He will be to the point, pull no punches and if you suffer through the process, you will become a much better outdoor cook, turning out masterpiece meals for friends and family alike. So, with no further adieu, we turn the mike to Smoky. You're on Smoky . . . . . Over the years, I have bitten my tongue until it is more scarred than a politician's conscience when otherwise competent and well meaning people passed along, as valid, these pernicious phrases of misinformation. According to the irresistible laws of physics, heat moves from regions or objects of higher temperature to regions or objects of lower temperature until a state of equilibrium is reached.
Heat moves in only three ways, by conduction, convection or radiation.
For example, the grate or grill upon which the meat rests, having a higher specific heat than the meat, conducts heat to the meat. That is why, when the grill is right, that the beautiful brown stripes magically appear upon the surface of a steak. Then the exterior of the meat conducts heat to the interior, molecule by molecule. Conducting is extremely important in barbecuing because we must conduct the heat from the exterior to the center so slowly and gently that we do not dry out the exterior. Using low temperature over the long period is the essential distinction of barbecue from roasting or broiling.