These are lessons I have learned, facts I have acquired, and opinions I have formed through my own experiences, and opinions I have embraced through direct and indirect communication with other individuals who share my passion for the BBQ ritual. Ultimately BBQ is a subjective quest - the final judgment of technique and results lie within your own means and your own tastes.
My point of reference is Central and South Texas.
They are subject to change at any time.
bar·be·cue
A grill, pit, or outdoor fireplace for roasting meat.
A whole animal carcass or section thereof roasted or broiled over an open fire or on a spit.
A social gathering, usually held outdoors, at which food is cooked over an open flame. tr.v. bar·be·cued, bar·be·cu·ing, bar·be·cues
To roast, broil, or grill (meat or seafood) over live coals or an open fire, often basting with a seasoned saucesource - dictionary.com
bar.be.cue
Pronunciation: 'bär-bi-"kyü
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -cued; -cu.ing
To roast or broil on a rack over hot coals or on a revolving spit before or over a source of heat
To cook in a highly seasoned vinegar sauce
bar.be.cu.er - noun
Etymology: American Spanish barbacoa framework for supporting meat over a fire, probably from Taino
Variant(s): also bar.be.que
A large animal (as a steer) roasted whole or split over an open fire or a fire in a pit; also : smaller pieces of barbecued meat
A social gathering especially in the open air at which barbecued food is eaten
An often portable fireplace over which meat and fish are roasted
source - Collegiate Dictionary
Traditional Open Pit - The old style was to dig a pit in the earth, fill it with coals, place the meat over the heat, and then either cover it or cook on it direct in the open air. In the southeast it is the traditional way to cook a whole pig. In Texas it was the cowboy method for cooking large pieces of beef. It was a simple and effective way to cook a lot of meat at one time with minimal accruements. You won't find this method used commercially in many places as modern health codes usually forbid it.
Modern Open Pit - The modern approach is to build a pit above ground out of brick or stone with the grill directly above the coal. The grill is high enough so that the meat does not burn. The coals could be at one end and the meat at the other to adjust cooking temperatures. When the fire is stoked up they become excellent grills where high temperatures are desired. The classic backyard brick BBQ pits of the 1950's and 60's used this technology.
Metal Pit - One of the more enjoyable by-products of the oil industry was the adaptation of steel drums and oil field pipe into various configurations of metal BBQ pits. On the economy side a simple 50 gallon drum or even a hot water heater core with air intake at one end and a smoke stack at the other end gives the most frugal man the means to BBQ just about anything. At the higher end is the elaborate multi chamber offset fire-box/oven/smoker which allows the operator to adjust the process to an almost infinite degree. There are many models now available to fit most budgets. Metal has allowed cooks to direct heat and smoke to meat in a multitude of expressions limited only by money or welding skills. It's one disadvantage is inefficient use of fuel. The heavier the gauge of the steel (more expensive) the more it will hold heat but even the heaviest pit require constant monitoring of the fire and adding of fuel.
Ceramic Pit - During the occupation of Japan at the end of World War II many GI's discovered and brought back to the United States ceramic clay pits called "mushikamado" that were used to cook rice by the Japanese. The Americans decided they could use them as BBQ cookers and shortened the name to kamado. The originals were made from fired clay and care had to be taken not to overheat as they were prone to cracking. The design was later integrated with space age ceramics to produce a cooker that could withstand heat nearing °1000 F. The fuel use is very efficient. I have had one go for 18 hours straight on a single load of charcoal and others report even longer times. Moisture is retained quite well as the unit is sealed up very tight when it is closed. The biggest disadvantage is they are much smaller than a metal or brick pit and you cannot cook larger quantities of meat due to smaller grill capacity.
Others - In far South Texas a device known as a disco is used over an open fire for a number of cooking chores. It's main reason for being is cooking tripas. The tripe is boiled in water for quite some time until it is ready. The fat boils off and adds to the fueling of the fire. It can also be used to make an excellent campfire breakfast. It is fashioned out of old plow discs with scrap iron legs added.
In the American Southwest an earthen oven known as an horno (the h is silent) has been used since ancient times to bake bread. Using the old design a modern version horno could be built and adapted to various types of cooking. A fire is built on one side and the food is placed on the other. Coals can be added as needed.
Everyone has an opinion on the perfect wood. Your preference may have a lot to do with where you are located as availability of the wood is very important. If your favorite can be found locally it's cost can be minimal. It may unfold fond memories of smells from your childhood that enhances your palate experience.
My wood preferences and experiences revolve around live oak and mesquite, for I grew up in South and Central Texas. As a child along the Coastal Bend mesquite was the wood everyone used, since it was about the only tree available in the wilds. When I moved to Central Texas oak became a favorite, being fairly plentiful in the area. I am usually able to acquire it for the not so simple labor of cutting it myself. I use oak as my all purpose wood of choice. It provides the perfect smoking and grilling flavor. I use it on low and slow cooks in the Bandera and I use chunks of it added to burning lump in the Egg to add smoke essence to the session. I like mesquite for hot and fast grilling of steaks, burgers, fish, shrimp or fajitas. Mesquite adds a bitter taste when used for long periods of time, but when the time is right... nothing can beat it. It is also essential to a proper Texas campfire ambiance. I have never used hickory, as it is not native to this area, and I do not have a source.
No one can deny the smell of bad wood. Beware of soft wood, cedar, pine, hackberry, elm, and the like. Always test-burn unknown wood on a campfire, and then determine if that would be a taste you would want on your food. Some wood is quite toxic. Never burn treated lumber of any kind. Good smoke comes from hardwoods that bear a nut or a fruit. Oak, hickory, mesquite, pecan and various fruit trees have established themselves in the BBQ fuel inventory. Beware of unknown woods!
Green wood is bad. Green wood is full of moisture, does not burn cleanly, and produces a dense white smoke. Let your wood dry out for at least a year and preferably longer. Store in a dry, airy area if possible. Avoid damp, mold producing conditions. If you have to store the wood on open ground - place in sunlight, raise the wood above the ground using cross stacking, and allow air to circulate beneath the wood pile.
Lump charcoal is far superior to briquettes when using charcoal as a fuel source. It may cost a bit more, but the advantages far outweigh the monetary considerations. It burns cleanly, has no chemical smell and leaves little ash residue. It is made of real wood converted to charcoal. Charcoal briquettes are a combination of questionable material, held together by a binder, and shaped to look like a mechanical piece of coal. They smell poorly, burn badly, and leave a large amount of waste residue - as that is what they are! Many, if not most people, grew up eating food cooked over this abomination, and associate the dismal odor with fond memories of the past and hungers satisfied in childhood. They can easily be converted by with the simple substitution of good lump charcoal into their next BBQ experience. Once you taste the difference there is no going back!
Propane has its place. I use it with my firestick to light wood in the Bandera and the chimenia, as well as the lump charcoal in the Egg. I also have a small Patio Caddy gas grill that I use when I am lazy and want to cook a steak or a chicken breast without the ritual and time of the more appropriate methods. I also use it with a cajun cooker style burner to boil water in large volumes to cook crawfish and lobsters outdoors away from the discerning nose of my spouse. Food cooked with propane does not have the subtle flavors of wood and lump. But with a piece of oak wrapped in pierced foil and then placed over one side of the burner a smoky essence can be obtained.
Smoke Thin blue smoke is good and thick white smoke is bad. All that heavy white smoke you see when you close down a smoker and the wood has not yet burned down to coals will impart a bitter taste to your meat. Let the wood burn down a bit and watch the smoke thin out. When you have a barely visible blue smoke coming out of your stack your smoker is ready to work it's magic.
Too much smoke is a bad thing. Your meat absorbs smoke in the early stages of the cook. This is when the smoke ring forms. Let your meat get it's smoke in the early stages of the cook. As the session continues for the low and slow run try to keep the smoke to a minimum as too much will overpower the flavor of the meat and can turn it bitter.
Soaking wood is counterproductive to good smoke. We are looking for smoke not steam. Some people insist damp wood increases the quantity of the smoke but I believe that the quality of the smoke is compromised when the wood is wet and the quantity gained compromises the end result.
Calibrate your thermometer. Place the stem in boiling water and it should read 212° F at sea level. Some can be adjusted and others you have to adjust in your mind. Keep the stem clean as it will build up with carbon residue and skew your readings. Compare your exterior thermometer with an oven thermometer keep at grill level and learn the relationship between the two.
Set your dial thermometer with the desired temperature at 12:00. If you favor 250° rotate your dial so that 250° is at the top of the dial. You can view the dial from a distance and tell immediately if you are high or low in your desired range.
Use a meat thermometer to determine doneness. You can use a simple dial on a stem ($5-10) or a remote probe that will tell you what is the temp when you are elsewhere and alarm you when desired degree has been achieved. Reading the temperature of the meat is a fool proof way of achieving the correct result and of duplicating it at another time.
Wireless remote thermometers are very useful devises. They have a probe that can be inserted into the meat to let you know the internal temperature which will determine doneness. You can insert the probe through a piece of potato to hold it off the metal grill, place it on the grill and it will then determine the grill temperature. You can insert the probe through the thermometer hole on the Egg to show dome temperature. The probe monitors have an alarm that you can set for high or low temperature. If you are doing an all night cook you might set up to monitor grill temperature and set the alarm to let you know if the temperature drops below your cooking specification. If you want to monitor the meat just insert the probe and set the alarm to go off when the meat reaches desired internal temperature. On some brands you set the alarm for high or low, on others you might be able to set for highs and lows and some even come with two probes that allow you to monitor both grill and internal meat temperatures. They run in price from $30 to $80 depending on the features.
Just say no to overcooked pork. Many people subscribe to the belief that you must overcook pork to kill the dreaded trichinosis worm. This was true back when people raised pigs in mud and fed them garbage. Modern pigs are raised under much better conditions at present and trichinosis has all but disappeared from the pork industry. Cook your pork to an internal temperature of 140° (trichinosis dies at 137°) and let sit a few minutes before serving (the temperature will rise a few more degrees). You will serve a nice juicy piece of meat that is quite safe. If you follow the ancient USDA recommendations of a 160° internal temperature you will serve a dried out piece of leather. This advice refers to the lean cuts of pork like the tenderloin, pork chop and the loin cuts. Other cuts such as spare ribs and Boston butt (pulled pork) are cooked using the low and slow techniques and are cooked to higher internal temperatures. These cuts contain much more fat and muscle tissue that must be cooked out using prolonged heat.
Indirect cooking is where the meat and the fire do not come in direct contact (grilling) with each other. It can be achieved on a barrel type cooker by placing the fire at one end and the meat at the other. With ceramic style or bullet style cooking it is achieved by placing something between the coals and the cooking grill. You can use fire bricks, a pizza stone or simply place a drip pan under the meat. The advantages are that the meat does not burn on the bottom and the drippings do not fall into the coals either putting them out or causing flare up and carcinogen causing smoke. The heat is distributed more evenly which is especially important on the low and slow cook.
More to come...
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