Learning How to Use a Smoker - Fuel Choices

Today's tip on learning how to use a smoker is about different fuel sources. Your options are propane, electric, and my personal favorite, charcoal or wood chips. I feel that when smoking meat for long periods of time, the most flavors are achieved by using charcoal. Once it gets started, it can burn steadily and reliably for a long time.

When picking out a charcoal, I like to use a natural one with no chemical additives. These can be found as briquettes or lump charcoal. Lump charcoal is simply partly burned wood, where briquettes are denser, and compacted into spaces. Usually lump charcoal is easier to find without chemical additives than the briquettes. One thing to consider is that lump charcoal will burn faster as it is not as durable as the traditional briquette type of charcoal.

You can start the charcoal with newspaper or a little bit of lighter fluid; just make sure to let the lighter fluid burn off completely before cooking. Using a charcoal starter works well. When using charcoal, every 30 minutes or so, I like to throw in some flavoring chips. This adds a different flavor depending on the type of wood used. The most common ones are mesquite, hickory, apple wood, cherry wood, and pecan wood. You can soak them in water first so it takes longer to burn them, or just throw them in dry. I hope these were a few helpful tips about how to use a smoker. Stay tuned for more articles about using a smoker.