Comparisons · Two ways of cooking
Low-and-slow smoking or Searing
The longest technique in the catalogue against the shortest. Comparing them is mostly a way of establishing what each is for.
What each one is
Low-and-slow smoking
Many hours at low temperature with smoke, until collagen-rich cuts become tender. The method that gives American barbecue its name and its arguments.
Searing
Very hot, very short contact to develop surface colour and flavour. Not, despite the persistent belief, a way of sealing in juices.
What actually differs
| Aspect | Low-and-slow smoking | Searing |
|---|---|---|
| The fire it needs This is the difference. Everything else about the two techniques follows from where the fire is relative to the food. | Smoking, Low and slow | Direct heat |
| What it suits | Brisket, pork shoulder, ribs — high-collagen cuts; Any cut that toughens before it tenderises | Finishing a reverse sear; Steaks and chops |
| What it does not suit The more useful half of the comparison, and the half most published guidance leaves out. | Lean cuts, which dry out long before anything useful happens | Cooking anything through |
| Cookers that can do it | 11 of the 11 modelled | 7 of the 11 modelled |
Which one, for what
Conditions rather than a verdict. Each line below is a thing one of them can do that the other cannot, or does without arrangement where the other needs it — taken from the what each cooker is documented as doing, rather than from a preference.
Low-and-slow smoking, if:
- Brisket, pork shoulder, ribs — high-collagen cuts.
- Any cut that toughens before it tenderises.
Searing, if:
- Finishing a reverse sear.
- Steaks and chops.