• Right BBQ is made in a special BBQ Smoker that has a separate heating and cooking chamber.
• There are drip and water pans in the cooking chamber. Water pan helps to dampen the heat of the flame. The purpose of the drip pan is to collect the dripping fat. Above the pans are cooking grills for meat and other food products.
• In addition to water, the lower water pan or so-called smoke tray can be filled with wine, beer, herbs, and many
other things, in order to get a flavored and so-called juicy smoke. The smoke will become especially flavorsome if we add moisturized (with dark beer, wine, juices, etc.) barkless chopped wood/chips in the heating chamber (alder, ash, oak,
hickory, mesquite, cherry and other stone fruit trees are especially good). To the given mixture dried herbs (rosemary, basil, etc.) and everything else can be added that gives the smoke a good taste.
• BBQ Smoker is heated with dry wood (alder, beech, oak, fruit trees). If you put wood with bark in the heating
chamber, it is advisable to place it bark side upwards because flaming bark can create a lot of soot (black smoke).
• During cooking process there is a humid and smoky environment and quite a low temperature (inner temperature ~ 70- 120 °C) in the BBQ Smoker. NB! The more humid the environment, the harder it is for smoke to absorb, and vice versa.
• Cooking process starts with heating up the oven. If the temperature has reached ~ 70-100 °C, meat/fish must be
placed in the cooking chamber and maintain the temperature. If you aim for a smokier flavor, additional smoke can be given with wood chips. For that, place moisturized chips in the heating chamber. Don’t place it directly in the fire but to a
place where it doesn’t burn away immediately.
• During cooking the meat is brushed with a special sauce (mop) that flavors the meat and won’t let it get dry.
Seasonings in the mop absorb into the meat and give a necessary flavor bouquet and color. In addition, mop protects the meat from intensive smoke and drying. It takes about 250 gr of mop for a kilogram of meat (depending on the thickness of the mop). The mops sauce has to be hot because it cannot cool the meat down. Mopping is not done in the beginning of the cooking, as the smoky flavor needs to absorb into the meat.
• Mop sauce can be brushed onto the meat. If the meat tends to get dry on top, it is good to moisten it with the mop sauce.
• During cooking it must be observed that the smoke is white. For extra smoke and for dampening overly big flames (for lowering the temperature) a moisturized alder chip could be used by adding it into the fire and closing all airways
(including valves).
• BBQ meat won’t get a brown top as in case of grilling but it is moist and soft and has a nice smoky flavor and
smell.
• Taste, moistness, softness, appearance and a smoke ring (a red smoke hem seen on the cross-section of the meat) are the quality marks of BBQ meat. The wider the ring, the more smoky flavor!
• A thin layer of lightly whipped mop can be applied on the meat before serving (as a last glaze). Mop sauce can also be used in serving, i.e. add it hot on the side of the meat.
• Take BBQ easy! There is no rush, because you only get a tasty BBQ dish if you do it from the heart and thoroughly.
