In commemoration of July 4th, America’s Independence Day, I thought I’d share a few quick tips of mine for smoking meat.

Today I’m currently in the process of smoking some country style ribs. I’m using Hickory wood chunks (the basic, starter-level wood) rather than Mesquite (what a few of my cohorts swear by here in Texas) because Mesquite is just a little too much for me.

First of all, I use a Brinkmann 40″ smoker from Walmart. I am a firm believer in charcoal or smoking over gas even if the learning curve is a little higher because taste is more important and the flavor imparted from charcoal and/or wood simply cannot be replicated on a gas grill. Gas tastes like you are cooking on your stove with a little bit of lighter fluid mixed in.

The beauty of this smoker is not only the side-car for the charcoal/wood, which is great when you need indirect heat or, of course, smoke coming from a separate part of the grill. I also love the temperature gauge on the front. While I wish it would give some exact temperatures, it does a fairly good job generalizing how hot the smoker is inside. I also use a very dirty (from the smoke residue) oven thermometer on the inside to gauge a little better. After cooking or in-between checking the temperature, I sometimes will grab it, let it cool off for a minute and scrub the glass front with some soap and water so I can see it again. You may also want an instant-read electric thermometer for the meat if you are just starting out to know when it is done or not.

When I light my fire, I buy some extra hickory chips (separate bag of chips, not chunks, and not soaked) with a little lighter fluid on them before I put the charcoal on. This has the same effect as a charcoal starter where you light some newspaper underneath to get all the charcoal going. This may not be necessary for you, but in Houston the humidity can suffocate the fire sometimes, so the extra “umph!” added to get it going helps. If you can find them, there are some great giant wooden fire-starter matches. I usually place 1-2 underneath the charcoal and hold a grill-lighter to the tips where you would usually strike them. The key really is to get the fire started underneath as the flames go up, not down, which will heat the charcoal and get that going properly.

Speaking of charcoal, I add that over the wood and also pour lighter fluid on that. Do not buy the match-light charcoal! Kingsford regular charcoal works great and the only extra effort is squirting some lighter fluid around it and letting that soak into it for 3 minutes or so. Do not light before the lighter fluid has had a chance to soak in, otherwise it will burn right off the top of the charcoal. You will be wondering after the first minute where all the fire went.

As I’m letting the fire get started, I’m soaking the hickory chunks in water for about half an hour. I find Tupperware to help out here as I can fill it right to the top and put a lid on to keep all the wood down. Let it soak for 20-30 minutes, you want the wood to slowly burn and smoke. Without soaking, the wood chunks will burn in 5-10 minutes and you’ll go through 10 bags of wood before the food is cooked.

About this same time, I’m putting in a pan in the main section of the grill that I specifically have for smoking filled with water to keep the inside of the grill moist. This is a simply trick to make sure the meat stays moist. While a professional might scoff, it allows for a lot of leeway when you are grilling or smoking so that the meat doesn’t dry out. As I’m cooking to entertain my family and friends and not to win a competition, I’ll go with the safe and easy route that allows me to not have to constantly check to make sure things are going ok.

If cooking beef or pork, you need to use plain yellow mustard and coat the meat with it, both sides. Don’t be afraid to get a little messy. With the mustard squirting from the bottle in one hand, I spread it all over the meat in the other. After that, I shake a dry rub all over the meat, again both sides, but I simply let this sit on it and the excess can fall off as I’m flipping it to coat the other side or putting it on the grill.

What is the purpose of the mustard? First of all, mustard is used in BBQ quite a bit! People in the Carolinas can vouch for me here as their sauces are primarily mustard-based rather than tomato-based. Secondly, the moisture from the mustard helps keep the meat moist. Third, the vinegar tenderizes the meat. Fourth, the mustard combines with the dry rub to form a wet rub that is not sugar-based like a regular BBQ sauce. Why is that important? Sugar-based BBQ sauces burn and char when you put them on too early, this is why you add BBQ sauce at the very end for the last 5-10 minutes rather than from the start. The mustard/dry rub combination allows you to have flavor on the meat as it is cooking without it charring or burning. This will absolutely take anything you have to grill low and slow to another level!

After that, it’s showtime! I put the meat on the grill next to the pan full of water and drain the wood chunks before throwing them in the sidecar with the charcoal that is already burning. Immediately after I start up another batch of wood chunks soaking in water. The wood in there will burn out before the food is done cooking most likely, so having the extra wood to add ready to go is always a smart idea.

The last tip is: Don’t mess with it! Every time you open the smoker lid to move the meat around or see how it is doing, you are letting precious heat and smoke out. In my case, I know country style ribs take at least 2 hours to cook. There is no reason to lift the lid until the 2nd hour unless I’m throwing more wood into the sidecar. Enjoy, and Happy Independence Day!