I am not a huge fan of smoked meats but then again I am keenly interested in the process and in learning more. I guess it just doesn’t sit well with my digestive system, I almost always “over eat” BBQ, and the temptation of over indulging lures us to the BBQ. But that isn’t the reason that I don’t eat BBQ that often. The real reason is, smoke is a little like hot peppers, we get attracted to it so easily, and I call it a “fools tool”. I enjoy those “fools tools” in the right context.

Take tobacco smoke, it contains 4000 chemicals, its addictive properties have been attributed primarily to nicotine. The brain’s nicotine acts via receptors to initiate a cascade of neurochemical reactions that includes the release of almost every major neurotransmitter and widespread activation of most neuronal networks. So when you eat smokey foods your brain gets excited before the final moment arrives, and the meat is served.