Do you Bar-B-Que?

Cafe Society
1

Tis the season for ‘Que most pleasin’.

Nowadays it’s not that difficult to come across shows on TV that deal with BBQ in some form or fashion, legendary establishments, cooking, equipment and competitions to make the best. Apparently a lot of people are watching because as I learned when trying to buy a pit recently, there can be a pretty good waiting list for the better ones. A lot of my neighbors have gotton into it too, whether it be out back on the patio or with mobile rigs that they take to tailgate at games, to recreation properties, deer leases and cook-offs. Such being the case I though there surely would be some good advice here.

Smokers - While I used to use a regular grill, there are a lot of excellent smokers out there now, many by smaller custom shops that make a really quality product, often to your exacting specs. An offset firebox means indirect heat and no flare-ups when you leave the meat unattended for however long. A horizontal section can be of varied length and number of lids. Often there will be a vertical section at the end that runs around 100 degrees cooler for really slow, ‘cold’ smoking. I bought a 20x36 horizontal w/ 1/4 steel plate to start with the thought if I really get into it I can always enlarge and upgrade later.

Woods - Where to start… a lot will probably depend on availability where you live but here in the south oak, mesquite and hickory are most plentiful, although a number of places will carry specialty woods like pecan, apple, cherry and other fruit woods. I’ve had great success with the first three, although I do want to find both red oak and post oak as some of the more famous establishments in our state have always used these two. Of mention, I hear northern red oak is not suitable but the southern variety is especially sought after.

Meats - Baby Back ribs have been very easy, forgiving and delicious but this past weekend I did beef short ribs for the first time and holy smokes but they were awesome! I’m going to load up on them again this weekend for friends during the holiday celebration.

Perhaps the best thing we’ve made yet though was the pork butt, also called a Boston butt. Kosher salt, coarse black pepper, a good rib rub (Fiesta) and tied up with butcher’s twine, this absolutely fell apart and in addition to being delicious is kind of hard to screw up. A great choice for beginners.

Chicken has been incredibly easy, usually just leg quarters with nothing added, have just let them absorb the natural smoke from mesquite. We’ll need to do some beer can chicken soon, all in good time.

Brisket is one I expect to perfect later but the first efforts were good but not awesome. The flavor was there but the prep and tenderness still needs to be improved upon. I’m moving from a point to a packer this week and will start real early in the day. Chopped brisket sandwiches during the week don’t ever get old.

I’ve not experimented with turkey that much yet but plan to do a whole bird soon. This weekend I just put a pecan rub on a roast, tied it up and let it absorb the mesquite. It ended with quite a smoke ring and was tender and delicious.

Temp & time - Basically everything so far has been cooked between 225 - 250. I don’t have tuning plates so what needs to run hotter, like the chicken, has gone nearer the firebox. Briskets stay on the far side. Most of the times I follow are what’s suggested by amazingribs.com which I treat as the last word on the subject. A good meat theremometer is key too. I think I paid less than $20 for a Weber instant read probe and it even reads the ambient air temps to the exact degree as my patio mercury thermometer, so lots of accuracy there.

Rubs & Sauces - This has been fun to investigate. Of course we already had our favorites discovered over the years but I do pay more attention to that aisle in specialty groceries now. Some online research has opened us to other regional favorites too that reflect the tastes of Memphis, St. Louis, Carolina, etc. Carolina’s mustard based sauces are the biggest surprise yet. Fiesta I like and Bone Suckin’ Sauce & rubs have been a good find.

Everything else - I know a lot of folks go with ceramic smokers, some even equipped with a pellet feed system, temperature control, cell phone notification, etc. It would be great to hear more about all this too.

A couple of stores that carry many needed items include Academy and often times even your local Lawn & Turf supply.

So do you have any favorites, suggestions, tips, war stories, whatever to tell? All is welcome.

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You aren’t a pro until you are cooking brisket. :stuck_out_tongue:

My rig is pretty basic: a 55 gallon malt drum cut in half and mounted on a steel tubing frame. Off-set firebox leads to a smoke diffuser inside and the far end is crowned with a cut-down stack off a big rig. Expanded steel grating on either side as shelves, and a two-piece grill surface of the same inside. It will maintain 225ºF all day and night and is fairly stingy on fuel. Had the whole thing made up by my school auto shop. Cost me materials ($50) and a six-pack for the shop teacher. Been using it for 17 years now, and it shows little signs of wearing out.

Making your own rub is easier and cheaper than buying it. Look up “Magic Dust” for a good starter recipe.

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I smoked a flat brisket a few weeks ago on my Weber kettle, after some wrangling with baskets and trays and foil to keep the heat as indirect as possible, and had good (but not great) results. I greatly underestimated my cook time (I went 9 hours, but could have gone at least 12). I had zero problem keeping things at a steady 225-240 degrees. I’ll probably switch to a point next time, but I’ll need to find a butcher that has one (the shop I went to is excellent, but brisket is not their thing - it was either a flat or a whole packer, and there’s just not enough room on my grill for a whole packer, or people to eat it!).

4

I know the theory of smoking using actual wood, but I’m not too interested in babysitting a smoker for 12 hours straight.

So I got myself a Bradley electric moker and rigged up an industrial PID temp controller and a RTD sensor to control a 25 amp solid state relay that controls the power to the Bradley.

I can keep my temps in the Bradley to within 0.2 degrees C with that rig; between that and the magazine of smoking biscuits, I can load it up, and let it rip. I can go to sleep or do whatever I want, and every 3-4 hours check on the internal temp of the meat with the leave-in digital oven thermometer I have, and after roughly 12 hours, I have perfectly smoked brisket.

5

You don’t actually have to babysit it. Something like a Weber Smokey Mountain you might have to change the coals once on. A Big Green Egg, efficient smoker that it is, you can easily to a 12-hour smoke on one set of coals.

When we got married, I put a brisket on the WSM at round 7:30 a.m. We had a ceremony and afternoon lunch reception with dancing. At around 4:30 or 5:00 p.m., we came back to our place for an after-party. The brisket was done, there were still some burning coals left in the WSM, and I had not done anything but load it up in the morning and come back in the evening 9 hours later.

ETA: It’s really not necessarily to be anal about temperature. My best briskets tend to be ones that start a bit high for typical barbecue, around 275F, plus or minus 15 degrees. If I’m around, I only check the temps after about 6 hours to see where the coals are. If it’s running under 200, I get another chimney starter of coals ready to go.

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silenus, that sounds like a really good set-up in all the ways that count. Reading what I can on maintaining the perfect fire, although at some point I may just get a charcoal box. I’ve kinda enjoyed buying all the different woods and lump and learning the qualities of each.

Munch, my first flat was really just a test, small and not from the best store. With the point I searched for real quality, kept the temp low and it was much better. With this weekend’s packer I hope to achieve perfection. It’s a necessary staple and you learn with each one, right?

I’d mentioned difficulty finding a quality pit. LyfeTyme was my initial choice but they were back-ordered 8 - 10 weeks and I wanted it in 2 days for a birthday weekend. Klose was next but sold out and 4 -5 weeks from ready. So I called the guy that built that shuttle pit, Ritchie and he was 20 weeks out but had a brand new Klose a friend gave him to market with. I liked it and it was ready so he parted with it but couldn’t deliver immediately so I wrestled that 550 lb pig home myself and have the scrapes the prove it. Thank goodness I’d also decided against a 1/2" steel firebox.

bump, that sounds like a sweet set-up. Y’all post pics if you can, some of these would be great to see.

Excellent. That’s another question, what are the advantages of a chimney starter?

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Right now I position briquets into an “S” and start adding lump and split wood down the line. I’ve got non-toxic starter pieces designed for ceramic cookers to get things going, plus some eco-green fluid w/o any petroleum distillates. I’ll let that burn with the box open, then close the system after 10 minutes or so.

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They’re easy to use and don’t require any type of accelerants to get the fire going. Just wad up about three sheets of newspaper into a loose ring (you don’t want to wad it too tight) and you can get any charcoal fire going easily without having to use lighter fluid.

Now, there really isn’t really a problem with lighter fluid unless you don’t let it burn off completely before starting your smoke. But I see no need for it when there’s such an easy way to start a lump of coals on fire.

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re: chimney starter

It should also be pointed out that they’re used primarily for grilling or the initial bed of coals for smoking (since people tend to just add a few lumps to keep the fire going when smoking). Not only is it much easier and faster to get the coals to temperature, but they’re also in one easily distributable canister when it comes time to spreading them, which is especially helpful when you’re setting up a 2- or 3-zone fire.

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^ Very good points made. When I build a fire for smoking, I tend to use the “Minion method.” Basically, you set up a pile of unlit coals, then maybe some wood chunks within them, and then lay a pile of lit coals on top, with some more wood chunks on top of that. The lit coals burn down and light the unlit coals and you can get a steady fire going for hours before having to refill.

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I think I remember you are in Indy… Kincaid’s should be able to take care of you. If not, drive a little north to my neighborhood (Carmel) and I know Joe’s will have it (maybe call a bit in advance just to make sure). Joe is a great guy and will order pretty much anything you need.

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I’ll give them a try. I went to Claus’ in Fountain Square - I’ll be going back for all of my sausage needs, but BBQ meat probably isn’t their strength.

Gah! Actually, the wife and I were just up there to check out the Upland Tasting Room. Decent, but I’ve got one in Broad Ripple, just without the food (which looked really good).

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I’ve got a friend who brings me sausage from Claus’s… good stuff!

I just went to Upland about a week ago (I’ve been to the one in Bloomington a couple of times) and the food was good… but the beer is even better. I’m in my 50’s now so they don’t allow me in Broad Ripple anymore. :slight_smile:

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First, let me second (or third or whatever) the Amazing Ribs recommendation. First, they taught me don’t be ashamed to admit that I had been smoking food on a propane grill. But just this Father’s Day, I graduated to the Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM). I’m still learning how to regulate the temperature, and have progressively been getting better. Once I really get the hang of maintaining 225-235 for 6 hours or so, I’ll attempt a brisket again (which up here in Queens can be hard to find, even at a butcher).

I put together my own rubs, which are usually just slight variations of ones published by Alton Brown, Cook’s Illustrated, and other sources. As an example, I like both mustard powder and allspice in my pork rub…AB’s rub has allspice but not mustard, CI has mustard but not allspice. I still measure, as I want to get the proper ratios when putting my rubs together.

9 times out of 10 I’ll make my own sauce. Sometimes, I go a little too hot (usually accidentally) for anyone in my family who’s not me. When they complain, I just offer to let them cook. No more complaining.

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I’m surprised it’s hard to find brisket in NY. Isn’t that a staple up there?

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I can find small flat cuts suitable for braising, but too small for BBQ, and often too trimmed. I’d like to get the cryovac pack of the whole brisket, flat and point. At least my old butcher, before he closed down, would have a complete flat for me.

What is the consensus opinion on full spare ribs versus St. Louis cut? Full are the cheapest and have the most meat, and I’m not making competition boxes (and don’t get me started on grading those styrofoam boxes on appearance). If one makes St. Louis cuts from full, what would one do with the leftover meat?

17

I BBQ and/or grill quite often.
I strongly, strongly recommend the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker. Capacity, adjustability and temp stability over time are all exceptional.

I’m a one person household so if I’m just making some wings or a batch of ATB’s (Something like this), I just use my Weber Smokey Joe Platinum offset. Tonight, I’m making a boneless, skinless turkey breast roast on the SJP, easy as can be: 2 hrs at 300. One awesome aspect is that this SJP is the same diameter as my 18.5" Smokey Mtn so I can mix & match grates and lids and whatnot.

I’ve settled on pecan as my overall favorite smoking wood. It is like a mild hickory but more present than fruit woods I’ve tried. I still use apple, cherry and hickory in regular rotation.

I can also happily endorse the Magic Dust rec from Silenus. I make a few changes, though. I grind the salt, sugar, chile powder and black pepper in a blender and mayo jar. The other ingredients are already powdery but further grinding the more grainy stuff helps the rub stick evenly. I cut the salt in half. I use a blend of Mexican dried chiles for the chile powder component. These are toasted in a skillet (OUTSIDE!) and ground into flecks ahead of time. Chiles include guajillo, ancho, pasilla, morita & arbol/pequin.

I’m not big into sauces. If I do want to glaze some wings or something, I just mix Original Open Pit with pomegranate juice, equal parts.

One variable not mentioned in the OP is fuel type. I’m pretty strict on lump charcoal. It looks and smells like wood. My nearest liquor store actually carries a reasonable selection of charcoals and the 20 pound Cowboy blue bags are $13-15.

For spares, I’ve been buying ‘medium cut’ or ‘center cut’. I’m not a butchering scholar but these are perhaps 6 inches wide but still long and I think the tips have been removed. I had some in my hands yesterday but put them back due to scheduling. There’s only so many meals in a week and I was all booked up. Sure sounds good, though. Maybe next week.

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I’m outside getting the grill ready for the aforementioned tx breast and wondering WTF Cowboy came from. I use Royal Oak, not Cowboy. Not sure how I got them mixed up. Seems minor but this type of thing is important, dang it!

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Royal Oak, IME, is much better than Cowboy, as long as we are talking lump charcoal.

ETA: Oh, I see you are correcting your own post. I was a bit confused. At any rate, if there is a choice, go for Royal Oak, dear readers.

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I do full spares, usually, but if you trim them St. Louis style, you can use the leftovers to make rib tips. Just smoke them alongside the ribs. My favorite Chicago barbecue, in fact, is rib tips and hot links. I will sometimes buy just the tips to smoke.