For Father’s Day weekend, I decided to break out my Char-Broil smoker and make pork and chicken. Using a smoker to prepare meat is truly all about planning and patience because each process takes a long time. There are lots of ways to smoke meat from charcoal to gas or this brand of smoker to that brand of smoker. This is my technique.

Dry rubbing is a way to be very creative with putting your own touches on flavors you like into the meat that you plan on smoking. For pork, I really like cumin, garlic and chili powder. I always dry rub and let the protein sit for 24 hours in order to penetrate the meat and impart the flavors. You will know the meat is ready for cooking when the color changes from brighter drier color (say a light orange) to a wet dark crimson orange that is visible to the naked eye. The amount of dry rub that I make will seem to be a lot more than it appears that you need, but you are going to cover all visible surfaces with plentiful amounts.

Here is my recipe:

1/4 cup of cumin

1/8 cup garlic powder

1/8 cup of onion powder

1/4 cup of paprika

1/4 cup of parsley

1/4 cup of chili powder

1/8 cup of cinnamon

1/8 cup of kosher salt

1/8/ cup of black pepper

Optional: add 1/8 cup of Cayenne pepper for spicier version

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients using a whisk.

Dry rubbing meat is exactly that, simply applying your dry rub mixture with your hands liberally to your intended protein canvas.

How: First, I would get a disposable pan, I use an aluminum pan (full hotel pan size) in order to minimize the mess it will generate. If you don’t like getting your hands dirty with spices, then I suggest using food safe gloves.

1. Place pan on counter

2. Add some dry rub to the bottom of the pan

3. Spread the dry rub out flat as to cover the bottom of the pan

4. Add your protein and take the bowl and sprinkle dry rub liberally on the top surface of the protein

5. Turn the protein with another side up and repeat sprinkling until all sides are covered and no skin or untouched surface is visible

6. Cover each piece of protein with plastic wrap, carefully wrapping it both ways.

7. Place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

8. When the protein changes colors toward a darker hue, then it is ready to start smoking

Residential smokers (I use a Char-Broil smoker) are either gas or charcoal. I chose gas and use wood chips for this single reason: consistent temperature.. The gas can provide a constant source of heat. Now all the gas smokers I have owned always have a pan in the bottom to catch drippings, to protect the flame and to place the chips.. Side note: if I had the space to have a full indirect heat smoker that used full logs to create the smoke, I would choose that over gas but space dictates I have this kind of setup.

Cooking Temperature: since smoking protein is intended to be a long process, I recommend cooking at a consistent temperature between 200 and 225 degrees Fahrenheit. For the first 12 hours, I fill up the drip pan with almost boiling water which moderates the temperature squarely in the middle of the cooking zone.

How often do I check on the process? I check the process based on the water level and my current setup takes just about two hours to evaporate the water.

Wood Chips: I use a mix of wood chips because I think that creates the flavor profile I am looking for in the meat. I use Hickory, Applewood, Mesquite and Pecan. It just depends upon what type of protein and flavor I am looking for in the final product.

Preparing the wood chips: I basically mix them in a bowl with a desired amount. If you are trying this for the first time, just use equal parts of each type of wood chip. Some people suggest soaking the wood chips in water to make them last longer. In my opinion, that is not needed because wood chips are consumable and cheap. Use as many as you need to produce the protein flavor you desire.

Essentially, you are cooking the meat with gentle steam smoke that is about 200+ degrees Fahrenheit. Essentially, once you start smoking the protein, your goal is to smoke the meat until you reach the safe internal temperature for your type of protein.

Temperature Chart

• Poultry - 165 degrees

• Beef, pork, veal and lamb - 145 degrees

• Finned Fish - 145 degrees

As a rule of thumb, if it is associated with poultry then temperature is 165 else 145 degrees. You can buy an inexpensive digital meat thermometer to check the temperature.

Once the internal temperature is about 10 degrees shy of the desired internal temperature, you no longer need to fill the water pan. This allows for the bark to finish forming on the protein.

Once the meat has finished cooking, it needs to rest for a minimum of 10 minutes. This allows all the juice that was being driven out of the meat during the cooking process to recede back into the protein.

I like to shred and chop the Boston butt.

Shredding:

1. First remove your bone. The bone at this point should be able to be removed by hand without any tool.

2. Using two forks opposing each other, begin to stick and pull back the protein until all it looks like strands.

3. Use a board scraper with an edge or knife. Begin to aggressively chop the strands into smaller bits. Note: if you don’t like it chopped, skip steps 3 and 4.

4. Stop chopping when you get all the pieces to the desired size.

Note: There are articles on the web about using a handheld blender to shred the protein.

For me, this technique produces a protein that generally doesn’t need anything added to it to be enjoyed. I really like protein where the flavor is cooked into it gently over time.