How to BBQ properly?
Discussion
Mobile Chicane said:
Dupont666 said:
Papoo said:
Lots of good stuff
AT last someone who knows how to BBQ
If you're struggling for space, esp. when pushing the coals over, get a new bag of lum charcoal. Try and put the big pieces at the bottom. They will form a better shelf on which to pile up the small ones..
Christmas gets earlier every year so therefore, by default, so does the BBQ season.
Given that, a blast from the past.
Weber + Lazy spa inflatable hot tub + lots of young ladies/men/waiters serving magnums of baby cham... bring on the summer
Once this rain clears of course.
Given that, a blast from the past.
Weber + Lazy spa inflatable hot tub + lots of young ladies/men/waiters serving magnums of baby cham... bring on the summer
Once this rain clears of course.
Edited by Gandahar on Wednesday 22 March 18:05
There are not many subjects that so much b
ks has been written about, except for maybe how to cook a steak, as BBQ.
The name BBQ originates from Argentinian cowboys blah blah blah.. what? were you there? for all we know it could be the war-cry of some Argentinian goatherder after he shagged his favorite goat. And anyway, who cares?
The only common denominator (and here people knows for SURE what the best method is as well..) is that you cook food over an open flame. For me it stops there. Cook food for hours if you wish, but in general that's for me. Cooking a pork shoulder to mush is ruining it for me, I prefer it as steak, or like the Greeks, as souvlaki.
So to ask 'how to BBQ properly', well that up to you. Get a fire going by whatever method, cook some food. Cook it quick, cook it slow. If it's st don't repeat. Like all cooking you can only explain to a point, whether you get it right or wrong is a finer line having to do with feeling, and this only comes with practice.
ks has been written about, except for maybe how to cook a steak, as BBQ.The name BBQ originates from Argentinian cowboys blah blah blah.. what? were you there? for all we know it could be the war-cry of some Argentinian goatherder after he shagged his favorite goat. And anyway, who cares?
The only common denominator (and here people knows for SURE what the best method is as well..) is that you cook food over an open flame. For me it stops there. Cook food for hours if you wish, but in general that's for me. Cooking a pork shoulder to mush is ruining it for me, I prefer it as steak, or like the Greeks, as souvlaki.
So to ask 'how to BBQ properly', well that up to you. Get a fire going by whatever method, cook some food. Cook it quick, cook it slow. If it's s
t don't repeat. Like all cooking you can only explain to a point, whether you get it right or wrong is a finer line having to do with feeling, and this only comes with practice.Papoo said:
To the Brits, if it's cooked outdoors, it's BBQ. But, the idea (and the Portugese word from which BBQ is derived) is that BBQ is the lengthy process in which meat is slowly cooked over outdoor fire.
In the US, it came from the South, whereby the poor folk only had access to cheap, tough meat cuts (ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, etc), and derived a technique of slowly cooking these hunks, in such a way so as to melt the collagen (connective tissue which makes meat tough), and flavoured it with the wood they used to create the heat.
So, on the whole, to avoid eating a piece of pig charcoal, a barrier is put in place, between the fire and the meat. This is known as indirect cooking. The peak temp to do this is around 225F (105-110c). This allows a very gentle cooking of the meat, and doesn't overdo it while we wait for the collagen to melt. This melting on a brisket of pork shoulder happens when the meat internal is around 150-165F, and can take some hours.
This is BBQ.
There are may styles accross the US alone. The Texas way is closer to grilling, in that the meat is directly over the fire, but a good distance away. The other styles, it is all done indirect.
There is a big line of designated smoker BBQs. The thing they all have in common is indirect cooking. Whether that is achieved by having a side firebox, offset from the main cooking chamber, or just a barrier (bowl of water or something) between the food and the fire.
BBQ is easily achieved on something like a Weber kettle, too. All you need to do, is pile the coals on one side, and place the meat on the other. Under the meat (and under the grate), place a foil tray of water/apple juice/beer. This adds moisture to the cook, and acts as a heat-sink, stabilizing the temperature.
The only other thing you need, is the ability to control the temperature accurately. You want 225-275f on the meat side. Use an oven thermometer to determine this. Don't add much coal to start, or you may bust through your desired temp, then keep adding more and more until you you get a solid 225 burn with the bottom vent 2/3 closed, lid on. Then, as the temp drops, you edge open the vents. When you need the vents fully open, light some more coal in a starter chimney, so when the coal in the cooker starts to drop, you have more on hand. Top vent needs to be at least 1/2 open at all times, so as to avoid acrid smoke taste developing.
A meat thermometer is a must, we cook to internal temps, not time. This is because 2 10lb pork shoulders may take drastically different times to cook, due to the properties of the fat and collagen. A rough guide is 90 mins/lb.
I would recommend starting with a pork shoulder, because it is much more forgiving. Here's a quick guide (look for my rib rub recipe on the marinades thread, if you want an idea).
Season the pork shoulder
Get the fire going, and a stable 225-250f. Place a couple of hickory chunks on the fire to produce smoke. Add more througout the cook to maintain a 'thin blue smoke'. Not a billowing white cloud. Put the meat on, over the juice tray, as far as practical from the coals. Close the lid.
Don't open the lid unless you have to. Develop a pattern so that once an hour, you pop the lid open, add a bit of coal to maintain temps, and 'spritz' the meat all over, using a spray bottle. Close the lid.
In the spray bottle, you want apple juice, white vinegar (70:30) and a few good dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Apple juice adds moisture and flavour, and isn't sugary enough to burn. Vinegar is a tenderizer, and the Lee & Perrins gives some good flavoury goodness.
When the meat hits an internal of 140F, wrap it in foil, no leaks, with a few ounces of your spritz mix, and put it back on the BBQ. Or in the oven, as at this point on, we're just applying heat. The foiling helps speed up the collagen 'plateau', too.
Cook to an internal temperature of 195f.
Put it in a room temperature cool box, wrapped in a beach towel for min 2 hours. It will continue to cook 7-10 more degrees, and the juices will re-distribute.
Pull it out (it will still be too hot to touch), and use a pair of salad forks or something to pull the meat. You'll see that because the collagen has totally broken down, the muscle tissues will just separate with no effort. You'll have a mountain of delicious, smoked pulled pork. Serve on cheapo white buns with your favorite bbq sauce (I like mine without) and a corn on the cob.
ENJOY!!
Excellent post. In the US, it came from the South, whereby the poor folk only had access to cheap, tough meat cuts (ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, etc), and derived a technique of slowly cooking these hunks, in such a way so as to melt the collagen (connective tissue which makes meat tough), and flavoured it with the wood they used to create the heat.
So, on the whole, to avoid eating a piece of pig charcoal, a barrier is put in place, between the fire and the meat. This is known as indirect cooking. The peak temp to do this is around 225F (105-110c). This allows a very gentle cooking of the meat, and doesn't overdo it while we wait for the collagen to melt. This melting on a brisket of pork shoulder happens when the meat internal is around 150-165F, and can take some hours.
This is BBQ.
There are may styles accross the US alone. The Texas way is closer to grilling, in that the meat is directly over the fire, but a good distance away. The other styles, it is all done indirect.
There is a big line of designated smoker BBQs. The thing they all have in common is indirect cooking. Whether that is achieved by having a side firebox, offset from the main cooking chamber, or just a barrier (bowl of water or something) between the food and the fire.
BBQ is easily achieved on something like a Weber kettle, too. All you need to do, is pile the coals on one side, and place the meat on the other. Under the meat (and under the grate), place a foil tray of water/apple juice/beer. This adds moisture to the cook, and acts as a heat-sink, stabilizing the temperature.
The only other thing you need, is the ability to control the temperature accurately. You want 225-275f on the meat side. Use an oven thermometer to determine this. Don't add much coal to start, or you may bust through your desired temp, then keep adding more and more until you you get a solid 225 burn with the bottom vent 2/3 closed, lid on. Then, as the temp drops, you edge open the vents. When you need the vents fully open, light some more coal in a starter chimney, so when the coal in the cooker starts to drop, you have more on hand. Top vent needs to be at least 1/2 open at all times, so as to avoid acrid smoke taste developing.
A meat thermometer is a must, we cook to internal temps, not time. This is because 2 10lb pork shoulders may take drastically different times to cook, due to the properties of the fat and collagen. A rough guide is 90 mins/lb.
I would recommend starting with a pork shoulder, because it is much more forgiving. Here's a quick guide (look for my rib rub recipe on the marinades thread, if you want an idea).
Season the pork shoulder
Get the fire going, and a stable 225-250f. Place a couple of hickory chunks on the fire to produce smoke. Add more througout the cook to maintain a 'thin blue smoke'. Not a billowing white cloud. Put the meat on, over the juice tray, as far as practical from the coals. Close the lid.
Don't open the lid unless you have to. Develop a pattern so that once an hour, you pop the lid open, add a bit of coal to maintain temps, and 'spritz' the meat all over, using a spray bottle. Close the lid.
In the spray bottle, you want apple juice, white vinegar (70:30) and a few good dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Apple juice adds moisture and flavour, and isn't sugary enough to burn. Vinegar is a tenderizer, and the Lee & Perrins gives some good flavoury goodness.
When the meat hits an internal of 140F, wrap it in foil, no leaks, with a few ounces of your spritz mix, and put it back on the BBQ. Or in the oven, as at this point on, we're just applying heat. The foiling helps speed up the collagen 'plateau', too.
Cook to an internal temperature of 195f.
Put it in a room temperature cool box, wrapped in a beach towel for min 2 hours. It will continue to cook 7-10 more degrees, and the juices will re-distribute.
Pull it out (it will still be too hot to touch), and use a pair of salad forks or something to pull the meat. You'll see that because the collagen has totally broken down, the muscle tissues will just separate with no effort. You'll have a mountain of delicious, smoked pulled pork. Serve on cheapo white buns with your favorite bbq sauce (I like mine without) and a corn on the cob.
ENJOY!!
fredt said:
There are not many subjects that so much bks has been written about, except for maybe how to cook a steak, as BBQ.
The name BBQ originates from Argentinian cowboys blah blah blah.. what? were you there? for all we know it could be the war-cry of some Argentinian goatherder after he shagged his favorite goat. And anyway, who cares?
The only common denominator (and here people knows for SURE what the best method is as well..) is that you cook food over an open flame. For me it stops there. Cook food for hours if you wish, but in general that's for me. Cooking a pork shoulder to mush is ruining it for me, I prefer it as steak, or like the Greeks, as souvlaki.
So to ask 'how to BBQ properly', well that up to you. Get a fire going by whatever method, cook some food. Cook it quick, cook it slow. If it's st don't repeat. Like all cooking you can only explain to a point, whether you get it right or wrong is a finer line having to do with feeling, and this only comes with practice.
You have contradictory points in your 2nd and 3rd paragraphs. You cannot cook a large pork shoulder joint quickly on the flame unless you cut it into tiny bits like you suggest.ks has been written about, except for maybe how to cook a steak, as BBQ.The name BBQ originates from Argentinian cowboys blah blah blah.. what? were you there? for all we know it could be the war-cry of some Argentinian goatherder after he shagged his favorite goat. And anyway, who cares?
The only common denominator (and here people knows for SURE what the best method is as well..) is that you cook food over an open flame. For me it stops there. Cook food for hours if you wish, but in general that's for me. Cooking a pork shoulder to mush is ruining it for me, I prefer it as steak, or like the Greeks, as souvlaki.
So to ask 'how to BBQ properly', well that up to you. Get a fire going by whatever method, cook some food. Cook it quick, cook it slow. If it's s
t don't repeat. Like all cooking you can only explain to a point, whether you get it right or wrong is a finer line having to do with feeling, and this only comes with practice.Not everyone wants the equivalent of chicken poppers for their pork joint, that's just how you like it.
Edited by Gandahar on Thursday 23 March 19:36
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