BBQ cooking thread?

Beer can chicken, interesting concept. I am going to try this. One question, why cheap beer? For a bigger bird, how about a half can of Fosters?

Why cheap beer? Well, the beer simply keeps the chicken from drying out and I’ve never found a difference in tastes based on the beer I use, so why waste a good beer on a chicken’s rear. LOL

I should post a fire safety advisory on the beer can chicken: It’s advisable to use a drip pan or clean the grill thoroughly before cooking a stake the next time around. Otherwise the grease that falls off the chicken will start a little fire in the grill or it could grow onto a fire big enough to alert the local firemen, depending on how close to the house the grill is.

One of my favorite subjects. I’ve done the beer can chicken with good results. Of course, any BBQ thread will quickly morph into a gas vs. charcoal discussion, but that’s half the fun. I use a Big Green Egg as my cooker of choice and it has changed my BBQ - ing completely. From high temperature blast furnace for perfect searing of 2” thick rib-eyes to low & slow multi hour cooks for briskets and ribs, the ceramic construction of this thing makes it very versatile. It’ll hold whatever temperature you want.

I made wood fired pizza last night, and I’ll be putting on a few racks of baby back ribs on around noontime for a five hour slow smoke at around 200 degrees. Falls off the bone...

I've also done the beer can chicken - I agree that the kind of beer doesn't seem to make a difference. It really does produce moist, juicy chicken. Just be careful when you take the beer can and chicken off the grill, since the liquid inside the can (if there's any left) is HOT. It helps to have several people for that part of the exercise.

For homemade barbecue sauce, I have a generations-old secret that was given to me long ago, by a diehard BBQ king from the South. Add anywhere from a half-cup to a full cup of strong, black coffee, depending upon the amount of sauce you're making. It adds a certain dark, flavoring fillip you just can't get any other way.

As for smoking the meat, the boys in Dixie like to make it an overnight ritual - low and slow is the rule on heat. Sip a little, stoke the fire, add some water; sit back, sip some more. You can also start very early in the day, if you'd prefer, for an evening dining fest.

Some like to dry-rub the meat with spices before smoking, and only add the sauce at the end, or on the side. Others prefer to let the meat smoke with nothing but the flavoring from the wood chips. There's a lot of information online these days.

So...first off, let's do some clarification.

There is a huge difference between grilling (where this thread will get most of it's posts) and Barbeque. BBQ is a compilation of techniques, the standard of which is time. BBQ is slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww cook'n. 8 hours to days.

I am so looking forward to this thread....I love "Q" of all styles and types of foods.

Here's my contribution to the 'standard' beer can chicken.

1. Set up bird on the can of cheap beer with your rub of choice. For store bought, Prudhommes Cajun is great.
2. Set the bird on a piece of concrete, slate....
3. Add wood chips of choice around base...I like apple with some hickory
4. Now cover the bird with a Metal Bucket with 2 air vents at bottom where it rests on concrete.
5. Add hot coals to the top of bucket and and drink a couple of those cheap beers.
6. For a large roaster, it should be done in about 30 minutes. Remove, rest 10 minutes, cut and serve

BBQ contest being held in Eliot in August

There is a Kansas City BBQ Society saunctioned contest, Mainely Grillin’ and Chillin' Country BBQ, is being held at the Raitt Farm. This event is a qualifier for the Jack Daniel's Invitational in Lynchburg, Tennessee (www.jackdaniels.com) and the American Royal Invitational (www.americanroyal.com) in Kansas City Missouri
Paul Kirk, Baron of Barbecue (www.baron-of-bbq.com), kicks off the weekend by hosting his renowned Kansas City Baron of Barbecue School of Pit Master’s Class at the Farm. It begins at 7 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. on Friday, August 7th.
Iron Chef and People’s Choice contests being held on Saturday, KCBS contest on Sunday. Lots and lots of good food.
Great entertainment, Don Campbell Band, Toots Blue Review, Shipyard Beer Tent, etc. etc.
Check out www.celebratemainefestival.com for more info

Stephen -

Great idea, Thanks. I really enjoy cooking, but have spent very little time with grilling and BBQ. I am remembering, as I type, the last time I was grilling steak here on an outdoor charcoal grill. The mosquitoes were so awful I had to lay the steak on the grill, run into the house, what a specific amount of time, run back out to the grill, flip the steak, run back into the house, and so forth.

I'm looking forward to learning new tricks from this thread.

One caveat. Last weekend Claudia and I were visiting good friends. I was with "The Husband" when he decided to swap out a propane tank on his grill. The fitting that couples the grill to the propane tank leaked, then cracked. For a brief moment "The Husband" was engulfed in flames. He had the training and presence of mind to get away fast, but not before he had singed the front of his hair, his eyebrows, and received first degree burns on his lower forearms. (See a pic of the fitting below.)

So...be careful! Better yet - use wood/charcoal for grilling/BBQ.

One more thing. In deference to Naran and in the spirit of full disclosure, it was "The Wife" who thought to grab the fire extinguisher. :-)

Best,
skf

Aha!!! I bet she runs the home woodstove, too! lol

See? And here, nobody took my warnings about gas and propane seriously.

I'm glad he wasn't more badly injured, Scott. That must have hurt like heck as it was.

Hint for anyone else injured in the BBQ Wars - vitamin E oil is very good for burns. I just prick a small hole in a capsule, and squeeze it out onto the wound before covering it with clean bandages.Make sure you get the real vitamin E, and not the kind that says "acetate" on the ingredients.

Hint for anyone else injured in the BBQ Wars ...
We have aloe plants scattered around in the house. Rip off a leaf, break it open and spread the goo on a burn. Finest kind!

I have an electric smoker that I use for fish and turkey, it is easy to use and does a terrific job. There are a couple of good sources of cooking woods in Maine, as well as planks for plank cooking. Or, you can just go to your woodpile and make your own.

Plank cooking on a charcoal or firewood grill makes delicious salmon.

For the beer can chicken I add 2 to 3 tsp of liquid smoke to my beer. I also put a pan under the grates so the fat will stay put and only cook with one burner on....indirect heat. The weather guy on WABI , Todd Simcox gave out a recipie for turkey rub a few years ago and I put this on the chicken as well. If you try it, It makes a lot of rub so you might want to cut it back in the event you don't care for it. 1/4 cup seasoned salt.....3 tablespoons garlic powder...1 tablespoon rubbed sage.....1 tablespoon white pepper.....1tsp celery salt.... Just rub on the chicken.....It really makes enough for many chickens and turkeys but very good.

All excellent tips…I’ll be putting some to good use tomorrow because I’ve been delegated by the better half to cover the grill for a small gathering.

I like the chicken in a bucket trick and I’ll hunt around for a tin bucket to modify.

A roasted pulled chicken in a slight bath of BBQ sauce is delicious. It seems to pull the smoke taste out with the bath.

My recommendation. (and no, I'm not being paid for this endorsement.) Buy a Cookshack electric smoker. Solid construction. Foolproof operation - set it and forget it. Minimal wood usage. It outperforms barrel smokers, pit rigs, etc., and you don't have to stay up all night tending the fire. And to top it off, they have a great forum that provides great input from many of the Cookshack nation. I've been a member of Cookshack nation for several years and have yet to be disappointed.

More information here: http://www.cookshack.com

For grilling - I tend to use a gas grill for daily purposes (quick and easy) and lump charcoal for larger gatherings on the weekend. Nothing beats a steak over lump charcoal.

Finally, never ever ever use lighter fluid. Use a starting chimney.

I just switched back to charcoal this year from gas, and with the chimney I can get a hot fire in just slightly longer than it took my old gas grill to get good and hot.

I have also discovered that my charcoal grill is a terrific cloud seeder; 90% of the time, rain will begin falling before the fire is ready for cooking.

I don't like the taste of propane, don't like the taste of charcoal either. (made with oil and started with oil)
I use maple, oak and beech.(secret mix) Light it and burn it with a propane torch. (ready to cook in 4 min.)
I like my old Hibachi grill from the 60's. (has adjustable heights)
Smoke from the wood keeps the bugs away. (keep fire going while you eat, burn, wet white birch for bugs- makes good smoke and has that camping smell)

Now I can't BBQ - 50 miles from my home, because of a bug 1500 miles a way?

Big Green Egg and a BBQ Guru DigiQ2 temp control make a long slow cook almost fool proof. Thanks above for the link to the festival. Cannot wait to sample a lttle championship BBQ.

Now I can't BBQ - 50 miles from my home, because of a bug 1500 miles a way?

Don't know where YOU live, but the bugs they are trying to slow down are already in Massachusetts.

It's fun to check out the "BBQ Pit Boys" on You Tube. They've got some good tips. Check out the "Bacon Bomb" or "Bacon Explosion".. (I haven't worked up the nerve to take a year off my life by cooking one, but it's tempting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1IiUAtoNBk

Talk about the ultimate "guy thing" - explosions AND pork products!!
lol

If you like chicken on the grill try this. Had it last night.

Get a couple boneless, skinless breasts and cut into strips about 1/2 wide.

Prepare a Lime/Ginger marinade.

2 tbsp, oyster sauce
2 tbsp. peanut oil
1 tbsp. fresh ginger - finely chopped.
Juice of 1/2 fresh lime.

Marinade for 1 hour or so.

Place strips unto bamboo skewers and sprinkle with your favorite Rub. (I use DizzyDust). Grill about 3 min., turn 3 min. more. The rub gives ‘em a nice crust and the marinate gives the chicken a nice lime taste. Serve with Jasmine rice and your favorite veggy.

Sounds WONDERFUL!!! What time is dinner, and should I bring a red, or a white?
:))))

My brother's recipe for bbq chicken with beer. Take one chicken, drink one beer. Wash chicken. Drink second beer. Cut up chicken. Drink third beer. Marinade chicken. Drink fourth beer. Start grill. Drink fifth beer. Place chicken on grill. Drink sixth beer. Baste chicken with BBQ sauce. Drive to store to buy more beer. Put out fire on grill. Drink more grill. Throw away burnt chicken. Drink rest of beer.

I tried some chicken and pork that were cooked on a pellet-burning smoker a few weeks ago, and I was sold. The thing costs a small fortune, but it was good!

I thought I would update this thread just in case anyone was disappointed on how fast it died.

Last week I made a number of advancements in my experimental back yard BBQ area. I hunted around for a few weeks in the Uncle H’s prior to this thread and recently managed to locate a used Char-Broil offset smoker/grill after negotiating a fair price with the prior owner. It looks like this mode that can be found at most any wholesale store…

I know many folks enjoy the electric units and they are much easier to operate and keep a contestant temperature, but I’m had a preference to the traditionalist units because it just seems like the harder way.

I gave the unit a fresh burn off to season it before cooking any meats. I then went down to the local butcher shop and asked the friendly meat cutter to locate a brisket in the back cooler. He walked out with a huge 12lbs brisket, way too big for me, so I had him cut off a 4lbs tip with the fat still on it for cooking reasons.

I found a real nice dry rub: KC Rib Rub

I rubbed the brisket down and let it set for 24hrs before the big day. On the big BBQ day I started the charcoals at 08:00 in a charcoal chimney and had the grill up to temperature by 09:00. I put a water pan and a drip pan on the bottom racks and placed the brisket fatty side up with a remote meat thermometer stuck in the center. I also tossed a few pieces of chicken on the grate, so as to not waste good smoke.

I mostly went off internet comments and learned on the fly. One commenter mentioned that 2 chemises of charcoal would last up to 4 hrs, but after I went for a run 2hrs into the cooking, to unit dropped down to 100F when it needed to be at 225F. I threw in a hot shot of new briquettes from the chimney and bumped it back up to 225F. I found by adding 12 briquettes every 45mins the temp would stay where it needed to be. At the 4hr mark I made up a mop sauce from mostly red wine vinegar and mopped every hour after 4hrs. When all the tinkering and playing around with the temperature hit the 6hr point I started to reach the internal temp mark of 180F. Some suggested 180 other 190F-200F. I stopped at 180F and later found it was still not soft, but it was good for slicing and extremely tasty. I had family members give me honest feedback and they loved the flavor and didn’t seem to mind that it was a little tough.

Experiment #1 was mostly successful with a little learning curve still to come. Hardwood briquettes will be used next time I’ve heard they have a better burn rate.

Try hardwood lump charcoal instead of briquets; briquets have some additives that bind the dust together and some coal and some lime that creates the white color when they are hot. They're not necessarily bad, but the lump charcoal is just charred wood. All flavor.

Stephen... do yourself a favor. Get an electric rig, or if you insist, a charcoal rig like the Weber Bullet. http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/

The offset rigs require the most work and an uneven result.

Bob

I’m going to start using Maine woods soon enough.

laMaine

I picked the unit because I can use it for grilling as well a smoke. The price was a right and I refuse to pay for a new smoker when I’m still in novice status, maybe in time I will upgrade to a better model, but I’m happy with what I’ve got it’s still better than the instructions on the internet for making a tin trash can into an electric smoker. LOL

I realize there are easier ways to do some things, but I’m enjoying the process as much as the results.

I found some customized modifications for the offsets to make them more even, a few supplies and I can make that baby cook evenly. :)

Stephen - I was the same as you when I started. Had an el-cheapo Brinkman. Did many all-nights to smoke pulled pork and brisket. Since I bought my Cookshack, I get better quality and a lot more sleep. But have fun with it. I guess it's part of the process.

Don't forget to add a "sphlash" of black coffee to your mopping sauce, for the ultimate dark note, and tasting success.

These folks are VERY helpful.
http://www.smoking-meat.com/