Do Propane Smokers Actually Grill And Smoke Food?
By Robert Blackmore
Propane, a fairly clean fuel, produces red hot and dry heat, and is also smokeless when burned. Cooking food with it is a long tradition for those reasons. You will see endless numbers of barbecues and other devices using propane to cook meals around the country.
Although it is a called a propane "smoker", it does not actually smoke the meat particularly if you are cooking using the regular method.
In a number of barbecue restaurants, moist wood chips are added to the propane flame to produce smoke, hence, in effect "smoking" the meat.
On the other hand, this method normally leaves barbecue experts unsatisfied. These experts normally consider a smoker to be authentic only if it makes use of wood or charcoal. It should also slowly cook the food at 180-250 degrees for 10-12 hours.
Nowadays, grill dealers may describe and sell propane gas grills as propane smokers. However, one should not immediately accept them as smokers unless you plan to follow the barbecuing methods used by restaurants.
However, the propane smoker does have several good qualities. It can actually produce good broiled or grilled food. The meat is roasted at temperatures that can reach up to 700 degrees, which is the ideal temperature for broiling meat. It gives the cook the same experience as when cooking with other types of grill.
It can be used to roast a whole chicken for just a little more than an hour, compared to cooking on charcoal grills that would definitely take more time. On the other hand, chicken cooked on a charcoal grill exude a wood smoke scent and flavor.
It has always been the tradition that grilling and roasting be done on wood fires that imparts its smell and flavor to the cooked food. Propane smokers, no matter how hard people try, cannot really produce cooked food that can duplicate these characteristics.
Although it is a called a propane "smoker", it does not actually smoke the meat particularly if you are cooking using the regular method.
In a number of barbecue restaurants, moist wood chips are added to the propane flame to produce smoke, hence, in effect "smoking" the meat.
On the other hand, this method normally leaves barbecue experts unsatisfied. These experts normally consider a smoker to be authentic only if it makes use of wood or charcoal. It should also slowly cook the food at 180-250 degrees for 10-12 hours.
Nowadays, grill dealers may describe and sell propane gas grills as propane smokers. However, one should not immediately accept them as smokers unless you plan to follow the barbecuing methods used by restaurants.
However, the propane smoker does have several good qualities. It can actually produce good broiled or grilled food. The meat is roasted at temperatures that can reach up to 700 degrees, which is the ideal temperature for broiling meat. It gives the cook the same experience as when cooking with other types of grill.
It can be used to roast a whole chicken for just a little more than an hour, compared to cooking on charcoal grills that would definitely take more time. On the other hand, chicken cooked on a charcoal grill exude a wood smoke scent and flavor.
It has always been the tradition that grilling and roasting be done on wood fires that imparts its smell and flavor to the cooked food. Propane smokers, no matter how hard people try, cannot really produce cooked food that can duplicate these characteristics.
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Finally, all smokers get hot, so avoid burns by using kitchen gloves. Now go see the latest cool barbecue products.