Easy to do
When smoking food, you want to slow down the cooking process, avoiding the
temptation to “fiddle” with your food when smoking often results in better tasting
food. You will want to cook food at temperatures of between 200°F - 250°F (Hot
Smoking). You can smoke any type of food…..from vegetables to large cuts of meat,
even whole turkeys, and on a relatively small unit you can cook a load of food. The
ProQ™smoker incorporates many innovative features making them easy for you to
use. Some of the features and other food smoking terms:
Water Pan - A water pan positioned between the food & fire which acts as a buffer,
making it almost impossible to burn food. It also serves to stabilise the cooking
temperature and provides a moist cooking environment. Tip –Add beer, wine and/or
herbs to your water pan for extra flavour.
Rub –Dry or wet, a mixture of spices and herbs that is applied (rubbed) to the outside
of the food.
Wood –Wood for smoking comes in various forms, chunks, chips, dust and pellets, it
also comes in many varieties (flavours) from apple to walnut, each imparting a
different taste. Tip –Use only wood that you know has not been treated, or better still
buy from an outlet that can advise you correctly…. see your authorized ProQ™dealer.
Cooking Grill/ Rack –This is where you place the food on the cooker/smoker.
Charcoal –Like wood, it comes in an array of shapes and styles, lump or briquettes.
Charcoal provides the heat source and if used correctly should not impart any flavour
to your food… let it burn until the surface is covered with a layer of grey ash (once
you’ve become a seasoned BBQ’er, you can worry about using techniques like the
“minion” method to get longer burn times). Tip – Always use high quality charcoal,
remember some contain binders that may not be good for you.
Charcoal Chimney Starter –This is an excellent invention, it allows you to light
charcoal without the need for liquid starter, all it requires to get your charcoal going
quickly, safely and cleanly is some rolled up newspaper. It also allows you to top up
your charcoal basket easily. Tip –Wear closed shoes when handling hot charcoal.
Good quality BBQ mitts are also essential.
Probe Thermometer –An essential tool for determining when the food is cooked.
Insert a probe into the thickest part of the food (be sure to avoid hitting a bone as this
will give a false reading) you can then use the reading to see whether the food has
reached the desired temperature, a chart can be found further on in this manual. Tip
–The smoking process makes some meats turn pink, so don’t mistake this for being
raw.
Cold Smoked Cheese
Short periods of cold smoke (suitable for smoking some cheese) can be
achieved using the following method:
1. Get 4 or 5 charcoal briquettes going in a chimney starter, once
they have a grey appearance, place them in the fire bowl (you
won’t need the charcoal basket for this type of smoking).
2. Cover the briquettes with wood dust (a cupful should do it), this
will allow the wood to smoulder, plus reduce the heat given off
by the briquettes. Like this, it should produce smoke for about 1
hour.
3. Place the water pan in its usual position, just above the fire and
either fill with water or leave dry, this will depend on the
ambient temperature, as you may need cold water to help keep
the temperature inside the unit down below 30 °C (85 °F).
4. Place the cheese on the cooking racks and put the lid on (do not
close the lid vent, it must remain fully open).
