BBQ

[onthebutton]

This made me feel all tingly inside.

Seriously, you BBQ experts, I think providing some more of your "how-to" knowledge would be awesome. Perhaps especially focused on equipment to get started with, etc?

[nath]

Sweet, I'm going to Austin next week. I've never been to any of the places mentioned. Perhaps a "BBQ Comparison Trip Report" to come?

[Colt McCoy]

Dozier's in Fulshear, TX (about 30 miles west of Houston on FM 1093) is well worth the drive. As good as Salt Lick imo. Great brisket, ribs & sausage. The meat has good flavor and the sauce is very good if you like the thinner Texas-style vinegar-based sauce.

[PITTM]

I am getting meat from here for the superbowl(its in mountain view, so bay area dudes like diablo might wanna check it out.) They have like 50 different kinds of sausage and pretty much every meat one could want. I just have a regular gas grille though, im jealous of all these setups.

[ChicagoTroy]

So the local BBQ guy is a BBQ nazi and got me turned on to smoking a couple years ago. Having checked out the forums on Q and done some looking into competition, it made sense to learn what the judges were looking for, so I went to a judging class when one came up a few hours away.

Judging BBQ is the [censored]. You show up and eat some of the best BBQ in the world, for hours, for free, and bring stuff home for later. I'm happy to pay through the nose for great BBQ but you can't even buy stuff this good, so getting it for free rules. First a little background on the competition.

There are four major styles of BBQ. Texas, Memphis, Carolina, and Kansas City. Kansas City style encompasses the four major categories of brisket, pork shoulder, ribs, and chicken, and uses the ketchup-based sauces everybody's familiar with, so it's the most popular when it comes to competition.

A competition involves a weekend of guys running their cookers starting Saturday afternoon (or earlier), getting hammered, basting, getting hammered, and sobering up with some beer. This is weird, because the turn-in times on Sunday are really strict. You have to turn in one category on each half-hour (within five minutes) for two hours. This is hard, since something you're cooking for 16 hours like brisket or shoulder doesn't lend itself well to photo finishes. It's done when it's done. There are various tricks using foil and manipulating temperature that can speed up or slow down the cooking, and the big cuts can rest for hours without loosing much temperature if you foil them and stick them in a cooler.

So they competitors cook a ton of food and then pick out the best six samples (individual pieces or slices) of each category, dress 'em up, and submit them. Judges show up on Sunday about 10, do a briefing and starting at 11:00 or noon start tasting categories, new ones every half-hour. They check out the presentation (laughable rules, "must be served in styrofoam clamshell takeout box, only lettuce as garnish, no red lettuce), texture, and taste. Surprising to a lot of folks is "fall off the bone" ribs are considered overcooked. If you bite and get a clean, easy pull with a dry bone, that's perfect.

This could turn into a book, and I don't know what's interesting to guys. Anybody have questions about it on the competitor or judging side of things?

[guids]

I just ordered the weber smokey mountain, Im going to hold off on the temperature control unit for a little bit, to see how well I like the unit. It should be here friday, so I should be able to use it sunday. Ill def post some pics and such.

[slamdunkpro]

[ QUOTE ]
I think providing some more of your "how-to" knowledge would be awesome. Perhaps especially focused on equipment to get started with, etc?

[/ QUOTE ]

What would you like to know? As far as getting started, The WSM is a great choice. I started on (and still have) a Brinkman kettle gas smoker. Got it end of season at Kmart for $35.

[nath]

[ QUOTE ]
Dozier's in Fulshear, TX (about 30 miles west of Houston on FM 1093) is well worth the drive. As good as Salt Lick imo. Great brisket, ribs & sausage. The meat has good flavor and the sauce is very good if you like the thinner Texas-style vinegar-based sauce.

[/ QUOTE ]
Heard of it, but never been. I'm dropping by Houston after Austin so maybe I'll make a stop, if I'm not sick of BBQ by this point.

[SamIAm]

Have any of you guys made your own smokers? Alton Brown made a couple on Good Eats, and it looks straightforward. One big box for a hot smoker, 2 boxes with ductwork between them for a cold smoker.

I'd love to her a trip-report from somebody not on TV. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
-Sam

[El Diablo]

CT,

I think most anything you wrote on the topic would be interesting. Maybe some more on a competition itself. How much stuff you're tasting. Any things that just way stood out compared to anything else, etc.