Understanding BBQ and Smoking as Cooking Method

Cooking Method: BBQ and Smoking 

What is Barbecuing?

• The original technique is cooking using heat sources from smoke at low temperatures or medium temperatures and long or short cooking times.
• Direct, indirect heat or hot smoke from below 
• The temperature at 120°C – 160°C
• Using charcoal or wood to make the smoky flavor
• Food should be marinated, brine, or rub and highly seasoning
• E.g. Lamb BBQ, Short rib BBQ, Beef brisket BBQ, Chicken BBQ, etc.

BBQ Method

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Characteristics of Barbecuing Items 

• Tender
• Big part or portion size
• Such as short rib, whole chicken, beef brisket, beef shoulder, strip loin
• Have intramuscular fat (marbling) content

Dishes

• Kambing Guling (Indonesian Lamb BBQ)
• Chicken BBQ
• Short Ribs BBQ

Kambing Guling (Indonesian Lamb BBQ)

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BBQ Equipment

BBQ Equipment 

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What is Smoking?

• Smoking is the process of dry heat cooking, flavoring, browning, or preserving food. 
• Smoking, in food processing, the exposure of cured meat and fish products to preserve them and increase their palatability by adding flavor and imparting a rich brown color.
• Heat source, hot smoke from below or above
• Using wood as flavoring and heat sources such as alder, oak, pecan, mesquite, etc.
• E.g. Smoked salmon, sausages, smoked beef, etc.

Smoking Method

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Three Kinds of Smoking Method

1. Hot Smoking Method 

• Hot smoking is a dry cooking method that uses both heat and smoke to cook your food. 
• Since the meat is served immediately, proteins being hot smoked don’t require curing.
• The temperature at 100°C – 120°C
• E.g. ribs, brisket, lamb, and chicken.

2. Hot Smoking Method as Food Preservation 

• Hot smoking usually occurs within the range of 52 to 80 °C for 6 – 8 hours.   
• When food is smoked within this temperature range, foods are fully cooked, moist, and flavorful. If the smoker is allowed to get hotter than 85 °C (185 °F), the foods will shrink excessively, buckle, or even split. 
• Smoking at high temperatures also reduces yield, as both moisture and fat are cooked away.

3. Cold Smoking Method as Food Preservation

• Cold smoking is a method of preserving meat to extend its shelf-life without exposing it to heat, usually at temperatures  40°C – 50 °C for 5 -6 days
• Cold smoking does not cook foods, and as such, meats should be fully cured before cold smoking. 
• Most food scientists cannot recommend cold-smoking methods because of the inherent risks.
• We recommend cold smoking be performed by trained professionals following food safety stand

Characteristics of Smoking Items

• Tender or tough
• Big part or portion size
• Need brine or curing process
• Such as fish, chicken, ham,, beef, etc.

Dishes

• Smoked Salmon
• Ham
• Smoked Turkey Breast
• Sausages
• Smoked-Cured Meat

Smoked Meat/ Cured Meat

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Smoking Equipment

Smoking Equipment

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What’s the difference between BBQ and Smoking Method?

• BBQ just putting your food directly onto the grill over direct heat to cook for a short amount of time, 
• The smoking method is to use low and slow heat combined with smoke and moisture to infuse food with a smoky flavor when cooking.
• The technique is to smoke at a low temp for a long time. The minimum should be 2 hours of smoking at 100°C – 120°C to infuse that smoky flavor into your meats and use a meat thermometer to make sure it’s cooked through. 
• Smoking - cooking times depending on the cut and size of meat.

Culinary Terms

• Curing is one of the food preservation and flavoring processes of foods such as meat, fish, and vegetables, by the addition of salt (also called sodium chloride) to remove moisture out of the food by the process of osmosis. 
• Marination/ marinating is a food soaking or seasoning process in seasoned food before the cooking process, often the ingredients are used oils, acids, aromatics, or herbs, the purpose is to provide taste, color, flavor, moisture, or preserve the foods.
• Brine is a food moisturizing process in a marination process, the ingredients are water, salt, sugar, aromatic or herbs
• Rubs is a food seasoning process in marination, for dry rub mixture is salt, sugar, herbs, spices, etc., and wet rub mixture is dry rub mixed with little oil, vinegar/ acid, wine, juice, or any other liquids.

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