There is nothing like genuine, slow smoked southwestern barbeque, but making the decision to learn how to smoke meat for oneself and guests is not something to be approached spuriously.
After all, in order to master the skill, we will have to spend a lot of time puttering in a warm kitchen on cold winter nights and tending the outdoor barbeque pit on nice, sunny days, sipping a cool drink and watching the world go by.
That sort of challenge may not be for everyone, so each of us must decide for ourselves if we are up to it! Seriously, there is some time and fuss involved in this process - although less than most people think.
If you would rather zone out and watch TV, no one would blame you.
Just don't get halfway through the barbeque and then decide to do the latter! Good, slow smoked barbeque is the result of combining heat, smoke, time and food.
Time is the most lavish of the requirements, and heat is actually the least.
One need only establish a smokebox temperature of 225 degrees F.
and have the ability to maintain that temperature steadily for hours.
My smoker is not fired by anything but charcoal, smoke wood and me, and once it's up to temp, the air flow is regulated and the meat is in, it's pretty much on auto pilot.
I check it about twice an hour, because I am the nervous type.
Now we'll move on to the subject of all of this effort: the meat.
A slow-barbeque novice might walk into the meat department at the local supermarket and see no cut of meat recommended by his/her source information that does not involve 10 or more pounds of beef brisket or a rack of spare ribs at the least.
Both these cuts are very good values, but the size of the undertaking can be intimidating.
Perhaps, due to our upbringing, many of us find the possibility of throwing out ten pounds of ruined meat to be disturbing.
While we are still learning about smoke-cooking food, though, there is a way around this wasted-meat-because-I-screwed-up phobia.
Take about $5 to the market and buy a small boneless chuck roast.
Take the same care in selecting it that you would with a roast you were going to cook in the oven or slow cooker; then go smoke it instead.
Multiply the weight in pounds by 1.
25, and that will theoretically be the number of hours to smoke it at lower altitudes.
I just use a meat thermometer.
When the internal temperature of the meat reaches 160 degrees F.
, it's done.
A smaller cut of meat won't necessarily save a whole lot of cooking time over a larger cut - although a thinner cut will - because the temperature of the smoke chamber will still be the same.
With this in mind, if you have left-over grill space, look around for something else to smoke at the same time.
This can include burgers and steaks, which will cook at the same temperature in less time.
The burgers will only take about half an hour, so use plenty of smoke while they cook.
If the roast is taking longer than you thought, have smoked burgers or steaks tonight, finish cooking the roast and save it for tomorrow.
Eventually you'll be smoking almonds, cheese and even hard-boiled eggs, but we'll save that for later.
Beginners should know that wood smoke has a tendency to turn meat bright pink, or even red, despite being thoroughly cooked.
When in doubt trust your meat thermometer, and remember to wash the probe after each use.