Finer Things in Life -- Barbecue stories

[Foamy T. Squirrel]

Here we manly men and adventurous women get out of the kitchen to the patio and do serious cooking. Your device, your style, your stories, your successes (and dismal failures) must be discussed. No stories about barbecued squirrels, if you can help it. Thank you.

Non-rodent recipes and refreshing adult beverages highly welcome.

 

[HarleyFatboy]

this should be interesting!!  i will have to think long and hard about what i'm going to post in this thread due to the fact that i'm an avid BBQ'er.  i will say that my successes great out weigh my failures and that is where the hard part comes in.......remembering the failures because let's face it, you don't go to a boxing match to not watch a body hit the floor!!

[happyone]

I still have my Weber Genesis--but just bought a Traeger--and it does beat the Weber IMO for smoking and cooking. I just love it. 

[Foamy T. Squirrel]

52 minutes ago, HarleyFatboy said:

this should be interesting!!  i will have to think long and hard about what i'm going to post in this thread due to the fact that i'm an avid BBQ'er.  i will say that my successes great out weigh my failures and that is where the hard part comes in.......remembering the failures because let's face it, you don't go to a boxing match to not watch a body hit the floor!!

You're going to do great here, my friend. Nothing beats fresh ingredients for great barbecue. And of our members here, you no doubt are the master of prep and cooking for very fresh ingredients.

48 minutes ago, happyone said:

I still have my Weber Genesis--but just bought a Traeger--and it does beat the Weber IMO for smoking and cooking. I just love it. 

That Traeger looks interesting. I've been using a horizontal with a smoke box, with a thick gauge of metal for years. I generally just use charcoal and wood and water-smoke. But that takes a lot of manual tending the heat and moisture. Hence, the cost of my beer goes way up. I just tell the wife, "Gee hon, this is really hard grueling work out in the summer sun -- makes a man thirsty."

[TBG 150]

I've been in this new house for 3 years in August and can count the times on one hand that the stove has been used. Everything, from breakfast to a full blown meal has been cooked outside on the Weber. I can't even imagine ruining any meat in an oven unless you have one that can cook at 200F up to 2000F. Only very high end kitchens have 2000F broilers.

Just last night I indulged in a rack of Low-N-Slow back ribs, (4 hours) a seasoned vegetable medley, hand cut fries that were done on a grille mat, (I love those things) and thick sliced garlic toast.

Yep, made a few mistakes here and there, simply because of lack of tending over the last few minutes of the meal. Having to eat those mistakes makes you work harder to never let that happen again.

[TBG 150]

Not a grilling story, but a suggestion for those that like a clean grille.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F731D86/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought one of these and it is a great tool to have. I use to simply buy the $2.00 wire brush from Homey Dumpo. After a month the wires do start breaking off and you need to pay attention that they don't become attached to the grids/grates and then you ingest them. 

This tool goes into the dishwasher after use and it comes out like you just bought it. Very strong and long enough where you don't singe the hair off of your arms using it in a hot fired grille. For 20 spot, you can't beat it.

[TBG 150]

Can a Mod or Admin fix the spelling in the "gormet" tag to read correctly? 

It's 'Gourmet'.

It's lonely out here all alone by the grille. It's just me, a bottle of Tito's and grapefruit juice. No ceegars, no weed, no pretty girls, except my wife, but she's not pretty. She's BEAUTIFUL!!! The pool is a warm 92F and the afternoon rains are starting to move in.

I guess I'll have to grille my chicken all alone. 😢

[Foamy T. Squirrel]

51 minutes ago, TBG 150 said:

Can a Mod or Admin fix the spelling in the "gormet" tag to read correctly? 

It's 'Gourmet'.

It's lonely out here all alone by the grille. It's just me, a bottle of Tito's and grapefruit juice. No ceegars, no weed, no pretty girls, except my wife, but she's not pretty. She's BEAUTIFUL!!! The pool is a warm 92F and the afternoon rains are starting to move in.

I guess I'll have to grille my chicken all alone. 😢

We're with you in spirit.

Gourmet has been repaired, and I shall severely punish the squirrel-brain involved after I refill my bird-feeder.

Regarding the tool: I have been using my  horizontal smoker for about 25 years. I have been through bunches of brushes and gallons of Easy-Off. I might give that brush you suggested a try. Fortunately, the grates were porcelain coated, which should have made the job easier. But I'd rather "cue" than clean, and cleaning is the worst aspect of barbecuing. This scraper-brush looks like it will hold up better than the other models.

[Foamy T. Squirrel]

Name your favorite smoking wood.

When I can get it, grapefruit is excellent, especially for those meats that tend to become bitter when over-smoked with woods like mesquite. The fruit is sour, but the wood itself imparts a sweet, mellow flavor.

Generally, I use fruit, nut trees, and oak chunks since I live in the land of fruits and nuts. ;-)

[TBG 150]

Honestly, I've never smoked anything. So, doing so would require a great learning curve.

Plus, when I have gone to restaurants that serve smoked food, I pay dearly in the bathroom because of it. Getting old sucks sometimes. Plus, I'm not a fan of restaurants anyway.

Pork, I like cooked slow so it's tenderized. Steaks, seared so that it is done, but not burned on the outside, but fairly rare in the middle. 

Chicken, it's a simple 1 hour deal at 400F, whole or in pieces. Slow cooking chicken dries it out to the point where it's not edible. Ultra lean pork has to be cooked a fair rate too or it gets dried out. You need that fat in the meat to baste it naturally. Good meat doesn't require heavy seasoning. I like to taste the steak, not just the seasoning. 

Time depends on the thickness of the cut too. A 2" thick steak to me, is no good. I like no thicker than 3/4"-1". It takes just a few minutes over a hot flame to cook it to perfection. Everyone learns on their own grille. You need to know the hot spots and the cool spots of the grille to serve properly cooked meat. That also dictates where on the grille a specific cut or doneness is to be cooked. 

[TBG 150]

21 minutes ago, Foamy T. Squirrel said:

Name your favorite smoking wood.

When I can get it, grapefruit is excellent, especially for those meats that tend to become bitter when over-smoked with woods like mesquite. The fruit is sour, but the wood itself imparts a sweet, mellow flavor.

Generally, I use fruit, nut trees, and oak chunks since I live in the land of fruits and nuts. 😉

I have a grapefruit tree growing in the back yard for the fruit. If you need oak or maple, come on over, we have hundreds of acres of the basted things. Citrus is a very hard wood, slow burning and heavy with the smoke.

[Foamy T. Squirrel]

I always water-smoke my meats. This makes them retain moisture, even poultry. The only trick with savor smoking (that means you are only adding a bit of smoking flavor, not as a long-term preservative), is to stick with low-and-slow. Weber's can do this with only the addition of a water tray. It's not that hard to learn, and a light touch of smoke adds to the barbecue flavor. Because the process is in-direct, and not cooking over the coals, you will not be generating carcinogenic by-products and having flash flame-ups.

By controlling how long you smoke it, and how much wood you use, you can control the taste to suit your needs. I've backed waaaayyy-off on the over-smoking since otherwise I can get some serious heart-burn.

I've had cherry, plum, pear, and apple trees, so when pruning time comes, I'm pretty much set for much of the year with a choice to mix and match my flavors.