Lake Dogs
Quintessential Chatty Farker
In reading some of the other discussions, I thought this one might be fun
for those of us who've been there & burned that a time or two, hopefully
informative to folks on their first few BBQ's so that perhaps they wont
repeat our mistakes..
I'll start. It's been about 12 years ago. I bought a Brinkmann Stillwater
that's tough to find now adays. It's a smaller fairly heavy thick steel
offset stick burner. I'd seasoned it well and had a fairly good idea as to
temperature control. I'd been reading many books about cooking times
and temps and rubs and sauces to the point where my mind was spinning.
What I came away with was an idea to cool LOW and SLOW, and had
planned to cook at 220 - 225.
Result:
It took FOREVER, like 16 hours. I had to bring the meat inside and finish
it in the oven. The outside was hard, crunchy, and inedible. The inside
was dry; VERY dry. We ate a little of it, but not much. It didn't smell
very good either.
Lessons:
1. Know the temperatures ON THE COOKING SURFACE where you place
your meat. The temperature gauge on the outside is reliable, but doesn't
necessarily reflect the surface temperature, which is the cooking temp.
In my case, I wasn't cooking at 225, but more like 190. Not good.
2. Know your smoke. Sweet blue is what you're looking for. I didn't
learn this until after 5 or 6 smokes. I cannot describe the amount of
creosote I had on my first few smokes. Black, bitter, nasty. DO NOT
soak wood in anything wet. Dry wood. Do NOT smother the coals/fire
with wood. These will produce massive amounts of white smoke which
makes for BAD Q.
3. Rub. Too many ingredients likely ends up fairly skunky. Careful with
sugars, particularly if you're planning to cook above 250. In my case,
I had sugars, and mustard powder and all kinds of stuff in this rub. It
was WAY too complex. I learned later, by getting back to basics of just
black pepper and small amounts of salt, then adding one ingredient at
a time, what I liked. You're usually pretty good staying with peppers.
Anything else, be careful.
4. Injection. In my case, I didnt use one. With the LONG cook time
that I'd engaged in, the meat was very dry when I'd finished. Mind you,
it was overcooked also. However, if I'd used a good injection (I use
apple juice, worchestershire, and some rub) the fats would've reduced
properly and timely and left the meat moist.
I've since learned that for my personal taste it can be TOO smokey. Mind
you, that's my personal taste. I now end up using foil. I foil my ribs just
before 90 minutes. I foil the butts and shoulders and hams at 4.5 hours;
same for brisket.
for those of us who've been there & burned that a time or two, hopefully
informative to folks on their first few BBQ's so that perhaps they wont
repeat our mistakes..
I'll start. It's been about 12 years ago. I bought a Brinkmann Stillwater
that's tough to find now adays. It's a smaller fairly heavy thick steel
offset stick burner. I'd seasoned it well and had a fairly good idea as to
temperature control. I'd been reading many books about cooking times
and temps and rubs and sauces to the point where my mind was spinning.
What I came away with was an idea to cool LOW and SLOW, and had
planned to cook at 220 - 225.
Result:
It took FOREVER, like 16 hours. I had to bring the meat inside and finish
it in the oven. The outside was hard, crunchy, and inedible. The inside
was dry; VERY dry. We ate a little of it, but not much. It didn't smell
very good either.
Lessons:
1. Know the temperatures ON THE COOKING SURFACE where you place
your meat. The temperature gauge on the outside is reliable, but doesn't
necessarily reflect the surface temperature, which is the cooking temp.
In my case, I wasn't cooking at 225, but more like 190. Not good.
2. Know your smoke. Sweet blue is what you're looking for. I didn't
learn this until after 5 or 6 smokes. I cannot describe the amount of
creosote I had on my first few smokes. Black, bitter, nasty. DO NOT
soak wood in anything wet. Dry wood. Do NOT smother the coals/fire
with wood. These will produce massive amounts of white smoke which
makes for BAD Q.
3. Rub. Too many ingredients likely ends up fairly skunky. Careful with
sugars, particularly if you're planning to cook above 250. In my case,
I had sugars, and mustard powder and all kinds of stuff in this rub. It
was WAY too complex. I learned later, by getting back to basics of just
black pepper and small amounts of salt, then adding one ingredient at
a time, what I liked. You're usually pretty good staying with peppers.
Anything else, be careful.
4. Injection. In my case, I didnt use one. With the LONG cook time
that I'd engaged in, the meat was very dry when I'd finished. Mind you,
it was overcooked also. However, if I'd used a good injection (I use
apple juice, worchestershire, and some rub) the fats would've reduced
properly and timely and left the meat moist.
I've since learned that for my personal taste it can be TOO smokey. Mind
you, that's my personal taste. I now end up using foil. I foil my ribs just
before 90 minutes. I foil the butts and shoulders and hams at 4.5 hours;
same for brisket.