Barbecue Grilling and Smoking Secrets Revealed
Author: James Hudson
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 0 on a grill and upwards to 0 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
- wood,
- coal,
- or gas grills?
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?
- rotisserie,
- shish kabob tools,
- corn cradles,
- potato molds,
- fish and/or meat holders,
- shrimp baskets,
- marshmallow and wiener roasting "sticks",
- tongs, forks, knives, basting brushes, and/or burger flippers,
- cleaning brushes, scrapers, and cleaners,
- thermometers,
- barbecue mitts, hats, and aprons,
- smoking rack
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:
- steak,
- brisket,
- ribs,
- fish,
- chicken, duck, or turkey,
- pork chops,
- sirloin strip,
- hamburgers,
- corn-on-the-cob,
- potatoes,
- onions,
- sausages, or wieners,
- shish kabob products (meat, onions, peppers, tomatoes, etc.),
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
- sauces,
- marinades,
- or wet or dry rubs
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.
Discover how you can become a WORLD CLASS BBQr!
On your very own grill!
In your own backyard!
I invite you to visit
http://www.becomeaworldclassbbqr.com
to discover how you, too can grill mouth watering, succulent food
on your backyard barbecue that will rank you
No. 1 in your area.
If you are not taken to the link in a few seconds please copy the whole URL to your browser.
SEE YA’LL AT: http://www.becomeaworldclassbbqr.com
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/barbecue-grilling-and-smoking-secrets-revealed-1141539.html
About the Author
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.
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I want to loose 30 kg . How should I start ?
my diet is normal .I eat some cereal with skim milk in morning .
High fiber whole meal bread with low fat cheese and tomatoes for lunch.
coffee 3 times max with one sugar (tea spoon)
Dinner mostly chicken Asian style etc . Nothing else .
A can of coke occasionally . Natural apple juice a couple of times every day . No smoke or Alcohol .
Started to play squash 2 times a week going good lots of sweet .
All right so please tell me where should I go from here what else should I do . Any supplements that you can recommend .
Lose weight the natural way.
Set a goal for yourself, plan meals for each day of the week. Help from a Dietician would be a + for planning purposes.
Plan the maximum caloric intake for each meal of the week.
When you’re mentally ready to start, set a firm day/time for beginning.
Resist all temptation!
And stay away from suppliments; you’re only adding needless chemicals into your body.
does the smoker, smoke the whole time cooking?
i am smoking a chicken and it has been cooking for a couple hours but not alot of smoke. is this the way it is
No, it doesn’t have to smoke the whole time.
I’ve never done chicken, but I have done salmon. All the recipes I’ve ever seen says “use the smoker for 4 hours, but only use wood chips (source of smoke) for an hour to an hour and a half”. This way, the salmon gets cooked, but doesn’t have an overpowering smoke smell/taste.
Just apply that to chicken. You want it cooked, but don’t want to think you’re eating wood ashes.
Smoking a Ribeye?
I’ve been smoking meats for about 4 years now, but I’ve really only done whole chickens, wings, pork shoulders and tenderloins. This will be my first time trying a piece of beef. I have a 6 and a half pound ribeye and I’m planning on smoking it and then sliceing and putting it in a crock pot with au jus. Any tips, suggestions, or better ideas?
Just keeping it warm in the Crock Pot, not cooking it. Smoking it! It’s summer, no ovens for me.
Good day,
darling you have Prime ribb—don’t screw it up by putting in a crock pot…you want to keep it whole, roll it in crushed pepper
and garlic, and put it in preheated oven and cook until desired temp…start it at 425 for about 20m then cut down to
350 and test temp 2hr 120 in center, pull out and let set 15-20 mins…happy munching
I’m smoking a whole chicken in my bbq smoker tonight. Any recipe ideas?
I wanted to try something new. Include rub/sauce, flavors for the water bowl, type of wood, and cook time/process? I’m already hungry
one of my faves is beer can chicken. you can use whatever seasonings you want, I prefer head country or just salt and pepper and lemon pepper. don’t have a preference on wood. get a regular sized beer of your choice, I like Bud Light, open it up and stick it up the butt. balance it very carefully. cooking time depends on the size of the chicken. you can “baste” with whatever bbq sauce your prefer, I like jack daniels or head country, or you can leave it plain with the seasonings you’ve already used.
Why can’t I get my smoker to get hot? Smoking a whole chicken…?
at least we are attempting to. We have been trying to get this smoker to get some heat going so we can put our chicken in. We used charcoal and hickory chips. We doused them with lighter fluid, let set to absorb for 20 mins then lite. I did soak the hickory chips per directions on bag. Had a hard time lighting. Did this whole process about 3 time and I think it is finally doing something but this took us all morning almost. Why was it so hard to get going?
You needed to start the charcoal first and then add the soaked chips a few at a time.