Smoking/BBQ

[Al Dente]

Since the title has changed, yippie!!!!, I thought I'd share some insight on the magical food called BBQ.  I have competed for several years now in local BBQ competitions, so I know a little bit about it.

First, the most important thing to remember is that BBQ is long and slow.  In some cases, like brisket, up to 18 hours, so you can't rush it or your final product will not be up to snuff.

In the prepping of meat, I'll go through the four basics, they are pork ribs, pork shoulder, beef brisket, and chicken (I use thighs only).

For the ribs, remove the membrane on the underside of the ribs.  you can use a knife tip or needle nose pliers to get it started, then just pull it all off.

For pork shoulder (pulled pork), remove the outer layer of skin.  I find that it cooks a little faster and the brine, rub, and mop get into the meat more.

For brisket, you want to remove the fat cap down to around 1/4" all around the brisket.

For the chiken thighs, I remove the skin and excess fat deposits.

Next up is brining, marinades, and slathers.  
For the ribs, I don't brine them anymore, takes too much time.  Instead I rub them, and let them sit overnight.
For the pork, I brine, then put on a slather.
For the brisket, I slather.
For the chicken thighs, I marinade.

Brine
For every one gallon of water, I add 1/2 cup of kosher salt and 1/2 cup of brown sugar.

Slather
Equal parts Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce.

Marinade
A basic Italian dressing will do, but not too much vinegar, or it will "cook" and dry out the meat.

Rub
For every one cup of brown sugar, I add 1 Tbs. fresh ground black pepper, 1 Tbs. garlic powder, 1 Tbs. onion powder, 1 tsp. ground thyme, 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt.

Mop
Plain old apple juice.

With all of the above, experiment with what flavors you like.

As far as your fire goes, get yourself a chimney starter to get your coals/briquettes going.  I use bruiqettes in my chimney starter, then dump them onto a mound of lump charcoal and hickory chunks.

Get your temperature going, then monitor it to keep it between 225 and 250 degrees.

Times, just suggestions to go by:

Ribs, depending on the size, anywhere from 3-8 hours. Mop every 1/2 hour.  Sauce just before taking off.

Pork shoulder, 90 minutes per pound, or until 180 degress for slicing to 190-195 degrees for pulling.  Mop every 45 minutes.  Wrap in foil for up to 3 hours to keep hot in a towel lined cooler.  Slice or pull then sauce.

Brisket, until 180.  Mop every 45 minutes after first 3 hours.  Wrap in foil for up to 2 hours.  Then slice and sauce.

Chicken thighs, around 3 hours.  Mop every 1/2 hour.  Sauce just before taking off.

Enjoy!!!!

[Terry Green]

Al Dente....you want to be a moderator of this forum?  

How about some definitions to some of those terms for us newbie grillers.....slather, mop, brine etc..

I've always just done burgers and steaks...but have ventured out since I got all this Buffalo meat.  Grilled a few hog shoulders and hams as well that turned out nice.

[IB]

MODERATOR  

[Matt E]

When it comes to cooking pork N.C. has it going on!    It is mandatory to use Hickory wood and cook a whole hog in the ground laying on tobacco sticks.When you see a stick smoking you're cooking it to fast.It is sacrilege to use any sauce that doesn't have a vinegar base.
This is real "Bar-be-que"! "often imitated but never duplicated"!  

[Al Dente]

A Slather is a thick wet mixture that you coat the meat with before you smoke it.  It usually goes on overnight.

A Mop is liquid that is used to baste the meat while it's smoking.  Usually apple juice based.

A Brine is a liquid that the meat is put in for several hours. It is water/juice based with salt and sugar.  The purpose it serves is to keep meats  moist while they smoke or cook conventionally (oven roasting).  Poultry and pork benefit from it.  the sugar and salt in the brine open up the cellular walls and draw in the extra moisture.  This keeps the meat juicy while smoking/cooking.

I'll be more than happy to look over things here.  I am a Yankee from New York City, but I love BBQ and love to cook.

[Raven]

I love BBQ!!    I love doing Ribs the most, here is a mix that I use.

 3/4 cup cane suger
 1/4 cup light brown suger, spread on a pan and dried over night
 1/2 cup onion salt
 1/4 cup Lawry's seasoned salt
 2tbsp crumbled chicken bouillon, ground fine in coffee grinder
 2tbsp crumbled beef bouillon, ground fine in coffee grinder
 2tbsp garlic salt
 2tbsp celery salt
 1/2 cup Hungarian paprika
 1/4 cup chili powder
 3 tbsp fine-ground black pepper
 1 tbsp lemon pepper
 2 tsp dry mustard
 1 tsp ground allspice
 1 tsp ground ginger
 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
 1/2 tsp ground celery seed
 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

 Blend in large bowl. Before cooking, liberally sprinkle the rub on the meat. Will do two briskets, three chickens, or three slabs of ribs. I like to use Apple wood for my smokeing, gives a nice smoke flavor. Give it a try, I bet ya will love it!!      

[Ray Hammond]

Matt E is right...I've lived all over the world, and to my way of thinking, North Carolina has got the right idea about cooking pig.

They don't COVER up the meat with tomato based sauces to hide it...they use salt, red pepper flakes, a little sugar, hot sauce like Texas Pete, and apple cider vinegar made into a slather you keep the meat mopped with during smoking process.

You put the pig over coals that are a couple feet under the meat, to keep from cooking too quickly- if you are not using a pit in the ground or a smokehouse, and instead use a grill then you need the fire out from under the pig, and the chimney draws the smoke from the fire across your meat and out the chimney. Keep mopping that sauce on teh hog and cook it till it falls off the bone. Use Matchlight charcoal, or Kingsford, but then add water soaked hickory chips- if you can, build a fire on the ground of dried hickory, and use the coals to cook your hog. It does make a flavor difference.

They call it a pig pickin cause what you do is just pull the meat off the whole pig.

In restaurants they chop the meat, and add more sauce to it. Its undeniably as good a meal as you can get-served with potato salad, cole slaw, brunswick stew, and hush puppies with some sweetened iced tea with mint leaves in it.

I just returned from a weekend pilgrimage to Clayton, NC where I "pigged" out on some of Smithfield BBQ's finest vittles - with the best danged home made fried chicken on the planet.

Sat back and groaned, then got myself some banana pudding to finish it off with and walked out two hours later a happy, and satisfied fellow.

I cook all my wild hog this way and its the "bomb", boys. My family doesnt really care for pork but they relish dad's WILD HOG- it tastes so different to them they think its a different animal - and they might be right!!!!

[Matt E]

Ray,Clayton is just west of Goldsboro,my home town.If I knew you were so close I would have took you out for lunch!    ......I love good food and have eaten in many states and lord knows how many different countries foods I have consumed. Kansas City,MO. has good BBQ as well as Tenn and Texas.The worst BBQ I have ever tried is in the western part of my own state. They are into tomato sauces, UGH! The eastern N.C. QUE is tops! Their is rivalry between  east and west N.C. concerning who cooks the best BBQ.  

[Ray Hammond]

When I was in high school I lived in Goldsboro- went to Eastern Wayne High School..worked part time and on weekends at Wilber's out on 70 East.

[Matt E]

Ray, I went to Eastern Wayne as well. It was called New Hope High school then.I lived with my aunt and uncle in Elroy but went hme to Rosewood.I drove a car to New hope the rest of my senior year. You can see Elroy from Wilburs BBQ. Small world! Its a shame we didn't meet while you lived here.

[Ray Hammond]

I think my family and I lived in a place called Rosewood....and a place called Mimosa Park??? Long time ago..1968-1972?

That was sort of between the hospital and Eastern Wayne.

[Al Dente]

Became a certified KCBS judge today.  Had some, I mean a lot of Q along the way during the class.  Had a blast too.

[Matt E]

Congratulations Al! I was in New Jersey early this week. I should have gone over to New York and talked you out of a meal now that I find you are a connoisseur of fine foods.  
My wife and I plan all ur trips around food.We may budget ourselves on certain parts of our trip but never when it concerns food. Al send me an e-mail with your address and I will send you a special N.C. treat! .........Ray, my younger sister lives in Mimosa Park.

[Al Dente]

Thanks Matt.  Come around any time.  All from here are welcome.  My address is:

2117 Dogwood Lane
Westbury, NY 11590

[email protected]

[Al Dente]

Hey there Matt,  Got it today.  Thanks a bunch.  I can't wait to try the sauce and some recipes from the cook book.  Thanks again.

[RainCrow]

Al,
I have a really nice smoker, and I don't know how to use it.  It has a fire box, and a smoker section about the size of a 30 gallon barrel.  

I read your instructions about cooking the various meats, and I really want to try cooking a brisket.  What/How do you put the brisket in the smoker?  Do you put it in a pan, or wrapped in foil?

18 hours for an average brisket?  Do I understand correctly, that you cook it 3 hours, and then mop it every 45 minutes until ?

Thanks,

Terry


When your cooking the

[Al Dente]

A brisket can go as long as it wants to until it's done.  That being said, it also depends on the size.  It can weigh anywhere from 11 to 17 pounds!!!!  I've had some be done in 7 hours, others took 16.  They will drive you crazy.  But it's worth it.

You can use what is known as a "packer", that is a brisket that has both muscles attached by fat.  those two parts are called the "flat", that is what corned beef is made from, and the "point", which is smaller and more marbled.

Whichever you choose to use, get a high quality or certified Angus.  It will be smoking/cooking a loooong time and you want as much internal fat as possible to keep it self basting.

Trim some excess fat from all sides, but not too much.  You'd like a little more than 1/4" of fat.

Make a slather of equal parts dijon mustard and worcestershire sauce and coat the brisket with it.  Place it in a large zip-lock overnightin the fridge.

Rub it with a blend of spices of your choice, or use a pre-made one from the store.  You can put it back in the zip-lock and let it sit in the fridge overnight again if you have the time.

Let it come to room temperature.  In the meantime, about 45 minutes before you plan to start smoking it, get your chimney starter going.  

Meanwhile, get your wood and charcoal layered in the firebox.  Once the embers are ashen, dump them onto the wood and charcoal.  Open the vents to get the wood and coals going, you need that initial influx of oxygen.  Close the lid and adjust the vents.  The temperature should be between 260 and 300 when you first get it going.  After about a 1/2 hour, the temp should be between 225 and 250. This is the temp that you want to maintain.

Place the brisket on a rack , insert a thermometer with a probe, and close the smoker.  (Let it go for around 3 hours, then start mopping or spraying with apple juice.  Do this quickly so your temp does not drop that much.)  The temp will race up to about 160 very quickly in relation to the total cooking time.  Do not be alarmed if it lingers there for a while, or even hours some time.  

Maintain your temp, and add coal as needed. After about 5 hours, you don't need to add anymore wood.  There's only so  much smoke it can take.

Once it gets to around 180, place it in an aluminum pan and cover with foil.  Put it back in until the temp gets to 190.  Then wrap it in a double layer of foil, wrap it in a towel and place it in a cooler.  It will hold for several hours.  Let it rest at least one hour before slicing.

I recommend using charcoal briquettes to start your chimney.  Do not use the quick start type or lighter fluid, or any other type of accelerant.  the petroleum taste WILL carry over into the meat.  Regular charcoal with old newspaper under it to get it going.  Or you can also use a propane torch to get going as well.  For the smoker, I would use lump charcoal and I prefer hickory, apple, cherry, or pecan for the wood source.

Trim whatever excess fat is left, if any, and slice it about 1/4" thick.

Hope this helps.

[Matt E]

AL, you are making my mouth water.It takes about 6 1/2 hours to cook a whole small pig,around a 100#.A thick ham or shoulder can take almost the same time. This is the old way. We do have huge barrel cookers fired with propane that do a pretty good job and  is a little quicker.It is easier to control the temperature in these cookers.I still prefer to cook in a pit in the ground with hickory coals.This don't mean I turn down barbecue cooked in a barrel cooker. I love bbq about any way it is cooked.    ...../ Al, after you try the bbq chicken recipe I suggested,give me your opinion of it!  

[Skinner]

This is how I go about a whole hog (approx 80 lbs dressed with the head on) in an off set smoker.

First I do some internal trimming on the hog to get it to how I like it. I also find it's very important to remove the membrane that covers the ribs inside. You get a hold of it by using a knife or screwdriver to lift a bit up and then I use a paper towel to grab on to it and pull it off. It usually comes off in parts and sometimes is a pain in the butt. It needs to come off to allow the smoke and flavour of the rub to penetrate the meat.

I usually cook my pigs at 250 degrees and for an 80 lb pig, I would recommend a 10 - 12 hour cook time. I light my fire while prepping the pig (trimming, rub etc.).

The other technique I use is to "break" the spine down a bit to open more of the belly and have it sit a little more flat. Position it on the rack so the hams are nearest the fire box (head is at the other end).

I cover the snout and ears with foil- removing it in the last hour or so, to allow them to attain the same colour. Rubbing the entire surface of the pig with olive oil is a good idea too- it gives the skin a nice golden colour.

It's not necessary to do anything to the outside skin- nothing penetrates it anyway. What you want to see is the fat rendering into the meat from underneath the skin- when it's cooked you will actually have an "air pocket" between the skin and meat in most spots if it's done right.

Once you have the inside trimmed of any excess "guts", fat and pulled the membrane from the ribs, push down on either side of the rib cage as I have described. Then rub the entire inside of the cavity with a very thin layer of plain yellow mustard- yep, just plain mustard. This will help the rub stick and form a really nice bark to the meat. Trust me- you NEVER taste it, but the vinegar in the mustard actually helps to "marinate" the meat as it cooks.

After the mustard, liberally sprinkle the rub all over the inside cavity of the pig and gently rub it in to all inside areas.  Save some rub for serving!  Then put it on the cooker! Drink beer! DO NOT OPEN THE LID for at least the first 6 hours- don't be tempted!! It will be fine!

I use mostly charcoal. Most people will want to have a look- I would tell them a time: "We're opening it at 4:30pm" etc.

After about 6 hrs you can check the internal temperature of the hams- don't hit a bone with the thermometer! It will probably be about 145 or so. It takes the next 6 hours to get it from 145 to 165 / 170. You can serve it at that temp- it's fully cooked, and if the hams are that temp then the rest is probably 180. If you can get the hams to 180 you'll really have great pulled pork BBQ. Let the pig rest for 30 minutes or so before you carve /pull.

To serve:

I start by cutting the skin right down the spine, peeling it away to reveal the meat. If it's just pulls apart you can use your hands and just pull it. It's going to be DAMN HOT! Once you have a tray full, add a some spice rub and some of your
favourite BBQ sauce, mix it up and come and get it!!

Great side dishes are baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, rolls etc.

Enoy and have fun.  Skinner

[Matt E]

Skinner, I can tell you have cooked a few hogs.You must be using an enclosed cooker or am I wrong?I have never seen anyone rub the cavity with mustard? Is this the way most people do their pigs in Canada? Have you ever used a propane torch to crisp the skin? I enjoy crunching down on the crisped skin,regardless of the cloresterol it is loaded with.