doing it at home. It must be handy to have smoker.

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