How to get the maximum amount of smoke into meats

Have you ever put an expensive cut of meat on the smoker and waited for hours for it to cook, only to find it lacks the deep, rich, smoke flavor you expected? What a disappointment! Do the pros know something you don't?

Well, we've smoked a LOT of meat in our day here at Grillbillies. And in this article we'll introduce you to the biggest overlooked factor in how much smoke your meat absorbs.

Assuming your smoker is, you know, smoking, and you're using quality hardwoods for flavor, the one most effective thing you can do to supercharge the smoke in that brisket or butt is...

... Put it on the smoker cold. 

The colder the better, short of actually freezing.  Read on to see why.

Why It Works

To develop that signature flavor, smoked meats have to pull in tasty smoke particles from the air inside the smoker. And it turns out, that only really happens below an internal temperature of 140–150 degrees F. If you keep smoking above that temperature, it might make the backyard smell great, but it's not really sinking into the meat.

That means the easiest way to get your meat to absorb more smoke is to keep it below that critical temperature longer.

But even at lower temperatures, colder is better. Meat can absorb much more smoke between 40 and 70 degrees than between 70 and 140. It's at it's absolute highest absorbency the moment it pops out of the fridge. So take full advantage of that critical window! Get it on the grill and soaking up that legendary hardwood essence immediately. By the time it quits taking on smoke at 140, it will be chock-full of flavor. 

And when you finally slice into it hours later, the aroma you unleash—and the look in your guests' eyes when they bite into their first mouthful—will tell you all you need to know.

It's deceptively simple, but it works.