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8. TEMPERATURE CONTROL
8.1 Controlling Smoker Temperatures
Air flow is crucial for gas smokers. The dampers in your Hark gas smoker can be used to make
small temperature adjustments. Important to note is that the Hark Patio gas smoker has one
damper at the rear of the unit where as the Hark 2 Door gas smoker has three in total – rear and
each side].
The more the vent dampers are open, the more heat and smoke escapes. You’ll notice that the
dampers aren’t able to be 100% closed. This is an intentional design to ensure there is always
airflow for the gas fire.
Whilst starting out, it is recommended that your dampers are always set to approximately ½ open.
This will allow plenty of air into the smoker and will provide a good supply of smoke flow past the
meat. As you become more experienced, the vents can be adjusted for future sessions.
If you want a more intense smoke flavour, you can close the dampers (as far as they go)
to effectively trap the smoke. However if you do this, it is important to ensure that cooking
temperatures don’t get too high.
Below is a rough guide of smoking cooking temperatures with the vents fully open:
LOW: 90°C (194°F)
Slow smoking for delicate foods: sausage, small goods, fish, vegetables, nuts etc.
Ideal for food warming.
MED: 135°C (275°F)
Smoke cooking for US style BBQ, ribs, chicken etc. Also good for baking.
HIGH: 180°C (356°F)
Smoke roasting, roast cooking, baking and general oven cooking.
The best way to develop reliable smoke cooking techniques is firstly understand the processes
you are working with and to record each step. Again, use the Hark Smoker Cooking Log
(appendix) as the basis for your recipe development, these sheets have been specially designed
to take into account all of the variables you may experience.
8.2 Temperature Range
A number of factors can impact on what temperatures your smoker can achieve. These factors
include ambient temperature, humidity, wind conditions and even low gas pressure. Small
differences in temperature are nothing to worry about, it simply means the food will cook slower or
faster. If you can protect your smoker from wind, it will function more efficiently.
At the start of a cooking process, it’s normal for the smoker to show a lower temperature. Cold
water in the water bowl and cold food brings the temperature down. As the food and the water
in the water bowl increase in temperature, so does the smoker itself. It should be noted that the
colder the food is during the initial smoke phase the better the smoke adheres to the food.