Smoking 101

Posted by The Butcher on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 Under: Smoking
Smoking Time is upon us. The weather is cooler and there will be some less humid days which means it is a great time to smoke. Smoking is an art that is easily mastered and I'll walk you through it in this series of blog posts. 

Today, we will start with some theory. Which is better: charcoal, lump coal or wood? 
The easy answer is stay away from charcoal. The manufacturing process of charcoal is essentially like cooking your meat with gasoline. This is true not just when you use lighter fluid but anytime. The chemical release acts more to over power the steaks natural and seasoned flavor rather than accent it. 

Lump coal is actually petrified wood so it does not have all the chemical no-no's that charcoal has. Besides being a natural product lump coal also has a more even burn. And if you use the larger chunks they will burn longer. Wood can actually be used with the lump coal (just soak some wood chunks or logs in water and then add them on top of the lump coal. That way the lump coal does the cooking and wood does the flavoring.) It is more proper to start the charcoal or wood in a chimney. This way the coals are ready to cook with when they reach the smoker/grill. Also the initial black smoke release will not be on your meat. Just some smooth flavoring heat will hit your perfected steak recipe. 

If you have more questions look out for the up coming posts and always feel free to ask in person when your in the shop! Until next time, everyone. Happy Smokin'!  

In : Smoking 

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The Ogeechee Butcher To ask a question E-mail: ogeecheemeats@gmail.com Please put ask-the-butcher in the subject line so it wont end up in the junk/spam box. You can also be my friend on Facebook and ask questions there.

About Me


I have been cutting meat for over50 years. I have done everything from working for shopping chains to now owning my own shop. I am part of the last group that was tested to be a certified meat cutter; when butchers still broke down the meat they needed from sides and whole carcasses. I have a vast knowledge of the field and am happy to share.

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