Smoking vs. grilling: The debate rages on
Why don’t we grill briskets or smoke steaks? When it comes to restaurant menus, there are well-established conventions on how to prepare specific types of meats or, more generally, “proteins” that include fish and fowl.
In the grilling corner, we have the traditional steaks, chops (pork and lamb, mostly) and burgers. Beercan chicken is a popular technique among backyard grillers to cook a whole chicken. Slabs of denser, meatier types of fish such as salmon and swordfish are also well suited to grilling.
In the smoked-meats category, brisket is king. Beef shoulder clod and plate ribs are also popular. Pork shoulder (the basis of pulled pork), belly and spareribs lend themselves to smoking.
So there seems to be a separation of church and state, if you will, when it comes to the use of fire, heat and smoke to flavor and cook proteins.
What accounts for this separation? Nature, mostly. Specifically, the natural structure of proteins and how they are prepared to be cooked.
Perhaps the most critical factor in how a protein is cooked is fat content. The term “intramuscular fat” is key when it comes to determining the best way to cook a piece of meat. Brisket is chock-full of intramuscular fat. This means that strings and rivulets of fat are woven throughout the meat.
The natural shape of the brisket also determines how it is cooked. The largest briskets can be as much as 8 inches thick. If you used direct heat on a grill to cook something that thick, the outside would burn to a crisp by the time the inside was cooked all the way through.
Which begs the question: Why are briskets cooked all the way through, as opposed to rare or medium-rare, like steak?
Again, it goes back to that intramuscular fat that brisket is known for. Have you ever eaten a piece of raw beef fat? It’s not particularly appetizing or tender. The greatness of properly smoked brisket is achieved by rendering the intramuscular fat so it is tender and juicy. For a piece of meat of this shape and size, the low-and-slow method of smoking is the way to go.
On the other hand, why do we grill or broil steaks instead of smoke them? In general, cuts of steak such as filet mignon and New York strip lack the plentiful intramuscular fat that lends itself to low-and-slow cooking.
The preferred way to develop flavor with these cuts is through direct-heat cooking, which produces the delicious crust or caramelization on the outside. Known as the Maillard reaction, this direct heat produces chemical reactions on the surface of the meat that are indeed very tasty to steak lovers.
One cut of meat that is rarely smoked — but perhaps should be more often — is hamburger meat. Though it’s hard to beat a properly grilled burger with that crusty, crunchy caramelization on the surface, the fat content of hamburger meat has the potential to work well with smoking.
A possible technique to smoke a burger patty would be to par-cook the burger in a smoker to add flavor and begin rendering the fat and then finish it on a flat-top or grill to build up the crust through the Maillard reaction.
Another cut of meat that may benefit from further experiments with a smoking preparation is prime rib.
Smitty’s Market in Lockhart is well known for its smoked prime rib. Though prime rib is almost always roasted, low-andslow smoking can achieve a similar result as well as add the smoke flavor that barbecue fans love.
Undoubtedly, Texans are often tradition-bound when it comes to preparing their favorite cut of meat. But there is room for experimentation. I’d love to see more smoked burgers and prime rib on barbecuejoint menus.