Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02606168 2007-10-10
IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
Introductorv Portion
Be it known that I, Brant S. Davis, a citizen of the United States, and a
resident of
Acampo, County of San Joaquin, State of California, have invented a new and
useful
APPARATUS AND METHOD TO IMPART SMOKE
FLAVORING TO BARBEQUED MEAT
of which the followina is a specification.
Prioritv Claim
Pursuant to the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 119(e)(1), Applicant claims the
priority of
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/797,418, filed May 3, 2006.
Background Of The Invention
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to apparatus and methods used to impart a
unique
blend of wood smoke and seasoning flavors to meat being barbequed. More
particularly. tlle
invention pertains to a substantially sealed metal canister refillable xith a
mixture of burnable ,vood
particles and 17erbs, which generates a flavorful smokey environment within a
covered barbeque.
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2. Description of the Prior Art
The natural process of cooking meat over fire creates flavorfiil smoke as meat
juices
and fat drippings fall on burnin- coal or other sources of heat for the
barbeque. If the %~olume
imrnediately over the barbeque grill is at least partially enclosed, such as
throuch the use of a kettle
cover or a shroud, the effectiveness of the smoking process will be increased.
The barbeque cover
confines and concentrates the smoke, and conserves heat generated by the
source of heat. In such
an arrangement, an adjustable vent in the barbeque cover allows sufficient
oxygen to pass through
the barbeque to maintain the fire.
To enhance the barbeque flavor further, it has been advocated to pre-soak
chips or
pieces of aromatic wood in water for a period of time, so that water is
absorbed by the wood. Then
the wet pieces of wood are spread over the coals or the fire, just before
barbequing the meat. The
pre-soaked wood chips or pieces tend to smoke or smolder for a period of time,
as the water is clriven
off by the heat from the fire. This smoke imparts an oak, mesquite, or hickory
flavor to the
barbequed meat that it would not otherwise have.
Another approach to increasing barbeque smoke flavor entails the use of a
sealed,
metal canister containing pellets. The pellets are manufactured from around
pieces of hickory wood
formed and held together through the use of a binder. This canister may be
placed either directly on
the coals located in the bottom of the barbeque, or on top of the grill
adjacent the meat to be cooked.
A small hole in the top of the canister allows a limited amount of otiyUen to
enter the canister to
support smoldering or slow burning of the hickory pellets. The hole also
allows the resultant smoke
to exit the canister, and fill the interior of the barbeque housing with
smoke. A currently available
product, usinc, such components is sold under the trademark FLAVORWOOD. This
product is sold
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by Bar-B-Q Woods, Inc., of Newton, Kansas.
Summarv Of The Invention
The apparatus of the present invention comprises a fire-resistant smoke
canister filled
with a burnable mixture. The cannister includes a body with an open top. The
canister also includes
a detachable lid sized and configured to cover the open top. A small aperture
is providect in a wall
of the canister, preferably in the lid.
The burnable mixture comprises at least one wood product and at leas7 one
lierb
seasoning. The wood product is selected from one or more of the following
woods: hickory,
mesquite, alder, applewood, oak, maple, cedar, sassafras, walnut, cherry,
grape, pear, or almond.
The wood product is entirely natural, being manufactured from wood chips, wood
shavings, or
sawdust. The herb seasoning is selected from one or more of the followina
natural seasonings:
oregano, fennel, dill, sage, ginger, rosemary, thyme, or celery seed.
The canister is loaded with a quantity of the burnable mixture, and the lid is
placed
over the open top of the canister. The loaded canister is placed within the
barbeque where meat is
to be cooked. The canister may be placed directly on the source of heat in
aGas, charcoal, or electric
barbeque. Alternatively, the canister may be placed in spaced relation from
the source of heat, such
as on the meat cooking grill.
The burnable mixture smolders in the oxygen-starved enviroiunent of the
canister,
exuding smoke through the aperture. The aperture is sized only to allow
smoldering of the burnable
mixture. Once smoke emits from the canister, the meat is placed on the cooking
grill and the
barbeque is covered. The smokey flavors from the burnable mixture are imparted
to the barbequed
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meat.
Owing to its fire-proof body and removable lid, the canister may be re-loaded
repeatedly with new burnable mixture for successive barbeques.
Brief Description Of The Drawings
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a barbeque with the cover removed to show
the
canister of the present invention place directly upon coals;
Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view, showing the detachable lid and the
body
filled with a burnable mixture;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of piles of wood chips, wood shavings, sawdust,
and
herbs which are variously combined to formulate the burnable mixture;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of a barbeque, with the cover beina partially
cut-away
to show the canister on the upper cooking grill and imparting smoke to the
meat pieces on the grill;
and.
Figure 5 is a perspective view as in Figure 4, but with the canister placed
directly on
the coals for heating.
Detailed Description Of The Preferred Embodiment
Making particular reference to Figure 2, the apparatus 11 of the present
invention
includes a fire-proof smoke canister 12, preferably right-circular cylindrical
in confiauration for ease
of manufacture and handling during use. However, canister 12 can be square,
rectan~ular, trian'ular,
oval, or any other desired geometric shape in plan. Canister 12 may be
manufactured from silver
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tin, or any other fire-proof material capable of withstandinLT temperatures
encountered in the flanies
of a wood, charcoal, gas, or electric barbeque.
Canister 12 is comprised of two components, a body 13 with an open top 1=1,
and a
detachable lid 16. As will be explained ftirther below, lid 16 is removed for
loadina canister 12, and
is lowered over open top 14 of body 13, during use of the apparatus 11. Lid 16
includes at least one
aperture 17, allowing gases to pass into and out from canister 16. It should
be noted that more than
one aperture 17 may be provided in lid 16, and that aperture 17 may be located
elsewliere in canister
12, for example, in the sidewall of body 13.
Apparatus 11 also includes a burnable mixture 18 comprising two components, at
least one natural wood product 19 and at least one herb seasoning 21. Wood pi-
oduct 19 may be in
the form of wood chips 22, wood shavings 23, or sawdust 24, as shown in FiQure
3. By way of
example only, wood chips 22 may ranQe from a fine to a coarse Qround
consistency, having an
averabe dimension of sav, 1/16" across. Irrespective of its form, wood product
19 is a natural wood
product, and does not include binders or other non-nattiral elements or
additives.
Wood product 19 is preferably made from a hardwood, for example, hickory,
mesquite, alder, applewood, oak, maple, cedar, sassafras, walnut, cherry,
grape, pear. or almond.
One particularly desirable type of wood product 19 is comprised of wood chips
22 or wood shavings
23 resuitinQ from the rejuvenation of an alcoholic beverage fermentation
barrel. Both French and
American oak are commonly used to make barrels for alcoholic beverage
fermentation and aging.
Such beveraaes may include whiskey, wine, bourbon, or brandy.
Oak used to make fermentation and aging bai-rels particularly for wine is
kno"n in
the industry as Vintage Oak. After Vintage Oak barrels have been used for a
period of time_ they
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are periodically renewed, by shaving or scraping off wood material on the
inner sides of the barrel.
This exposes underlying fresh wood, allowing the barrel to be put back into
service. However, the
Vintage Oak wood shavings, scraping, or chips which are removed from the
barrel are put to
advantageous use herein by using such material as the wood product 19, either
by itself, or in
combination with one or more other wood products 19. The Vintage Oak shavings
are imbued ~~-ith
the flavor and fragrance of the beverage which was contained within the
barrel, imparting unique
flavors and fragrances to meat barbequed in conjunction with the apparatus 11.
The herb seasoning 21 employed herein is also a natural product, determined by
the
selections and combinations desired for meat flavoring. Herb seasoninQ 21 may
be selected from
one or more of the popular seasonings such as oregano, fennel, dill, sage,
ginger, rosemary, thyme,
or celery seed, although this list is not intended to be limiting or all
inclusive. Generally, any natural
herb used in seasoning foods would be appropriate for seasoning 21. In
foimulating the burnable
mixture 18, one or more herb seasonings 21 is blended with the wood product
19, with the seasoning
being within the range of approximately 1% to 5% by weight, of the total
burnable mixture. It is
preferable that the seasoning be approximatelv 3% by weight of the total
mixture, although this
percentage is not critical in any way.
The followinQ table demonstrates examples of burnable mixture, showing
different
combinations of wood product 19 and herb seasonina 21 that may be used in
practicing the invention
herein.
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EXAMPLES
WOOD PRODUCT COMPONENT HERB SEASONING COMPONENT
l. Mesquite and Vintage Oak Thvme and Fennel
2. Hickory and Vintage Oak Oregano and Celery Seed
3. Apple and Vintage Oak Sage and Ginaer
4. Alder and Vintage Oak Rosemary and Dill
As shown in Figure 2, the burnable miYture 18 is poured into the body 13 until
it
reaches close to the open top 14. In further preparation, the lid 16 is
installed over the open top,
ensuring that canister 12 is substantially sealed, with the exception of
aperture 17. The filled canister
12 is then placed into a pre-fired barbeque 26, having charcoal coals 27
already burning on the lower
grill 28. The canister 12 may be placed directly onto the charcoal coals 27,
as shown in Fic'ure 1.
If a gas or electric barbeque is emploved, the same approach may be used,
namely, placing the
canister 12 directly upon the source of heat.
The user waits until smoke begins to emit from the aperture 17, signaling that
the
burnable mixture 18 is smoldering. The size of aperture 17 is selected to
allo,,v only a relatively
small amount of oxygen to enter the canister, so the burnable mixture 18
cannot flame. Thus. only
oxygen-starved combustion occurs within canister 12, providing a continuous
discharge of smoke
throu-h the aperture 17. Next, the upper cookinQ arill 29 is installed within
the barbeque 26, as
shown in Figure 5. Meat pieces 31 and 32 are then placed on the cooking grill
29, and the kettle
cover 33 is lowered over the open top of the barbeque.
The smoke 34 produced by the smoking canister 12, fills the contained volume
v"ithin
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the barbeque 26, imparting smoky, herbal flavors to the meat pieces 31 and 32.
An adjustable vent
36 in the cover 33, controls the fire and allows a certain amount of heat and
smoke 34 to discharge
into the atmosphere.
The canister 12 may also be utilized by placing it on the upper cooking grill
29, as
shown in Figure 4. Using this method, the barbeque is fired as previously
e;cplained, and the
cooking gril129 is then installed in the usual way. Because the canister 12 is
now in spaced relation
from the coals 27, it may take a few more minutes for the canister to begin
smoking. However, as
the heat builds, the burnable mixture 18 will begin to smolder, letting the
tiser know that it is time
to place the meat pieces 31 and 32 onto the cooking grill 29. The kettle cover
33 and vent 36 are
used as described previously. Heating canister 12 in this indirect way will
likely result in a slower
burn of the contained burnable mixture 18. This approach would typically be
useful for cooking
larger pieces of meat or for cooking multiple batches of meat.
After the barbeque is over and all components thereof have reached ambient
temperature, the lid 16 to the canister 12 is removed. Depending upon the
condition of the burnable
mixture 18, it may either be discarded or supplemented with new burnable
mixture. In this manner,
the apparatus 11 of the present invention may be reused repeatedly, and
recharQed with the same or
a different selection of burnable mixture 18 for the next barbeque.
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