Tips on Smoking Food

Barbeque your meat Kansas City style the next time you grill out. Add hickory or mesquite wood smoking chips to your charcoal and give your meat a rich smoked flavor. This is how to do it: Soak smoking chips in water for 20 minutes. When the coals are covered in white ash, throw in chips. Don't spread the fire out as you would normally do in grilling; leave the coals piled up on one side and put your meat on the other side of the fire, on top of the grate.

Some grills come with a smoker attached, but a Weber portable can stand up to a good smoke out any day. If you have a gas grill without a smoking feature, wrap moist smoking wood in aluminum foil and punch a hole in the top before putting it on your grill. Get the right tools to make everything easier; a pair of oversized tongs and a 16" grill spatula will help a lot.

Now here's a recipe for Kansas City BBQ chicken, serves 6-12 people.

BBQ chicken:

• 6 chicken halves
  
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 tbl. lemon juice
  
• 3/4 cup olive oil
  
• BBQ sauce
  
• 12-oz. can beer (optional)

Marinade:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
  
• 1 tbl. thyme
  
• 2 tbl. basil
  
• salt and pepper

Wash chicken, pat dry and marinade overnight in fridge. Prior to grilling let chicken reach room temp.

Either put smoking wood chips in with the coals or put in aluminum foil on grate next to meat as mentioned above. Place a pan of water over the coals on the grate to enhance the smoked flavor. Baste chicken frequently with the oil, garlic, lemon, sauce and beer mixture.

For adequate smoke, close the lid and shut the vents three-fourths way closed. Add coal as needed. Cook between 200 to 220 degrees for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours; use a meat thermometer if need be. The trick to KC style barbeque is the smoked flavor and eating the BBQ with the sauce on the side.

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