• Built-in versus Exterior Thermometers:
Most build-in thermometers for smokers are much less effective than exterior, or individual thermometers. This is because the built-in model just takes the temperature inside the smoker. Doing this can often result in poor results and often cause you to overcook your food. Using a high-quality thermometer is best so you can know the internal degree of all of your food inside the smoker so you can cook your food for the optimum time.

• You Might Not Need To Buy a Smoker:
Smokers are expensive but some argue that it adds an entirely different dynamic to cooking but you might not need to buy a new item. Some experts say that by merely placing wood chips on top of the hot coals in your charcoal grill will give you the same results. You can also buy a smoker box for your gas grill. Using this indirect cooking method will allow you to work with what you already have and give your food that wood-filled taste and aroma without the added cost of a smoker.

• Fuel Costs:
Factor in all of the costs when doing this. The cost of chips or pellets can significantly add to the cost of preparing and smoking food. Some fuels cost more than others. Sometimes just buying wood chips or pellets to your current grill can end up being far more cost-effective.

• Realizing the Cost In Time:
When you’re smoking food it’s important to be patient because the process is quite time consuming. For example, smoking a 5-pound chicken can take up nearly four hours. This all depends on the internal temperature and how tender you want the chicken to be. The longer it takes, the more tender your result will be. Consider this before buying one because smoking your food is for those who take pleasure in the process rather than the end result.

• Account For the Safety Conditions:
Smokers are a bit of a fire risk so it’s best not to place your smoker on a wooden deck. If you are, place it on a heatproof surface. Some recommend putting it over a metal tray filled with sand in order to catch any drips or falling debris. You should also get a smoker with a drip pan. This is to also help with the later cleanup as well as any fire hazards that may result from hot liquids interacting with flammable surfaces.

Smoking food isn’t easy but it’s quite rewarding so before you make any purchases, consider these factors. The Internet is also a very helpful tool in this research process. You can find tips and tricks to use your smoker more effectively and also get the less expensive options. Do the research before you buy because you’re likely to save yourself a lot of time and money that would otherwise be devoted to trial-and-error.

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1. Bring Your Meat Up to Room Temperature

Here’s a link to instructions on how to grill your own turkey. Two big tips is to completely thaw your turkey and to remember to rotate and truss the bird before you do it. If you’re reluctant, try it it on a small chicken first.

Good luck!

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I think it’s fun to hear her talk about it because she’s so knowledgeable. For example, the cow wasn’t grass fed it’s entire life, it was “grass finished.” It’s interesting to think that you’d have a finish on a cow. It’s like how some scotches are finished in port pipes or sherry oak casks after a life in bourbon oak casks.

It’s also awesome that they use everything. Fat is rendered and used perhaps with vegetables, bones go to make stock, and nothing goes to waste. I wish the video was longer.

It was produced by Liza de Guia for foodcurated.com and I’m going to keep an eye out for more from her.

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Honing Knives

The edge of the blade is made of microscopic cutting teeth that will flatten out over time with continued contact with metals, ceramics, Formica, glass, and other hard surfaces (such as your cutting boards). A honing steel, which is often magnetized, will help restore the edge by smoothing out and aligning the teeth.

To use the honing steel properly, you want to draw the knife in one smooth motion, lightly, at a 20 degree angle five or six times on each side of the blade. You want to keep the number of draws for each side the same. How quickly you do this won’t matter, so you can do it as slowly as you want, but maintain that 20 degree angle. Then wipe the blade. Do this before each use.

Sharpening Knives

Sharpening is something you will do at most four times a year and this is a more hardcore version of honing. You can use a whetstone or an electric knife sharpener, though the electric knife sharpeners have the added benefit of being able to do the job of honing as well. With the whetstone, moisten it with water or oil according to the instructions, and then draw it at a 20 degree angle 6 times on each side. Much like honing, it’s not about speed, it’s about steadiness and evenness. With an electric knife sharpener, just stick it in and it will shave a new edge.

That’s it, honing and sharpening in a nutshell!

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As it turns out, the reason those materials get a bad rap has to do with their hardness. Hard cutting boards will dull knives faster but have the added benefit of being easier to clean and less prone to transferring food-born bacteria. I personally use wood and plastic boards, taking great care to use them specifically for meat or specifically for vegetables.

So far I’ve never had an issue with bacteria getting my family sick and that’s how I’d like to keep it!

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Forged Knife

A forged knife is one that has been made out of a solid steel bar to a very high temperature, then set into a mold and hammered to produce the blade. The high temperature compacted the molecular structure of the steel which “hardens” it. The knife is then tempered, ground, polished, and assembled mostly by hand into the knife itself. The knife will always have a bolster and an integrated tang.

Stamped Knife

A stamped knife is one punched out of a thin sheet of metal, like how you make cookies with a cookie cutter. The blade is then temperated, sharpened, and then finished by machine. The blade is then attached to the handle. The blade will have little or no tang, be thinner than a forged knife, and is more prone to breakage because it’s not one solid piece.

Stamped knives, as you’d imagine, are usually cheaper than forged knives.

(Photo: yashima)

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Besides ceramic blades, most blades come in steel and you have three main types:

• Carbon steel: Carbon steel has the benefit of being very easy to sharpen because of its high carbon content but it can’t hold its edge as long for the same reason. It also has less chromium, which makes it highly reactive and prone to rust and tarnish if not properly maintained. Knives of this material are less common these days for all those reasons.
• Stainless steel: By far the most common type of knife material, stainless steel has a lot of chromium and nickel which make it durable and rust resistant. The downside is that hardness makes it difficult to maintain a sharp edge.
• High-carbon, no-stain steel: The best of both worlds between carbon steel and stainless steel. The higher carbon makes it easier to sharpen, the hardness resists stains, rust, and breakage. The net effect is one of the most popular knife materials.

If you have a choice, go with high-carbon, no-stain steel for a knife that will last a long time and keep its sharpness with ease.

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The first one I tried was Steve’s Long Island Tea, which is their version of the Long Island Iced Tea. At 12% alcohol by volume (all their drinks are 12%), it didn’t taste like 12% alcohol by volume. In fact, I was surprised at how good it tasted because my expectations weren’t very high. A classic Long Island ice tea is equal parts vodka, tequila, rum, gin, and triple sec with a little sweet & sour mix. After college, my ability to drink cheap liquors (we’re talking the $10 a handle variety) was severely diminished so I was worried that more budget liquors were used. If they were, I couldn’t taste it in the drink. In fact, the LI Iced Tea tasted like I ordered it from a bar.

As for the margarita, I have yet to dry it. I’m planning on sticking it in the freezer and “squeezing” it out, as they recommend, to try it frozen. My wife is a huge fan of margaritas so maybe I’ll have her try it out. I’m sure she won’t mind.

Unfortunately for the bloody mary bottle, it burst in shipping so I wasn’t able to try them out.

Overall, I was surprised with how much I liked the LIIT and I’m fairly confident we’ll enjoy the margarita wine cocktail when it’s fully frozen.

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But what is the bare minimum set that you’ll want for most applications? They are:

• Paring knife
• Chef’s knife – Either a German-style chef’s knife or a Japanese-style santoku
• Bread knife
• Carving knife
• Shears
• Steel – for sharpening your knives

In addition to the knives, you’ll want a knife-storage unit in the form of a block, knife rack, a magnetic bar, or a knife roll.

That’s it!

(Photo: mullingitover)

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One great feature is that the sauce is gluten free. One of my friends is sensitive to gluten and so I always try to make sure that I don’t in inadvertently give her something with gluten in it. One of the tricky parts about BBQ sauce is that most people don’t say, one way or the other, whether they’re gluten free. Fortunately, Country Bob’s does – they are gluten free. The others might be gluten free as well but if you don’t say it on the bottle, I can’t assume they are… so thumbs up to Country Bob’s on that account.

Other than the “all purpose sauce,” Country Bobs has a whole line of products worth checking out.

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