Smoker/BBQ

[Stormin 9,981]

 Got a question for you lads over the Pond. What's the difference between a Smoker, a BBQ and a Grill? From photo's I've seen on here they look the same.

[ebinmaine 67,483]

Up here in Maine and Massachusetts where I come from a BBQ and a grill are interchangeable terms as far as the mechanism and methodology used to make the food hot.

Heat source can be wood, charcoal, gas produced flame.

The food being cooked is fairly close to the flame and it's the flame itself it does the cooking.

 

I'm fairly new to the world of smoker foods but my understanding of them is that the food is a lot farther away from the heat source which is flavored wood chips of some sort that make a particular kind of smoke. It's the smoke that cooks the food and it takes quite a lot longer because it's a lower temperature.

 

 

I'll be curious to see the answers from other folks.  

[OldWorkHorse 3,045]

So with my gas grill, charcoal grill, & smoker combo the to big sections are what we use as grill like @ebinmaine said direct heat from either gas or charcoal. And the small box on the very left is whats called a fire box. I use that to build a fire ive been using charcoal for a fire sorce but ill add half logs of hickory or apple ontop of the embers and close off most of the dampers and allow the wood to smolder giving off the large amount of smoke and flavor, most meats only accept so much smoke flavor hence why I use the charcoal for the heat and depending on what type of meat and size will determine how much hard wood I'll use for flavoring. Most smoking is done at around 225° fahrenheit or 107 celsius. The trick with most smoking is indirect heat and low and slow. Causing the meat tissue to break down and becoming very tender without over cooking the meat. 

Edited October 5, 2022 by OldWorkHorse

[ri702bill 8,319]

1 hour ago, Stormin said:

What's the difference between a Smoker, a BBQ and a Grill?

About $500 USD!!!! - and your Fire Box is probably on the right !!! 

No, seriously, what @OldWorkHorse has is the best of both worlds

[dkg520 509]

Here’s my smoker and grill

[squonk 41,104]

nORM, as you can see, grilling and smoking can get "Competitive!" 

[Stormin 9,981]

 Thanks for the explanations lads. BBQ and grill are the same. Smoker a different kettle of fish. Over here herring are cooked in smokers. Big ones. They come out as kippers. Very tasty. 

[ebinmaine 67,483]

12 minutes ago, Stormin said:

BBQ and grill are the same

Just to add to the con foo shun a little...

If you're going to a get-together where people gather and consume the items produced by the heated outdoor appliance you could  potentially say, "I'm going to a BBQ."

It's used to define the event as a whole.  

Excellent example:

@JCM Jim's annual Meet n Greet in N Berwick Maine. That's pretty much a BBQ with red tractors in the mix.  

 

One wouldn't use the terms grille or smoker the same way.  

 

 

[OldWorkHorse 3,045]

Definitely be a different type of party if we all went to @ebinmaine smoker party 🥳. 

[Yossarian 208]

When most people say they are going to "barbecue" food what  they actually mean is grill.  Hot dogs, hamburgers, steaks etc. are all grilled. Cooked quickly over high, direct heat.  Barbecue is done over direct lower heat for long periods of time.  Smoking, as mentioned earlier is low, indirect heat for extended periods of time. Sometimes days depending on the method.

[WHX?? 48,815]

.. Yoss nailed it...

[oliver2-44 9,745]

As said Smoking meat Can get very competitive and different meats are preferred in different parts of the US. In Texas beef Brisket is the preferred meat to smoke. Then somewhere in the Deep South (Georgia, North/South Carolina they smoke Pork (and after smoking tear it up to make Pulled Pork).  I’m not sure what meat the far NE folks prefer to smoke.  Then you have California and the western states that might smoke other stuff besides meat. 
 

I shouldn’t rag on the southerners for smoking pig. Beef brisket had  gotten so expensive I have to confess I’ve taken to smoking pork butts, But I slice it like brisket instead of tearing it up.  I also like to smoke beef and pork ribs.  I use Oak and Mesquite wood and Pecan when so can get it.  I like Apple but not much grown around me. 
 

So once you’ve chosen the meat there’s a whole other topic of what design smoker to use.  Everybody with a welder and large scrap pipe and plate has their preferred design. 

[WHX?? 48,815]

@Pullstart @Achto you catching this?

16 minutes ago, oliver2-44 said:

 I’ve taken to smoking pork butts, But I slice it like brisket instead of tearing it up.  

Interesting notion there Jim... 

 

Me thinks you touched a topic dear to our hearts Norm... 

Edited October 6, 2022 by WHX??

[Horse Newbie 7,069]

In North Carolina (Nawth Care Lina)…

Bar-b-que = what you get when you cook/ 

                     smoke a piece of beef or

                      pork on a grille.

Cook out = the event where the cooking 

                   and eating are happening.

Grille = the device that the food is cooked

             on.

                     

[Handy Don 12,217]

5 hours ago, Yossarian said:

When most people say they are going to "barbecue" food what  they actually mean is grill.  Hot dogs, hamburgers, steaks etc. are all grilled. Cooked quickly over high, direct heat.  Barbecue is done over direct lower heat for long periods of time.  Smoking, as mentioned earlier is low, indirect heat for extended periods of time. Sometimes days depending on the method.

Also there is higher, less direct heat (250-350º F) when you use a kettle "grille" like the Webers, sorta between grilling and barbecuing. 

[ebinmaine 67,483]

5 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

not sure what meat the far NE folks prefer

I can't speak for the whole region but my preference is pretty much whatever lands on the heaterizer. 

[OldWorkHorse 3,045]

I was about to 

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

whatever lands on the heaterizer. 

I was about to say, up here in NE all my friends with smoker trailers and restaurants they dont specialize in 1 cut but many. Whole chickens pork butt and brisket belly ribs and babybacks seem to make up most the menus and back yard parties around here. Last 1 I went to they smoked a whole alligator. But 1 of my friends takes most of his notes and passion from Texas smoking styles and swears by it other loves north/south Carolina style and swears by that. So at least in maine Eric has the right idea the best of all worlds and what ever lands on the cutting board. 

Edited October 6, 2022 by OldWorkHorse

[EB-80/8inPA 1,641]

What about sauce?  On the meat or on the side?

[ebinmaine 67,483]

9 minutes ago, EB-80/8inPA said:

What about sauce?  On the meat or on the side?

Trina will quite often cook with NO sauce or rubs or flavorings at all...

 

When there is sauce flavorings etc it HAS to be directly ON the meat while it's cooking.

[Mows4three 826]

I prefer the low cost approach.   A few pieces of scrap plywood and some salvaged oven racks make for a cheap, quick backyard smoker. 
 

We smoke pork, chicken, turkey, beef, sausages, sauerkraut and beans in it.  Multi level to take advantage of lower or higher heat.  Vented to regulate heat.  The electric hot plate has been eliminated over the years since I can pretty accurately control the heat through the bottom and top vents by regulating the airflow in and out.  
 

I use dried oak  and maple cut-offs from my shop to start the fire and then switch over to apple wood chunks I save from my annual pruning in our orchard.   We can maintain the smoker temps of 180-220 degrees for several hours by varying the vents, adding dry or wet wood, and hitting the fire with a little water out of a spray bottle if it gets too hot.   I use a cast iron pot for a fire box that I purchased not too far from EB in Maine, many years ago. In the interest of keeping the wooden parts adjacent to the firebox from erupting into flames, I added some aluminum flashing for some margin of protection.  
 

When I get out the smoker (it’s on wheels), it’s like a magnet for a couple of my neighbors. They stop over with a beer or five, to share and we hang out in the driveway until the time to sample our current selection of the day.  Makes for a very fun time!
 

Cheers!

 

Dave

[Achto 27,571]

18 minutes ago, EB-80/8inPA said:

What about sauce?  On the meat or on the side?

 

Depends on the meat for me. I like a nice cooked on glaze for ribs & chicken, if I sauce them. With brisket or pork butt I set the sauce out on the side. Most people taste the meat & forget about the sauce. Not offended by those that choose sauce though.

 

I'm pretty happy with where I'm at with my meats in the smoker. Now I have been working on the sides. Smoked mac & cheese, smoked beans, smoked lemon pie... Always trying something new.

[Mows4three 826]

This is a mobile barbeque build by the Amish down east in Lancaster County, PA.  We used it for a chicken dinner at a Masonic Lodge near me.   Made 600 half chickens in little over an hour and a half (two batches of 300 halves per batch).  Only used table salt sprinkled from the box, vegetable oil and vinegar sprayed on with a garden sprayer, to season them.   Absolutely delicious.

 

Dave

[ebinmaine 67,483]

7 minutes ago, Achto said:

Smoked mac & cheese

Tried that fairly recently.

 

It was a good decision.

 

[Pullstart 62,851]

I like meat.  And many different foods of the world.  And smoking everything!  
 

My favorite pig is my brown sugar maple glaze (and injected).  A close second lately has been a loin that I stabbed a ton of holes in, shoved garlic cloves and onion chunks into, injected it with salsa and rubbed it with salt and pepper, then covered it in salsa.  Oh. Yum.  And juicy.

 

I’ve been on the beef chuck  roast train for a while.  You can have your brisket, Texas.  Give me Chuck.  I kind of found it by mistake, having a 1/2 cow in the freezer and having a bunch of chuck roasts waiting for something to do.  I figured I could try smoking it, then found there’s a pretty decent following already!  The rub that has stuck out the most is coffee rub for the cow parts.  It was a big hit in Wisconsin too!

 

Not too often, but lately I’ve been adding chicken, various cuts, whatever it takes to fill the Traeger.  It has extended cook times, but always worth it!

 

I haven’t tried them on a smoker, but I used to grille radishes quite often.  They were like a baked potato with a kick of spice.  Not too hot, just right. Maybe I should try the pig loin once with radish chunks in it too!

[OldWorkHorse 3,045]

1 hour ago, EB-80/8inPA said:

What about sauce?  On the meat or on the side?

I mostly see light seasoning on the meats and either sauce on the side or very end. Most brisket i have up here is salt pepper garlic and smoked then light sauce of your choice on your sandwich. Then pulled pork is smoked very light seasoning and a vinegar based bbq sauce for a sweet tangy flavor. But it's all about preference. I smoke most of my meats as simple as possible getting the nice smoky flavor and sauce baby back ribs at the end to get the sauce a nice sticky consistency and pulled pork I toss it in a vinegar based bbq sauce once it's off the smoker and shredded brisket sandwiches I make a home made maple bacon bourbon sauce use it on my smoked wings too seems to be a great hit!

Edited October 6, 2022 by OldWorkHorse