Smoking Point of Oils

Smoke points matter. The smoking point of a given oil is the temerature that an oil breaks down chemically into glycerol and free fatty acids. Glycerol further breaks down into acrolein, which is an irritant to eyes and mucous membranes.

It is important to match the oil you use to purpose.

• For oiling grill surfaces, I find that canola oil (refined) is the best all around.
• For using high heat in something like a wok or for deep frying, then I use peanut oil. It has a higher smoking point than most all readily available cooking oils.

Olive, flaxseed, grapeseed, walnut, avacado, seseme oils have a very low smoke point and should be used primarily as a dressing or flavor for salads and perhaps drizzled onto cooked foods. General rule.... if it comes in a small quantity and is costly, I do not cook with it exposing it to heat. The exception might be extra virgin olive oil, which I will mix with canola or peanut oil. This allows the smoke point to be raised while still retaioning some of the olive oil flavor. The same is true of butter.

Seasoning of cast iron, whether cookware or grates is best done at lower temps, around 350F or so. At this range, the pores of the metal are opened (expanded), but will not burn canola, peanut or vegetable oils.

The chart below is from Wikipedia

Fat	Quality	Smoke Point
Almond oil		420°F	216°C
Avocado oil	Refined	520°F	271°C
Butter		250–300°F	121–149°C
Canola oil	Expeller Press	375-450°F[5]	190-232°C
Canola oil	High Oleic	475°F	246°C
Canola oil	Refined	400°F	204°C[1]
Castor oil	Refined	392°F	200°C[6]
Coconut oil	Extra Virgin (Unrefined)	350°F[7]	177°C
Coconut oil	Refined	450°F	232°C
Corn oil	Unrefined	352°F	178°C[6]
Corn oil	Refined	450°F	232°C[1]
Cottonseed oil		420°F	216°C[1]
Flax seed oil	Unrefined	225°F	107°C
Ghee (Indian Clarified Butter)		485°F	252°C
Grapeseed oil		420°F	216°C
Hazelnut oil		430°F	221°C
Hemp oil		330°F	165°C
Lard		370°F	188°C
Macadamia oil		413°F	210°C
Mustard oil		489°F	254°C
Olive oil	Extra virgin	375°F	191°C
Olive oil	Virgin	391°F	199°C[6]
Olive oil	Pomace	460°F	238°C[1]
Olive oil	Extra light	468°F	242°C[1]
Olive oil, high quality (low acidity)	Extra virgin	405°F	207°C
Palm oil	Difractionated	455°F	235°C[8]
Peanut oil	Unrefined	320°F	160°C
Peanut oil	Refined	450°F	232°C[1]
Rice bran oil		490°F	254°C
Safflower oil	Unrefined	225°F	107°C
Safflower oil	Semirefined	320°F	160°C
Safflower oil	Refined	510°F	266°C[1]
Sesame oil	Unrefined	350°F	177°C
Sesame oil	Semirefined	450°F	232°C
Soybean oil	Unrefined	320°F	160°C
Soybean oil	Semirefined	350°F	177°C
Soybean oil	Refined	460°F	238°C[1]
Sunflower oil	Unrefined	225°F	107°C
Sunflower oil	Semirefined	450°F	232°C
Sunflower oil, high oleic	Unrefined	320°F	160°C
Sunflower oil	Refined	440°F	227°C[1]
Tea seed oil		485°F	252°C
Vegetable shortening		360°F	182°C
Walnut oil	Unrefined	320°F	160°C
Walnut oil	Semirefined	400°F	204°C

Feast Following the Fast

Palm Sunday, and Lent is over and so is the Lenten Fast. Dinner tonight was a meat-fest, with chicken, lamb and bacon.

Smoked Chicken Thighs:
Marinaded and de-boned chicken thighs are placed in a muffin tin with holes drilled in the bottom and sides of the cups to allow smoke in and grease out. They come out evenly shaped and very moist with amazingly crisp skin. It was glazed with a mixture of honey and molasses. After 2 1/2 hours of smoke, they were removed from the tin and placed briefly on a hot grill. Since the glaze was not diluted in any way, I did not expose it to the grill surface.

Lamb Steaks:
Excess fat removed. (The bulk of the gamey flavor of lamb comes from the rich, dense fat. I like the taste, but my wife is not too fond of it)
Cubed, marinaded in oil, lemon juice, rosemary and garlic and quick-grilled. Take care to not overcook. It's that simple!

Bacon:
Thick-sliced Farmland brand smoked bacon, placed on the Traeger pellet smoker along with the chicken until done.

Rice Pilaf: 
I admit to cheating.  Schwan's makes rice simple and very fast. This was important tonight because with all the time I spent on the meat and beans, I forgot about a second side.

(Very) Simple Smoked Beans:

1 large can of pork&beans, drained, washed and pork removed
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tablespoon pork rub
1 chopped onion
1 cinnamon stick
Molasses to taste 

Placed in an open, shallow pan and smoked along with the chicken. Why a shallow pan? The cook time was unusually short and a shallow pan allows more surface area for the smoke to penetrate.

Purple Glaze

Given my recent fixation on glazes for meat, I thought I would share with you a glaze I used yesterday on some smoked feather bones. It is deceptively simple.

1/2 cup of cheap blackberry brandy (DeKuyper or Phillips will do)
2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar

Flambe the brandy to drive off the alcohol. This is especially important with cheap brandy as it is usually almost harsh with alcohol.

Wisk the sugar into the hot brandy until dissolved.

Brush onto the meat, being careful not to burn the sugars.

This leaves an extraordinary shine with a purple-red hue. Left over glaze could be brushed onto meat as a sauce replacement after the meat is removed from heat.

Detailed instructions on glazing.