Barbeque
 

Alright folks, been experimenting with different ways to prepare and different sauce recipes. I am curious to hear of your favorite techniques on cooking and good sauce recipes. I am talking like chopped pork (i prefer this over beef). What is the best cut of meet to get when making as well.

Thanks for the help.

boston butt (pork shoulder)

Boil the pork/ribs in a pot so it is cooked,put on the grill apply BBQ.Makes some good tender ribs.

Also i like putting Italian dressing on chicken and steak when i'm grilling

Ummmm, no offence to LLL2, but if I can save one piece of pork from being plunged into a boiling pot, my life has been worthwhile.

Real barbecue is about LOW heat, SLOW cooling, LONG cooking times. A boston butt will take about 14 hours (give or take) on a smoker at about 225. A long time ago (when I was still a beginner) I posted a topic on "how to set up a slow cooker" if that's still in the archives, check that out. Oh, and if the most flavorful thing on your cooker is the sauce, you're doing something wrong. ***edit Found the original post I made http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=6015 ***

I try not to come off sounding loke a BBQ snob, but once you've "done it right" you'll never go back.

All about the butts (not actually a butt, that's ham, but its really a shoulder).

Mister is correct on this I have a smoker that me and my uncle built it's rather large around 20 square feet of cooking area we cook boston buts on it for 12 to 14 hours. We primarlly use white oak with bits of pecan or apple wood. Plus we use a secert spice rub we put on them if you have any questions send me a pm I can give you some more advice

"real barbeque" what is that? Just because one does it a different way doesn't make it the "real" method.
Sounds more like you're smoking and slow cooking your meat than barbequeing to me. I guess it depends where you are from and your definition of a BBQ.
I'm in no way defending boiling meat BTW ;)

That does sound good,but I'm too damn lazy for that.

splck: What is "real barbecue" you ask? It is exactly what I described. Long cooks using dry spices and smoke to cook meats to a high internal temperature. This long process will break down connective tissues and render out fat like no other method can.

The biggest misconception in the world today is the fact that people think that anything cooked over coals or a gas grill is considered barbecue. This is simply untrue. Using direct heat (meat directly cooked over colas or flame) is "grilling." not barbecue. Also there are only 5 "classic barbecue" meats: pork ribs (either baby back or spare), pork shoulder, beef brisket, chicken and "whole hog."

Believe me, there is no substitute for the low temperatures and long cook times, and yes, it takes patience and time. It's more of a hobby than anything else.

Whoa! Thanks for the tips.

Alright, i am all about prep time and long cooking times. I love to cook. I thought pork shoulder was not the best cut of meat? I heard that is does not dry out as quick as other cuts however..

I have a smoker but it is not electric. I want to get an electric one to keep constant even heat on the meat. I also have a crock I was thinking about cooking them in, or baking them... I did find a nice receipe for some homemade sauce that I am going to try....

Thanks again guys, and keep the comments coming.

I've tried lots and this is the best recipe I've found...

Carolina Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
3/4 cup yellow mustard
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce


In a medium saucepan, combine ingredients, stirring to blend. Over low heat, simmer 30 minutes. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before using.

Ok, I have got to chime in on this on. I run 3 bbq resteraunts and a catering business. Pork, chicken, and ribs are the best to bbq. As most have said, its slow cooking at low temperatures for long periods of time. We cook ours for over 14 hours at a time. Typical fashion of doing this is rubbing the meat (seasoning),Searing it, and then slowing your fire (not gas) to a lower temperature. Its all in the seasoning and techniques. There are two main styles of ribs a wet rib, and a dry rib. A wet rib is a presauced rib. It's typically a over cooked slab, hence why the sauce is needed. Then there is the dry rib which is seasoned, and you add your own sauce (if any later).
Pork butts are best to use for chopped pork, you can use shoulders but they have a tendency to have a higher amount of fat on in it. Any more questions, just ask. I consider myself a guru. I've been doing it nearly all my life.

Thanks for the info. OK, I think I have my cut of meat and sauce. Now, what do i use.
I have right now a charcol smoker and oven of course and a crock pot. I was thinking about an electric smoker so I could keep a constant heat and the desired heat on the meat. What do you think?

What meat will you be using? How long do you have? Do you have time and patience to cook it slowly? I would try my best to use the charcoal smoker, start your bed of coals get some heat in there, spread em out. Throw some wood chips on there for some smoke flavor and sit back. Make sure you keep your coals hot.

in my experience, "Barbequing" and "Barbeque" are not the same thing.

"Barbequing" generally means "To cook outside"
"Barbeque" is the particular meats described above, cooked as described above by Mr. Coaster.

"Grilling out" is the cooking outside method. While Bbq'ing is the slow cook method.

My buddy got one of these things in the summer and would go on and on about it. This guy is Mr.BBQ. Was over at his place on the weekend (-35 C with the windchill) and had the absolute best pork ribs ever. Now mind you, the biggest baby backs I've ever seen. Can't remember how long it cook, but it was good. Anyone ever hear of this thing

http://www.biggreenegg.com/

I have heard good things about the Big Green Egg, but as you can see on the pricing page, they aren't cheap. I have the Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker and it cooks in the same way as the Big Green Egg, but costs considerably less and is WAY more portable. The Weber also has multiple cooking surfaces and uses plain old, easy to find kingsford charcoal, not special fuel like the BGE.

From what it looks like, the end barbecue result is roughly the same, so do the math...

Yeah pretty cool. The Weber is alot lighter too it seems. I'll have to look into that. Currently I bbq with propane 4-5 times a week all year round. It was cold today but the marinated chicken breasts were perfect as usual.

I like the idea of the smoker but wonder how practical it would be. I can see myself cooking a rib roast in it, but for a rib steak,..seems like a lot of work. I cook for myself only most of the time.

I'll have to get more info. Anymore suggestions would be handy.

Thanks again guys for all the information.... I think i am almost set and ready to go thanks to M.C.'s professional guidance....

You guys ever had Corky's BBQ? The discovery channel had a special on BBQ (brisket & chopped pork.) wet styles and dry.... Had all the best from the Carolina's, Memphis, Texas and Kansas City. They got all of them together and had a taste test..... (from real Cowboys in TX). Corkys in Memphis won hands down.

You can order this from their website, they ship it to your house the next day fully cooked and ready to go. (flash frozen)

http://www.corkysbbq.com/store.htm

For those of you using a gas grill and are thinking about getting a smoker also. It's not completely necessary. You can smoke small things, chicken breast, pork chops, etc..on your gas grill. Just buy a small cake pan, about 3" x 5" and put wood chips inside it. Your gas grill will heat and smolder the wood chips and give off the proper smoke. For large things, such as butts or whole chickens this can work, but it is better to have a smoker. Just some FYI.

Don't forget to brine!!!
 

If you're doing pork or chicken, I highly recommend you brine the meat prior to smoking. I brine pork butt in pickling salt and molasses for 48 hours prior to smoking. Then I pat dry and put my rub on it just before it goes into the smoker for upwards of 12 hours. It is delicious. Search foodtv.com for Alton Brown's pulled pork recipe. That's pretty much what I use, and it's incredible.

FYI, a brine is the same thing as a marinade, except that a brine has no acid in it (like citrus juice, etc.)

I've still never done beef brisket...anyone have any tips on doing one?