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During the smoking process, avoid the temptation to open lid to check food.
Opening the lid allows heat and smoke to escape, making additional cooking
time necessary.
Food closest to the hot coals will cook and brown faster. Rotate food midway
through the cooking cycle. If food is excessively browned or flavored with
smoke, wrap food in aluminum foil after the first few hours of smoking. This will
allow food to continue cooking without further browning or smoke flavoring.
When cooking fish or extra lean cuts of meat, you may want to try water
smoking to keep the food moist. Use a flat bottom metal pan that is shallow
enough to fit between the charcoal grate and cooking grill as a water pan. Set
the metal pan on the right side of charcoal grate, directly under the food. Fill
with water or marinade until
q
full.
CAUTION:
Always use oven mitts/gloves to protect your hands. Liquid in
water pan will be extremely hot and can scald or burn. Always
allow liquid to cool completely before handling. Do not allow liquid
to completely evaporate from water pan during and after cooking.
To increase heat and air circulation, fully open side air vent and smokestack
damper. If increased air circulation does not raise temperature sufficiently, more
wood and/or charcoal may be needed. Follow instructions in “Adding
Charcoal/Wood During Cooking” section of this manual.
To maintain the temperature, more wood and/or charcoal may need to be added
during the cooking cycle.
NOTE:
Dry wood burns hotter than charcoal, so you may want to increase the
ratio of wood to charcoal to increase the cooking temperature.
Hardwood such as oak, hickory, mesquite, fruit and nut wood are an
excellent fuel because of their burning rate. When using wood as fuel,
make sure the wood is seasoned and dry. DO NOT use resinous wood
such as pine as it will produce an unpleasant taste.
To obtain your favorite smoke flavor, experiment by using chunks, sticks or
chips of flavor producing wood such as hickory, pecan, apple, cherry, or
mesquite. Most fruit or nut tree wood may be used for smoke flavoring. Do not
use resinous wood such as pine as it will produce an unpleasant taste.
Wood chunks or sticks 3" to 4" long and 1" to 2" thick work best. Unless the
wood is still green, soak the wood in water for 30 minutes or wrap each piece in
foil and tear several small holes in the foil to produce more smoke and prevent
the wood from burning too quickly. A lot of wood is not required to obtain a
good smoke flavor. A recommended amount for the Smoke’N Pit Grill King is 5
to 6 wood chunks or sticks. Experiment by using more wood for stronger
smoke flavor or less wood for milder smoke flavor.
Additional flavoring wood should not have to be added during the cooking
process. However, it may be necessary when cooking very large pieces of food.
Follow instructions and cautions in the “Adding Charcoal/Wood During Cooking”
section of this manual to avoid injury while adding wood.
Smoke Cooking Tips
Flavoring Wood
Regulating Heat
