To light a fire using the ProQ Chimney Starter all you need is some newspaper and charcoal. Ball the newspaper up under the base of the starter, being careful not to make it too tight to ensure it burns and fill the top about halfway to 3/4 with briquettes or charcoal (we will add more later if necessary). Light the newspaper, the shape of the chimney will direct all the heat upwards into the coals, and in about 20 mins they should be burning strong.

You can use firelighters at the base of the starter as well, but we tend to avoid them as the paraffin based fuel tends to affect the flavour of the food.

Once the coals are lit, being very careful and using a good quality BBQ mitt, pour the coals into the charcoal basket in the base of the smoker, and top us as required. 2.5 kg’s of charcoal should burn for about 4 hours if you use a good quality briquette like Big K, but this can vary depending on the temperature control, brand and weather. Another half hour should ensure all the coals are lit. The coals will be grey or white when ready to cook on.

Traditional / Firelighters

To light a fire in a more traditional way, just place 2-3 firelighters around the charcoal basket, light and add a small amount of coal, trying not to smother the flames, and wait until they’re lit, then add more coal to suit. When the coals are white/grey they’re ready to cook.

Alternatively, you can use newspaper, balled up. Place this in the centre of the charcoal basket, pile coals around it and light from the bottom, add more coal when they’re lit.

Chimney Starter

To light a fire using the ProQ Chimney Starter all you need is some newspaper and charcoal. Ball the newspaper up under the base of the starter, being careful not to make it too tight to ensure it burns and fill the top about halfway to 3/4 with briquettes or charcoal (we will add more later if necessary). Light the newspaper, the shape of the chimney will direct all the heat upwards into the coals, and in about 20 mins they should be burning strong.

You can use firelighters at the base of the starter as well, but we tend to avoid them as the paraffin based fuel tends to affect the flavour of the food.

Once the coals are lit, being very careful and using a good quality BBQ mitt, pour the coals into the charcoal basket in the base of the smoker, and top us as required. 2.5 kg’s of charcoal should burn for about 4 hours if you use a good quality briquette like Big K, but this can vary depending on the temperature control, brand and weather. Another half hour should ensure all the coals are lit. The coals will be grey or white when ready to cook on.

Traditional / Firelighters

To light a fire in a more traditional way, just place 2-3 firelighters around the charcoal basket, light and add a small amount of coal, trying not to smother the flames, and wait until they’re lit, then add more coal to suit. When the coals are white/grey they’re ready to cook.

Alternatively, you can use newspaper, balled up. Place this in the centre of the charcoal basket, pile coals around it and light from the bottom, add more coal when they’re lit.

*PB = Pull Back -This is when the meat starts to pull away from the bones of the ribs, the other way to check ribs is to do the flex test. The BBQ experts came up with another method using the ‘flex’ of the rack. This means picking up the ribs about 1/3rd of the way along the rack, and ‘bouncing’ them gently. If the rack bends to about 90° and cracks appear in the top of the meat, the ribs are done.
ST = Stalling – This means that the meat may stall at 160°F, and the temperature will not move for some time, it is not a reason to panic! It is caused by the meat sweating off the heat, and will stop as soon as the excess has evaporated.
GR = Grilling – We recommend grilling at the end to crisp up and finish off the meat

This form of cooking is commonly referred to as “Low and Slow”, LOW because you are cooking at temperatures between 200°F – 250°F (95°C – 120°C). By cooking at these lower temperatures, it’s fairly obvious that it will take a bit longer to cook the food, hence the SLOW. This is the main contributing factor that enables you to cook just about any cut of meat that will result in a succulent and tender meal.
Firstly, the ProQ™ Amigo, Frontier and Excel 20 are designed to be used primarily for “hot smoking”, but can be used for other methods of outdoor cooking with ease (we’ll cover these further on). Think of your ProQ™ as an outdoor oven (some people even bake on them) and you’ll be fine.

The fire

Water smokers are efficient, one full basket of good quality charcoal, will give you around 8 hours of cooking time, so there’s not a lot of fiddling, other than to toss a few bits of wood on every now and then for smokey flavour, so sit back and enjoy.
Use a good quality Lump-wood or charcoal briquette, avoid using the instant lighting stuff, as these are impregnated with chemicals and as you are cooking in a closed environment, the chemicals may be transferred onto your food. In the UK, we’ve found that it’s best to use briquettes, or restaurant grade charcoal, the USA and Canada have a much wider variety to choose from and generally the quality is excellent, to see which brand to use in the USA or Canada go to the Naked Whiz Website. You can light your charcoal directly in the charcoal basket/pan, or you can use a charcoal chimney starter (an excellent tool that makes starting a fire easy).
The amount of charcoal to use for each cook will depend on what’s cooking, but if you find that you’re running out of fire during a cooking session, don’t panic, as the ProQ’s unique design makes refilling a breeze.

Water Pan.

Next up is the water pan, the real secret to this way of cooking. The pan acts as a buffer between the fire and the food and the liquid within helps regulate the temperature inside the unit, by absorbing and then slowly releasing the heat from the fire.To start with, remember to use warm water in the water pan, as this will bring the unit up to the desired cooking temperature quickly. Topping up of the water pan can be done through one of the access doors, using a watering can.
In some cases , such as when cooking poultry (350°F/ 180°C) to get the skin crispy , you may want to run the unit at higher temperatures, this is achieved by running a dry water pan, but be warned that by doing this it will be trickier to stabilize the temperature, so keep an eye on it.

The Food.

The most important part and as such it is essential that you choose good quality meat to start with.
Preparation is equally important and this is where you get to to put your signature on the dish, by using blends of spices and herbs (Rubs) or Marinades (often injected deep into the meat by means of a marinade injector) to enhance flavours. Food should be completely defrosted and will absorb the smoke better if it is at room temperature when it’s put on to cook.
Food is placed on the cooking grates above the water pan (near the middle if possible, as hot air comes up around the sides) where it will rest, while absorbing the wonderful smokey flavors produced by the wood chips or chunks that are placed directly onto the charcoal.
Once the food is on, put the lid on, remembering to open the vent on the lid and adjust the vents in the base (not possible on the Amigo model, but it will naturally run at around 250°F) until the unit runs at the desired temperature of between 200°F – 250°F (95°C – 120°C).
Use wood chips, chunks or dust, as you would a spice, to add flavour to the food. A word of caution to those of you not yet addicted to smoking (food that is), start with a small amount of wood for smoke, as you may end up getting too much smoke flavour for your taste.
One thing you will notice about smoked food, is that the smoke causes the flesh to turn pink (this is known as the “Smoke Ring”), which makes it quite difficult for the novice to determine whether or not the food is cooked. The best and most accurate way of testing this is by using a good quality probe thermometer which will measure the internal temperature of the food being cooked.

Chunks, chips or dust… Alder, Apple, Beech, Cherry, Hickory, Maple, Oak, or oak soaked in either whiskey or wine – A guide to help you decide.

Using wood chips, chunks, dust or pellets to create smoke is a great way to transform sometimes bland barbecued foods into meals that will have your friends and family begging for more. I often wonder if people pay enough attention to the quality of wood they use for smoking food. Smoke is used as you would a spice or herb on food… to impart flavour, so don’t compromise (you wouldn’t use spices or herbs that were old, or moldy).  A good quality wood, specifically harvested and prepared for barbecuing and food smoking, can make a significant difference. When you chose a wood it’s important to take the following into consideration…

• Bark – If the wood you use still has the bark on, it will impart a bitter flavour to your food. The bark is also the tree’s protection and often contains stuff like mold, old bug carcasses, bug poo and other unsavory contaminants.

• Origin – Where the wood comes from is of great importance…
  1. Be friendly to our environment by buying woods that are harvested from sustainable resources.
  2. We often hear of people visiting the local woodworking shop to ask for off-cuts/ shavings, while this may be saving you money, please make sure that the wood you’re getting has not been treated, doesn’t contain traces of oil used to lubricate the saws and hasn’t been swept from the floor.
  3. If you’re harvesting your own wood (the cherry tree has fallen over in the back yard) do not use wood that has been cut with a chainsaw, as most chainsaw blades are lubricated by oil. It’s time consuming and hard work, but if you’re going to use the wood for food smoking, use a hand saw and make sure you remove the bark.

• Wood Variety – The type of wood you use will make a huge difference. The general “rule of thumb” is that fruit woods are mild and nut woods produce a very strong flavour. See our guide to woods below.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to try different wood varieties to what you’re used to using… In the UK, Oak wood is the most popular wood to use for smoking just about anything (to be honest, oak’s not our favorite). We prefer to use Hickory for chicken and Pork shoulders, Apple for Ribs and Beech for fish. These are just our personal favorites, but bear in mind that the amount of different flavours you can create, by mixing different wood varieties together, is mind boggling.

All woods purchased from Mac’s BBQ are free from bark and are specifically harvested, from sustainable forests, for food smoking.

Guide to Wood varieties

• Alder – Very delicate with a hint of sweetness. Good with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds.
• Apple – Very mild with a subtle fruity flavour, slightly sweet. Good with poultry (turns skin dark brown) and pork.
• Beech – Light but distinctive flavour. Great with fish!
• Cherry – Good with poultry, pork and beef. Some say that cherry wood is the best wood for smoking.
• Hickory – The King of smoking woods. Sweet to strong, heavy bacon flavour. Good with pork, ham and beef.
• Maple – Smoky, mellow and slightly sweet. Good with pork, poultry, cheese, and small game birds.
• Oak – The Queen of smoking wood.  good on ribs. Good with red meat, pork, fish and heavy game.
• Whiskey Oak – Made from oak barrels, imparts the same flavor as Oak, but with a subtle note of whiskey.

Cooking directly above the fire / heat source – Commonly referred to as barbecuing.
When you’re cooking on a gas, electric or charcoal BBQ and the food is placed directly above the heat source, this is grilling. It’s the method that most people start with, but often do badly, as it is probably the most difficult of all the barbecue skills to perfect.
Here are a few tips to help you hone your grilling skills…

• Buy a BBQ that has a means of altering the grill height as it will give you more control.
• Leave an area on the grill where the food can be placed away from the direct heat.
• Make sure your cooking grill is clean before you start… It’s a myth that leaving the grill with the last barbecue’s residue on adds flavour.
• Oil the grilling surface with a high quality natural vegetable oil – This will help prevent the food sticking to the grill.
• Never, ever poke or pierce the food.
• Keep the food moving… in order to prevent the food from burning, the food needs to be constantly turned.
• If you are going to use instant lighting charcoal/ BBQ lighters/ lighter gel (we strongly recommend that you don’t) make sure that there are no flames and the charcoal has a light grey covering of ash, before you put any food on. Use a Charcoal Chimney Starter with regular lumpwood charcoal or charcoal briquettes.
• Use a good quality food thermometer to check that the food is cooked.

Grilling is an art form, and is probably the most difficult way to BBQ there is, due to the high heat and fast pace of cooking. The ProQ smokers are capable of being transformed from low ‘n slow smokers to a versatile grill, with the simple removal of the waterpan. The grill can then be adjusted to 3 different levels, depending on your requirements.

If you keep both stackers in, you can grill at a slightly lower temperature, reducing the risk of burning, but extending the cooking time. The Stackers create a chimney effect so there is still plenty of heat, even at that height.

Remove the top stacker and replace the grill on the unit to increase the temperature. If both stackers are removed, the grill can be placed directly over the charcoal basket, at a very high heat, you can control this by moving the coals to one side of the basket and cooking on the cooler side. You may notice that the lid fits onto the base, and can be clipped on, making the unit a portable kettle grill, perfect for taking to the beach or on camping trips.

Cold Smoking is easy to do at home.
Cold smoking is used for foods such as Cheese, fish, butter, sausages, nuts, salt, eggs and vegetables. Some foods will need to be cooked after the cold smoking process, before they can be eaten. This rule does not apply to cheese or in some cases Salmon.
Cold smoking is a process that not only adds flavour, but also aids in curing certain foods, when used in conjunction with traditional curing methods. Cold smoking is usually done at temperatures below 90°F (32°C). This means that you must keep an eye on the temperature in your smoking chamber, as if it rises above 90°F (32°C), this may cause bacteria in the food to multiply rapidly, making the food unsafe to eat (poisonous). So do not try to cold smoke on a hot summer’s day.
For some meats, such as fish or seafood, a brine is used before the food is smoked. A brine is usually a water, salt and sugar solution.
We suggest using the ProQ® Cold Smoke Generator, which will produce clean, cold smoke for up to 10 hours. If you don’t have one yet, please follow the instructions below:

1. Get 4 or 5 charcoal briquettes going in a chimney starter, once they have a grey appearance, place them in the fire bowl (you won’t need the charcoal basket for this type of smoking).
2. Cover the briquettes with wood dust (a cupful should do it), this will allow the wood to smolder, plus reduce the heat given off by the briquettes. Like this, it should produce smoke for about 1 hour.
3. Place the water pan in its usual position, just above the fire and either fill with water or leave dry, this will depend on the ambient temperature, as you may need cold water to help keep the temperature inside the unit down below 30 °C (85 °F).
4. Place the food on the cooking racks and put the lid on (do not close the lid vent, it must remain slightly open).

With cold smoking, it is important to monitor the temperature inside the unit at all times, we suggest using a digital thermometer for this. Cooking times will vary greatly depending on what food you are cold smoking, for instance, cheese will only take an hour or 2, whereas side of salmon may take 10 – 12 hours. Meat such as ham will take several days.