# BBQ- what does it mean to you. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 21, 2004, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389 "2004-10-21T12:35:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389/61 "2004-10-25T14:28:06Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I was just finishing my second BBQ burger as you posted. In addition to my plan above, I added a few slugs of chipotle sauce that **micilin** brought me back from Mexico. > > It worked. > > Holy crap I am in _heaven_.\* If you think that’s good, do it again, but use a smoker. And cook it longer. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389/62 "2004-10-26T04:08:48Z")
Hope you’re happy **MikeG**. I spent several hours last night and several more today reading [LTHForum.com](http://LTHForum.com). Seems like a great group, not too elite, and so close to home. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389/63 "2004-10-27T01:19:35Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > OK you bastids. > > Because of this thread I just went to the butcher’s and bought several pounds of pork shoulder. I told the butcher what I was attempting (pork shoulder isn’t a common cut of meat in Ireland so he had to fetch it specially from the store room), and **he was so interested that he gave me a €2 discount provided I come back into the store and give him the recipe if it’s a success.** > > I’ve rubbed this with “American BBQ Spice” from Schwartz Spices, and put it in the oven at 120C (220F) for 4 hours. Unfortunately all the BBQ sauce recipes on the Web call for liquid smoke, which we can’t get in Ireland, but I found a hickory smoke flavoured “American style barbecue sauce” in the supermarket, so I’m hoping this will do. I have burger buns to put it in once I’ve hand-pulled the meat from the bone and mixed it with the sauce. > > Drooling already. Hey, jjimm, did you go back to the butcher to tell him about the results of your experiment? Did you bring samples for him to try? What did he think? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389/64 "2004-10-27T05:11:10Z")
A BBQ to me is generally grilling steaks, burgers, or hot dogs over charcoal or gas with family and friends. Occasionally my brother will make real BBQ in his smoker, but this isn’t very often. I think real slow smoked meat is what defines traditional BBQ, and unfortnately, I have no smoker and can’t afford the real deal. I really want to make some authentic BBQ sometime and luckily I did see a great homemade BBQ smoker that Alton Brown put together for under $50 on his show _Good Eats_ a year or two back. I think it is a simple and affordable substitute for many of us who want to try our hand at some real BBQ and I am thinking seriously about putting one together. This might give **JJim** and all of us a shot at making the real thing at home. Alton Brown’s BBQ Cooker/Smoker No mechanical skill is needed to make this cooker, it assembles naturally. You will need: Two large clay or terra cotta tapered flowerpot type planters. (large enough to hold a pork shoulder roast) An electric hotplate (round, single heating coil, electric hotplate). A round grilling grate. A heavy duty metal pie plate. Wood smoking chips. Two bricks or patio tiles. Basically, you elevate the bottom planter on the bricks to allow the hotplate cord to run out through its drainhole. The Electric hotplate sits in the bottom of the planter, on top of this goes the pie plate filled with water soaked wood chips. The grill grate goes in next and should be slightly smaller than the planters very top circumference, it should slide down about a quarter of the way into the planter and be suspended naturally by the taperng of the planter. (You might want to check how all of the seperate pieces fit together at the store or when you’re buying the items- you don’t want the grilling grate to be too close to the heating element.) Then place the rubbed meat on the grill. The second planter is inverted and is simply matched to the edge of the bottom planter and acts as the lid or top of the cooker. Plug the hotplate in and let it go for the next several hours. Simple as that! Alton used a meat thermometer inserted in the top planter’s drain hole to monitor the temperature, which should be between 225F and 250F. You can adjust the hotplate accordingly or “gap” the planters to allow some heat to escape. I can’t vouche for the results but Alton’s pulled pork looked good enough and he attested to taste. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389/65 "2004-10-27T09:10:16Z")
I still think that BBQ means slap a snag on the barbie but because of this thread I now feel the need to cook some meat for a really long time. As soon as summer feels likes starting I will try…if summer is ever coming that is. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389/66 "2004-10-27T09:34:21Z")
> [@medstar](#): > > Hey, jjimm, did you go back to the butcher to tell him about the results of your experiment? Did you bring samples for him to try? What did he think? Haven’t been back to the butcher yet (working and all that), but still have some pork shoulder frozen, so will be cooking it again in about 2 weeks’ time and will deliver samples to the butcher. **devilsknew** , that BBQ smoker sounds good, but we don’t get ‘wood smoking chips’ over here to my knowledge, which would kind of negate the project. Ah well. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389/67 "2004-10-27T09:44:24Z")
> [@](#): > > devilsknew, that BBQ smoker sounds good, but we don’t get ‘wood smoking chips’ over here to my knowledge, which would kind of negate the project. Ah well. Any place that can grow hardwood(heh heh heh heh) has wood smoking chips. Pine sucks cause it gives essence-of-turpentine to the meat , but any nut or fruit wood works damn well. Just find a sawmill, or even carpenters shop, that has chemically untreated stock and sweep in into a bucket. Damn good smoking chips. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389/68 "2004-10-27T11:50:51Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Any place that can grow hardwood(heh heh heh heh) has wood smoking chips. Pine sucks cause it gives essence-of-turpentine to the meat , but any nut or fruit wood works damn well. Just find a sawmill, or even carpenters shop, that has chemically untreated stock and sweep in into a bucket. Damn good smoking chips. Another thing you can do if y’all don’t have access to wood chips is to save all the walnut, pecan, hickory nut shells etc. after picking them clean…or peach, plum, pits etc. Pieces of old furniture, broken hammer handles, that is usually hardwood. Soak 'em in water while your charred coals get hot and add em a couple a handfuls at a time every once in awhile. I know it sounds like your cooking the trash but…really it’s hardwood and it’ll add the wood smoke if you want it. Old pecans and nuts from last year work great. I’ve always got bags of shells that I can use to. I love a good pecan **pie**. mmm pie… wait a minute, isn’t that how this thread got started :smack: ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389/69 "2004-10-27T12:03:35Z")
Why yes it is 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389/70 "2004-10-27T13:08:48Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > **devilsknew** , that BBQ smoker sounds good, but we don’t get ‘wood smoking chips’ over here to my knowledge, which would kind of negate the project. Ah well. As has been pointed out, you don’t need “wood smoking chips” to smoke your meat. Just hardwood. Hickory, mesquite, alder, apple wood, peach wood, pecan, etc. These are more common because they’re more aromatic, but you can also use oak. If you want to add some flavor to the oak chips, you could soak them in bourbon or a dark wine first. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bbq-what-does-it-mean-to-you/270389.md?page=3)