A guide to falling in love with smoke🔥
You already know that at Barbecue World we see barbecuing as a complete experience: fire, people, conversation… and if we add smoke, pure magic.
Today we’re getting into a topic that’s really exciting: smoking.
In this post, we’re going to take a simple and practical look at:
- What smoking is and where it comes from.
- Smoking styles you can try at home.
- Which type of wood is best for your barbecue.
- Some tips to get you started.
- And a recipe to try out.
All of this, of course, with barbecues and accessories that you’ll find at becueworld.es.
A quick journey through time: from caves to your garden
Smoking is one of the oldest cooking techniques in existence:
- Tens of thousands of years ago, our ancestors discovered that meat that hung near the fire lasted longer and tasted different.
- Later, civilisations such as the Egyptians combined smoking with salting and drying to preserve meat and fish.
Today, we no longer smoke food to survive the winter… but we continue to do so because that layer of smoky flavour is addictive.
And the good news is that, with today’s barbecues and accessories, you can do on your terrace what used to be the preserve of professional smokers.
Smoking styles you can do on your barbecue
1. Low & slow
This is typical of American barbecues:
- Temperatures around 105–120 ºC.
- Several hours of cooking (4, 6, 8… depending on the piece).
Perfect for:
- Pork ribs.
- Pork shoulder for pulled pork.
- Brisket.
- Whole chicken.
The following shine here:
Pellet smokers, which you can also find on our website.
Smokey Mountain Cooker – Weber type smokers.
Kamados such as Kamado Joe (Classic, Big Joe, Jr.).
2. Medium smoking / smoky touch
You work at a slightly higher temperature (130–180 ºC) and the focus is on adding flavour, not cooking for hours:
- Vegetables, wings, chicken thighs, hard cheeses, fish.
- Burgers, kebabs… everyday fare with an extra touch of smoke.
You can do this with:
- Almost any gas or charcoal barbecue (Weber, Napoleon, etc.) that allows for indirect cooking.
- Add a smoker box with wood chips on top of a burner (for gas) or on the coals (for charcoal).
3. Cold smoking (for when you want to go the extra mile)
More ‘geeky’ but a lot of fun:
- You use a cold smoke generator with powder or very fine wood chips.
- Ideal for cheese, butter, nuts, salt or fish that have been previously cured.
At barbecueworld.es you will find generators and specific woods for this purpose. It’s an interesting step once you’ve mastered hot smoking.
Wood for smoking: types and which barbecue suits each one
This is where many people get confused, so let’s get straight to the point. When you enter the online shop, you will see various types of wood: chips, chunks, pellets, powder…
Here is a quick guide to help you choose:
Chips
They work great in gas barbecues using a smoker box.
They can also be used in charcoal barbecues when you want a quicker smoky flavour.
Ideal for cooking times of 30 minutes to 2–3 hours.
👉 You can find them in brands such as Napoleon, Cook in Wood and Legua on our website.
Chunks
Thicker pieces of wood that burn slowly.
Perfect for low & slow cooking with large pieces.
Ideal for charcoal kettles, vertical smokers and kamados.
Wood Pellets
The usual pressed cylinders.
You can also use them in smoker tubes or boxes in gas or charcoal barbecues.
Fuel for pellet barbecues.
Wood Dust
Super-fine wood, almost always intended for cold smoking with special generators.
Recommendations and Tips
The good news: you don’t need to buy a ‘specific monster’ to start smoking. You can:
- Use a dedicated smoker. Such as the Weber Smokey Mountain or a pellet smoker. They are very stable and convenient if you get hooked on making 6-hour ribs every other day.
- Take advantage of your kamado. If you have (or are thinking of getting) a Kamado Joe, you’re in low & slow heaven: they use little charcoal, maintain the temperature incredibly well and, with accessories such as the SlōRoller, they become luxury smokers.
- Turn your “normal” barbecue into a smoker. With a Napoleon Rogue or a Weber gas or charcoal barbecue, plus a smoker box and good wood, you can make some seriously good smoked food. All you need is:
- Indirect cooking.
- Temperature control.
- Add smoke with chips, pellets or chunks.
Almost always, the key is not so much what barbecue you have, but how you set it up and what accessories you use. And that’s where we at Barbecue World love to advise you..
To ensure it doesn’t become something “only for experts”, here are some basics:
Start simple
Better to use ribs or chicken than a 6-kilo brisket on your first day.
Think temperature, not flame
You don’t need to see fire. You want stable heat and gentle smoke.
Clean smoke
Lots of thick, white smoke for hours on end tends to produce bitter flavours. Better to have thin, almost blue smoke.
Don’t open the lid every 5 minutes
Every time you open it, you lose heat and stability. Trust your barbecue (and a good thermometer) a little.
Use good wood
Fruit woods for cheese, pork, chicken and fish; more intense woods (oak, whisky, wine…) for red meats and strong cuts.
Be patient and enjoy yourself
Smoking is about “being” around the barbecue, not rushing around.
A recipe to get you started: low & slow smoked pork ribs
Let’s start with something very rewarding and perfect for Weber, Napoleon, Kamado Joe, pellet smokers… whatever you have that allows for indirect cooking.
Ingredients
- 2 racks of pork ribs.
- Your favourite rub (dry mixture of salt, brown sugar, paprika, garlic, onion, pepper…).
- A little apple juice or stock to moisten.
- Barbecue sauce (optional, for the end).
- Chips or chunks of mild wood: apple, whiskey, citrus… (for example, Cook in Wood or Napoleon, available in our online shop).
Step by step
- Prepare the ribs
- Remove the membrane from the back if it is still there.
- Lightly brush with oil or mustard and cover well with the rub on all sides.
- Prepare the barbecue for smoking
- Set it up for indirect cooking at around 110–120 ºC.
- If it is a charcoal barbecue, cook ‘low & slow’ with the charcoal well positioned and add some wood chunks or chips.
- If it is a gas barbecue, use a smoking box with chips on top of one burner and cook on the opposite side.
- First phase: smoke and patience (about 3 hours)
- Place the ribs in the indirect area, cover the barbecue and let them smoke slowly.
- Keep the temperature as stable as possible.
- Add wood only at the beginning or in small doses; there is no need to keep adding it all the time.
- Second phase: wrapped (1.5–2 hours)
- When the meat begins to pull away from the bones, wrap each rack in aluminium foil with a splash of apple juice or stock.
- Return them to the barbecue, indirect, same temperature.
- This phase helps them to soften and become super juicy.
- Third phase: finishing (30–60 min)
- Carefully unwrap the ribs.
- If you like, brush them with barbecue sauce and leave them for another 30–60 minutes to set the glaze.
- Check that they are tender (the meat comes away from the bone easily) and that they have reached a safe internal temperature; for very tender ribs, this is usually around 90°C internal at the thickest point.
Served with a salad, bread and a spot on the terrace… you’ve got the perfect plan.
At Barbecue World, we’ve tried it!
So, are you ready to start smoking?
If after reading this you’re keen to give smoking a go, you can:
- Take a look at our sections on smokers, kamado barbecues and gas or charcoal barbecues at barbecueworld.es.
- Check out the range of smoking woods Cook in Wood, Napoleon, Legua…, and save some flavours you’d like to try.
- Or come to our shop in Estepona, tell us what barbecue you have or would like to have, and together we’ll design your ‘smoking starter kit’.
As always, our aim is not just to sell you products:
it is to help you enjoy everything that happens around the barbecue.
And when smoke comes into play… things get very, very interesting 🔥😄
