BBQ done right... [Archive]

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 10:52

Just my opinion, but if I walk into a place and I see BBQ sandwich (or anything else claiming to be BBQ) and there isn't a smoker going out back - well they are just damn liars at that point. BBQ doesn't become that just because you throw some tangy ketchup on something like some McRibb crap. Real BBQ is how you prepare and cook - and when it is done correctly it is a religious experience to eat.

My favorite:

A nice rub on pork loin or some pork ribs. Then slow smoked in a box (not over the coals) with occasional basting of a vinegar/water with salt and pepper to draw some of that smoke flavor into the meat. Heat until the innards are a nice 190F.

Then for the pork, it falls apart when pulled and for the ribs - you can pull 'em apart off the slab or be "civilized" and cut them into each rib and eat. The dogs around then get the bones - the way God intended.

Fixins - slaw, bread, and maybe some chips. If you wanna get fancy some 'tater salad. But keep it simple, the meat is the meal.

You can't take the meat apart at some factory, press it into a form, then throw some "simulated grill marks" on the thing and call it BBQ.

Hooch

01-17-2008, 10:57

......A nice rub on pork loin or some pork ribs. Then slow smoked in a box (not over the coals) with occasional basting of a vinegar/water with salt and pepper to draw some of that smoke flavor into the meat. Heat until the innards are a nice 190F.

Then for the pork, it falls apart when pulled and for the ribs - you can pull 'em apart off the slab or be "civilized" and cut them into each rib and eat. The dogs around then get the bones - the way God intended.

Fixins - slaw, bread, and maybe some chips. If you wanna get fancy some 'tater salad. But keep it simple, the meat is the meal.

Ok, you're going to have to stop that. you're making me hungry, Rock.

RITBlake

01-17-2008, 10:57

bad experience on the trail you want to share w/ us Rock?

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 11:00

Naw, it was just that the grit thread started spilling into the BBQ realm. I thought BBQ too important to have to be stuck inside another thread.

But as you mention it. When I was a PVT, I remember my first BBQ MRE meal. Beef, Diced, in BBQ sauce. I was actually offended someone had the nerve to call that crap BBQ.

Survivor Dave

01-17-2008, 11:02

Uh huh............

Rock, you've only been on Trail for a hundred or so miles. If you are "Jonesing" now that badly, I hope to hell they have smokers at all the shelters!

I think maybe if you ask a major Q chain nicely, they might sponsor you! Now that would be nirvana.......don't forget the Maker's Mark:D

SD

Just my opinion, but if I walk into a place and I see BBQ sandwich (or anything else claiming to be BBQ) and there isn't a smoker going out back - well they are just damn liars at that point. BBQ doesn't become that just because you throw some tangy ketchup on something like some McRibb crap. Real BBQ is how you prepare and cook - and when it is done correctly it is a religious experience to eat.

My favorite:

A nice rub on pork loin or some pork ribs. Then slow smoked in a box (not over the coals) with occasional basting of a vinegar/water with salt and pepper to draw some of that smoke flavor into the meat. Heat until the innards are a nice 190F.

Then for the pork, it falls apart when pulled and for the ribs - you can pull 'em apart off the slab or be "civilized" and cut them into each rib and eat. The dogs around then get the bones - the way God intended.

Fixins - slaw, bread, and maybe some chips. If you wanna get fancy some 'tater salad. But keep it simple, the meat is the meal.

You can't take the meat apart at some factory, press it into a form, then throw some "simulated grill marks" on the thing and call it BBQ.

dixicritter

01-17-2008, 11:03

He's got that hiker hunger going.... God help my grocery bill! :eek:

Blue Jay

01-17-2008, 11:03

WOW, usually it takes at least a few days for a thru to be obsessed by food.
By the time he gets out of Georgia he'll be wiping out supermarkets.:banana

Yahtzee

01-17-2008, 11:07

Cannibal

01-17-2008, 11:08

I thought BBQ too important to have to be stuck inside another thread.

Amen Brother!

D'Artagnan

01-17-2008, 11:13

... And just like down south, the best BBQ is found in the dingiest places.

Ain't that the truth! There's a pit down the road a piece where in the summer there are fly strips, FLY STRIPS -- hand-to-God -- hanging from the ceiling. Best bbq around though. :D

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 11:16

I love me some eatin'

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 11:21

SGT Rock, when you get up to NYC I'll take you out for some barbecue. Lots of southern transplants here and plenty to choose from. An old friend and I get together once a month at a new BBQ restaurant each time. Plenty of good. And just like down south, the best BBQ is found in the dingiest places.
I agree. I'm glad to hear it to.

True story: when I was a recruiter in Wisconsin I got invited to a BBQ. The guy said I'm going to show you how to really BBQ. So I got to his house with the grill fired up, and some great looking sausage - I was anticipating some good food. Then he takes out a pan and puts it on the grill, the dang thing was so big I didn't see how he was going to get those sausages on the grill.

Then he fills the pan up with beer... What the?

Then when the beer is all warm and stale he throws the beautiful meat into the nasty flat beer. Once they boil up a while he pulls them off.

I almost cried.

Ain't that the truth! There's a pit down the road a piece where in the summer there are fly strips, FLY STRIPS -- hand-to-God -- hanging from the ceiling. Best bbq around though. :D
One of the best BBQ joints I ever ate at is a Texaco gas station outside Hattiesburg called Rosie's. I have dreams about that place.

Rcarver

01-17-2008, 11:23

BBQ good!

Mags

01-17-2008, 11:40

You gotta read this if you enjoy BBQ:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4827993

hopefulhiker

01-17-2008, 11:41

Dances with Mice

01-17-2008, 11:48

My dad was a BBQ'er of some local fame, just about every photo of him at a social gathering shows him beside a BBQ pit. Check out the photo on the right - "King of the Hill" isn't a cartoon, it's a documentary! Anyway, the point is, I grew up with 'que. Those photos were taken in the early '70's.

When I was in college some friends living off-campus invited me to a BBQ at their house. Knowing how much work there was in putting on a BBQ I offered to help. They said they didn't need any.

The day of the party I showed up with my mouth all set for BBQ. And all they did was grill burgers and hotdogs. It was good, you know, but I felt like they'd pulled a 'bait and switch' con job on me. So I was about 18 or 19 before I realized that some people call grilling on charcoal "barbecue". Later I'd learn that some would also call a lot worse stuff "barbecue".

Words have meanings, some should only be used reverently. I've been to bad Mexican, Italian and Chinese restaurants and way overpriced seafood restaurants but I've never really had bad BBQ from anyplace with a pit out back.

Fiddleback

01-17-2008, 11:48

The best BBQ I ever had came out of a converted hen house that had been moved to the side of the road in the Texas Hill Country...somewhere near Fredericksburg, I think. Ever since I've had this idea that BBQ quality is a function of the BBQ-ing facility...the nastier the better?:-?

I recently took a step towards the Dark Side and bought a smoker...an electric smoker. That was quite a step for this former Texan but I took comfort in the fact that this particular smoker has been made in Texas for over 50 years. I also took comfort in that my first use of this Devil's machine produced the best pork ribs I've ever done. In my defense, the now annual fire restrictions we have in this area pretty much prohibit use of a 'real' smoker from mid-June to mid-September.

FB

envirodiver

01-17-2008, 11:50

Dances with Mice

01-17-2008, 11:50

Oops. Pictures? I thought they were in the last post.

Wilson

01-17-2008, 11:54

I,ll repeat what I said in the grits thread:

BBQ is a pork shoulder cooked all night on hickory coals. Basted Lexington style.
Everything else is more accurately called GRILLIN.:rolleyes:

Actually, I like it all, even that stuff smothered in sweet sauce thats called bbq sauce.

I always laugh when on a tv show they're grilling hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, ect. and call it BBQ.

Only thing I would add to what Sgt. Rock said is hushpuppys...around here they're automatic.:D(to kinda quote what someone else said on the grits thread)

Skidsteer

01-17-2008, 11:54

Texas style brisket in my New Braunfels smoker. Mmmmm.....

NICKTHEGREEK

01-17-2008, 12:07

If you think things get uncivilized in the politics section, you just unleashed hell Sarge. So from a BBQ moderate-

Fortunately for a boy from Pittsburgh, I embarked on bbq eatin with no biases whatsoever. I got serious about it around Beale St. in Memphis in 1970. (It was off limits to milpers then which made it really good) Texans have a way with cookin cow, and brisket and sausage there is damn fine, but the cow brains aren't for the weak of heart. South of the border carne asada is worth the pesos but that may be the tequila talking too. Some friends from Argentina demonstrated they are as good with meat and a fire as they are with soccer and the tango. Folks from NC have got a good idea, but lack the fundamental understanding that cole slaw isn't a puree, and the sides matter to me.
I heartily concur with Rock that no fire, no smoke, no BBQ. I hope I never find the perfect combo platter, and that I live forever looking for it.

Dances with Mice

01-17-2008, 12:14

Best I ever had was at the Church of the Holy Smoke. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/28/sunday/main565492.shtml) Maybe it was the atmosphere. It's a reason to visit Huntsville since they don't have the prison rodeo (http://media.www.houstonianonline.com/media/storage/paper229/news/2005/04/26/Huntsville/Prison.Rodeo.Gone.But.Not.Forgotten-937824.shtml)there anymore.

I've fed on both sides of the family feud in Lockhart (http://www.lockhart-tx.org/web98/visitors/bbqcapitaloftexas.asp). It was very good but not a lot better than any other Texas smokehouse.

Best in Georgia - Dean's. (http://www.gayot.com/restaurantpages/AtlantaInfo.php?tag=ATRES02600&code=AT)

Cannibal

01-17-2008, 12:15

Spent my formative years in Texas eating some of the best BBQ on the planet, so imagine my surprise when I was in Hutchinson, KS at a little brick building painted yellow named "Sylvester's" that had the best BBQ I've ever had; before or since.

Sylvester weighs about 500lbs and if you are lucky enough to ever eat there, you'll understand why. Never in a million years would I have thought a Texan would be forced to bow down to a Kansan's BBQ skills; it happened.

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 12:31

This is the place I grew up with: http://www.bigbobgibsonbbq.com/

I went in the Army and came back to a new store and all. I don't think the BBQ is as good as it use to be, but it is still excellent and I make a pilgrimage there every time I go to Decatur to visit Momma.

Furlough

01-17-2008, 12:33

If any of y'all are ever in the Woodbridge area of Northern Virginia and hankerin' for great BBQ and fixins checkout Dixie Bones BBQ. Sunday Buffet will leave you stuffed fuller than a Christmas Goose.
Their Home page is
http://www.dixiebones.com

saimyoji

01-17-2008, 12:38

http://www.countyline.com/comeseeus.asp

Check out the air ribs.

leeki pole

01-17-2008, 12:43

I agree Rock if I go somewhere advertising BBQ and don't smell wood smoke, I know it's not going to be good.

BBQ is a food that is almost as discussed as footbal and is a source of town pride in many areas of the south.

To me BBQ is pork, beef is good for all you Texans, chicken rocks...but it ain't BBQ...it's got to be pig.

Best ribs are at Dreamland in Birmingham, AL. All you get is ribs and white bread. No sides except chips available. Corkey's in Memphis was awsome...haven't eaten there since they franchised them. The one in Nashville is good too. Rendevous in Memphis is good, but I like wet ribs better than the dry rub ribs they serve.

Dang I'm hungry.

Got to agree with this. Don't forget the original Dreamland in Tuscaloosa!
Awesome!

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 12:47

There are lots of good BBQ joints that are out there and lots of good styles. But if you can't smell smoke when you get there, it probably ain't really BBQ.

Grinder

01-17-2008, 12:49

I grew up in 'dee'troit, going over to the west side of downtown for "Detroit barbequed ribs".

I have lived in Texas and appreciate Barbecued Brisket.

I now live in Central Florida. Peebles BBQ in Auburndale is right up there with the best.

Last year I ordered air freighted ribs from
Corky's in Memphis, Tn for my son in laws 30 birthday and helped eat them. I now understand why people rave about them.

Each region is a bit different. All true barbque is slow cooked over smoke. I feel indirect fire is essential for "real smoked " meat.

Tom

MOWGLI

01-17-2008, 13:02

You got it all wrong. A BBQ is hot dogs, hamburgers, or Italian sausage on the grill. Add beer, condiments and potato salad and cole slaw to taste. The stuff in the south that you folks call BBQ is just mushy meat with too much sauce IMO. ;)

(ducking for the anticipated incoming fire) :eek:

envirodiver

01-17-2008, 13:03

Got to agree with this. Don't forget the original Dreamland in Tuscaloosa!
Awesome!

You're correct...my bad the one that I went to was in Tuscaloosa, not Birmingham.

envirodiver

01-17-2008, 13:05

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 13:09

I was thinking it isn't funny to pick on the special kids.

Heater

01-17-2008, 13:21

There are lots of good BBQ joints that are out there and lots of good styles. But if you can't smell smoke when you get there, it probably ain't really BBQ.

Sweet smoke... Oh yeah.

I am guilty of getting wood from other states or regions to try to get my BBQ just right. I am obsessed. :eek:

Usually Pecan wood works fine, though. :cool:

(I am embarassed to say how many cookers i own...)

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 13:22

I own one. I figure it is a good thing to figure out how your smoker cooks and learning to work with it. Good BBQ is keeping it simple.

Heater

01-17-2008, 13:23

Texas style brisket in my New Braunfels smoker. Mmmmm.....

Oh Yeah. :D

Heater

01-17-2008, 13:56

I own one. I figure it is a good thing to figure out how your smoker cooks and learning to work with it. Good BBQ is keeping it simple.

With an offset you can do that as long as you learn were the "hot spots" are but then you are limited to a small area by the firebox and you gotta babysit and keep moving stuff around to get it right if we are talking about plain 'ol chicken. (cooking for a very small 2-4 group) I'd rather cook Chicken on my Weber Kettle or my 55 gallon drum cooker.

I have different cookers for different meats because I think I could do them better in the right cooking environment.

I think you said you had an offset. I can do an anything on a plain 'ol 55 gallon drum pit and it would be great but I can do it much better on the right cooker.

(I have 4 different style of cookers and 10 main cookers overall) :eek:

I 'aint even counting all of them.

Chaco Taco

01-17-2008, 14:02

I have been cooking pig for years. My sauce secret is pork fat. I make a base and let it simmer. Then baste the pig over and over washing some of that fat out into the pan and emptying it into the sauce and just keep recycling that goodness.
I grew up on Stamey's BBQ and Hursey's

Hell if anyone can get me a smoker to Traildays, Ill do a few Boston's and make some sauce. Anyone with me??

mudhead

01-17-2008, 14:24

Cabin Fever

01-17-2008, 14:28

There are many definitions for BBQ. Personally, it is pulled pork. The best pulled pork BBQ place I have ever been to is the Palmetto Pig in downtown Columbia, SC. If you have never had mustard-based BBQ sauce, you are not a true connoisseur. Nobody can compete with Calhoun's in East Tennessee for ribs. You can't deny the numerous championships they have won!

Lone Wolf

01-17-2008, 14:31

Bennett's is damn good too http://www.bennetts-bbq.com/

the goat

01-17-2008, 14:39

rock- when you get to monson, you gotta try the spring creek cookhouse.

it's some of the best bbq i've had, slow smoked in a huge wood smoker out in front.

envirodiver

01-17-2008, 14:46

I'm thinking that a stop at Corkey's on the way home tonight would be an excellent dinner choice.
:clap

Bearpaw

01-17-2008, 15:27

A nice rub on pork loin or some pork ribs. Then slow smoked in a box (not over the coals) with occasional basting of a vinegar/water with salt and pepper to draw some of that smoke flavor into the meat. Heat until the innards are a nice 190F.

DOGGONNIT Rock! Go easy on that vinegar. One of the biggest disappointments of being assigned to Camp LeJeune was getting my first taste of east Carolina "barbecue". It was smoked and cooked slow and I expected a feast that would make my toungue slap my brains out. Then I dug in and got this dry, bitter pork packed full of vinegar. There's a reason why the Romans tortured Jesus by giving him vinegar instead of water, and those folks in Carolina grabbed onto it in a heartbeat............ :eek:

I couldn't wait to get back to home and have some juicy, succulent, sweet, smoky, tangy barbecue. :D

leeki pole

01-17-2008, 15:47

I'm thinking that a stop at Corkey's on the way home tonight would be an excellent dinner choice.
:clap
Try the BBQ Nachos if you haven't already. Some fine eatin' there and warms you up for those ribs and another cold brew! Go for it! :)

envirodiver

01-17-2008, 15:52

I'll have to try them...I usually get the onion loaf...but they won't sell it to you to go. I tried...they said that the loaf was too greasy when you got it home and that some people had complained. I agreed to sign a waiver or whatever and they wouldn't do it.

karo

01-17-2008, 15:53

WOW, finally a thread I can really relate to. I have been BBQing for at least 20 years with friends or on my own pit. I have one in my backyard! Rock, try a mixture of 2parts vinegar to one part lemon juice with salt and pepper added to taste. Remember to taste it before you rub it on, don't want to try it after it is contaminated with raw pork juices. And I did say pork, cause here in TN BBQ means pork, tho I have tried beef brisket which is great also. My BBQ doesn't need any sauce, but you can add it if you want, it just covers up the smoke taste. I smoke it over hickory coals all night. My pit will hold 3 or 4 whole shoulders. One pit we used for the Fourth of July held 18 shoulders one year! We had about 150 people to feed that year. I stayed up all night with the meat as it needs coals added and "sauce" added, the vinegar/water type that is. I would love to set up a portable smoker on the trail sometime. The hikers would come from miles around for sure!

Lone Wolf

01-17-2008, 15:56

I'm gonna stop at Fat Buddies BBQ in Waynesville on the way to the Ruck tomorrow and get me a big ass pork sammitch http://www.fatbuddiesribsandbbq.com/menu.htm#lunch

Critterman

01-17-2008, 15:59

.......

I recently took a step towards the Dark Side and bought a smoker...an electric smoker. That was quite a step for this former Texan but I took comfort in the fact that this particular smoker has been made in Texas for over 50 years. ......FB

First off forget this stuff they call BBQ on the east coast. BBQ is smoked beef brisket or pork ribs not some weak pulled pork with vinegar sauce. :eek: Secondly, what is the name brand of that smoker you got. I haven't had any good BBQ since I left Dallas.

Dances with Mice

01-17-2008, 16:00

One pit we used for the Fourth of July held 18 shoulders one year! I think you need to add more wood, that's cooking a bit too slow.

I'll have a portable baby BBQ pit at the SoRuck. Planning on having a little fun with it.

RadioFreq

01-17-2008, 16:07

I agree with you Rock.. A lot of stuff passes for BBQ these days.. A friend who competes nationally showed me this site...

http://www.ncbbqsociety.com/trail.html

The best BBQ place I know of is Lexington BBQ in Lexington NC....

Shame on you throwing that kind of temptation in front of a guy working on
his thru. This is just the sort of thing might cause lesser souls to leave the
AT and blaze a different "trail"

Stay the course, Sarge.

karo

01-17-2008, 16:44

I think you need to add more wood, that's cooking a bit too slow.

I'll have a portable baby BBQ pit at the SoRuck. Planning on having a little fun with it.
We have ditched that old pit for a newer one at our big BBQ on the fourth. Mine at home is lined with fireplace brick that hold in the heat. I usually only add coals 3-4 times, but you still have to keep it moist with the sauce. Some even "cook" their meat for 24 hours. It just depends on how you like it or how much time you have to cook it that slow. The slower the better is usually the way to go. I cringe when people for "other places" say they are goint to BBQ with a gas grill. I have to explain the difference before they get strung up!

envirodiver

01-17-2008, 16:49

Ther is a difference in the noun BBQ and the verb BBQ, but I agree that there is a difference in BBQing and Grilling out.

Karo, I don't think you know what you are doing. I live near you and think you should prove it to me.:D

Cabin Fever

01-17-2008, 17:05

Like I said, everybody has a different opinion of what barbecue is.

chezrad

01-17-2008, 18:19

If you think things get uncivilized in the politics section, you just unleashed hell Sarge. So from a BBQ moderate-

Fortunately for a boy from Pittsburgh, I embarked on bbq eatin with no biases whatsoever.

That's where I started to really appreciate the finer secrets of slow cooked ribs over a wood fire. There was a little place in between Shadyside and the Hill district that an old black man ran. I don't know where he was from. I was just a kid. But he started around 5:00am every morning. I saw him go in while I was delivering the Post-Gazette. On nights I would collect my weekly paper route money I would get dinner from him. A short rack of ribs cooked moist and tender with a tangy sauce that would blister your lips but taste so good you couldn't resist. God that brings back memories. Thanks.

There's a reason why the Romans tortured Jesus by giving him vinegar instead of water, and those folks in Carolina grabbed onto it in a heartbeat............ :eek:

Watch it, your gettin personal.....:D

Bearpaw

01-17-2008, 18:25

Watch it, your gettin personal.....:D

Believe me, I took that first mouthful of vinegar personally too ;).

To their credit, some of the restaurants offered big pitchers of excellent sauce to pour on their 'que, and I learned to enjoy it after a while.

But it's just not what I grew up with at all.......

Jack Tarlin

01-17-2008, 18:34

Well hell Rock, at least you're in Tennessee.

Finding decent BBQ in Northern New England is kinda like looking for a decent lobster roll in Erwin. It just ain't happening.

I've been served some alleged BBQ in these parts that appeared to be charbroiled kittten on a stick, covered with salsa.

Am REALLY looking forward to trying out that new place in Franklin in a couple of months.

humunuku

01-17-2008, 18:37

Now putting Buddys BBQ and Calhouns in the same category as a mcribb is a little drastic, I'd be willing to be there are a lot of good BBQ places on magnolia Ave too (if ya go to that side of town)

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 18:40

DOGGONNIT Rock! Go easy on that vinegar. One of the biggest disappointments of being assigned to Camp LeJeune was getting my first taste of east Carolina "barbecue". It was smoked and cooked slow and I expected a feast that would make my toungue slap my brains out. Then I dug in and got this dry, bitter pork packed full of vinegar. There's a reason why the Romans tortured Jesus by giving him vinegar instead of water, and those folks in Carolina grabbed onto it in a heartbeat............ :eek:

I couldn't wait to get back to home and have some juicy, succulent, sweet, smoky, tangy barbecue. :D
You can overdo the vinegar. The mix is about 50% water and 50% apple cider vinegar with regular old salt and pepper mixed in. The idea is to keep the meat soft and let the smoke flavor get drawn into the meat so it isn't just on the outside parts. But you are right - some overdo it. I've been in places where they add vinegar to the meat after they pull it and the taste is terrible.

To me the trick is to make the meat taste great without any sauce, then have a variety of sauces based on the taste of the person eating it. That is one reason I like Texas style BBQ is the focus is the meat and the smoke, Carolina BBQ is my most favorite because I grew up on it and I like some of the vinegar sauces. But damn, pulled pork with some tangy sauce with habanero in it is my #1 choice. I have a container of sauce I mix - there is no recipe. I just know what goes in it, so when the container starts getting low I add more ingredients to that - there is never a new batch.

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 18:43

John Klein

01-17-2008, 18:46

Jim n' Nicks in Homewood, AL (Birmingham suburb). (The other locations aren't quite the same). Vegetables and sides are just as important as the meat.

AT-HITMAN2005

01-17-2008, 18:49

The day of the party I showed up with my mouth all set for BBQ. And all they did was grill burgers and hotdogs. It was good, you know, but I felt like they'd pulled a 'bait and switch' con job on me. So I was about 18 or 19 before I realized that some people call grilling on charcoal "barbecue". Later I'd learn that some would also call a lot worse stuff "barbecue".

Words have meanings, some should only be used reverently. I've been to bad Mexican, Italian and Chinese restaurants and way overpriced seafood restaurants but I've never really had bad BBQ from anyplace with a pit out back.

depends on the meaning of the word. city folk have a barbecue. pretty much just whatever they feel like putting on the grill. its basically just an outdoor party. the hamburgers and hotdogs were grilled so its automatically barbecue.

then you have good ole boy classical sense of the word, if you will. with the smoke pit and pork shoulder cooked all day till it just melts in your mouth.

cavedive2

01-17-2008, 19:02

adding to hickory wood a small couple of apple twigs,or even a small chunk of pecan. cherry wood is okay but you have to watch out you can make it way to sweet with it to the point it taste like caugh surip

remember cooking slow and warm
not fast and hot

take baked beans and put under what ever your cooking and let them catch the drippings, then take some of the pulled meat and add to the baked beans. served with sides and no forks,spoons,or knife, your eating tools are on the end of you arms.

Appalachian Tater

01-17-2008, 19:32

rock- when you get to monson, you gotta try the spring creek cookhouse.

it's some of the best bbq i've had, slow smoked in a huge wood smoker out in front.

It is indeed pretty impressive to find such good barbecue in Maine. They have decent sweet tea, too.

kayak karl

01-17-2008, 19:37

BBQ is a black barrel with some folding chairs around it. anybody know what a Rib Sandwich is?:)

Mags

01-17-2008, 19:47

In Rhody, they had a place opened up by south Missouri transplants called Wes' Rib House.

Paper plates, napkins and table "cloths". In a back alley of Olneyville.

I remember it being tasty. Of course, this was from an unrefined Yankee palette.

Perhaps it is likes someone telling me about how great a jarred sauce is...

http://www.wesribhouse.com/

I have not been there in almost fifteen years, though. I wonder if is still has its grungy charm?

berninbush

01-17-2008, 19:59

1. Real Barbeque is beef brisket, slow smoked over charcoal and mesquite until it's so tender it falls apart.

2. Real Barbeque is often accompanied by smoked chicken, smoked sausage, potato salad, cole slaw, pecan pie, and of course Texas Toast.

3. Real Barbeque does not need sauce. It rests on the merits of its meat, with the flavor given by the wood. Some people choose to use sauce anyway. I prefer it without.

4. Real Barbeque is very hard to find outside Texas.

sheepdog

01-17-2008, 20:28

Beef, pork, chicken, season it right, smoke it slow and tender and I'm there. Who ever says there BBQ is best, I would be glad to judge. :D

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 20:40

Anyone ever smoked a turkey? I've been thinking of doing that for Thanksgiving instead of the standard baking thing.

Fiddleback

01-17-2008, 20:56

depends on the meaning of the word. city folk have a barbecue. pretty much just whatever they feel like putting on the grill. its basically just an outdoor party. the hamburgers and hotdogs were grilled so its automatically barbecue....

I like Maryland...spent my formative years in Maryland...learned about Scouts and backpacking and the AT there...so don't get me wrong, but...

Lifestyles and attitudes vary widely region to region, especially in areas labelled 'urban'. Back in the early 80's I was a newlywed in Bowie, MD. I did the meat every night on the grill, she fixed the vegies and salads. Meanwhile, coming in over the airwaves from Baltimore, there was an afternoon TV talk show featuring a white-haired guy, a young African-American woman, and someone else I don't remember. One afternoon, the white-haired guy says, "It's Labor Day Weekend...it's time to get the grill out!" The other two nodded. What the...? Time to get the grill out?! Ya' mean you actually put it away except for one weekend out of the year?!? Yup, attitudes vary widely.

A year or two later I had moved to Anchorage where I still charcoal grilled/BBQ'd every night throughout the year. I don't know what happened to the white-haired guy or the other one but the black girl moved to Chicago. Oprah is her name.

Now a days my meat consumption is way down and it's not a daily menu item but virtually all of it is done on the grill...'cept for my new smoker.:D

FB

Dances with Mice

01-17-2008, 20:59

Anyone ever smoked a turkey? I've been thinking of doing that for Thanksgiving instead of the standard baking thing.

Yes. Brine it (and all poultry) to increase the moisture in the meat. It's a light brine, not an egg floating kind of brine.

My favorite is 1 cup kosher salt / 1/2 cup honey / 1 gallon apple cider. Soak the turkey at least overnight in the fridge. 24 hours is better.

Smoke at around 250 F until done, time depends on the size of the turkey.

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 21:02

Yes. Brine it (and all poultry) to increase the moisture in the meat. It's a light brine, not an egg floating kind of brine.

My favorite is 1 cup kosher salt / 1/2 cup honey / 1 gallon apple cider. Soak the turkey at least overnight in the fridge. 24 hours is better.

Smoke at around 250 F until done, time depends on the size of the turkey.
Do you stuff, and do you check the inside temp to determine if it is done or just go by hours/pound?

Fiddleback

01-17-2008, 21:05

In my experience, smoked turkeys aren't stuffed. But if others have done it I'd appreciate instructions too.

FB

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 21:06

Bearpaw

01-17-2008, 21:48

I imagine if you don't stuff you could maximize the area the smoke comes into contact with the meat which is a plus. But then again maybe someone has a killer stuffing idea for smoking turkey like stuffing it with sausages or something (sort of like boudin).

My Dad smokes a turkey at least once a year. He never stuffs, explaining it causes the interior meat to cook unevenly. I always assumed he meant it would be a bit raw, but maybe he meant the smoke would be uneven too.

Lone Wolf

01-17-2008, 21:51

Believe me, I took that first mouthful of vinegar personally too ;).

To their credit, some of the restaurants offered big pitchers of excellent sauce to pour on their 'que, and I learned to enjoy it after a while.

But it's just not what I grew up with at all.......

kinda sucks takin' a big bite of bbq only to taste douche

hopefulhiker

01-17-2008, 21:57

I have smoked a turkey before but honestly I have gotten into frying them lately.. It is a lot quicker and they are so tender and juicy!

SGT Rock

01-17-2008, 22:00

I had some fried turkey this year at my brother-in-law's house. It was OK, but I didn't think it was all that. I want to try smoking me one because I love that smoke flavor. The one thing that got me thinking about this as opposed to a normal smoke is turkey skin. You don't eat the turkey skin so it wouldn't be in with the meat and could be a barrier to getting that flavor in the meat.

GGS2

01-17-2008, 22:27

... You don't eat the turkey skin ...

What? Who says you don't eat the skin? What do you do with it, then? My goodness, what sins are here revealed.

What do you do with chicken or duck? And do you mean one of those obscene frozen manufactured birds, or a wild one?

In my childhood, turkey (and chicken as well) was baked in the oven, in a closed pan, with frequent basting, full of giblet stuffing (which was almost the best part) and surrounded by potatoes, onions and other roots which took on the flavours of the pan. A bunch of sausage links or bacon strips were draped over the bird to add to the flavour. Before the end of the cooking, the lid was removed so the skin would brown(!) , and after the bird and veggies were removed to the serving platter, the drippings were the basis of a brown flour gravy. The whole art was in the timing: all those bits would be added so that they all ended up cooked at the same time in the end. You want to cook slow (but constant basting is crucial) until the leg bones twist and come away easily. The cover helps to keep the meat moist.

If you were to do it in an indirect smoker oven, it would cook just about the same, with a smoky flavour added. The drippings pan could be used to flavour, if not to bake the potatoes (taters) and whatever else you wanted, and you could drape the sausages over as well, but later on. I can see that the stuffing might have to go, as the meat close to the bone is less flavoured than the outer meat, next to the skin. Make it separate, or substitute corn bread or fritters.

I think I'd be inclined to cook it on a spit, and baste with drippings, your vinegar mixture, or some sauce. You know, I don't really care how meat is cooked, so long as it comes out tender, full of flavour and chewy moist. Some kind of crackling on the outside is really a flavour gift, though. If it is cooked right, most of the skin fat will end up as drippings, there to flavour the veggies and eventually the gravy. Don't waste the drippings! Eat the skin!

Skidsteer

01-17-2008, 22:57

But damn, pulled pork with some tangy sauce with habanero in it is my #1 choice. I have a container of sauce I mix - there is no recipe. I just know what goes in it, so when the container starts getting low I add more ingredients to that - there is never a new batch.

Cool. Sourdough starter BBQ sauce.

1. Real Barbeque is beef brisket, slow smoked over charcoal and mesquite until it's so tender it falls apart.

2. Real Barbeque is often accompanied by smoked chicken, smoked sausage, potato salad, cole slaw, pecan pie, and of course Texas Toast.

3. Real Barbeque does not need sauce. It rests on the merits of its meat, with the flavor given by the wood. Some people choose to use sauce anyway. I prefer it without.

4. Real Barbeque is very hard to find outside Texas.

That's what I'm talking 'bout!

Dances with Mice

01-17-2008, 23:14

Do you stuff, and do you check the inside temp to determine if it is done or just go by hours/pound? Executive Summary: Brine it, flatten it, smoke it.

Last time I splatch-cocked the thing and it came out great. I'm not sure I want to explain all that here - basically you flatten the turkey by removing the backbone and the high point of the breastbone. Here's the two-bit explanation: Carpet shears work to take out the backbone, cut about an inch on either side of it from tail to neck cavity then toss it into the stockpot. Then use a sharp knife to slit through the cartilage and bone on either side of the breastbone from the inside, about two inch'ish wide again, then do surgery to remove the breast meat from the bone. Toss the bone into the stockpot also.

Now, with a little persuasion, the bird lays flat with a crease where the breastbone was. Smokes evenly on both sides. Practically carves itself since you've sorta already pre-carved it.

I haven't googled 'splatch-cocked', there might be a better explanation somewhere else. Since the smoking temp is so low, there's a big window of done-ness. Start early and get'er done, so to speak, then quit adding coals and just leave it in the smoker until serving time.

Then, when you get really good at that you can take it to the next level: Splatch-cock then continue to debone a turkey, a roasting hen, and a duck. Roll the hen up and coat it with sausage dressing, wrap the duck around that and coat it with a thick layer of cornbread dressing, then place all that inside the turkey and stitch the carcass back together. Bake that thing and you've got a 'turducken'. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turducken)

But that's a lot more complicated. It's almost as bad as making tamales.

gaga

01-17-2008, 23:16

To me BBQ is pork, beef is good for all you Texans, chicken rocks...but it ain't BBQ...it's got to be pig.

Dang I'm hungry.
Pork rules and Pig is king!:D

Bearpaw

01-17-2008, 23:26

kinda sucks takin' a big bite of bbq only to taste douche

The analogy is so close to home it hurts.........

From laughing....:jump:jump

berninbush

01-17-2008, 23:30

That's what I'm talking 'bout!

Glad someone else appreciates the Texas National Meal. :)

The first time my Texas-born brother tasted Northern "barbeque," his comment was: "The poor cow died in vain!"

When it comes to turkey, my preference is for the traditional oven-roasted butter-basted bird. I agree, the skin is the best part... every year at Thanksgiving my mom has to slap my hand because I keep picking at it while the rest of the meal is getting done. ;) And much as I like smoked meat, turkey skin isn't good that way... it tastes too sooty/ gritty. Butter flavor is the best. I've heard you can baste a turkey in coca-cola, too... never tried that but it might be good.

Skidsteer

01-17-2008, 23:35

Glad someone else appreciates the Texas National Meal. :)

The first time my Texas-born brother tasted Northern "barbeque," his comment was: "The poor cow died in vain!"

My neighbor, when I lived in Boerne,Tx made the best brisket in the State. We became close friends over the years and he finally gave me the recipe.

For those of you not familiar with Texas, I'll translate that last sentence:

I outdrank him and won it in a poker game.

Heater

01-18-2008, 02:39

Nearly Normal

01-18-2008, 06:26

Smoked turkey is super. I use a water smoker. Smoke needs to be something lighter than hickery or oak. Try apple or sasafrass wood.
It does take a while and a temp check on the meat is the best way.
Rub peanut oil on the bird and season with what you like. Sage, salt and pepper works well. A half an onion and a stick of celery in the cavity.
Along with water in the water pan add a little vinagar, salt, pepper, red pepper and the other half of onion.

BBQ hawg is best done slow cooked for 12 -16 hours.
A fire of split green hickery or water oak is maintained away from the cooker. A shovel full of the live coals are sprinkled beneath every half hour or so.
A large cooker is used and at least a half a hawg is cooked.
Different sections like the middlin and ribs will cook faster than the hams so I quarter it before cooking. The skin should be no darker than the color of walnut or the fire was too hot. Folks will fight over the skin.
Sauce is always on the side as it doesn't need it. You taste the smoke in the meat.
Start about midnight for an afternoon party the next day. Either lemon juice or Vinagar water is used for a baste to seal the meat and keep it moist.
Collard Greens and fried cornbread fills in the rest.

Seasonings, sauces, and rubs are best kept secret.

Its cold enough to kill hawgs so..................

Two Speed

01-18-2008, 07:02

Pork rules and Pig is king!:DI've got one thing to say about pork barbeque, and one thing only: Two Brothers in Ball Ground, GA.

'Nuff said.

canerunner

01-18-2008, 07:24

Anyone ever smoked a turkey? I've been thinking of doing that for Thanksgiving instead of the standard baking thing.

Oh, yeah! Smoking a turkey is just about my favorite way of cooking one. It takes time, but all good things do, I guess.

I like to use pecan chips for the smoking, and I'll cook it for roughly 8 hours (depending on weight). It comes out looking like a huge cinder, all black, but it tastes fabulous!

I smoked on for Thanksgiving last year, and one of the relatives didn't want to try it. By the time she decided to give it a try, she almost didn't get any. It won't last long on the table. :D

AT-HITMAN2005

01-18-2008, 07:37

sweet tea- pot of water, boil. add pound of sugar. add proper amount of tea.

i tell you i was sad on the trail when i got so far north i started getting funny looks when asking for sweet tea.

cavedive2

01-18-2008, 13:35

Do you stuff, and do you check the inside temp to determine if it is done or just go by hours/pound?

Yes Rock I stuff ours with chicken & duck here is a link to where you can get your own Turducken http://www.cajungrocer.com/fresh-foods-holiday-dishes-turducken-c-1_15_24.html?source=google I make three of these a year I smoke them most of the time but have tried it deep fried as well and like the smoked better.

cavedive2

leeki pole

01-18-2008, 14:19

Oh, yeah! Smoking a turkey is just about my favorite way of cooking one. It takes time, but all good things do, I guess.

I like to use pecan chips for the smoking, and I'll cook it for roughly 8 hours (depending on weight). It comes out looking like a huge cinder, all black, but it tastes fabulous!

I smoked on for Thanksgiving last year, and one of the relatives didn't want to try it. By the time she decided to give it a try, she almost didn't get any. It won't last long on the table. :D
I agree, canerunner. Pecan or hickory chips soaked overnight, apple's good too but I have trouble finding that. I've got an old propane tank (not sure of the size, but it's about 4 feet long) that a welder buddy of mine turned into one fine smoker. I put the fire on one end with a pan of water over it and the bird on the other end with foil under the turkey. I marinate the turkey overnight with a secret recipe marinade that includes basalmic vinegar, beer, worstechire sauce and some tabasco in the frig. It takes about, oh six hours or so until that bird is golden brown and moist and tender. Charcoal and chips. I baste the turkey about every 30 minutes with the marinade left over until the last hour or so of cooking. Dadgum, it makes a pretty good bird!
The best one we ever had was a wild turkey (no, not the booze :D) that a friend of mine bagged and we cooked it fresh after we dressed it. Fine!

Gray Blazer

01-18-2008, 14:23

Has anyone mentioed BBQ goat yet? You can get some out on the backroads in N FL. I started charcoaling the Holiday Turkeys this past season. Delicious!

SGT Rock

01-18-2008, 14:24

I got enough "goat grab" last year.

NICKTHEGREEK

01-18-2008, 14:24

kinda sucks takin' a big bite of bbq only to taste douche
The opposite happened to me on a date with a girl from texas

Gray Blazer

01-18-2008, 14:25

I got enough "goat grab" last year.
I guess you did. Sorry.:sun

SGT Rock

01-18-2008, 14:27

Good Kabobs are also a form a BBQ. Meat grilled over charcoal. Some of those guys take a lot of pride in how they cook it up.

Gray Blazer

01-18-2008, 14:39

Jerked chicken cooked on a mini-stove on the back of a bicycle in Jamaica is surprisingly good, mon.

John Klein

01-18-2008, 19:21

I've got one thing to say about pork barbeque, and one thing only: Two Brothers in Ball Ground, GA.

'Nuff said.
Do you have directions from Alpharetta? I saw them on "Georgia Traveler" on PBS. Thanks.

DBT fan

01-19-2008, 03:55

I agree Rock if I go somewhere advertising BBQ and don't smell wood smoke, I know it's not going to be good.

BBQ is a food that is almost as discussed as footbal and is a source of town pride in many areas of the south.

To me BBQ is pork, beef is good for all you Texans, chicken rocks...but it ain't BBQ...it's got to be pig.

Best ribs are at Dreamland in Birmingham, AL. All you get is ribs and white bread. No sides except chips available. Corkey's in Memphis was awsome...haven't eaten there since they franchised them. The one in Nashville is good too. Rendevous in Memphis is good, but I like wet ribs better than the dry rub ribs they serve.

Dang I'm hungry.

Rule1: You have to smell the pork smoke before you enter the parking lot.

Rule2: After you get inside the building, if all the chairs and tables do not match, you know are ready for some killer BBQ.

Amen on the wet ribs at Dreamland in T-Town and dry ribs at the Rendevous in Mempho.

Heater

01-19-2008, 04:01

Good Kabobs are also a form a BBQ. Meat grilled over charcoal. Some of those guys take a lot of pride in how they cook it up.

Nope. You are mixing up BBQ'ing with grilling.

envirodiver

01-21-2008, 12:47

Rule2: After you get inside the building, if all the chairs and tables do not match, you know are ready for some killer BBQ.

LOL...so very true. Same rule for a meat & 3 place.

Lone Wolf

01-21-2008, 12:52

I'm gonna stop at Fat Buddies BBQ in Waynesville on the way to the Ruck tomorrow and get me a big ass pork sammitch http://www.fatbuddiesribsandbbq.com/menu.htm#lunch

was not very big and not that good. DWMs is much better

JAK

01-21-2008, 13:18

Nothing has humbled me more than my first taste of real Southern BBQ.

JAK

01-21-2008, 13:18

Unfortunately it wasn't permament.

Heater

01-21-2008, 14:47

Unfortunately it wasn't permament.

Get a WSM. (http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/)

chief

01-21-2008, 15:04

Got to agree with this. Don't forget the original Dreamland in Tuscaloosa!
Awesome!Let's not forget Dreamland in Mobile.

karo

01-21-2008, 15:39

Nope. You are mixing up BBQ'ing with grilling.
Rock, I gotta agree with Austex on this one. They ain't 'Que-ing, thats grilliing for sure.:cool:

Skidsteer

01-21-2008, 19:17

was not very big and not that good. DWMs is much better

You got that right.

And I came real close to stuffing my pockets with pork loin Sunday morning.

dixicritter

01-21-2008, 19:20

You got that right.

And I came real close to stuffing my pockets with pork loin Sunday morning.

Here I thought I was the only one thinking of doing that.

Lone Wolf

01-21-2008, 19:38

hell i did it :eek:

Skidsteer

01-21-2008, 19:48

You got that right.

And I came real close to stuffing my pockets with pork loin Sunday morning.

Here I thought I was the only one thinking of doing that.

hell i did it :eek:

I bet Stumpknocker did too. He probably ate it for Supper tonight with a powdered donut. :D

Lone Wolf

01-21-2008, 19:50

I bet Stumpknocker did too. He probably ate it for Supper tonight with a powdered donut. :D

and 23 oz. of Starbucks

dixicritter

01-21-2008, 19:52

I wouldn't be surprised.

Rain Man

01-21-2008, 19:55

... dry ribs at the Rendevous in Mempho.

As a Southern boy, I consider the dry rub ribs at the Rendezvous in Memphis among the best BBQ that ever has passed these lips. They ship world-wide because of popular demand.

Rain:sunMan

.

Dances with Mice

01-21-2008, 20:26

I'm glad that came out well - it may be the only time I've left food somewhere that I hadn't tasted first. But I was pretty confident it was ok.

But to confess - it wasn't true BBQ. It was just baked in a smokey oven.

I should have covered and left it alone for a couple more hours but I wound up taking the smoker apart and showing it off a bunch of times. And each time I'd add a handful of charcoal. And I didn't close down the damper until I went out to show it off to Rock and noticed that the temperature had risen to about 350F - about 150F over optimum. It was overloaded with charcoal and had too much air from all the lid openings. And, like I said, the precisely calibrated brick hadn't been pushed in to the closed position.

It's my own fault for not watching the pit. But eating and talking and a few nips from my water bottle and the thing just got away from me. It finished hours before it should have. But pork's pretty forgiving.

So I'm glad y'all enjoyed the apple cider marinated, wild muscadine grapevine smoked loins.

Now y'all can quit talking about my good butt and hot smoking loins.

Lone Wolf

01-21-2008, 20:28

them freakin tamales was damn good too

gungho

01-21-2008, 20:41

You got that right.

And I came real close to stuffing my pockets with pork loin Sunday morning.

Heck with the pockets,I kept stuffing the pork loins in my mouth:DGoing to have to hit the trails this week to work off all the food.

Dances with Mice

01-21-2008, 20:47

OK, so now I have a good butt, hot smoking loins, and a big freakin' tamale. I got Wonder out of her dress and proved I have fast hands. All in less than 24 hours.

Where's that Cabin C rule when I need it?

GGS2

01-21-2008, 20:51

I think all you southerners should jsut forget about the trail and start up a BBQ website. Then y'all can talk about it ALL the time, and not have to interrupt the flow with irrelevancies like wind chill.

SmokyMtn Hiker

01-21-2008, 20:58

I just had supper and after reading all this I'm hungry for a plate of BBQ. I do agree with SGT Rock, BBQ is cooked slowly not this fast food BBQ crap. Here in NC we have what's called western BBQ and eastern BBQ, depending on which end of the state it's cooked in. I'm from the western side so that's what I prefer but when cooked properly it's all good, especially when washed down with good cold beer.

Skidsteer

01-21-2008, 20:58

Dances with Mice

01-21-2008, 21:21

OK, now back to BBQ ... and y'all should know that if I ever write more than one line posts after 6pm you should take them with a grain of salt. Kosher salt, coarse grind.

I like my ribs sprinkled with a little salt and pepper, slow smoked and served with just a dab of sauce on the side.

Restaurant ribs are really just platforms for spices and sauces. Ribs are too thin and have too little meat to really show off any slow smoking skills. If I just take my smoker up to 300F and wait for the temperature to start falling, all I have to do is load on the ribs and walk away for 3 or 4 hours. They'll come out perfectly cooked, nearly falling off the bones. Ribs can be overcooked - the meat should take a little tug to get it off the bone. If it falls off the bone when you pick up the bone it's overdone.

But the smoke flavor is usually covered by dry spicey rubs or a sweet sauce glaze. There's nothing wrong with that, it's not better or worse than pork shoulders or brisket, it's just different. It's like comparing a baked potato with a potato chip. With a good sauce or dry rub you really can turn out a platter of great ribs just using an oven to cook then a broiler to set the glaze. The difference between pit and oven isn't that big.

Using an oven and broiler on bigger chunks of meat yields baked shoulder or brisket, something that obviously isn't BBQ. With ribs it's harder to tell.

I once took Larry, TOW, to task for boiling ribs, glazing then finally finishing them over a grill. Once I thought about it for awhile I realized that if I had to prep a bunch of ribs to feed a crowd I'd probably do it the exact same way.

For the price of a rack of baby backs I'd rather buy a good shoulder or raw ham and take the time to let the smoke flavor and cooking time speak for itself.

But ribs are ok. The pit crew should have something to snack on while they wait for the real BBQ to finish.