Now the weather's warming up, you may be itching to turn on that smoker and practice the ancient art of meat smoking. Some cuts truly come alive with the warm embrace of smoldered hickory or applewood, especially the tougher, sinewy cuts that require a long, slow tenderizing to coax out their flavors. If you're not sure where to start, don't stress. Here's our run-down of the 5 best meats to smoke, including some of the finest specialty meats from across the globe.
One of the most commonly smoked meats is the beef brisket, a large cut from the cow's lower chest or breast area. Since this muscle supports around 60% of a cow's weight, it's dense with sinews and connective tissues that need to be broken down to unleash their juicy flavor potential. Adding a brine and smoking it extensively will provide the desired effect.
Wagyu beef is more tender than regular beef, liberally marbled with intramuscular fat that melts during cooking and infuses the meat with delicious flavor. Add a red wine or Worcestershire marinade, or citrus or chili-based rub, and you'll enhance that flavor even further, creating a dish worthy of the barbecue gods.
Best smoked over: Oak, Hickory, Apple, Cherry.
View Wagyu Beef Brisket, Flat, MS3 online.
With its dark, tender meat and nutty-sweet succulence, Wild Boar provides an incredible eating experience when smoked. Ribs are the ideal cut, packed with collagen-rich fibers that break down and convert into sugars during the smoking session. This lends further sweetness and tenderness to the meat, which by the end will fall crisply off the bone. Our Wild Boar Baby Back Ribs and Wild Boar St. Louis Ribs are both delicious choices for this very purpose.
Since wild boar is leaner than regular pork, it can dry out quite easily, so be sure to brine it to keep it moist. Also, add a rub or marinade: Barbecue, Bourbon, Mesquite, Cayenne or Garlic are all flavors that enhance the meat's natural sweetness.
Best smoked over: Hickory, Mesquite, Apple or Cherry.
View or buy Texas Wild boar Ribs online.
Chicken is one of the best smoked meats, at least for poultry. Pheasant, quail and other game birds work too, but are prone to drying out, whereas chicken does a better job of retaining its moisture. It will still require an overnight brining, however. Once it's off the smoker, those woodsy flavors will really enhance the mild natural chicken flavor. Our free range whole chickens by Mary's Chicken not only have better flavor due to the birds' natural diet and free-moving lifestyle, but they're also fresher due to an innovative air-chilling technique that retains their natural wholesomeness. So pop them on the smoker and savor a simply better tasting chicken.
Best smoked over: Pecan, Maple, Apple, Cherry.
View or buy Free Range Whole Chicken online.
Like Wagyu Beef, Berkshire Pork is prized for its glorious marbling and naturally tender, juicy profile. The Boston Butt - which in spite of its name comes from the shoulder rather than the rear - is a big, bulky cut with a thick layer of fat that naturally bastes the meat as you smoke it. Give it a good 10-15 hours of smoking and the once-resiliant meat will now fall apart at the touch of a fork: the tastiest, juiciest pulled pork ever!
Best smoked over: Hickory, Pecan, Apple, Cherry.
View or buy Berkshire Pork Boston Butt online.
Both venison and elk are rich, rustic and lean red meats that marry perfectly with the woodsy richness of smoke. Frenched rib racks are excellent presentation pieces, with elegantly trimmed bones and dark meat that chars beautifully after smoking. Just make sure you brine them overnight beforehand, so they stay moist during the smoking process, and you'll have something to truly impress your guests.
Best smoked over: Hickory, Apple, Cherry.
View or buy Venison and Elk Frenched Rib Racks online.