Cooking With Smoke

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Stir the coals, add three to four wood chunks, and place them inside the smoker. Place the thicker pieces of fish or meat on the lower rack, smaller pieces on the top rack, leaving space between each piece for air to circulate. If you have only enough meat for one rack, use the top rack. Shut the door and put on the dome lid.

Check the smoker every hour by opening the little door, not by removing the lid. You want to make sure that the fire doesn't die out and that your wood chunks are creating smoke. If smoke isn't visibly pouring out of your smoker, add a few more wood chunks. Keep adding additional charcoal and wood chunks as needed Your goal is to try to keep the temperature registering at the "ideal" (225°F) setting on the smoker thermometer. Even 200°F is fine, but if the temperature is too high, the food will dry out. After a few hours, the water pan will need more water. Refer to the manual for refilling instructions. Resist the temptation to remove the lid—you don't want to let out the heat. Don't worry—nothing can burn to a crisp in a smoker.

Only when you're sure the food is almost done should you remove the lid. You'll want to make certain the meat or fish has finished cooking, but first remove it from the smoker to avoid letting out too much heat. Then check each piece, either with a meat thermometer or by slicing into its center. Smoked meat and poultry will look slightly pink even when it's done, so a meat thermometer is a good idea. (I like the $10 instant-read thermometer. but don't leave it inside the smoker or it will melt.)

Anytime you're playing with fire, there's some danger involved. Read carefully the manual warnings. Use long tongs and fire-proof oven mitts when you're adding fuel or removing the food. The smoker's exterior gets very hot, so lock up the dog and the kids.

*Refer to your smoker manual for detailed instructions.

What to Smoke

No, not the neighbor's, yip py dog. Here's what worked well for us:

Fattier fish, such as salmon, whitefish, lake trout, and sea bass smoke well. Any fish can be smoked, but we found the less fatty or thinner fish to be drier tasting. We soaked the fish in a salty brine to add flavor and to remove some of the fish juices. Health conscious? Not to worry, this process still leaves plenty of essential fatty acids (EFAs), containing good-for-you omega3s, in the fish.

Smoke anything in a casing. Smoking will jazz up a plain of hot dog more than mustard will.

We've smoked a roasting chicken, which took about five hours. But since we aren't crazy about the idea of keeping an eye on the smoker for ten or so hours, we've avoided smoking larger cuts of meat. Also, I was concerned about the meat or poultry's internal temperature being too low for too long a time, possibly causing bacteria to grow. But according to research conducted by U.S.D.A. microbiologists, the moisture caused by the water in the pan destroys any pathogens (evil bacteria) that may be present in the meat. Also, curing the meat in a salty brine has the same effect. While you would never cook your turkey in a 225°F oven, it's okay to water-smoke it at that temperature for ten hours (but without the stuffing).

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