Learn About Barbecue – What is a Vertical Barbecue Smoker

By Jim Hess

Vertical Smoker, photo by Justin

Have you heard the term vertical barbecue smoker and scratched your head and said, “Huh.” Basically, there are three types of barbecue smokers for making real smoked barbecue. The first is what is called the offset smoker. With the offset smoker, the firebox of the smoker is off to the side of the smoke chamber. A fire is built in the firebox, smoke and heat from the firebox travel into and through the smoke chamber, and out through a chimney ventilation system at the top of the smoke chamber. The meat that is to be smoked (and eventually, eaten) is placed on grates inside the smoke chamber. As the smoke and heat pass around the meat on the way to the chimney vents, the meat is flavored by the smoke. This is what makes for great smoked barbecue.

The second main type of smoker category is the kettle cooker (think Weber Kettle.) A kettle cooker can be set up for smoking by building the fire off to the side of the kettle, and placing the meat not directly over the heat source, but off to the other side. When the lid is closed, smoke from the charcoal and any added wood chips will flow around the meat giving it that great smoke barbecue taste before exiting the kettle lid through the vents. The third major type of barbecue cooker is what is known as a vertical smoker. With a vertical smoker, there is only one chamber for everything. The fire is built down at the bottom of the unit, there is a pan with soaked wood chips directly over the fire area, and then there are 2,3, or 4 horizontal racks above the smoke pan where the meat is placed. The smoke will rise in the smoke chamber, go around the meat giving it that great flavor, then exit out the top of the unit. Some of the vertical smokers also have a water pan directly over the smoke pan. This pan will hold water throughout the cooking process and will help the meat stay moist and not dry out.

A vertical smoker can use various fuels. Some burn charcoal or regular wood chunks. Some are fueled by propane, and some even use electricity to create heat, and burn water soaked wood chips to create smoke. The electric vertical smoker is often a good choice for the novice barbecue smoke enthusiast as they are very easy to regulate the temperature, and do not require a lot of attention while cooking.

These three styles of smokers will all have the barbecue enthusiast smoking good quality product, as long as they adhere to the basics of good barbecue preparation.

1. Rub the meat with a rub or marinade.
2. Cook the meat low and slow (low temperature–long cooking time)
3. Apply any sauces at the end of the cooking (last hour or so.)

For more free information on how to cook fantastic real barbecue click here: http://www.bbq-jim.com. Jim Hess is an expert author who loves to cook, eat and write about real barbecue (and meat grilling). Click here to see much more http://www.bbq-jim.com