THE BBQ THREAD THAT SHALL LIVE OR DIE ON ITS OWN MERIT.

WeAintFoundShit · Post by **WeAintFoundShit** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 1:23 am

...and I have a delicious smoked pork butt.
The trick now is to somehow convince myself not to tear into it right at this very moment, because if I do the meat will dry out.

So my choices are:
1) Stay up until three in the morning, even though I have shit to do tomorrow, just so I can eat some of this tonight.

2) Be responsible, and go to bed, so I can get my shit done tomorrow, and tear into this thing tomorrow morning when I get up.

2 Involves eating an entire head of raw broccoli, because I'm hungry, and that's the only thing that I have to eat right now.

Shit.

Jonny · Post by **Jonny** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:10 am

Must admit that I'm curious about the way Americans cook their meat. Inquiring minds and all that hoohaa...

WeAintFoundShit · Post by **WeAintFoundShit** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 11:07 am

For the moment, I'm cooking my meat on a little Weber Kettle BBQ.

This was a 5 lb butt roast, with a sriracha slather, rubbed with cayenne, garlic powder, sea salt, and fresh ground pepper.

I cooked it at about 225 degrees F, using charcoal and an oak log.
I piled the charcoal up on one side of the kettle, and placed the oak log over it on the grill, then put the meat on the far side of the grill to avoid the direct heat.

I used a big pile of charcoal, but only lit the ones on top, so the rest would burn down and I wouldn't have to feed the grill at all.

I left the top vents as open as possible without letting the fire burn too hot. The bottom vents were only open a crack, in order to control the oxygen flow.

This BBQ isn't designed for smoking, though, so it gets heat spikes if you look at it funny. My original plan was to let it cook at 205 F all night, so it would be done in time to eat with my breakfast. The first thing that happened though was that it ran up to 300, and I all but had to put the whole fire out to get it to calm down.

Hence, instead of sleeping, I babysat it until the wee hours.

I pulled it off the grill when the internal temp was 190 F, because I wanted the meat to fall apart for pulled pork.

Anyway, after cooking any kind of meat, it's typically best to let it sit anywhere from 10-40 minutes for the heat to normalize, and to let the proteins relax so the cells reabsorb the juices that have been squeezed out during cooking. If you slice too early, you end up with dry meat, and a wet plate. Being as this was a roast shaped piece, I intended to let it sit for 30-40 minutes.

In the future, all of by BBQ is going to be handled by the super badass smoker that I'm building. The whole thing is made out of 1/8" or greater plate steel, has a 24"x18"x14" smoke chamber (big enough to do large cuts of meat, not so big that it burns a shitload of fuel) an offset firebox that's 18"x18"x12" that has a grill in it for searing meat and holding water pans, a charcoal basket with a grill above it for logs or wood chips, with a deflector plate at the entrance to the smoke chamber to help keep the heat even.
The whole thing is welded air tight, with gaskets on all of the doors.
The cooking grills are cast iron jobs that I got second hand. They need cleaning and seasoning, but they should provide a good amount of thermal mass.

In order to call it done, I need to install the smoke stack, the dampers, the door gaskets, make the charcoal basket, and build the stand that it's gonna sit on.

My hope is that the amount of thermal mass I've got going on relative to the space, the heat will be nice and even, temperature spikes will be well under control, and the thing will be kind of a "set it and forget it" cooker, if needs be.
It'd be nice to be able to put the meat in, throw a welding blanket over the thing, get the temp stabilized, and know that I can fuck off and go do something else that doesn't require adjusting the BBQ damper every fifteen minutes like I did last night, and get 14 hours worth of burn time out of one load of fuel (I already do this on my kettle, but it's not as reliable as I'd like).

So yeah, that's how we cook meat in America.

WeAintFoundShit · Post by **WeAintFoundShit** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 11:13 am

Oh, and furthermore, I intend to smoke more meats with hardwood instead of charcoal under hardwood, but first I've gotta learn the new smoker so I don't make a bunch of creosote nastiness in the process.

And to answer the original post, I waited... sort of.
I ate the broccoli and then pulled some outside pieces off (like the layer of crispy fat zomgsodelicious).

WeAintFoundShit · Post by **WeAintFoundShit** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 11:25 am

Also also, I loosely tented it with tinfoil, and stuck it in the microwave while it rested. I let it rest for about 20 minutes before pulling off my tasty snack pieces (really ti should have been 40). I didn't want to actually wrap it, because I wanted the chewy outside bark to stay chewy. Hence, just enough foil and the enclosed space of the microwave to keep it warm, but not enough to trap a bunch of steam.

thack · Post by **thack** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 11:53 am

what wafs is talking about is a special case of american cooked meat, specifically used in a religious ritual called 'barbecue' in American English. This isn't to be confused with barbecue, barbacoa, bbq, or any other words in any other language or dialect. Fights and wars break out over the definition of barbecue in the great expanse of the US of A.

Where I'm from, the deep south, he's righteous - slow smoked pork shoulder (butt - yes, it's actually the shoulder, but we call it the butt - the actual butt we call the ham. who knows) shredded into pieces while still warm. Other forms of barbecue are rarely tolerated there, other than a passing fondness in my particular area to smoked chicken with a white mayonnaise based sauce.

The reason this is a religious ritual is that many individuals are unable to fathom or cope with the differences in this ritual as practiced by other groups in other areas. For instance, offering smoked beef brisket (a Texas thing) to a pork-area native may get you stabbed with a fork.

Sauce is another area of great debate.

WeAintFoundShit · Post by **WeAintFoundShit** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 12:36 pm

In said regions of the south, my sriracha slather might get me hit in the head with a rock. So no, we shan't get into sauces.

calamari kid · Post by **calamari kid** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 12:54 pm

Personal smoke wood tip, I like to use chunks and chips that've been soaking in a bucket of water overnight. Long lasting smoke, and if you need to drop the temp a bit just toss on a big double handfull. Oh, and it's hard to beat apple or cherry wood. We worked a tower over on the east side of the mountains once that was in the middle of a cherry orchard where they were ripping out a bunch of old trees. I scored a couple truckloads of good branches that I used for years after that.

As to the great sauce debate, I've gotta say I like it either way, dry or wet. I'll just leave it at that.

xtian · Post by **xtian** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 1:28 pm

I stopped reading at "garlic powder". Don't you people use real garlic ?

Zim · Post by **Zim** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 1:47 pm

xtian wrote:I stopped reading at "garlic powder". Don't you people use real garlic ?

xtian just hit WAFS in the head with an internet rock.

pics plz of your meat?

rc26 · Post by **rc26** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 1:53 pm

Zim wrote:pics plz of your meat?

The pork. Right?

SSCAM · Post by **SSCAM** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 1:59 pm

I like to do my smokin' with a combination of peach and apple chunks. As the squid kid does, I soak some chips for a while and add them to produce a long lasting smoke and keep the temperature in check. I don't mess with pork much... mostly brisket. In my neck of the woods, sauce is only used to cover up the flavor of a mistake, but I do love all varieties of barbecue.

I would like to see some pictures of your contraption when completed.

Zim · Post by **Zim** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:27 pm

rc26 wrote:
Zim wrote:pics plz of your meat?
The pork. Right?

Pork, beef, sausage... I don't care. Whatever he has for smoking.

I smoked a turkey for Thanksgiving a couple times. Used apple in a Brinkman charcoal smoker for the last smoke, in the garage. Almost pulled a Brad Delp. Finicky, and I'm sure electric is much more controlled/controllable. Replenished the charcoal at one point, and the damn bird finished an hour before the other dishes. Tried to be conservative with the apple chunks, but the meat was powerful smokey.

Bigshankhank · Post by **Bigshankhank** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:03 pm

Ah, my kind of folks. I have a side box smoker similar to what you are building, although store bought. As luck would have it,mi spent my formative years barbecuing in Texas, so brisket smoked over mesquite is like manna from heaven. In additions, being from Kentucky by birth, some smoked pork is in my blood as well, so I go both ways if you take my meaning. In fact, smoked bird of any kind is also on the menu. I prefer to start smoking brisket about four in the morning to be ready for lunch, with ribs coming after that followed by full chickens with a can of beer shoved in the bum for about 90 minutes. Turkey gets its own day so I don't normally do it outside of November.

WeAintFoundShit · Post by **WeAintFoundShit** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 6:51 pm

xtian wrote:I stopped reading at "garlic powder". Don't you people use real garlic ?

A BBQ rub is pretty much the only thing I'll use garlic powder for except for sprinkling some as a little something extra on a slice of pizza.

The thing about using real, fresh garlic on a BBQ is that it tends to burn, and with a rub, you need the right moisture content to get it to stick to the meat. Fresh squeezing a clove of garlic leaves too much water, and it doesn't work out so well.

So before you get any higher or mightier, just be aware that my most cherished, and most used kitchen utensil of all time is my old school, 100% solid aluminum garlic press.

WeAintFoundShit · Post by **WeAintFoundShit** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 6:59 pm

Sadly, I didn't take a picture of the meat before it was half consumed (it's already 2/3 gone... didn't take long with three curious/hungry roommates and a buddy that wanted a sample).

I should have, though. Goddamn it was gorgeous.
Next time.

And yeah, I'm not a purist when it comes to what meat I smoke. My favorite is ribs, because they aren't as forgiving as a butt or a brisket. With ribs, it's a learning experience almost every time. And even though it's almost always delicious, I'm also left with ideas about how to improve it for next time.
All that being said, I've got a 6 pound brisket in the fridge that simply isn't gonna fit on my little kettle grill. Gotta get the smoker finished asap.
I'll post pics of meats and BBQ in the future. Didn't know we had that many BBQ fans on here (but duh, I really should have just assumed).

AZRider · Post by **AZRider** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 7:41 pm

I am a grill cooker, not a smoker. But that doesn't mean I don't properly worship the barbecue of others.

I have been pleasantly surprised to find some damn good BBQ in New England in the last few years. The first decade I lived here was a string of smoke-scented disappointments.

One good thing about BBQ here is there is no "local style." One guy is doing Texas, another Memphis, the next guy is Tennessee, and my reigning favorite is a guy who says, "Really I'm following my family tradition as deli men. We take cheap cuts of meat and prepare them artfully and slowly to make a delicious sandwich. I'm just a Jew who's discovered the joys of pork."

Every one of them is good, but every one has one thing that's WAY better than anyone else.

My newest discovery is a guy who set up a trailer by the side of the road a quarter mile from the museum and is selling North Carolina style chopped barbecue. It may be the best smoked pork I've ever had.

WeAintFoundShit · Post by **WeAintFoundShit** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 10:57 pm

Yeah, I finally hit critical BBQ mass after three years of living in a town that just doesn't HAVE a BBQ joint. I can either drive 1/2 hour to the nearest place in Sacramento (none of which have proven to be very good) or drive 1.5 hours into Oakland, where good BBQ abounds, but is impossible to buy on a Sunday, which is mostly when I'm in Oakland with a hankering for BBQ.

So fuck it... I'm doing my own.

xtian · Post by **xtian** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 11:19 pm

WeAintFoundShit wrote:
xtian wrote:I stopped reading at "garlic powder". Don't you people use real garlic ?
A BBQ rub is pretty much the only thing I'll use garlic powder for except for sprinkling some as a little something extra on a slice of pizza.

The thing about using real, fresh garlic on a BBQ is that it tends to burn, and with a rub, you need the right moisture content to get it to stick to the meat. Fresh squeezing a clove of garlic leaves too much water, and it doesn't work out so well.

So before you get any higher or mightier, just be aware that my most cherished, and most used kitchen utensil of all time is my old school, 100% solid aluminum garlic press.

Ok, I just wanted to ask, you know, different places different usage and customs. You're my new best friend

I used to hate garlic until I found out that the girlfriend would just soak the food with garlic powder or pasta instead of using real one.
Did you try to insert little pointy pieces of fresh garlic under the skin ?

Jonny · Post by **Jonny** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 3:32 am

This is a good thread, and I appreciate the replies to my question on cultural practices. When I am less drunk and have more evening hours (probably Friday, although I can't promise the less drunk bit) I shall post a proper reply. Yay for barbecued and or grilled meats. Especially piggies.

Vitiare · Post by **Vitiare** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 3:49 am

As BigShankHank knows, in Texas, the standard benchmark for barbeque mastery is the brisket. Smoking is the preferred method, but some folks dont want to babysit a fire for 12 hours, so a technique that I use is to start it in a wood-fire smoker (oak chips soaked in beer sprinkled over the coals). Smoke it till the coals are dead, usually an hour or two, then finish it in the oven at 200 for about 5 more hours.

The result is a tender cut of meat that has the crusty bark and thick smoke ring in the top layer, with the meat juicy and delicious.

Personally, Im not a big fan of hot spices, so my stuff is usually just seasoned with salt and pepper with cloves of garlic buried under the surface of the meat.

Im a huge fan of the sauce on the side, rather than basting it as it cooks. Let the meat speak for itself before you drown it in sauce.

This thread is seriously making me hungry.

Bigshankhank · Post by **Bigshankhank** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 2:30 pm

Hey I'm only a moderator so I cannot sticky this thread, but WAFS I think you should go back to your OP and rename it "Bar-B-Q" and we can petition the great and powerful Blackjoe to post this as a sticky.
Can I get an amen?

rolly · Post by **rolly** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:10 pm

Fuck no.
BBq is great and all but there's already too many stickies going. Topics should live and die by their merits.

WeAintFoundShit · Post by **WeAintFoundShit** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:53 pm

I also agree that sauce is best as an aside. Meat is its own treat. I'll occasionally rub or marinade, but basting is out.
And I've not tried whole garlic poked into the meat somewhere, but I will now!

And Xtian... High five, buddy!

motorpsycho67 · Post by **motorpsycho67** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 5:08 pm

WeAintFoundShit wrote: my sriracha slather might get me hit in the head with a rock.

Being from California (with family from Texas), I have no barbecue prejudice. I like it all...

And yes, sauce should be on the side

Pintgudge · Post by **Pintgudge** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 6:20 pm

My sweeties mom was in the hospital with C.O.P.D., pneumonia, so on & so forth, had forms filled out, power of attourney to her daughters, no above and beyond measures to extend life, and then when she had a lucid moment and the sweetie went over the paperwork again which needed a signature, The mom in question said . . . . . .

"Oh no! I want to Live!"

Kinda like this thread!

Vitiare · Post by **Vitiare** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:03 am

I've done brisket in a slow cooker, which is great if you are going for a shredded meat for sandwiches, but it lacks the flavor, the "umph" of a good smokey bbq.

One of my favorite cooking shows to watch is "Primal Grill" with Steve Raichlen. He has one technique that he calls "Caveman T-bone" where he takes a beautiful inch thick steak and shoves it directly into the coals. No grill, no seasonings, just straight into the glowing ashes. After its done, he just brushes off the ash and serves it with a hot-as-hell sauce

Here's a clip from the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhDTcHFLP7Y

I love to cook and Im confident in my skills with proteins, but I just cant work up the courage to shove a good cut of meat straight in to the coals.

thack · Post by **thack** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:17 am

Vitiare wrote:One of my favorite cooking shows to watch is "Primal Grill" with Steve Raichlen. He has one technique that he calls "Caveman T-bone" where he takes a beautiful inch thick steak and shoves it directly into the coals. No grill, no seasonings, just straight into the glowing ashes. After its done, he just brushes off the ash and serves it with a hot-as-hell sauce

Old school denver crew will remember this - and as DrJ doesn't get on the board much anymore, I'll bring it up.

DrJ does what he calls 'salt steak', which is a flank or london broil cut, slathered in mustard and rock salt, cooked directly on the coals. Comes out rare to mid-rare in the middle, done at the thin edges. He's got a pretty consistent scientific method worked out for it, and it comes out great every time. Been doing it for years and years - learned it from his dad.

So i can at least vouch for the usefulness and tastiness of this tech.

Vitiare · Post by **Vitiare** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:35 am

Ive seen a technique where you encase the meat in a MOUNTAIN of salt (and egg white to hold it together). The salt acts as a crust that allows the juices of the meat to stay put, resulting in a really juicy steak - or so I've heard.

My standard routine for cooking meat on the grill is to pile up the coals on one side of the grill, leaving a cool spot. Sear the steak about 4 or 5 minutes on each side, then put it in the cool spot, cover the grill and cook indirect for about 10 minutes. Comes out med rare and fantastic every time.

WeAintFoundShit · Post by **WeAintFoundShit** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 2:49 pm

I ran out of pork, so I crammed that brisket onto my little weber, and it's cooking away right now. Hopefully it will be done before midnight. Nothing fancy on this one. Just a salt rub. I'll probably do some oil and pepper in an hour or two. Trying to keep it at 225f, but it's breezy, and looks like it might rain. Thank god I have a covered front porch.

As far as cooking in coals goes, one of my favorites of all time is what I call "rock cooked steak."
It involves finding (or placing) a flat rock in the bottom of your fire pit, getting the fire going over top of it, using a stick to sufficiently clear it of ash and debris once the fire is hot, and cooking your steak there, underneath/in the fire. I did this the first time out of necessity, and it was just absolutely freaking delicious. Now I've got a fire pit in my back yard, and when the yard is inhabitable enough to hang out by the fire (read: doesn't smell like rotting dogshit) I'll throw something on the rock from time to time.

I'm honestly not sure why it's so delicious. I mean it's just about the juiciest steak I've ever had, but I think part of it is satisfying the primal nature of just stuffing a dead animal into a fire pit and then tearing into it with your teeth.

I think that's why electric smokers are considered semi-heretical in most BBQ circles. Because really, what's the difference between even, slow heat and wood smoke, vs even, slow heat and wood smoke? In essence, nothing. One just comes from burning wood, and the other comes from a heating element.
But one is a fully immersive, visceral experience involving the primal attraction to fire and meat, and the other is a tasty convenience that you plug into the wall.

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THE BBQ THREAD THAT SHALL LIVE OR DIE ON ITS OWN MERIT.

THE BBQ THREAD THAT SHALL LIVE OR DIE ON ITS OWN MERIT.