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Friday Fun: How do you do BBQ?

Stephen Sifers

When it comes to BBQing, some people treat it as an art and a science. Have it be a rack of ribs, veggie kababs or a baked potato, there are infinite ways to prepare and cook your favorite dish. Everyone has a special way they grill or smoke their dish and this is where you share that long kept family secret of how you prepare your favorite BBQ dish and how you cook it. Add your favorite side dish too so we can complete the meal.

My favorite is dry rubbed baby back ribs smoked using pecan wood and candied with BBQ sauce. Comes out with an amazing sweet smokey flavor and falls apart when you eat them. Served with Brussels sprouts and asparagus sauteed in balsamic vinegar and Himalayan salt.

Now share what your favorite BBQ dish is! Add pictures or a recipe to make it come to life!

Comments

Dave Theodore [Coyote Creek Consulting]

My two favorites are brisket and prime rib. I tend to keep things simple and buy quality meats. I want to taste the meat, so I try not to hide it with sauces. For brisket, I use cajun style dry rub. If I'm honest, I just get the cheap stuff from Safeway. I give the brisket a light dusting and press it in to the meat. I use just enough to get a little spiciness and salt in to the bark.

I let the brisket rest for a few hours at room temperature before putting it on the bbq. I like to bbq slow & low, so I target cooking temp between 190F-200F. I target 195F internal meat temperature doneness and the amount of time it takes to cook varies. Once I pull the meat out of the bbq, I let it rest in a plastic cooler for a minimum of 1 hour, which helps the juices to thicken and not run out when I slice. I did a prime brisket last weekend that turned out nice. My favorite wood for low & slow bbq beef is prune wood. I also use peach, apple and almond wood frequently.

Here's a shot of last weekend's brisket, bbq'ed for 16 hours over apple & peach It didn't suck.

Stephen Sifers

Mother of brisket, that looks amazing!

Dave Theodore [Coyote Creek Consulting]

We take things seriously around here hehe

Jack Brickey

one of my favorite topics to be sure! I love firing up my Big Green Egg on the weekends and cooking a brisket or pork shoulder for 14-16hrs. My doorbell seems to ring more often during those long smokes. Neighbors just checking in to see if there is anything they can help me with. ;-)

Dave Theodore [Coyote Creek Consulting]

Looking good! I also bbq in a kamado and put a tray of water below the meat like this.

Rachel Wright

I think the only correct answer must be: with Atlanta ACE leader @Ed Gaile _Atlanta_ GA_ 's BBQ sauce! https://edgailebbq.com/ I totally love the hidden talents and side gigs present in this community! Gooooo Ed!

@Chris Lutz has also become quite the grill master and chef. Two Summits ago I came back to no less than homemade 10 sauces ready to go with whatever meat was for dinner. I put sauce on everything. I can't decide if I like vinegar-based sauce better or the more traditional sauce. I think there's room for both!

I'm so hungry now. Great topic idea @Stephen Sifers .

Monique vdB

Who is the person who has the insane BBQ setup in their yard -- is it @LarryBrock ?

Kat Warner

BBQs seem to be fancy these days. I am a fan of the classic red meat cooked outside at high heat.

No fancy spices or sauces. Served with bread, Watties tomato sauce, and maybe some salads for me to ignore.

Michael Kimathi _AC Nairobi_ Kenya_

Yummy I am now hungry and it’s 9AM here.

John Funk

Nothing like the Big Green Egg! Smoked 5 racks of ribs on the 4th of July and feed lots of hungry family and friends. :-)

Next day it was burgers and dogs. Great flavor and moist meat!

Ed Gaile _Atlanta_ GA_

Mo -

I have 5 smokers in my back yard plus a trailer smoker. I have a problem...but I am ok with that.

-Ed

Ed Gaile _Atlanta_ GA_

BBQ is my other life outside of my technology day job and I love it.

have a competition BBQ team
teach grilling/smoking classes privately and at a cooking school
Catering business (use Trello to manage) and just started bottling sauces, rubs, and pickles
Love learning different techniques and types or BBQ from different cultures. Just came back from Jamaica and did a lot of research on their 'Jerk' methods...got a try it myself now.

BBQ is the great equalizer in my opinion - bringing people from all walks of life together to enjoy some good eats.

I have way too many pictures - if you want to be really bored, you can spin through my instagram @edgailebbq

John Funk

Not sure I see a problem there. ;-)

Jodi LeBlanc

I have only BBQ'd once in my life, got thrown right in when my team was doing a BBQ for the Food Bank and Soup Kitchen. I cooked 50 burgers and 50 hotdog, and only one person cam back with a red middle. Not bad for my first (and only) BBQing experience

Jimmy Seddon

Personally, the how is less important than the fact that a BBQ is the prefferred cooking medium.

I live in Canada, and I have been known to shovel a path on my deck from the door to the BBQ so that I can continue to use it in the winter!

BiancaE

"and maybe some salads for me to ignore." 😂 nice!

BiancaE

I might be the anomaly here but I love, love, love grilled peaches from the BBQ grill! I put a little goat cheese in the middle and drizzle some balsamic, and 🤤🤤🤤eat it all up!

Dave Theodore [Coyote Creek Consulting]

I see nothing anomalous in that behavior. Figs are awesome on the grill too. If you can find sweet heirloom tomatoes they re amazing grilled. I like to char the skin and peel back the char to expose the fruit. I've also got a couple pizza stones that I use to make wood fire pizza with in one of my bbqs.

BiancaE

ooo, yes @Dave Theodore [Coyote Creek Consulting] ! I haven't tried grilled heirloom tomatoes before but they're just coming in to season here in California so I will have to try that next time we fire up the grill.

Jodi LeBlanc

Die hard Canadians we are

Jodi LeBlanc

Oh my!! Grilled peaches and grilled figs sound divine! Glad it's nearly supper time here, I may have to experiment

Bridget_822i4b

I'm more of a sides kinda gal! I love a delicious egg salad (call me old fashioned)!

I've also had this lemony pasta recipe bookmarked, perhaps I will finally try it out this weekend!

Jodi LeBlanc

Sounds unbelievable 🥗 🥚 🍋 🍝

Terri Yeago_np6nca

Oh my! That looks so good!

Dharma Ramos

I know I am digging up a really old thread, but I was looking through past friday-fun threads because my Friday is coming up in a couple of weeks and this one really got my attention. We recently (black Friday), bought a Big Green Egg and have not looked back since. Love it. So far we have made burgers, direct heat steaks, reverse seared steaks, baby back ribs, st louis ribs, pork butts, corn on the cob and beer bread. I can't pick a favorite because we liked them all.

We have also been experimenting with rubs and sauces. We have mixed our own and we have also used store bought.

The one thing we have not tackled yet is a brisket. It is a little daunting, so much meat and we are afraid to screw it up. Maybe @Dave Theodore [Coyote Creek Consulting] or @Ed Gaile _Atlanta_ GA_ can give me some tips.

Dave Theodore [Coyote Creek Consulting]

First off, it's really not much different to doing a pork butt. It takes longer, but the principles are the same. I would recommend getting Prime beef. Don't bother with Choice, as the price isn't that much different. Costco should have Prime brisket for around $4/lb. Typically briskets are in the 11-14lb range. If your Egg has a double decker grill, put a foil tray of water on the bottom level and the brisket on the top level. The tray will catch the fat and add moisture to the air inside the smoker. You'll probably need to refill the tray at least once during cooking, so watch that it doesn't dry out. I like to do brisket at 190F for 15-20 hours. You can pull it earlier, but since it's a fatty cut of meat (Prime, remember?) you don't need to worry about it drying out at that temp. I used to bbq with a wireless thermometer and watch the temp, but I found that it really doesn't matter. They always finish good with about 1.5 hours per pound cook time @ 190F. If you want to do burnt ends, separate the point and flat after the brisket is done, then throw the point back on. If you really want to go big, get a grade 8 or 9 wagyu brisket. Those can easily go 30 hours @ 190 without drying out. I would also recommend not using mesquite on brisket. I feel the smoke is too harsh when you cook for a long time. I prefer prune, peach, almond or apple wood on brisket, but hickory works well if you don't have a source for fruit and nut wood.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

Ed Gaile _Atlanta_ GA_

If you have not done so yet, try making pizza on your Egg - it is awesome!.

Brisket - man I could write a book on that cut of meat. I have probably screwed it up every way possible. I can now bang them out pretty consistently but like anything it took practice. Several different techniques you can use - hot n fast, low n slow, with or with out the Texas crutch, inject it or not. In competitions, I have done them all.

Here is what I would recommend to the backyard enthusiast just starting out on the brisket journey. Slow and low, with the Texas crutch. It is probably the closest to a full proof method to not screw it up as you can get for a brisket...like I really need this to turn out good.

Get an instant read meat thermometer ( I use the Javelin by lavatools $25 on Amazon)

Like Dave indicated, go with a prime full packer brisket. I just picked some up at my Costco for $3.79/lb - which is better than I can get at Restaurant Depot.

I trim mine pretty aggressive because there is a lot of hard fat that won't render but you don't have to. I rub it with Worcestershire sauce and then apply my rub (equal parts kosher salt and pepper with some granulated garlic and chipotle powder)

I would set my smoker at 225 - 230 with a water pan. Like Dave I am a fan of the lighter fruit and nut woods for smoking (apple, peach, cherry, pecan) instead of the heavier oak, hickory and especially mesquite.

Put the brisket on (fat side down). and let it go till it gets a nice bark and an internal temperature of about 160 degrees. This will take about 8 hours +-. Once it gets to 160, it will not take on any more smoke and you are getting close to the 'stall' kicking in. Side note** The stall is where the internal water of the brisket starts evaporating and causes the internal temperature of the meat to not move for a long time. This is where most backyard warriors get concerned and try to crank the heat up in the smoker to get the internal temp to start moving again...this will result in drying the brisket out...again been there done that and have the t-shirt.**

Now we implement the Texas crutch - which is essentially wrapping the brisket to help it get through the stall, gets the internal fat to render faster and tenderizes the meat. You would wrap the entire brisket in aluminum foil or pink butcher paper. and place back on the smoker until the internal temp gets to 203 (my preference, will take ~ another 4 hours). If you wrap in foil, the bark will not be as tight and you may need to unwrap and and expose the top for 30 minutes for the bark to reset. If I wrap, I use pink butcher paper, which is more breathable than foil and keeps the bark tighter (again, most people don't have this lying around so foil is fine).

When the brisket is done, one of the MOST important steps is to let it rest. I will take my wrapped brisket and put it in a cooler and place some old towels on it and let it rest 2 - 3 hours.

Then slice across the grain and enjoy.

Probably TMI, but hope this helps!

Dharma Ramos

Thank you both, loads of great info. We do have a Javelin Pro by Lavatools from Amazon. I prefer the detail, so don't worry about TMI. Oh and we did try pizza, we burnt it, but we ate what we could and saw the potential, just need to try it again. Thanks again!

Arman Malik_kulu6l

I love BBQ because everyone has their own style and favorite recipes. For me, it’s all about good food, good company, and enjoying time outdoors. Reading everyone's BBQ chipotlecalorie.com traditions and tips here is making me hungry already!

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