Smoking meat has become a beloved tradition for even amateur pit masters, but like every popular trend, there is always controversy. For smoked meat, that controversy is cancer. There are a number of studies that stand behind that some smoked and grilled meats have cancer-causing carcinogens, but is it true?

Sadly, the evidence does point to smoked meat causing cancer, but what doesn’t these days? The good news is that you only get the cancer-causing carcinogens if you smoke the meat a certain way, and the better news is that if you are smoking meat the wrong way, that is how you create carcinogens.

The two cancer-causing carcinogens that you have to worry about when smoking meat are Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). These two carcinogens primarily come when meat is cooked at a very high temperature. The sugars, creatine, and amino acids from the meat burn and form these new substances.

In simpler terms, if you are blackening your meat to a charcoal briquette when smoking, you are probably eating cancer. However, if you smoke meat correctly so that the meat cooks slowly and doesn’t burn, you are going to be just fine. As is the case in all forms of cooking, if you are blackening food by burning it, you are not only creating terrible tasting food, but you are creating carcinogenic substances.

It is important to remember that if you are following the recipe to the letter and still getting meat charred to a crisp, it may not be the fault of the recipe, but rather the smoker. Many a burnt piece of meat is caused by any number of poor quality smokers on the market.

At Mild to Wild Pepper and Herb Company, we offer a full range of products from sauces for private labeling and retail sales, to bulk chile peppers for the largest of industrial accounts and everything in between! With an extensive selection of hot sauces and barbecue sauces, you are sure to find something that fits your tastes. To place your order today, visit our website and read about all the ingredients that go into our specialty sauces.