Barbecue'n On The Internet - Smoke 'N Fire Enquirer

Hi %CUST_1%. Hey what a difference a couple of weeks make. Almost the entire nation has thawed and smoke is rising from most backyards on weekends. Life is really, really good!

The average long-range weather forecast for 2008, from The Farmer's Almanac, is predicting almost all areas experiencing warmer than normal temperatures this summer, some places much warmer than normal, with average rainfall. This sounds like some great outdoor cooking weather. Better get busy and make the most of it!

Have you decided on purchasing a new gas grill this year? There are so many different types and styles. We have a buying guide which review many of the various options that are available on new grills. To learn more: Click Here

The following discussion is primarily for the charcoal/wood burning folks, however, we will have some information for you "gas griller" subscribers also.

We recently received a call from a customer of The Barbecue Store who was happy to receive his new Charcoal Chimney. We thought his comments to us might be of interest to many of our faithful readers. His Story: This fellow's family was complaining that the jerky he was preparing had an unusual "aroma" which could only be described as a "gassy smell". It turned out to be the liquid charcoal starter he was using to start his fire. He obviously wanted to eliminate that problem so he got the Charcoal Starter which eliminated any need for the liquid starter and thus removal of the petroleum odors - or so he thought.

We went on to have a nice discussion relative to the type of charcoal he was using (briquettes) to prepare his coals which then led to his use of pecan wood to also produce smoke and heat for his outdoor prepared jerky. Our discussion of his technique led us to do some thinking about others who might be under some basic misunderstandings about the use of woods, charcoals and petroleum lighters. We want each of you to become much better outdoor cooks...

Petroleum Liquid Starters: Besides the fact that you are dealing with a flammable petroleum product and many folks don't have the common sense not to "squirt" additional fuel on a simmering/roaring fire [see the picture to the right as an example] which can flare up in one's face, petroleum odor will penetrate the cooked food leaving you a foul taste to your food. Plain and simple.

Charcoal Chimneys: Charcoal chimneys just makes sense because they allow you to start the fire quickly, easily and safely while allowing you to avoid messy lighter fluid and awkward electrical charcoal starters. Simply place the chimney upside down on the fire grate, crumple several newspapers and place them on the bottom. Light the paper and quickly flip the chimney over and add the charcoal. That's it! In about 8-12 minutes you can pour the charcoal out onto the fire grate and you are ready to go! It is much faster than allowing 30-45 minutes for the lighter fluid to burn up and "turn gray".

Electric Starters: Another way to start your fire would be with the use of an electric charcoal starter, which is also very easy to use. Simply spread a layer of charcoal on the charcoal grate of your grill. Place the lighter on top of the charcoal and place more charcoal (like a sandwich) on top of the lighter. Plug the lighter into 120 volt outlet. After about 10 minutes you can disconnect the lighter from the outlet and remove the lighter from the fire.

Logs and Woods: One would normally feel that "clean, pure wood" would be great to cook with. But alas no. For instance, did you know that when you toss a log in the pit and it begins to burn, you set up the following actions...carbon monoxide and dioxide begin to be emitted along with hydrogen, condensed water, aldehydes, acids, ketones, and alcohols AS WELL AS airborne particles of tar and charred material which form the smoke. Click Here to see what it does to aluminum foil - and would do to your meat also! Sounds delightful, huh? The work around for this would be to burn all of your wood to embers and then place the embers into your barbecue pit. Wood chips, while consisting of wood particles, do not pose the same problems since they are being used sparingly for subtle smoke flavor. For additional reading, please see Smoky's Burning Wood & Blowing Smoke This is the doctorate course in using wood for flavoring and what works and doesn't.

Charcoal Briquettes: Charcoal briquettes are made of several ingredients, some of which might surprise you. The obvious primary ingredient, known as char, is basically ground lump charcoal and is responsible for easy lighting and to producing wood-smoke flavor. Surprisingly some manufacturers even use softwoods like pine, or other organic materials like fruit pits and nut shells - it should always be hard woods.

Now there is one thing you might not be aware ...Ever wonder why briquettes burn a long time? Guess what: another primary ingredient, used to produce a long-lasting fire, is coal. Under the ground, mined, petroleum based black coal. Not something they brag about, heh?

Then there are some other ingredients in briquettes which might also raise eyebrows. They include a binding agent (something to hold it all together made from corn, milo, or wheat), an accelerant to help get the briquettes started (such as nitrate), and an ash-whitening agent (think lime from limestone or chalk) to let the backyard barbecuer know when the briquettes are ready to cook over. Do you really want to be using this stuff with your food?

Natural or Lump Charcoal: Natural or lump charcoal might be different from anything you have used before but is catching on with more backyard cooking enthusiasts. The process of making lump comes from partially burning wood. The secret is to "burn" hardwood by heating the wood without oxygen. In doing so, this charred wood becomes carbon. When natural charcoal is made, all of the volatile compounds in the wood (water, hydrogen, methane and tars) are burned off and the vapors are release into the air with the remaining carbon being converted into pure charcoal.

As you can see from the above, charcoal is pure wood carbon and weighs much less than its original state. It has also been freed of tars (see the bad stuff in real wood above). So unlike charcoal briquettes, which holds different chemicals, natural charcoal is merely 100% carbon. So, which do you think is healthier?

For Our Gas Grillers: Ok guys 'n gals. You have this arena under much better control. All you really need is a steady flow of either propane or natural gas. Assuming you have this well in hand, how can you make your meals more flavorful and tasty? Our take is that if you are strictly cooking with gas in a gas grill, it is more or less equivalent to cooking in a gas oven in your house. The only real difference is that the grease and juices from the meats drop onto the heat diffusers (lava rock, stainless steel plates, ceramic discs, etc), sizzle and rise up as flavor bombs. To achieve real wood flavors however, you need to be able to add wood to your heat source to create the necessary smoke.

Some gas grills come with built-in smoke boxes, while most require a little ingenuity. The wood you add to the gas grill can take several different forms. They can be the standard wood chips, wood chunks, wood pellets and smoke generators. When using the chips, chunks and pellets, place them in a smoker box or wrap tightly in aluminum foil (keeps them from burning too quickly) and have a few holes to allow the smoke to escape. This will allow you to add much needed smoke flavor to your meals. When using the smoke generators, each has it's own delivery method and will also add smoke to your food.

We hope this has cleared the air relative to the differences between real wood, charcoal briquettes and lump/natural charcoal. There really is a clear winner here.

REFERENCES & TOOLS:	Gas Grill Parts \| Dry Rubs \| Rib Racks \| Charcoal Starters \| Hooks, Paws & Tongs \| Spatulas, Tongs & Forks
OTHER THOUGHTS:	Beginner's Section \| Championship BBQing Techniques! \| Woods for Smoking and Grilling \| Barbecue Cooking Classes \| Wood-Burning Smokers \|

Planked Salmon

We understand salmon prices will soon be rising faster than fuel, so now is the time to get busy and enjoy a tasty treat on the grill with Cedar Planked Salmon. It is easy, fun and makes a great presentation for company. Everyone will love it!

Planking Secrets
Learn How Now

New book out!

Let's begin by collecting the following ingredients:

1 Tbs sea salt crystals
1 Tbs paprika
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp dried, grated lemon peel
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp dried basil

Cedar Plank - One plank holds about 2 lbs of salmon filets

Just about the very first thing you need to do is to soak your cedar planks in water. [We've even heard folks soaking it in wine, but that seems like a terrible waste!]. Once that is soaking for several hours, up to 24 if you wish, then you can even head for the store to obtain the other ingredients. Place the salmon on the plank so that none of the meat hangs over the edge. Next, combine the ingredients thoroughly and generously apply to salmon. Remember the golden rule of spices - They become more mellow with cooking, so you may apply just a little more than you might think.

Place planked salmon directly over the fire and allow to cook until done to your liking. Allow for thickness of the salmon and the temperature of the cooking chamber. Use a fork to gently pry the fish open in the thickest portion to determine "doneness".

Enjoy.

It's time for barbecue!

Old Smokey Contest Winner

Each newsletter we give away one heck of a grill to one of our lucky readers. By far, the Old Smokey Grill is our largest selling portable charcoal grill because of its durability and ability to produce great tasting food. There is only one winner each month! The winner of this month's Old Smokey Grill - #18 is:

Richard Mollick

Hey Richard, please send us the email address used when you signed up for the Smoke 'n Fire Enquirer and we'll validate your address. Congratulations! For everyone else, we'll have a new contest next month and will be drawing from the same list you are on!

Are you receiving The Barbecue Store Newsletter?

If you're interested in discovering the newest innovations in outdoor cooking tools, and equipment, you'll love The Barbecue Store Newsletter. Each month we announce what's new in outdoor cooking gear as well as offer over 30 products that are on sale. A lot of the time, we have a store-wide sale in addition to the 30 sale items. But you'll only get the "skinny" on the new products by signing up for the newsletter. SIGN UP TODAY!

REQUEST FREE CATALOGS!

Looking for a new pit this year? Now there's a great way to request a free catalog from selected manufacturers of quality barbecue pits, grills and smokers. If you're interested in receiving information on some new equipment, Click Here.

If you are a manufacturer and would like to offer catalogs to our tens of thousands of weekly viewers, let us know!

Charlie McMurrey, The Smoke 'N Fire Enquirer
11220 S. Hwy 6, Sugar Land, TX, 77478, USA
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