What's the minimum time to smoke meat?

[turbolover]

Guys I'm doing Weber's foil wrapped ribs recipe. I plan to grill ribs without foil only for last 6 to 10 min. I'm wondering how long would I have to keep them on the grill with a smoker box smoking to get some kind of smoky taste? What's the minimum time?

Thanks

[expatbill]

I don't know about using a gasser and a smoking box, but in a smoker, after rubbing, I smoke mine @225 for 3 hrs, spritz and wrap in foil, back on for 1.5 hrs, unwrap and back on the smoker for 1 hr.I think if you follow the Weber guidelines you'll be fine.

[Bytownbbq]

Grilling for 6-8 minutes isn't going to give you much of a smoke flavour. If your making your own rub try using smoked paprika or garlic in your rub, that might help a bit. I don't foil ribs at all unless I need to hurry them up.

[BBQBeaver]

If you are using a gasser and a smoke box, I would set the gasse rup for indirect heat (only one burner going on one side), add the smoker box overtop of the hot burner and the ribs (unfoiled) on the opposite side (with no direct heat) for a while to absorb the smokiness. I am talking at least 1-2 hours, then you could wrapped in foil until done. Unwrap at the end and grill to apply your glaze/sauce.

[ThisLittlePiggy]

Sorry to be late to the thread - but can't help adding my two cents - if you're just grilling your ribs at the *end* of their cooking time you're going to get no smoke flavour - as the meat cooks and the "pellicle" (outer crust) forms the meat will absorb less and less smoke, by the end of the cook smoke penetration is almost nil. That's why most smoker "how to's" will suggest you only really need to add wood at the beginning of your cook - after a certain point you're just wasting wood.

If you want a smoker-style rib on a gas grill you'd be better off starting the ribs unwrapped (indirect heat, as close to 225 as you can get, and with a foil waterpan under the meat on the indirect side if you can). You can then add a foil pouch with woodchips on the "direct heat" side. Cook with wood for an hour, and *then* foil (or not). I cook ribs this way all the time visiting my folks who only have a large gas grill, and with a little practice you can get some very nice ribs... don't overcrowd the grill though - you really need to keep your meat as far away as you can from the active burner side.

Good luck!

[swinginblackjacks]

Exactly, smoke early, no foil(I never foil). You can put a disposable aluminum lasagna pan with water about an inch/inch and a half) under the food on the unlit side of the gas grill. It shouldn't be a problem if some of the pan is overlapping the lit side. It should go under your cooking grate. That'll help keep the ribs moist and help with the smoke flavouring the meat. Smoke only penetrates for the first hour or two. If you're using as gas grill, a trick I got from www.amazing ribs.com is to have a couple of disposable aluminum mini loaf pans or pot pie size pans on the lit side with wood chips in them. One pan holds dry chips that start smoking shortly after you put them on your pumice stones or flavourizer bars, the second pan has wood chips with water(about an inch deep). As the first pan provides smoke the second pan's water gradually evaporates then starts smoking a bit later on, so you don't have to open you BBQ as often and add to the cook time.
I had to hacksaw an 8" wide section of my cooking gate away to avoid having to lift the whole thing to add the mini smoke pans and the cut away section fits back in when I want the entire cooking surface again.
Making quality barbeque requires patience. I've bungled enough to know.

[AmyBrown14]

I definitely agree that smoking in foil causes loss of taste. We usually smoke for a couple hours in the morning before our restaurant opens and it's turned out good so far. I am still learning a lot from reading posts as well. I also know it depends on the kind of equipment you are using as well. Good luck!

[Bytownbbq]

Sorry to be late to the thread - but can't help adding my two cents - if you're just grilling your ribs at the *end* of their cooking time you're going to get no smoke flavour - as the meat cooks and the "pellicle" (outer crust) forms the meat will absorb less and less smoke, by the end of the cook smoke penetration is almost nil. That's why most smoker "how to's" will suggest you only really need to add wood at the beginning of your cook - after a certain point you're just wasting wood.

If you want a smoker-style rib on a gas grill you'd be better off starting the ribs unwrapped (indirect heat, as close to 225 as you can get, and with a foil waterpan under the meat on the indirect side if you can). You can then add a foil pouch with woodchips on the "direct heat" side. Cook with wood for an hour, and *then* foil (or not). I cook ribs this way all the time visiting my folks who only have a large gas grill, and with a little practice you can get some very nice ribs... don't overcrowd the grill though - you really need to keep your meat as far away as you can from the active burner side.

Good luck!

Hate to break the news to you but meat doesn't absorb smoke nor does it penetrate the meat . Smoke is adsorbed by meat which means it just sticks to the outside of the meat.

[roastntoast]

So how would you explain a SMOKE RING in any meat that is smoked ?

Jules

[Rob R]

Well now I'm confused...

meat doesn't absorb smoke
Smoke is absorbed by meat

[ThisLittlePiggy]

So how would you explain a SMOKE RING in any meat that is smoked ?

Jules

Yeah. That's hogwash. Jules points out the smoke ring concretely proves you wrong (and yes I'm well aware that a smoke ring is caused by Nitrite / Nitrate formation and has nothing to do with "smoke flavour" necessarily). The point is that meats cellular structure clearly absorbs gases (in this case NO2). To say it doesn't is ridiculous.

Maybe your point was that smoke doesn't penetrate very *far* into meat (which would be true) - or that technically the meat cells are absorbing the smoke instead of the smoke *forcing* it's way into the meat (also true) but the science of cellular equillibrium is pretty clear (scroll down to "pretty in pink").

If your "sticky" argument was correct you could just add smoke at the very end of a cook and get the same results as using smoke at the beginning (when meat is cold and uncooked) and get the same results and I know the collective experience of the board would show that's not the case. Next time you smoke a larger cut, shave the top part off first and take a "core sample" of meat. The smoke flavour may be nominal without "bark", but it'll be there.

[roastntoast]

Ya , what he said

jules

[Eatapedia]

Hate to break the news to you but meat doesn't absorb smoke nor does it penetrate the meat . Smoke is adsorbed by meat which means it just sticks to the outside of the meat.

That's liquid smoke you are talking about there. We tend to use the real thing 'round these parts.