BBQ

[onthebutton]

[ QUOTE ]
[ 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.

[/ QUOTE ]

Stuff like this is perfect. Product reviews, etc. What works well, and what is just a gimmick? What do you really need, and what's unnecessary? I'd think that most guys here don't want to invest a fortune, but would love to know how to cook up some delicious BBQ in their backyard. And then, of course, recipes--if it's not one of those "I could tell you but I'd have to kill you" type of things.

[Borodog]

C.Troy,

That is [censored] awesome.

How would you rank the 4 main styles, and why?

[ChicagoTroy]

[ QUOTE ]
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?

[/ QUOTE ]
Start cheap, because some people just don't like doing it once they get into it. You have to enjoy the process.

STARTUP EQUIPMENT
1st smoker should be the Weber Bullet (WSM). Best smoker under $500, and cheaper than most in that category. Very easy temperature control. I think I got mine for around $180. You can rig a Weber grill to cook indirect but it cuts the charcoal capacity by 2/3 and it's too big a pain in the ass to smoke.

Wireless thermometer (2). The Maverick ET-75 will monitor your food and pit temps, and alert you if they get out of line.

Wood Hickory (strong) for beef, fruit woods and oak (mild) for pork and poultry. Cherry wood will actually turn poultry skin a really nice red color. Mesquite sucks.

CharcoalKingsford is fine, Royal Oak lump is popular with competitors, but most of them use Kingsford I think. Lump will burn hotter and faster, be careful.

Web Resources Virtual Weber Bullet Excellent recipies, rubs, sauces, help, etc. I've had a couple cooks go sideways, posted a question, and had feedback on what to do before I tanked what I was making.

Spices Get fresh spices for your rubs and throw them out after six months.

Cook pork butt at first, it's the easiest, very tasty, and reheats well. You can get them in 2-packs at Sam's (they have them in the back, ask for Boston Butt).

[Duke]

I didn't like Salt Lick in Vegas, but I really hate their sauce. That could have been the deciding factor. If that's constant, then I don't see why a fan of the Texas location (I've never been there) wouldn't like it.

[Colt McCoy]

[ QUOTE ]
I didn't like Salt Lick in Vegas, but I really hate their sauce. That could have been the deciding factor. If that's constant, then I don't see why a fan of the Texas location (I've never been there) wouldn't like it.

[/ QUOTE ]

The sauce recipe would be the easiest thing to recreate someplace else. All the minutae of smoking the meat just right would be difficult to transfer to another location with different facilities, wood availability, meat supply, etc.

[DukeSucks]

[ QUOTE ]
North Carolina style vinegar-based BBQ ftw.

If you guys haven't had this stuff, you need to get out here and try it. It is not a tomato base like most of the "pit" BBQ styles (KC, Texas, Memphis, etc). It's basically pepper and spices steeped in a good quality vinegar. And "barbecue" in NC is ALWAYS pulled roast pork, usually the whole pig done at a "pig pickin'." Out of this world good. I enjoy tomato-based BBQ sauces and all kinds of grilled meats, but they don't hold a candle to the local stuff (although Western NC-style does add some tomato to the vinegar base; however it is inferior to Eastern style IMHO).

For a good primer on BBQ in NC, try here.

There's also a South Carolina mustard-based BBQ, but that [censored] is nasty.

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT. The BBQ is the best part of living here in eastern NC.

Also, to the guy that mentioned Dreamland in Birmingham-I used to love that place too when I lived there.

[ChicagoTroy]

[ QUOTE ]
C.Troy,

That is [censored] awesome.

How would you rank the 4 main styles, and why?

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm pretty much a product of my region, and people tend to love best what they grew up with. From least favorite to most:

Memphis: Mostly spare ribs and pork, served dry. It's a little one-dimensional, but I've got nothing against it.

Texas: Beef-oriented. Lots of brisket, beef ribs, spare ribs. I don't like that they tend to use hickory on everything. It's good for beef, but other meats pick up too much of the smoke. Also, spare ribs are a pain in the ass to eat because of the gristle and they don't pull apart cleanly. They should be trimmed to look like baby backs (so they pull apart like back ribs) and use the trimmings for rib tips. Trimmed this way spare ribs are called St. Louis style. BTW, St. Louis are fattier and meatier, back ribs are more tender, leaner, but have less meat.

Carolina: Pork shoulder, whole hog. The distinctive feature is the vinegar based sauce. Only way to eat pulled pork IMO, it's [censored] great.

Kansas City: Uses the tomato-based BBQ sauce we're familiar with. Cooks chicken, ribs, shoulder, and brisket, and typically picks appropriate woods for each. Not super-smoky. There tends to be an emphasis on homemade rubs and sauces which makes for especially good Q, IMO.

I really dig Kansas City mainly for the broader range of meats, use of sauce, and different woods. Smoked chicken thighs are sick cheap, easy, and as good as ribs.

[ChicagoTroy]

BTW, most competitors I know of buy their brisket, ribs, and shoulder at Sam's.

[ScottieK]

Gotta love barbecue. I usually judge a place by its brisket because my grandpa was a BBQ competitor in Waco, Texas before he passed away. Brisket was his specialty, best I’ve ever had. He and my dad (opposite sides of the family) had the same smoker…it was a 55-gallon drum laid on its side and cut open for a lid. It had bicycle chain links for hinges, bent rebar for handles, a wire-like mesh for the grill, and cast-iron pipe for the exhaust. The larger barrel was welded to a smaller barrel where the fire was. The whole thing was spray-painted black. They always used mesquite for wood.

This is the basic recipe he had for brisket. Baste the brisket slab in French’s yellow mustard overnight to tenderize it. Soak the mesquite or whatever wood overnight so that it will smolder and not burn when you light it. In the morning, get the fire going in the smoker just so it will smoke and not burn. If the fire gets too hot, use a water squirter to keep the flames down. Baste the brisket slab with barbecue sauce and put it in the smoker. Smoke that [censored] for at least eight hours…probably more like 10-12. Brisket is a tough cut of meat, so the longer it smokes, the better. You can flip it or baste it with sauce occasionally if so desired. When it’s done smoking, pull it out and slice it up. Man, I’m hungry.

As for great BBQ places I’ve been….

Albuquerque, NM
We have a Rudy’s too, and I like their brisket. Don’t particularly like their sauce, but it’s all right. We also have a place called the Smokehouse in Rio Rancho. Great brisket and ribs. The Quarters has a pretty good barbecue beef sandwich and sausage. A place called Ribs has some great St. Louis-style ribs and good brisket too. We just got a Tony Roma’s, which is good IMO, but not great. EDIT: There's another place called Powdrell's which is pretty damn good. Great pork ribs.

Kansas City, MO
Gotta love Gates barbecue. Very tender brisket, and good burnt ends. Jack Stack’s also has great burnt ends. Now that I think about it, I wonder why we didn’t eat the burnt ends off our briskets. We were missing out. J. Alexander’s is also a good BBQ place.

Oklahoma City, OK
Earl’s Rib Palace is simply awesome. Earl was Elvis Presley’s personal cook, and his family used Earl’s recipes to open a place in 1996. Best restaurant brisket I’ve ever had. So tender that I could just push it across my plate with a fork, and it would fall apart.

Denver, CO
Breckenridge Brewery Bar-B-Que. What’s not to love about excellent microbrew beers, 16 hour smoked pulled pork, great brisket, and Friday night 30-cent wings that are HUGE? Their pulled pork is some of the best I’ve ever had. Their microbrews are also very good, especially the Avalanche Amber and Oatmeal Stout. They are becoming more available in other states, I recommend them.

Famous Dave’s is also good for a chain. I like their sauces. I’ve never been to Salt Lick. I am going to the Rio Rancho Pork-n-Brew in March though.

http://www.rioranchonm.org/porknbrew.php

ScottieK

[Colt McCoy]

[ QUOTE ]
Texas: Beef-oriented. Lots of brisket, beef ribs, spare ribs. I don't like that they tend to use hickory on everything. It's good for beef, but other meats pick up too much of the smoke. Also, spare ribs are a pain in the ass to eat because of the gristle and they don't pull apart cleanly. They should be trimmed to look like baby backs (so they pull apart like back ribs) and use the trimmings for rib tips. Trimmed this way spare ribs are called St. Louis style. BTW, St. Louis are fattier and meatier, back ribs are more tender, leaner, but have less meat.

[/ QUOTE ]

Having grown up eating and cooking in Texas, I agree with your judgement on beef ribs. However, most of the better Texas BBQ places serve pork ribs rather than beef. Likewise, while hickory is widely used, oak and pecan are also. I wholeheartedly agree with your views on hickory for meats other than beef, but most of the places I like tend to use oak or pecan, sometimes with fruitwood (as you mentioned). Texans do not necessarily "use hickory on everything." Like you also said, mesquite sucks for smoking, but it's great for some flavor when grilling.