The Smoking Nirvana
Prologue
Somewhere in Central Europe. About 25,000 years ago.
He has been lying for more than three hours now. Motionless on his stomach, ears cocked for the faintest of sounds. His face was covered in dry mud, eyebrows brittle, not a hint of expression in his eyes. Only focus– he has been chasing the stag since the early hours. Not much cover to work with, but then again, he doesn’t need much to hide. He was the finest hunter-gatherer of his clan, they called him the shadow for a reason.
He can pretty much appear from thin air, with his spear made of sharp bone and antlers, ready to make the kills.
At such close quarters, the stag had no chance.
The speartip pierced the heart of the animal– the dark-red jets were warm, draining the animal quickly of its life-blood. The stag died with eyes fixed on his killer– under the blazing sun.
Much work lies ahead. The hunter has to skin and butcher the animal, carry its meat on his back to his people– half a day’s walk from here. But the promise of smoked meat made his hunger even more acute.
The man started his long walk back, content that dinner was secured.
The History of Smoking Food
It is given that prehistoric humans smoked their food– fish, and meat– over an open fire. The heat would dry up the flesh, making it possible to preserve for a longer period. Then, by accident, our ancestors stumbled upon the fact that smoking increases the flavors of food. Thus began the journey of thousands of years when humans learned and perfected the process of smoking food, not just meat, but also vegetables.
The hunter mentioned at the beginning lived at a time humans (Early European Modern Humans, aka, EEMH) already learned to control fire for cooking. Sometimes the ancient humans would hang dead birds, animals, and fishes in a cave, with a fire inside, to slowly cook. They would dig up shallow pits, line them with stones, and fill the pits with hot coals and ashes. Meat and fish wrapped in leaves were left over the hot coals, and the pit would be covered with a layer of soil to achieve temperature sealing. These so-called earth ovens were a great technique to slowly roast/smoke meat, that would be delicate and flavorful. As you will learn later in this article, there are modern versions of these earth ovens, called kamado-style smokers, highly popular among barbecue enthusiasts today.
The feeling of contentment, the sense of comfort that the smell of the smoked meal provided to the ancient humans, has been transmitted through the selfish genes to us, the modern humans. So even today, when you and I barbecue meat on our fancy smokers, we are stoking the primitive feelings of happiness our ancestors experienced over a meal, kept secretly in the subcortical area of our brains.
What Happens When You Smoke Food (Stages of Smoking):
Smoke is a physical, visible substance. Typically, woods are burned to produce the smoke for cooking, and the types of wood people burn to vary widely, based upon geographical location and preferences.
But what happens when you burn wood?
There are three stages of the wood-burning process: first, it undergoes dehydration– all moisture is evaporated from the wood fibers. Second, the wood undergoes pyrolysis– effectively, destruction by fire. And finally, combustion, when the remnants of wood would be ignited by the fire. At the stage of pyrolysis, smoke begins to reach a stage where you can put your meat over it. At around 500 degrees Fahrenheit, the smoke would start to add flavors and colors to your food. Depending on the type of food (meat vs. fish), you can tweak the smokiness from this point onwards. But what gives the flavor to the smoked food? Turns out, with smoking, hundreds of amino acids and their degraded forms lead to different aromas and flavors in the meat, through a process known as Maillard Reactions (after French doctor and chemist, Louis Camille Maillard).
What is This Proverbial Smoke Ring?
The Smoke Ring is known as a hallmark of great barbecued meat– whether you believe in a so-called badge of honor in food or not, this iconic ring has been lauded as an achievement of every backyard smoker. But what is it? It is the stable pinkish color right along the outer borders of the smoked meat, which results from the chemical reactions between smoke and meat. The science of it, in case you are interested, is that burnt wood releases nitrogen dioxide, which enters the meat, converts to nitric oxide– then it binds to the meat protein, known as myoglobin, and forms this pinkish-red hue at the edge of the meat.
As a total novice backyard smoker, I have had a lot of pride in the times I had such smoke rings in my smoked meat (and a lot of despair when I didn’t have it, which frankly, is more common). But it has been debunked as a hallmark of excellence since, the ring can be forged, it appears! Therefore, don’t take it at its face value, when you eat at a fancy BBQ joint next time– the taste of food is the ultimate judge, not any ring or the lack of it.
Does everybody like smoked flavor?
When I first smoked chicken wings over charcoal at 400F on a rainy evening, I didn’t know what to expect. As an amateur, grilling, barbecue, and smoking meant the same thing to me.
That was until I tasted properly smoked hot wings!
You will know the difference between smoked food over lump charcoal/wood versus any other grilling method that is out there. The taste, the flavor, the smokiness– it will blow your mind. Chances are, you won’t barbecue your meat any other way at all, from the moment you had your first success on smoked meat.
However, you can still overdo it and the results are not always great. Despite all the vanity associated with it, not everyone will like the smoky flavor of food. I fell in love the moment I tasted smoked meat– I wouldn’t do it any other way, whether it’s beef ribs, lamb shanks, or chicken wings. But depending on how you smoke, you could coat the meat with a rather strong smoky flavor, which is not for everyone (my wife certainly doesn’t prefer too much flavor). So, time your smoke, folks!
How do modern humans smoke food?
OK. First thing, grilling or barbecuing does not always mean smoking. You can light a fire by any means and put your food (meat, fish, vegetables) over the fire, on a grill and cook it. Sure, it could taste good, but all you did was cook or seared food over the fire. In contrast, smoking typically involves low and slow roasting over indirect heat– there is a huge difference between direct cooking over fire versus indirect cooking over smoke. With indirect cooking, you are allowing chemical reactions to take place between your food and the smoke, which will be vastly superior (in my opinion) in taste, in comparison to any other ways to barbecue.
In his book Project Smoke, celebrated author, journalist, and grill master Steven Raichlen reported seven steps of smoking, what he called, Smoking Nirvana. In short, choosing your smoker, choosing your wood, getting the proper accessories, flavoring your food, picking the smoking method, lighting the fire, and finally, knowing when the food is done are Steven’s 7 steps. I found his books to be good primers and great ways to get started with smoking.
Inspired, I went to buy a smoker and almost decided not to, given the endless options out there. In case you are wondering, I won’t be reviewing any specific product or referring you to a brand (there is no reason to– no one sponsors me to write this stuff). But I will say this– any kamado-style ceramic smoker will be very handy for a beginner. They allow easy control, better heat retention, and good flavoring of food when done correctly
Techniques for good smoking
I won’t share any cooking or smoking recipe– you need not worry about it. For I am no Steven Raichlen, nowhere near at all. But, over countless hours of botched smoking, burnt-bitter, poorly done food, and frustrations of overcooking in my backyard, I learned some lessons. I will share some techniques that will help you to avoid common mistakes, and perhaps, take you closer to the Smoking Nirvana:
1. Only choose hardwood lump charcoal as your fuel. For better smokiness, use wood logs, wood chips with lump charcoal.
2. If you want to taste real smoked food, you would need a charcoal grill– not gas or electric ones.
3. Light your charcoal, and let them burn! Patience is a virtue– and your patience will be tested here. For good results, let the charcoal burn, and reach the stage of pyrolysis for sufficient time, before even thinking about putting food on the grill.
4. The first wave of thick white smoke, those that are cloud-like, and comes soon after you light the charcoal, those are the nasty smoke. You need to wait until the thin blue smoke (almost invisible) starts to appear.
5. Once your grill is hot– like hot to the touch, you can consider putting food, but just before you do, brush the grill grates lightly with oil.
6. Give time to smoke your food evenly. Remember, if you are looking, you ain’t cooking. Let the grill hood or dome (in a kamado-style grill) be closed, and let the smoke work its magic.
7. Finally, pick up your food. Rest it for about 5-8 minutes, and then dig in!
8. Unless you are searing steaks, don’t smoke over flames– they will charr the food and add a burnt taste to it. Use time, thin blue smoke, and indirect heat– done correctly, these should yield good results.
Epilogue
He reached the campsite about an hour after sunset. An eerie sense of tranquility was in the air— the dry riverbed where the clan stayed last night was cold and silent.
It took a lot of effort for him to get back to the camp, for he was weak of hunger, with loads to carry. The smell of raw flesh and blood was inviting to the predators, he had to take extreme caution to protect himself and his prized possession— dinner for all!
Soon, after discovering his presence, the camp came to life.
A buzz of activities followed— his brothers and clansmen set up the fire pit, women and children helped to get the meat ready for the smoke.
There, by the fire pit, on the dry riverbed beside the mountain as old as time itself, the clan enjoyed the smoked meat of the stag. They danced under the moonlight long after the meal– not worrying too much about tomorrow, for there will always be new adventures, new gains, and profound losses in the river of time.
A new day beckons.