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Grill And Smoker Setup And Firing Up
What’s the best way to set up your grill or smoker? The secret is to have temperature control, and for grills, that almost always means using a 2-zone setup. For smokers, the secret is to get a small hot fire that makes clean “blue” smoke rather that billowy white smoke. And yes, you can use a plain old grill, gas or charcoal, as a smoker.
How to Set Up a Charcoal Grill for Smoking or Grilling
Get the most out of your charcoal grill by setting up 2 heat zones, direct and indirect. This set up allows you to add wood chunks to the coals for smoke, to cook low and slow barbecued ribs and pork shoulder, and to better control your temperature. It also helps prevent flareups and burnt food!
Using the Vents to Control Temperature on Charcoal and Wood Burning Grills and Smokers
Here's how to use the two vents to control temperature in a charcoal or wood grill or smoker.
The Best Setups For Gas Grills, Maintenance, And Troubleshooting
You can set up a gas grill to get excellent smoke roasted barbecue if you know how. Here's how gas grills work, the best setups, and how to maintain them.
How to Set Up and Modify Offset Smokers And Barrel Smokers
Find out how to setup and modify inexpensive offset smokers such as the Brinkmann Pitmaster, Brinkmann Smoke'N Pit Professional (a.k.a. SNPP), and Char-Broil Silver Smoker to get the best possible BBQ with the least possible expense.
The Thermodynamics of Cooking and How Different Cooking Methods Work
Learn about thermodynamics: the basis of all cooking! Find out how heat transference works by conduction, convection, radiation, induction, and infrared heat in your grill, bbq, and smoker.
What You Need to Know About Wood, Smoke, And Combustion
Learn all about wood smoke and how it adds flavor to BBQ. Find out whether you should be using wood chunks, chips, pellets, logs, or sawdust in your cooker. Discover the truth behind the claim that different woods have different flavors.
Charcoal Science: How Charcoal Is Made And How Charcoal Works
Ever wonder how barbecue charcoal is made? Here's an inside look at the manufacturing process for pillow shaped charcoal briquets, hardwood lump charcoal, bone charcoal, and other forms of charcoal such as binchotan. We also explain which kind of charcoal is best and how to use it.
BBQ Season Checklist
Getting ready to fire up for BBQ season? Check out our must-have checklist of tips to kick things off right. You'll find out how to get rid of built-up grease, clean the grill grates, and improve your cooker's overall performance so you're barbecued food will taste its best all season long.
Cleaning And Maintaining Your Grill Or Smoker
Keep your barbecue grill clean. Greasy grill grates make food taste bad and gunk on the inside of a grill can reduce heat transference. Here's how to clean and maintain your grill.
How to Fight Mold in Your Smoker or Grill
Mold in your BBQ grill is a common problem. Learn how to quickly and safely remove mold that has built up on your grill grates or elsewhere in your grill or smoker. We also show you how to prevent mold from building up in your cooker in the first place.
How to Calibrate Your Grill or Smoker with Dry Runs
Calibrate your cooker. There is often dust and grease under the hood from the factory on new grills and smokers. Here's how to prepare your cooker with a dry run so you can control its temperature when it's showtime.
When To Put A Lid On It
Lid up or lid down? It's a question that comes up on the patio as often as it does in the bathroom. Answer: it depends. Sometimes you want to cook with the grill lid on, and sometimes you want it wide open. Read on to find out why.
How to Grill With Wood and Master Campfire Cooking
Discover the secrets to grilling with wood and mastering campfire cooking. Once you cook with wood and enjoy the high heat and incredible smoke flavors, you will want to cook this way again and again.
Stickburning: Smoking With Wood
Here's everything you need to know about smoking meat with wood logs, including working with different styles of barbecue pits and wood ovens and using different types of wood logs.
The Amazing Pit Barrel Cooker: Setup, Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
Take a look at the Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC), an amazing smoker and grill. We give you all the tips, tricks, and techniques you need to get the best bbq out of it.
How to Build a Hog Pit from Concrete Blocks
How to build a barbecue pit for cooking a whole hog from concrete block (cinder block), including illustrated plans with dimensions and various designs
How to Grill and Smoke in Cold Weather
Learn some nifty tricks for insulating and protecting your cooker so you can beat the cold, rain, snow, and wind. These handy tips will keep you grilling and smoking successfully on any cooker, at any time, in any weather.Related articles
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Published On: 5/6/2019 Last Modified: 10/6/2022
Big. Bold. Flavor.
Introduce big, bold flavor to your BBQ and grilling creations thanks to the Meathead’s Amazing line of pork, red meat, and poultry rubs as well as a KC-style BBQ sauce. Click here to read more and to purchase.
BBQ And Grilling Gifts For Every Occasion
Looking for the perfect gift for the BBQ and grilling enthusiasts in your life? Here’s our suggestion for platinum and gold medal-winning products at a variety of price points. Click here to see our list of Gold Medal Gifts.
Groundbreaking Hybrid Thermometer!
The FireBoard Spark is a hybrid combining instant-read capability, a cabled temperature probe, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Couple that with high standards of design and workmanship and it’s a “must own.” Click here to read our comprehensive Platinum Medal review.
The Pit Barrel Cooker May Be Too Easy
The PBC has a rabid cult following for good reason. It’s among the best bargains for a smoker in the world. This baby cooks circles around cheap offset smokers because temperature control is so much easier. Click here to read our detailed review and the raves from people who own them.
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