Barbecue Grilling and Smoking Secrets Revealed

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Posted by admin | Posted in BBQ Accessories | Posted on 30-11-2009

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The art of barbecuing has got to be one of the oldest arts in the world. The first grilled items would have been those cooked over an open fire by the cavemen. Can’t you just visualize the first time they found the charred remains of a Saber Tooth Tiger in the forest? They were probably retrieving burning sticks for the cave fire and were enticed to the carcass by the inviting smell of the cooked flesh. In time they would have realized things like: animals were best cooked without the fur, and that meat cooked with certain woods tasted better than those done over ordinary spruce. This would have naturally led to experimentation with other combinations.

Then, one night as Mama Ugh was preparing some wild boar on a spit over the fire, Papa Yuck arrived home with a honeycomb he had discovered. While he was trying to melt the honey out of the honeycomb some of it dripped onto the hog meat and, —ZOWIE— BBQ sauces were born.

This experimenting still goes on today almost every time someone cooks over the open fire or in a state-of-the-art barbecue grill. Barbecuing fascinates us, like camp fires and fast flowing rivers. We long to reach back to ancestral times and explore culinary possibilities as they must have been. Today, however, we normally don’t cook over open fires. Our venture into the past is usually on an ultra modern Weber that operates on some kind of flammable gas and using a variety of choice cut meats and condiments.

Never mind, the thought is still there, and the competition just as intense, to grill the absolutely best BBQ dinner on the cave colony or in the modern day county.

We spend about $250 on a grill and upwards to $100 on accessories, and then experiment for the most part with steaks, ribs, chicken, hamburger, or pork, to try not to make it look like we “throwed it in the fire for fifteen o twenty minutes and then drug it out”. Then we add to the cost of our learning experience every time we fork out another twenty bucks for those choice cuts so that we can eat “primitive”.

Let’s take a look at what we need to consider before getting into barbecuing.

1.) Before you do anything else think carefully about what you want to barbecue or smoke and whether there is one piece of equipment available that is versatile enough to do everything you want your barbecue to do.

2.) If the grill is mainly for barbecuing, the next thing would be the equipment required or desired. I say desired because your individual tastes are the most important when making decisions regarding food. Do you prefer

You also need to ask yourself if the grill is to be used for grilling only, or also for smoking meat? Many BBQ’s today feature side burners and warmers, and you might even want built-in igniters if you choose a gas grill. There are even grills that are designed with special smoking features.

3.) Will you need accessories for your barbecue/smoker?

There is a wide range of products available and it is probably best to do a little research into these areas before you lay out your hard earned cash. I speak from experience when I say that you can easily spend a hundred dollars on accessories.

4.) Once you have the desired equipment you will need to choose the right type of meat or food based entirely on your personal preferences. A few choices include:

This list could go on and on. If you have a food that you like to cook you can probably find a way to barbecue it.

5.) Along with that you may want to put a little study into the types of

that you and those close to you would prefer. This is usually a matter of personal taste but can also be determined by the type and condition of the meat. Especially if you are considering grilling a lot of wild game meat you may want to use special marinades that will keep the meat more moist or even tenderize the steaks from your trophy animal. You may want to cook your baked potatoes with onion, garlic, and spices, or grill your corn in a butter bath.

6.) Then you will have to give consideration as to where you want to use and store your barbecue. By where you would like to use it I mean, giving consideration to anything flammable that might be too close to it and the availability of water in case of an emergency. For storing you need to decide if you are going to put it under cover such as a tool shed or whether to purchase a BBQ cover if it is to remain outdoors.

7.) Just as we do in our kitchens you will want to browse for the best recipes and procedures to produce the best grilled food possible. The only thing left for you to do is to search for and practice with different procedures and recipes, and then decide which friends you want to invite down and dazzle with your barbecuing prowess.

Howdy! My name is James Hudson.

Like many of you I too have fed far too much of my precious BBQ fare to the dogs. However, I also know that some of the best food I have eaten came off the family barbecue grill.

And like most of you, nothing stimulates my appetite more than the thought of a well grilled steak, succulent baby back pork ribs, smoked and grilled farmer’s sausage, or slightly crispy on the outside and melt in your mouth inside shrimp.

 

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I was raised in the country and have always loved the outdoors and cooking, especially over a open fire or hot coals. Hunting and fishing were a large part of my life until I went overseas to work as an oilfield engineer. I have lived and worked in numerous countries and tasted a great many varieties of foods. Barbecued fare is still a favorite. The last twelve years were spent in Guatemala doing missionary work and developing a regional Biodiesel program to create jobs and promote cleaner burning fuels. My favorite grilled items are baby back ribs and Winkler Farmer’s Sausage.

Which Wood Chips For Your BBQ Smoker?

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Posted by admin | Posted in BBQ Ribs | Posted on 24-11-2009

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I’ve seen many lists about wood chips and what meats best accompany them and it’s always struck me that this is approaching the problem for the wrong side. The wood chip is choosing the food and in my book it should be the food choosing the wood chip! So when you scroll down to view my list it’s written in a way that hopefully will allow you to decide on your barbecue recipes first and let the flavouring follow. To be honest, hickory takes a lot of beating (especially on ribs) but there’s an incredible variety of wood chips to choose from these days so it’s worth experimenting a little.
The idea behind smoking is that wood burns when heated but by reducing the oxygen available to the fire, the wood smokes rather than burns so by adding wood chips to your barbecue smoker, a beautiful range of flavours can be imparted to meat or fish. The best wood to use is “green wood” ie. wood that’s not fully dried out because green wood burns at a higher temperature, it makes more smoke than aged wood and it lasts a long time. When buying wood chips in a bag it’s important to soak the wood for 30 minutes to get moisture into it before popping it on the coals.
One last tip from me before the list:-
If you have a BBQ grill rather than a smoker, try wrapping some wood chips in aluminum foil and then puncture the foil a few times with a fork or the point of a skewer. Pop the foil pack in hot coals and see what you think but do try with one of the stronger smokes otherwise you’re unlikely to notice any difference.
The following chips are good with all kinds of meat so it’s good have some in stock:-
Acacia – a strong smoke
Almond – sweet and nutty (as you’d expect)
Apricot – mild and sweet and an interesting alternative to Hickory (just a little milder)
Cherry – sweet & fruity
Cottonwood – a very subtle flavour, worth a try but not my favorite
Grape Vine – beautifully aromatic and sweet if you can get hold of it
Nectarine – again similar to hickory but sweeter and quite mild just like the Apricot
Peach – slightly sweet flavour
Pecan – strong smoke similar to oak but just a little more gentle
Plum – similar to hickory but milder and sweeter
For red meat try the following:-
Grapefruit – a good medium smoke with a fruity note
Lemon – again medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
Mesquite – strong and earthy so try it with beef
Mulberry – beautifully sweet apple flavour
Oak – really heavy smoke so definitely one for beef
Orange – another fruity one with medium smoke
Lamb of course is a red meat so any all in the above category can be used but I’ve got one recommendation dedicated to lamb:-
Lilac – it’s light and subtle with a floral hint
Pork:-
Alder – supremely sweet
Apple – sweet with dense fruity smoke
Birch – strong and earthy
Grapefruit – medium smoke with a fruity hint
Hickory – the original pungent smoky bacon flavour ready for your ribs
Lemon – medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
Maple – strong and earthy
Mulberry – beautifully sweet apple flavour, pork and apple goes so well together
Nectarine – similar to hickory but sweeter and quite mild and still good for ribs
Oak – a really heavy smoke so go easy
Orange – medium smoke with a light fruit hint
Pear – Another one with a slightly sweet flavour
Plum – similar to hickory but milder and sweeter, compare it with Nectarine
Most wood chips have now already had a mention further up but that doesn’t mean they don’t go well with Poultry:-
Alder – sweet
Birch – strong and earthy
Grapefruit – medium smoke & lightly fruity
Lemon – again medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
Mulberry – sweet apple flavour
Orange – more medium smoke with a light fruit hint
Pear – another one with a slightly sweet flavour
Game, generally strong smokes for strong flavoured meats, but there are some exceptions:-
Alder – sweet
Apple – sweet with dense fruity smoke
Maple – strong and earthy
Mulberry – beautifully sweet apple flavour
Oak – really heavy smoke
Pear – sweet flavour compare it with Alder
Walnut – very heavy smoke and can be bitter so put it with a strong well hung meat
Fish sometimes works well lightly smoked and sometimes it’s good to go for a really heavy smoke
Alder – sweet
Apple – sweet with dense fruity smoke
Ash – light and distinctive flavour, it burns fast so ideal for fish
Lilac – light and subtle with a floral hint, fantastic on seafood
Oak – really heavy smoke
I’ve got two recommendations for Vegetables both of which are strong and earthy:-
Maple
Mesquite
Hopefully that’s given you a few ideas to try at your next barbecue, just don’t forget to soak them before putting them on the coals. Happy smoking!

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