blahbes Beautiful summer days and nights are best paired with sweet aromas of grilled and smoked foods flooding the air. Some of the best meals of any summer are prepared on the grill, often by smoking or traditionally grilling the meat. These two methods may seem similar on the surface, but each of them prepares meat in their own unique way. For more information regarding the differences between each method, in addition to some strategies to prepare meat like an expert, continue reading on.
The first method that will be detailed is grilling. It’s well known that grilling is the process of cooking food through some source of indirect or direct heat. This heat then produces a char that allows foods to retain their natural juices and flavors. Grilling is usually done over grills powered by charcoal or gas. Grilling is the fastest of the two methods, specifically direct grilling. This is the grilling process for common foods like chicken breasts, steaks and pork chops. Indirect grilling is more common for meats that cook better at lower temperatures for longer periods of time; so your briskets, ribs and pork shoulders.
The second method is very different from grilling. Smoking is a much slower process that requires coking foods from the heat supplied by the smoke emitting from low burning woods. Meaning the woods used to produce this smoke, will have an impact on the flavoring of the foods prepared. Typically in the form of a more earthy or smoky taste. Smoking prepares meats through breaking down the collagen found in them, which tenderizes the meats being smoked. Smoking usually takes place in specific meat smokers and grills that support temperatures between 68° and 176° Fahrenheit throughout the entire process.
No one becomes a grilling or smoking professional overnight. It can take years to form any sort of mastery over either of these cooking methods. However, you shouldn’t be discouraged. In fact, with some strategies from well-established professionals, you’ll catch up in no time. Take this cleaning example as one trick. Instead of using your oldest grill brush to clean the grates, after a use scrunch up a ball of aluminum foil and grab it with a pair of tongs. Run the ball over the grates to remove all residual grime and grease. An even more natural way of removing this grease and grime? Replace the aluminum foil with some fresh onion slices for the same effect.
Looking for some tips regarding the preparation and cooking of your meats? Try a light misting over your meats with a simple mixture of water and apple cider vinegar. This will allow meats to remain moist but still retain a smoky flavor. For a more advanced smoking, insert some herbs into the burning coals to contribute even further to your barbecue.
For more information on this topic, please take some time to review the infographic accompanying this post. Courtesy of Barbecue At Home.
