While many think of smoked meats as already cooked and ready to eat, the truth is for curing meat, fish and even cheeses cold smoking is used and can take several hours if not several days. These barbeque smokers do not affect the texture or appearance of the meat, but they also do not kill any microbes usually found in uncooked meat. With the barbeque smokers used for cooking, the heat and smoke flows through the meat, cooking it as it flavors it with the smoke. In cold smokers, only the smoke goes through.