How Anyone Can Learn to Cook Good BBQ

[The_Kapn]

Great thread--

KISS works every time.

This is not Rocket Science.

TIM

[boogiesnap]

great thread boshizzle.
i have to disagree about the oven tho.
if you're cooking in the oven, you're practicing RECIPES.
if you're cooking in your smoker, you're practicing BBQ.
i suggest the newbie and veteran alike practice BBQ.
the difference between cooking in the oven and cooking in the smoker are too great for 1 technique to translate to the other successfully.
you'll just wind up doing everything twice.
just my 2 cents, maybe less.

[Wampus]

Originally Posted by btcg

to the wife, I was a liar.

LMAO!!!!
^^^ THAT ^^^ is hilarious!!


OOPS....tried to sneak one by her, huh? HA!
Man, been married for 13 years now. I know what you're talking about right there!!

[Beast Drinker]

I like the thread I'm not a caterer competition guy or full blown addict either. I think I've got a pretty fair level of experience then I talked to a guy 2 weeks ago he does a THOUSAND hogs a year. A thousand!!!!!! There's no way I'll ever be as good as that dude I mean he's been doing it for 50 farkin years or Pop Daddy or some of these other guys here but I don't think I'm as good as I can be yet either. I don't think you ever stop perfecting your method because variables always change such as oh say weather. a 250 degree fire on a 80 degree night isn't the same as a 250 degree fire on a 40 degree night... throw some wind in there and well you see where I'm going. I agree you have to use your pit to improve there's no wind to adjust a fire too in my kitchen.

The 1000 hog a year guy liked my sauce....... his is daggone awesome....

[Boshizzle]

Originally Posted by boogiesnap

great thread boshizzle.
i have to disagree about the oven tho.
if you're cooking in the oven, you're practicing RECIPES.
if you're cooking in your smoker, you're practicing BBQ.
i suggest the newbie and veteran alike practice BBQ.
the difference between cooking in the oven and cooking in the smoker are too great for 1 technique to translate to the other successfully.
you'll just wind up doing everything twice.
just my 2 cents, maybe less.

You make some good points, but from the stand point being able to recognize when the meat is at the tenderness you want it, the oven is a great tool. It can also be used to test recipes.

[boogiesnap]

agreed boshizzle. BUT,
the art and skill and fun of barbeque is cooking over a live fire.
the oven can't help you practice that.

i forgot about the part of no arguments in your thread.
i'm sorry....

you have written a great deal of useful info in your post.

[Boshizzle]

Originally Posted by boogiesnap

agreed boshizzle. BUT,
the art and skill and fun of barbeque is cooking over a live fire.
the oven can't help you practice that.

Agreed.

[Dave Russell]

Very thoughtful thread, Boshizzle.

I'll add my very basic and simple .02 cents:

Low-n-slow bbq can take a long time, so I might as well do it over night in my wsm and have plenty of "just-n-case-resting-time". (Thank GOD we know how to keep bbq hot and tasty for several hours. Can you imagine how much a pain in the arse it would be otherwise?)

If not doing over night, I so low-n-slow a little hotter, say 250-275.... but the early bird gets the worm. After all, you can't leave the meat out over night at room temp, and cold meat takes a while to start cooking.

If, after reading posts online, or sleeping in (go back one tip!) I try to cook briskets or butts 300-325 without wrapping in foil.....just because everything looks ok when the meat's IT is 170, doesn't mean it'll turn out ok....

...SO, If cooking over 275, I no longer am stubborn. I WILL wrap in foil once meat gets 160-ish for more predictable results....and NOT 170-ish...(or at least that's what I've learned lately in MY cookers. Your results may vary.)

Regarding stick burners, I am adamant about this: If using a small offset, cook at whatever temp you need to in order to get a clean burn for good smoke. The bbq out of my current pit tastes NOTHING like the 'Q I smoked back when I thought I had to shut the vent back and keep it under 250. Not to get too philosophical, but if there ever was an example how truth can sometimes appear to be subjective when in fact it's quite absolute, it's with good vs. bad smoke. If you can't quite see the difference in the blue and white, I just hope you get a chance to taste the difference, because it's definately there.

Well, like someone said, bbq's not rocket science. For one last bit of common sense advice, cooking for family and friends isn't the best time to try new techniques and radical recipes. Practice tried and true on hungry mouths that are countin' on bbq for supper, and experiment on yourself and the dog.


Dave
wsm, otg, ots, chargriller stickburner, uds, smokey joe

[trevthebear]

Great thread

[Riverside BBQ]

Thanks for the great thread. Loads of info already for us newcommers to this thing they call BBQ!...

[deguerre]

What an excellent expansion of your original post. Many thanks!

[toadhunter911]

Originally Posted by The_Kapn

Great thread--

KISS works every time.

This is not Rocket Science.

TIM

But there is a little science involved.

I'm by no means an expert, but I've been cookin a long time, and smokin on my Chargriller for 3 years now. The best advice I can give is keep it simple, don't sweat the small stuff, and have fun.

[Boshizzle]

Great comments so far, brethren! Thanks for the input!

Here is a chicken practice I did on my Bubba Keg today. In this practice I wanted to experiment with a new browning process and an injection. I have never injected chicken before and thought that it might add some flavor in the center of the meat.
I am using my tried and true process that I have spent hours practicing for all of the thighs except the four pieces that I am injecting and the four pieces that I am using the new browning process on. I cooked two pieces using my typical method as a baseline.

The Keg is setup for indirect heat throughout the entire cook.

Here is the chicken after trimming and injecting. The four pieces on the right side are the ones that were injected. I just used some chicken broth and some spices in the injection.



I put the chicken in the keg and cooked them using the process that I am happy with. Only the injected pieces are different at this point.



Here is the chicken after cooking a while. Notice the color difference. The two middle pieces are the control pieces. Nothing about those are different from my usual cooking process that I am comfortable with.

The top four pieces are the injected group. Nothing in the cooking process changed for those except they were injected.

You can tell which four pieces I used to experiment with the new browning process. And, no, it doesn't involve Wegmans AJ, but I am going to give that a go too.



Here is the chicken while it's glazing. Notice the pieces closest to the camera are a little darker with a little more color than the rest. Those are the four that got the new browning technique.



Here are the results. The chicken with the new browning technique is on the left. I think it got a little too dark but, overall, I liked the results. With a little adjustment here and there, I think I can make it work.

In regards to the injection, it made a definite flavor difference, even more so than brining, in my experience.



So, what did I learn? I learned that injecting the chicken can help get flavor into the meat. I also learned that my new browning technique holds some promise. I will make some adjustments (and add some Wegmans AJ to it ) and try it again to try and refine it.

[Boshizzle]

I cooked some spare ribs, a brisket flat, and a chucky today continuing my experimentation.



I decided to try something different with the rib trimmings. I sliced the trimmings perpendicular to the cartilage in thin strips.



I applied rub and put them in the smoker with the rest of the ribs at 275 F.



Because the trimed slices were thin, I foiled them after about 1.5 hours with just a little bit of water in the foil with them. I let them cook in the foil for about another 2 hours.



For the last half hour of cooking, I opened up the foil and spritzed the slices with AJ about every 10 minutes. Yeah, I know, "If you are lookin' you ain't cookin'." But, this thread is about whatever works regardless of how it rhymes or not. In this case, it cooked just fine. I was lookin' and cookin'.



This was part of our lunch. I put a little sauce on the "riblets" and they didn't last long. They were tender, moist, and full of flavor.



This is a great option for cooking St Louis style spare rib trimmings that I will be using from now on.

[Boshizzle]

Originally Posted by boogiesnap

agreed boshizzle. BUT,
the art and skill and fun of barbeque is cooking over a live fire.
the oven can't help you practice that.

i forgot about the part of no arguments in your thread.
i'm sorry....

you have written a great deal of useful info in your post.

Arguments no. Disagreements and discussion, yes please. I think your posts fall in the discussion column.