Of course. How could I forget. In the Carolinas (and some other areas), “barbecue” is pulled pork.
It really does depend on the ribs. I’m a fan of spares–lots of meat there, but if you find a nice rack of baby backs (Costco is especially good), you’ll have more meat than bones. That said, I like the primal caveman feeling I get eating ribs or chicken wing and watching the pile of bones build…
I do somewhat agree with your mom–I don’t think of Thanksgiving turkey as smoked–but my folks now request it that way, so smoked turkey for Thanksgiving it is. If you do decide to go this route, make sure to brine it (if you don’t already)–it will help it a lot in terms of breast moistness and make the cook that much more stress-free.
Sure. There is skill to barbecue and there is going to be a learning curve. I feel barbecue is a lifelong learning project, and mistakes are necessary in order to learn. But they’re tasty mistakes. Don’t stress so much about the temps, and have fun experimenting with the brisket. Try the foil method and see if that works for you–at least at the very end. Wrap it tightly in foil, put it in a little Coleman-type cooler, and wait 45 minutes to an hour.
But, honestly, the meat will tell you when it’s done. Don’t stress. Actually, I find it best to pull the meat just before it really becomes fork tender, as the foiling and rest in the cooler will bring it up a couple of degrees, but that takes a little trial-and-error to get just right. Last time, I overshot a little bit, and got a really tasty juicy point, and a very tender, but slightly dry on the end flat. It’s getting the flat just right that’s the tricky part.
Just so you guys know, my boyfriend declared this the “best chicken [he’s] ever [eaten]”. Seriously. Plus he also said it looked like it came out of a food magazine.
On the other hand, it’s midnight and the damned thing is still hot, leaving me to go to bed anxious about it. (No charcoal popping sound for the first time in hours, at least.)
I must have forgotten about that part. I actually usually do let it burn out, because I then have less crap to clean out. I’ve never much worried about leaving the fire burn out overnight–but I have it set on a concrete area in the backyard, so there’s really nothing that it’ll set fire to. But if you’re not comfortable, choking the fire is fine, you’ll just have a bunch of half burnt charcoal to dispose of before your next smoke session.
Hey–Wiviott doesn’t address the Big Green Egg in his Low & Slow book. I’m not gonna go out and buy a WSM when I’ve already got an Egg. I think it’d be fun to learn a new way to 'Q (I love the tech stuff, so his “Eh–just…y’know…figure it out. Feel the force Luke” method intrigues me) but I’m not really sure which method is the closest. I’m guessing if I follow the WSM instructions, I’ll be close. Any thoughts?
Also–I must defy him on one other thing. I have gone to 16 (sixteen. That is not a typo) stores. In NONE of the 16 (sixteen) stores did they A) carry Mojo Crillio sauce or B) even carry Goya products. I’m not going to order it online so…I guess I fail lesson 1, 'cause I’m going to have to make my own–I’ll follow his recipe though, so maybe I can get partial credit. Plus, I’ll make a huge batch and freeze it, so I can have a consistency across attempts.
What’s weird is that among those sixteen (16!) stores were like 5 Mexican markets, 2 Whole Foods, and one fancy meat market. How the hell can I live in Denver–a strongly Hispanic/Mexican city (we have one of the biggest Cinco De Mayo celebrations in the country) and not be able to find Goya products in general? Maybe it’s a conspiracy.
Don’t stress so much about the temps, and have fun experimenting with the brisket. Try the foil method and see if that works for you–at least at the very end. Wrap it tightly in foil, put it in a little Coleman-type cooler, and wait 45 minutes to an hour.
Plus, I’ll make a huge batch and freeze it, so I can have a consistency across attempts.