The Best Meats to Smoke in Your Backyard (Top 10 List)

You don’t have to be an experienced smoker to know that you can smoke pretty much everything. But that doesn’t negate the fact that there are the best meats to smoke. These have certain unique characteristics that yield better results.

The process of smoking tends to favor meats that are normally not cooked in another way. This includes mature poultry and beef. Along with particularly tough cuts such as ribs and brisket!

So how about I list down all the best meats to smoke? With some useful tips as well!

Contents

Top 10 Best Meats to Smoke

1 Beef Brisket

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Here’s what smoking does to beef brisket. The method transforms it from bland-tasting into a tender, juicy meat slab. The end result is as savory and rich as you would expect.

The smoked recipe of beef brisket is easy to find and follow. Even if you’re a beginner! Just keep in mind that basic preparations should not be neglected. And the same applies to the smoking instructions. Just have enough patience to smoke slow and low.

Tips:

For nice flavoring and easy smoking, select flat-cut style brisket. The one with an even, lean end. In that case, absolutely avoid the deckle. It’s the uneven muscle and fat between the flat and ribcage.
Choose organic beef if possible. Farm-nourished cattle have a plant-based diet. And this provides the meat with a more subtle and richer taste. The kind that smoking brings out quite successfully.
As for smoking, place every single brisket a few inches away from the others. This ensures optimal heat flow during the process.

2 Pork Ribs

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Would you call yourself an avid smoker? If so, then you know that nothing beats pork ribs when it comes to smoking. Pork ribs are one of the cheap meats to smoke. Apart from being one of the best meats to smoke of course! You can find them easily too. And mouthwatering fat is what you get.

The appealing collagen and fat content is what makes them ideal for the slow and low cooking smoking requires. And when executed properly, smoked ribs transform into irresistibly tender meat pieces. That ooze the perfect combination of complex flavors.

Tips:

Buy ribs that look pinkish and have not been subjected to freezing. And get them one day prior to smoking.
Create mop sauce with apple cider vinegar and dry rub. And use this particular sauce for moistening the meat at the time of smoking. Avoid using barbecue sauce.
Eliminate the paper that comes with the ribs 12 hours before smoking begins. Removing it allows the spices and smoke to penetrate the ribs better.

This Homemade Pork Rub Will Have Everyone Squealing With Delight

3 Lamb Shoulder

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You might not consider lamb as one of the best meats to smoke. But it’s time for that to change!

Here’s the thing about lamb fat. It breaks down quite flawlessly in the smoker. The outcome of which presents itself in the form of a unique barbecue masterpiece!

Tips:

For enhancing the flavor of your smoked lamb, use beer basting and dry rubs. Along with either marjoram marinades or rosemary.
Also keep in mind that lamb flavoring appreciates, as a delicate complement, fruit woods.
Once the lamb surface forms the crusty bark, wrap this meat using foil. This usually happens during mid-cook. And use double sheets for locking in most of the juice.

Eliminate by slicing off the hard top fat layer. As it tends to make the smoking process more difficult!
And here’s something nobody tells you. Soak in water at least four cups filled with wood chips. One hour prior to smoking.

4 Chicken

Isn’t chicken one of the quick meats to smoke! That explains why small chicken sizes are the best meats to smoke for cub smokers. Or when you want to break in your new smoker!

Chicken is easy to buy as it’s available at every supermarket. And preparing chicken is easy too. All you have to do is remove the gizzards and neck. Before seasoning and smoking it away!

The fact that chicken is small means shorter cooking time. But if you have enough time on your hands, I’m sure you would love to devour dark meat. With that in mind, how about cooking chicken quarters? Hot off that smoker of yours because chicken quarters are packed with unimaginable flavors.

Tips:

Get the least processed chicken if possible. It contains more flavors.
Don’t be under the impression that moping chicken is necessary while smoking. It doesn’t dry out. So there’s no reason for moping.
Keep the temperature of the inner meat in check. Particularly the breast temperature! And use the thermometer to do that. Once it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, pull out the chicken.

5 Turkey

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Are you crazy about roast turkey? If so, then your chances of indulging in smoked turkey are quite enormous. When smoked and prepared well, turkey becomes flavorful and moist. With a texture that’s somewhere between incredibly soft and tender!

As for brining and smoking a turkey, it requires a more meticulous action. And by that, I mean more thorough brining and slower smoking. As compared to other meats! Turkey consists of comparatively lesser fat, which means it’s more susceptible to drying out. That is when it’s not brined and cooked well.

Tips:

Ditch domestic turkey for a wild one. This gives you a better flavor, of course. And if you enjoy milder tasting meat, then go for farm-nourished, grass-fed turkeys.
To check the internal temperature, stick the thermometer in the thighs and breast. But if you want to measure only one part, then check the breast.
When using any charcoal smoker, make use of lit charcoal layers for increasing the heat. That means you should avoid coal variants that require match lighting. Along with lighter fluids or any other similar materials!

6 Sausages

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When you don’t wish to create your favorite sausage recipe, how about smoking pre-made sausages? When you smoke them, their meat acquires rich flavors.

You should choose low-fat and low-sodium variants whenever possible. Especially if you’re conscious about the intake of sodium and fat!

Tips:

Don’t forget to dry the sausages prior to smoking them. With the help of the sausage smoker or air drying.
It’s necessary to cool prepared sausage properly. This adds more visual appeal and juice to the links.
The sausage diameter determines the smoking time length. For example, hog casings of 36mm require smoking for 1-2 hours.

How do you best gauge when your smoked sausage is done? Simply look at the color. Dark brown means heavily smoked. Light brown suggests moderately smoked. And light yellow indicates light smoking.

7 Salmon

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Is salmon really one of the best meats to smoke? Now you might find smoked salmon’s taste and texture a bit strange initially. And that’s because raw salmon has the same taste and texture. But in all honesty, salmon is the most popular seafood for smoking.

The meat is readily available and relatively inexpensive. Apart from being flavorful and fatty! Salmon offers versatile meat, thus generating a broad range of flavors. Based on the technique of smoking you wish to use!

Tips:

If you opt for kosher salt instead of regular salt, the meat tastes better.
When your taste buds prefer sweet smoked salmon, you can add maple syrup. Or birch syrup! They have the ability to complement the natural flavor of salmon.
Choose the wood carefully. Certain variants construct resins that affect the meat taste.

Cook the salmon on your smoker for 3 hours at a temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Feel free to crank up the temperature to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. If you want the job to complete in two hours.

8 Goat

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It’s one of the best meats to smoke for a family. The meal is healthy and tasty. The cholesterol, calories, and fat are relatively lower in goat. Than other kinds of red meat!

The smoking method tends to bring out the hidden sweetness of the meat. And this complements the stringy texture. Brine and then cook the goat as you would deer and lamb meat.

Tips:

Don’t rush the process when working with a goat. Otherwise, the meat ends up becoming bland-tasting, dry, and tough.
Understand that goat meat has a lean quality. What does that mean? It can mean only thing, to be honest. That you should use salt as little as possible. Too much of it sucks out the juice.
Don’t hesitate to add bacon and lard fat for extra flavor

For a more delicious outcome, refrigerate the smoked goat for 12 hours or overnight prior to serving.

9 Boston Butt

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If you can’t get enough of pork shoulders, it’s time to smoke Boston butt. Plus, the meat fits every humble budget. So for an amazingly abundant content of fat, you might want to consider this option.

Tips:

Use a variety of wood chips for enhancing the flavor. For a sweet, mild, and classic taste, the combination of cherry and hickory wood works best.
At the time of unwrapping smoked pork, don’t let all that dripping juice go to waste. Put it back later when you’re pulling the meat apart.
Only when the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees Fahrenheit should you take off the butt. Following which let the smoked pork sit for at least 30 minutes.

If the smoke is thick and white, try to improve the pit circulation.
Opt for trimming only when you wish to enhance the looks of the prepared meal. Trimming offers no other benefits.

Boston Butt Recipe - Smoked Pork Butt on the UDS Smoker

10 Deer

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Why are deer one of the best meats to smoke? That’s because you get the freedom to smoke just about any part. Unlike the majority of recommended meats on this list!

The meat of a deer is lean. So what’s the solution here? Thorough brining and meat preparation! Even simple brine can drastically add more flavor. While also locking in tons of moisture!

Tips:

Choose tenderloins and shoulders for the most sumptuous flavors. And use cherry, oak, and apple wood to take it even higher. Avoid softwood at it sours the venison taste.
Make sure that the water content in the cooking pan is always enough. Drying out the deer is something you need to rule out no matter what.
Brining should be done 12 to 24 hours beforehand.

You can smoke the hindquarters faster by breaking those down into manageable pieces. Place them in your freezer at least half an hour before eliminating their silver skin.

Final Words

So why is smoking such a time-important method of cooking? There are two reasons to justify the time-honoring. The first is that smoking brings out the meat’s tenderness. And the second reason is that it generates an exciting blend and array of flavors.

But in order to serve an exquisitely smoked dish, you need to pick the best meats to smoke. And you have a wide variety to choose from, don’t you?

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