Posted on 07/11/2022 10:59:48 AM PDT by Rebelbase
Been a while since there has been a Barbecue thread. I am sure most people here have their opinion as to what is the best and will undoubtedly speak their mind.
From the video text: "Different cultures have been roasting meat over a fire since prehistory. But the practice took on special meaning in the United States. The History Guy remembers a brief history of American barbecue."
pork is king
Low and slow. The very best is passed down by Black Families from way back. You can copy it but can’t beat it.
Growing up in Iowa, we grilled a lot but called it BBQ. It wasn’t until college I found out what actual BBQ was and I defaulted to St Louis and KC styles.
I live in Northern Illinois. I use my grill/smoker from April to the end of October.
We are originally from Louisiana. To us, BBQ means slow; grilling means fast.
Two in the freezer and plan to smoke one Saturday.
I charcoal grill. I don’t bbq. But we call it that.
Nothing as good as flash grilled venison steaks ( marinated).
Hot coals cooked Fast charred outside and pink inside.
Grilling: 350F+, direct over open coals.
BBQ: 255F - 325F direct or indirect but covered
Hot Smoke: 190F - 225F direct in flow of smoke, covered.
Cold Smoke: separate compartments with a damper. Usu <150F and covered
I’m an all season, all weather griller. My Weber has become just another kitchen appliance.
That is smoked brisket.
BBQ brisket is indirect coals with a cover.
16+ hours or until the stall is past and the meat reaches 190F.
I add mesquite chips at the start and end to get that “kissed by fire” taste.
Same here. Especially if there is snow and even better if it is coming down heavy.
Brisket, tri tip roasts, pork butt and St. Louis style pork ribs. Big Oklahoma Joe smoker. I cook year round from 25F to 100F.
“roasting meat over a fire”
That is roasting, not BBQ
BBQ is maybe, “over” low coals at the hotest, but never over fire.
indirect or side coals, lots of time.
And drink good Tequila in the warm Sun to make things enjoyable while you wait.
My neighbor once lit one in the kitchen. I found out when I saw her son throw it out the back door.
By Dennis Lund
The search for the best combination of method, rub, glazing sauce, and mop sauce used to achieve baby-back perfection has been an arduous but enjoyable task. I think I may have found it this past Labor Day weekend with a new twist on a tried and true formula.
Over the years, I have used many methods: grilling, smoke boxes, barrel smokers, mesquite charcoal, briquettes with wood chips, and pellet smokers. I have used rubs of all types as well as sauces ranging from store-bought to homemade, from simple to complex.
I thought I had found the right combination some years ago and have stuck with it for the past ten years or so. The choices made were culled from personal experience and the help of Steven Raichlen’s excellent book The Barbecue Bible. The format is Memphis Rub, 3-2-1 (smoke three hours, wrap and roast for two, then glaze and grill for one), a Simple Mop Sauce and Elida’s Honey-Guava Barbecue Sauce.
Elida’s Sauce was what seemed to be the missing ingredient. Its beauty is in its simplicity: store-bought sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray’s), add some honey and guava paste (found in Mexican Markets). After first using that sauce, I felt that my search might be over.
And after a visit to Arthur Bryant’s in Kansas City, a barbeque house renowned to be one of the best in the country, I knew that the search was over.
A note on Arthur Bryants: Fellow Benician and rib aficionado Randy also took a trip to Kansas City in search of rib heaven. His method of finding the best ribs was to ask the skycaps. One of them replied: “Well, most people go to Bryants.” Randy’s response: was “no, where do you go?” He was directed to several, including Gates BBQ and Oklahoma Joe’s, with the later coming out at the top of the list.
Bryant’s may indeed be thriving based on past glories, but nonetheless, I compared mine to theirs and felt that my method was as good, if not better. Thus, I remained loyal to the basics, but I would modify occasionally.
Recently, a tweaking indicated that the settled formula is capable of improvement. The missing ingredient was narshrab.
This is a specialty ingredient from Central Asia: Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia. It is better known as “pomegranate molasses” and can be found in stores that cater to Mideastern food.
More on narshrab later, but first a few comments on methodology used to achieve baby-back nirvana:
Treating the Ribs – First, and this is old news to an experienced griller but should be stated, remove the membrane (that thin layer on the concave side of the rib). Use a butter knife. With a little practice, the task is not daunting and worth the effort. Second: Never boil your ribs. You want boiled ribs, go to the chains.
Smokers – I wore two barrel types out over the years, while going through too many bags of mesquite charcoal to count. They work well but have two serious drawbacks: the mess of starting and cleaning up and the occasional need of an additional fire during a long smoke. For the past two and half years, I have used a Traeger Pellet Grill. When I saw that my local butcher uses one for smoking his meats, the decision was made.
The Rub – The Barbecue Bible has a recipe for “Memphis Rub,” an excellent multipurpose rub. I use smoked paprika and always double the batch I am making. This rub works well on fish, chicken, and ribeye steaks. I do omit the MSG, in deference to allergies in the house, and have noticed no diminishment in flavors.
3-2-1 Method – I actually fell into this method before I knew what it was. I had long been smoking the ribs first, wrapping them in foil to let them sit, and then putting them back on the fire to glaze the sauce. The time spent wrapped in foil is the key to “fall-off-the-bone” perfection.
Sauces – Two are required for all and three for some. The first is the “mop sauce,” and for me that actually means a spray bottle. Simple is best: cider vinegar, mustard (I prefer Dijon style), apple juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Once an hour for the first three hours is a minimum. Second is the glazing and serving sauce, mentioned above. At our house that means two: one mild for the Mrs. and one with a bit of spice, usually red pepper flakes and dab of Sriracha, for me.
The Missing Ingredient: Pomegranate molasses. As mentioned earlier, this is also called narshrab and can be readily purchased. True narshrab is a very thick dark syrup with a strong sweet-sour taste. Mine was a home-made variety from pink pomegranates, thus not as pungent or dark. Pomegranates are a fruit most do not do anything with except on rare occasions. My neighbor has a tree, the fruit was free, and I decided to give it a shot after reading about it in The Barbecue Bible.
I removed the “arils” from two dozen pomegranates to make the molasses (videos are on YouTube for the removal process). Once juiced, sugar and lemon juice were added, and the mixture reduced. Eight cups of juice yielded two cups of a syrupy molasses.
This was then used in the mop sauce (in lieu of apple juice) and added to the glazing sauce (in lieu of the guava).
The end result resolved an issue I had with the guava-honey-based sauce, that being its thickness. The G-H sauce has a consistency of tomato paste. The lower viscosity of the pomegranate molasses yielded a thinner sauce, yet still fruitful.
The missing ingredient now found, the recipes may be tweaked on occassion, as I need to compare store-bought narshrab to the homemade style used.
Here’s to future grilling for all!
Thanks to FJB can no longer afford to Bar-G-que meat
Grilled insects anyone ........
I put a set of aftermarket tuning plates on my Oklahoma Joe. It improved the heat flow to perfection.
Anyone can smoke a butt... Brisket is at the top of the pyramid!!!
Two words:
1. Meat
2. Church
Meatchurch.com
These boys know how to do it.
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