I don't know what great BBQ is

[WvQ]

I posted the question about Myron Mixon's cookbook and got back nothing but negative, which is fine. My dilemma is that in my experience living in West Virginia people just aren't into smoking meats much, or Q in general. People cook hotdogs and hamburgers and steak, but that's about it. I live near a county of 100K people and I couldn't tell you the location of one BBQ joint. Good ribs are considered Chili's. I started cooking using cookbooks such as Low and Slow, and then moved onto Myron's, which I thought was better, but I guess I wonder now what good really is? I'm a lost West Virginia that needs to experience good Q! Anybody wanna help me out!

[ICDEDTURKES]

I live in a similar environment where folks fire up the "BBQ"(gasser) or having a "BBQ" and all there is, is hotdogs, hamburgers and brats.. They love their "BBQ" ribs boiled and thrown in sauce. Its kinda nice because when you have these folks over for a "BBQ" they are blown away..

I think each person needs to define their own good BBQ.. Tastes vary look at the differences in regions across this country..

[AtlGator]

Originally Posted by WvQ

I posted the question about Myron Mixon's cookbook and got back nothing but negative, which is fine. My dilemma is that in my experience living in West Virginia people just aren't into smoking meats much, or Q in general. People cook hotdogs and hamburgers and steak, but that's about it. I live near a county of 100K people and I couldn't tell you the location of one BBQ joint. Good ribs are considered Chili's. I started cooking using cookbooks such as Low and Slow, and then moved onto Myron's, which I thought was better, but I guess I wonder now what good really is? I'm a lost West Virginia that needs to experience good Q! Anybody wanna help me out!

I would get to know amazingribs.com. It's a terrific site that is full of useful information on how to create low and slow cooking with the stuff you may have on hand, and the site won't call you a dummy for reading the articles. Great ideas for rubs, sauces, grill set-ups, grill/smoker reviews, etc.

The best smoker for the money, and some would say at any price, is the smoker you can build yourself out of a 55 gallon drum. You can coax smoke magic from that design - a set and forget model that doesn't require a lot of fiddling or a ton of experience. Google UDS plans or UDS build or UDS DIY to see how popular that design is.

Get good at it and people will beat a path to your door, so be careful!

[WvQ]

Originally Posted by ICDEDTURKES

I live in a similar environment where folks fire up the "BBQ"(gasser) or having a "BBQ" and all there is, is hotdogs, hamburgers and brats.. They love their "BBQ" ribs boiled and thrown in sauce. Its kinda nice because when you have these folks over for a "BBQ" they are blown away..

I think each person needs to define their own good BBQ.. Tastes vary look at the differences in regions across this country..

You hit it on the money, growing up ribs were country style ribs boiled and drowned in any BBQ sauce you had handy. I guess that's why when people say my Q is awesome I wonder if it would be fed to the dogs in BBQ country.

[coastal]

West Virginia is great for bbq. Not for resturants but for home cooking. I grew up there and meats are easy to get. Butchers a plenty and everyone has a yard for bbqs.

Ignore the Mixon haters and keep expierementijg at home..following online recippees and techniques and watching youtube for cooking advice. Myrons book are great for his techniques he uses. Man Cave meals who is a member here is a good youtube channels to start with. I find it easier to learn from the real people on youtube then the pro cook shows.

Go mountianeers!

[Phubar]

I'm from the Netherlands...nuff said.

I've learned about 90% on the Brethren forum...now I can say that I'm 3 times Dutch BBQ champion in a row and got an invite to the Jack.
...but still I don't know if I cook "really good" BBQ.
Don't care really...my guests like it,my Moms and I as well.
Just buy you some meat,season it and throw it on the grill and see what happens.

[Thermal Mass]

You have come to the right place!!!
I believe it is bluetang that says, "Take your shoes off and sit a spell" (sorry if misquoted)... Spend some time here, look around. This is the best resource you will find, PERIOD!
I too live in an area similar to yours and ICEDTRUKEYS with the same image of Que.
Some great Q can be done on a kettle, then or first-build a UDS!

I came to this site looking for ideas for my brick smoker project and learned WAY more than I could ever imagine!!! Hang out, ask questions, but most of all JUST Q SOME STUFF AND POST IT.

Just for reference, some ribs done on my kettle not long ago with what I learned here.

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[Gore]

This is a really tough one. I've known people who've been exposed to BBQ for years, even members on this site who've been cooking for years (no names) and eating for years who've never actually had great BBQ. Unfortunately, there's a lot of bad BBQ, some good BBQ, and very little great BBQ out there. All I can say is that when you eat it, you know it. When people say things like, "I don't know what the big deal is about ...," then you know that they've never had it made right. In my experience, everything has a sweet spot. Trying to find it is the mission and different things work for different people. That's part of why we're here.

[aawa]

I don't know what exactly people consider great bbq, but I know what I like and my friends seem to like it also.

Everything I really know about bbq, I have learned from countless hours here on the forums and cooking bbq 2-4 times a week (year round) since I started on this hobby/obsession/whateveryouwanttocallit.

If you are not sure what a good rub means to you, try a few commercial rubs to find out what you like. Some great commercial rubs are Plowboys Yardbird, All of the Simply Marvelous likes (I suggest you get the sampler pack to try them all!) BigButz Cow Pow and Pig Pollen, and I'm sure other people on the forums will tell you others they found to be good.

What I did when I started was use a commercial rub to find out what flavor profiles you do like. You can work on your technique more this way instead of stressing about another factor. Once I got my techniques down (knowing the feel of the meats when they are done, hot and fast vs low and slow, etc) I started messing with homemade rubs. I started simple with Salt and Pepper and have added and subtracted different herbs/spices out of the equation.

I have now started messing with injections to see how that changes the flavor profile/texture of the meats and to see if I like what they bring to backyard bbq cooking (as opposed to competition one bite cooking).

If you are into the hobby/obsession of bbq, you have to have patience. And learn different things throughout your journey. When you start it, go simple and grow your knowledge and techniques more and more. After a bunch of cooks you will find have points that where your eyes open much wider and you realize, damn what I have been working at, I just nailed and it will be much easier to get to that point.

P.S. Also another way to improve is to keep notes on all of your cooks. That way you know how much of each ingredient, time between rub to smoker, how long before you wrapped vs no wrapping and you will be a much better cook for it.

[WvQ]

Originally Posted by coastal

Go mountianeers!

It's Mountaineers or just eers

[WvQ]

Originally Posted by Gore

This is a really tough one. I've known people who've been exposed to BBQ for years, even members on this site who've been cooking for years (no names) and eating for years who've never actually had great BBQ. Unfortunately, there's a lot of bad BBQ, some good BBQ, and very little great BBQ out there. All I can say is that when you eat it, you know it. When people say things like, "I don't know what the big deal is about ...," then you know that they've never had it made right. In my experience, everything has a sweet spot. Trying to find it is the mission and different things work for different people. That's part of why we're here.

I think you get me. It reminds me of the time I made Picadillo and people asked me if it was good. My response was "I don't know I've never tasted Picadillo before, but what I made tastes good"

[bananablack]

I think its bout to move outta west Virginia...Real americans smoke meat(with wood of course)

[Bamabuzzard]

"Great BBQ" is all about preference and we all know preferences are subjective. When it comes to taste there's really no standard for great tasting bbq because the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

As crazy as it sounds there are a lot of people who think Chili's baby back ribs are "great bbq". Even after they've tasted what we (the Brethren) would call "Real BBQ". A lot of it is what you've grown accustomed to eating.

For me personally I cannot understand how someone can take a perfectly good smoked slab of ribs and CAKE K.C. Masterpiece bbq sauce on it and call that "great bbq". But they do. I see it all the time. So what you're searching for is really a moving target. The "greatness" of the bbq will many times depend on you and your taste buds.

[wnkt]

Originally Posted by WvQ

I think you get me. It reminds me of the time I made Picadillo and people asked me if it was good. My response was "I don't know I've never tasted Picadillo before, but what I made tastes good"

That's my view right there...if you are making it for yourself it doesn't matter what everybody else thinks.
We can tell you HOW to do something...but what "Good" is supposed to mean is up to you. You may like a lot of spices...other folks may not. Some like sauce, others dont

[cdollar]

I think the best information you can get is right here and free to boot. Also look at http://tvwbb.com/forum.php . It"s aimed at Weber Smokey Mountain owners but the recipes and tips are great on any cooker you have.


Chuck