What do you mean when you say “barbeque”?

We are specifically referring to food that has been smoked at a low temperature over real wood smoke. We are NOT referring to food that has been cooked at high heat on a grill. We call that "grilling".

What is the best wood for smoking?

Like most questions about barbecue, the answer depends on who you ask. In general, hickory is a nationwide favorite. Mesquite has some regional popularity, as does alder, oak, and pecan. If you stick to fruit or nut hardwoods, you can be sure of getting good flavor.

What in the World is Cookshack?

We're a company dedicated to the manufacture of electric smoker ovens for genuine pit barbecue and wood smoked foods. A leader in the market for over 30 years, Cookshack's state-of-the-art ovens are distributed worldwide to restaurants, caterers, supermarkets, convenience stores, meat markets ... in fact, to all sorts of retail foodservice operations.

Do you have a smoker oven for home use?

You bet! We have a complete line of barbecue sauce, spice blends, smoking woods, cookbook, and accessories for better barbecue.

We have a great smoker oven for home use! We have four, in fact. The Cookshack Smokette , Cookshack Model 50, Cookshack AmeriQue, and the Fast Eddy's by Cookshack Model FEC100.

When people refer to a “plateau” in smoking meats what do they mean?

From SmokingDuffey, our unofficial forum physicist:

The plateauing is caused by a phase change; the collagen and fat in the meat are changing phase from a solid to a liquid. One must supply energy to accomplish this phase change. While the fat and collagen are absorbing the energy (heat) from the smoker to melt, none is available to raise the temperature of the meat.

It is similar to ice melting. When ice and water are in a glass, the water will remain at 32F (0C) until all the ice is melted, then the temperature will increase. The heat goes into melting the ice, not raising the temperature of the water.

Nothing mysterious, just thermodynamics.