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There
is simply no doubt about it, barbecue smokers add an extra smokey
flavour to your meats and fish every time delivering a taste that can't
be matched.
In
essence, a smoker is designed to deliver a delicious,
mouthwatering taste, and it achieves this by cooking the food slowly
over a variety of real woods by providing a slow even heat throughout.
The
standard of barbecue smokers is rising all the time, with companies
aiming for the highest possible quality combined with ease of use for
the outdoor cooking enthusiast looking for something extra above a
conventional barbecue.
There is a large range of real wood, charcoal, gas and electric
barbecue smokers available for both personal and commercial
applications.
Portable table top models are also available and are ideal for hot
smoking sausages, fish, vegetables or meat, which are ideal if you only
intend to hold a relatively small bbq.
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Images of two typical off-set
smokers made by Klose
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There are plenty of good quality charcoal barbecue smokers on the
market, take a look at the great deals below.
Take
a look at these great barbecue smoker deals!
Different
types of bbq smoker
Gas
smokers
Propane
is a clean and simple way to get the smoker started. Gas smokers employ
many tasty options for wood pellet or charcoal cooking and combine
ergonomic
controls for heat and ignition. Uprights give you mobility and make the
ideal choice for compact outdoor areas. Traditional models include
highly ventilated fireboxes that deliver exceptional tenderness and
taste that you can only find in a gas
smoker.
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Smokers come in all shapes,
sizes and fuel types including gas, electric and charcoal. Pictured
here is the popular Brinkmann Smoke'n'grill
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Electric
smokers
Electric
smokers are the popular choice when a rapid start-time is your primary
goal. In the upright models, they are designed to deliver a small
footprint along with a relatively large interior cooking space. You can
also
enjoy outdoor cooking with various bbq smoker accessories including
lava rocks and detachable feet. The openings on the front and lid make
accessibility to your meats and fish an easy task with an electric smoker.
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Charcoal
smokers
Charcoal
smokers have their own unique benefits as they are capable of cooking
at much higher temperatures than some smokers and as such, can cook
through thick slabs of meat with ease.
Don't be misled by the natural qualities of charcoal which conventially
cook at high temperatures only. Most charcoal smokers are also quite
capable of cooking at lower temperatures over long periods of time, and
with the use of flavoured wood-chips, such as though used by Traeger,
the flavors that are produced will delight your tastebuds. This is
quite unique to charcoal
smokers.
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Cold smokers
The food is smoked without heat -
think smoked cheese, bacon, and cold smoked salmon and trout. All of
these foods are cooked to perfection in a cold smoker and excellent
consisten results are achieveable with the single downside being that
it takes longer to smoke the food. There are many useful applications
for a cold smoker, and where time is not a factor, you will find that
the most common choice is a cold
smoker.
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Hot smokers
The food is cooked and smoked at
the same time. Think smoked chicken, smoked eel, smoked mackerel and
hot smoked salmon. Hot smokers provide the quickest means to smoke and
cook food and is often the most common choice in commericial
applications such as large-scale catering. Hot smokers are sometimes
used in private barbecues, though nowhere near as often as their gas
and charcoal counterparts. Cooking time is one of the major benefits of
using a hot smoker.
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Water smokers
A form of hot smoking where the
food is smoked over hot charcoal to which wood chunks are added. A bowl
of water within the smoker keeps the food moist. Water smoking is
believed to be a cajun cooking technique used in the past for well over
two hundred years.
Water smoking can be employed in most charcoal smokers, though not in
all cases as it depends largely upon the internal size available within
the upright water smoker. |
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Getting started with a bbq smoker
If
you have not used a barbecue smoker
before then the array of equipment and information can be overwhelming.
This is why we have compiled a comprehensive
and ever-expanding section dedicated to the barbecue smoker to help you
along the way.
To start with you may like to view the barbecue
smoker FAQ. This useful information will give
answers to the most commonly asked
questions about barbecue smokers. If you cannot find what you are
looking for in there, then take a look through the various bbq smoker
sections
below.
Making your own homemade barbecue
smoker
Building
your own homemade smoker is a viable and inexpensive way of recycling
old materials into a functional piece of outdoor cooking hardware.
There are many different styles of homemade smoker designs using; oil
drums, freezers, upright office cabinets and many others. Take a look
at our homemade smoker
guide and have a go at building one yourself. (For D.I.Y. enthusiasts
only!)
Barbecue
Smoker F.A.Q. - Find the
answers to the most commonly asked questions in our barbecue
smoker FAQ.
Barbecue Smoker Manufacturers -
This is a comprehensive listing of barbecue
smoker manufacturers that contains specific information
regarding that particular manufacturers products.
Barbecue Smoker Wood Chips - You
have a great pit or smoker but now you need some ideas for your wood
chips. What do you use ? What do they taste like ? How can I get the
best from them ? For more information on wood chips take a look at the barbecue
wood chips and smoker
wood chips sections.
Buying a Barbecue Smoker - Buying
a barbecue smoker is not as hard as you might think provided you have a
good idea of what your requirements actually are. Make your life easier
by reading our guidelines on how
to buy a barbecue smoker.
Looking after your Barbecue Smoker
- A smoker is like any other piece of hardware, it requires maintenance
to keep it in good working order and to ensure that it delivers the
best results time after time. Our barbecue
smoker maintenance guide explains the best ways to keep your
smoker in tip-top shape.
The latest and greatest barbecue smoker deals!
Barbecue Smoker Related Articles |
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| Barbecue Hygiene -
Read this article to find out how you can improve your barbecue
hygiene and what steps you can take to ensure that your meal
is safe for both your family and guests. |
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| Barbecue Safety -
This interesting article explains how you can improve your barbecue
safety which is one of the most important aspects of any
barbecue and is well worth reading. |
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