Smoky will be offering his talents, techniques and secrets discovered over the last 150 years, or so. He will be to the point, pull no punches and if you suffer through the process, you will become a much better outdoor cook, turning out masterpiece meals for friends and family alike.

In this column, Smoky discussing some of the questions you must ask yourself the essence of ‘Smokin’ . . . . . take notes!

So, with no further adieu, we turn the mike to Smoky. You're on Smoky . . . . .

OUTDOOR COOKING WITH SMOKY HALE

The Essence Of ‘Smokin’

This word "smoking" has generated a lot of confusion and, even disagreement, among those who play at the grill. Even before barbecue, there was smoking. Meat and seafood, treated with salt, nitrites and other ingredients, were exposed to smoke and gentle heat to further cure the food to prevent bacterial and fungal grown and, thereby, make is safe to store for future eating.

The Beginning There Was
Curing Or Cold Smoking

Curing meat began, as far as we know, 6000+ years ago in the Middle East where nitrates, potassium nitrate (salt peter) and sodium nitrate, occurred naturally in the salt (sodium chloride) beds left by the evaporating sea water. Nitrates not only preserved the red color of the meat but also protected against botulism (clostridium botulinum), a deadly poison which develops in anaerobic (without air).

The Greek poet/historian, Homer, wrote about curing hams around 3000 years ago. The Romans learned from the Greeks. In 160 BC, Cato the Elder, clearly described the methods for curing hams in his treatise, De agri cultura. By the time Europeans reached the Americas, the lore of curing meat was essential to survival.

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Smoky's 5th basic position for really great barbecue'n.

'According to Smoky' is © by C. Clark Hale
who is solely responsible for its content. Comments
should be addresses to cchale@bellsouth.net