You love the smokey succulence of the ribs and pulled pork from your favorite barbecue joint, but can you do it yourself at home? Yes, you can! With time, commitment and a healthy dose of patience, you, too, can create delicious barbecue in your back yard.
Barbecuing and smoking are the “low and slow” method of tenderizing and adding flavor to larger cuts like pork shoulders, pork butts, and racks of ribs, unlike grilling, which means searing thinner cuts of meat over a high heat flame. Think pork chops and steaks.
The procedures for barbecuing and smoking are much the same, with the main difference being the temperature. Pro pitmasters usually barbecue at a temperature of 225° to 250°, while smoking can be lower, in the 190°-225° range. In either case, the idea is to cook the meat to an internal temperature of between 190° and 205° to melt the internal fat and connective tissue so the meat becomes fall-apart tender and flavorful. Because barbecue and smoking are so similar, we’ll use both terms interchangeably here.
Follow our tips to become the envy of your neighbors as they smell the mouthwatering smoke coming from your backyard.
Equipment
Before you start cooking, you need to make sure you have everything on hand and ready to go. Smoking is a major time commitment.
Grill or smoker. While you can use a charcoal kettle grill like a Weber for smoking, it takes some practice to keep the temperature low and the heat going. You’ll also find a plethora of cabinet smokers to choose from if you want to invest a small (or large) amount of money. Pellet smokers (Traeger, Pit Boss) can run in the hundreds of dollars, but they offer ease and convenience and can also double as a grill. Finally, for the dedicated barbecue/smoking enthusiast with a big bank account, a Kamado grill (Big Green Egg) offers a fool proof way to smoke using lump charcoal and wood chips.
You’ll need a few other things, too.
A good meat thermometer. You can find instant read thermometers for as little as $20, and they work perfectly well, but you have to open the smoker to use them, and every time you do that, you lose heat. A more efficient (and expensive) option is a leave-in wireless thermometer like Meater or ThermoPro. These are connected to your phone via Bluetooth or WiFi and let you monitor what’s happening without opening the grill. They also have plenty of bells and whistles that make your cooking easier and more efficient.
Adequate fuel source. Make sure you have plenty of charcoal, pellets, or propane, depending on your smoker’s fuel source. Smoking takes hours, and you don’t want to run out in the middle of your cook.
Wood chips. Wood chips are the magic ingredient that add the smoke to your smoker and the flavor to your meat. They come in different varieties of wood, from pecan and alder to hickory and mesquite. For pork, use a mild wood, like apple or cherry. Or, for the most traditional flavor, try hickory. The chips need to be soaked in liquid before you toss them into the smoker. You can use water or experiment with wine, beer, or fruit juices to add another layer of subtle flavor. If you’re using a pellet grill, you won’t need chips. Just choose the type of pellets you want.
Prepping the meat
The steps you take before the meat ever meets the heat are just as important to the final result as the cooking steps.
Season with rub, marinade, or both. A day or so before you plan to cook, pat the meat dry and then season with a rub like any of these. Work it into all the nooks and crannies, then wrap the meat tightly and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours. This is also known as dry brining. It will add flavor and start the tenderizing process.
You can also use a marinade. Make sure the meat is completely covered with the marinade and place it in a zipper bag or glass dish and refrigerate, turning it periodically to make sure every part of the meat is exposed to the liquid. We have a simple marinade recipe here, excellent for any pork cut, or you can get creative and make your own. Discard the marinade when you’re ready to cook the meat.
You can also try a combination of a marinade and rub, as we do here in this recipe for Smoky and Sweet Peach Back Ribs.
Let the meat come to room temp. While the smoker is warming up, take the wrapped meat out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour. It takes longer to cook cold meat.
Cooking Tips
To spritz or not to spritz? Some cooks like to spritz the meat with liquid (wine, broth, apple juice) as it’s smoking, which can add moisture and another layer of flavor. This is important if you’re using a kettle grill or a smoker that has a healthy draft of air and smoke running through it that might dry out the cut. It’s not as crucial with a Kamado grill. The problem is that every time you open the smoker, you let heat out. If you’re going to spritz, use a spray bottle that puts out a fine mist, spray the surface of the meat, and close the smoker quickly. You don’t need to do it frequently—about once an hour is fine. That way you won’t make the surface soggy or prolong the cooking time because the smoker has to heat up again.
Use a drip pan. This is another way to add moisture without opening the smoker. Pour some water or broth into a pan and place it into the smoker between the heat and the meat. This will circulate steam and keep the surface from drying out.
The dreaded stall. Once in a while when you’re smoking a large piece of meat or rack of ribs, the temperature will plateau at around 150°-160°. This is called a stall, and it happens when the moisture in the meat evaporates from the surface. It’s a bit like sweating. It keeps the meat cool. If the heat in the smoker isn’t high enough to dry out the surface, the internal temperature of the meat quits rising. It’s perfectly natural, if a bit frustrating. There are a couple of ways to work through this.
The first is to just wait it out. Eventually the temperature will start rising again, but that can take hours, depending on the meat and the size of the cut.
The easiest way to get out of a stall is to let the meat smoke for about three hours, then wrap it in foil or butcher paper. This keeps the moisture in and allows the temperature to start rising again. After another couple of hours, unwrap the meat and let it smoke for another hour or so, until it reaches an internal temp of 190°-205°.
Sauce. If you want to include your favorite barbecue sauce, wait until the last half hour or so of smoking. If you put it on too early it will burn. You want it to caramelize instead. Brush it on thinly and maybe more than once. Serve extra sauce when you serve the meat.
Rest. This is the final step and it’s also the most difficult because you’ve been anticipating the first taste of smoky, delicious pork and it’s hard to resist pulling off a big chunk and chowing down. But resting allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat and it’s worth the wait. After it comes off the smoker, wrap it loosely in foil and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. This is a good time to get all your sides ready and set the table. Then…enjoy!
The Coleman Way
The Coleman Way, since 1875, is our commitment to quality, taking pride in humanely raising animals on family farms in the U.S.A. with no antibiotics ever, no growth hormones, and 100% vegetarian fed. The result is premium, great-tasting, all-natural meats in a variety of cuts and flavors that can be easily prepared and that you can feel good about serving to family and friends.
