BBQ

[williamlayton]

This subject came up on another thread and I just have to stir the pot a bit.
Now I know that you boys from the nether reaches of TEXAS, by GOD make concoctions which you call BBQ and you brag and swear that there is none better and can't nobdy do it like you folks.
I even hear tell that some of you figger you can BBQ other things than Brisket and call it BBQ. You slop it down with  a sauce and call it BBQ.
 Lets even put chili on the menue.
You boys talk about that stuff and how you do it.
This is a little tounge in cheek ribbing but it has led to a lot of discussion elsewhere.
Texians are allowed to brag also.
Blessings

[williamlayton]

Well if it is not cooked by smoke it is grilling.
Blessings

[Questor]

I'd like to see a couple of recipes posted on this. One for chili ala Texas and another for beef ala Texas. That will tell me a lot. I'm open minded about it, but at the moment Texas doesn't look too good in the BBQ department.

[no guns here]

Brisket sucks... UNTIL it's cooked for about 12 hours at 225 degrees with mesquite smoke... then it falls apart and melts in your mouth... dang, I'm droolin'... 

BTW - BBQ'ing means different things in different places. BUT cookin' in the oven or on the stove and then dumping a jar of sauce over it and calling it BBQ AIN'T ONE OF THE DEFINITIONS!!!


ngh

[Questor]

Found this supposedly Texas Chili recipe. Looks pretty good to me. I could enjoy it. Not sure if it's a real Texas recipe or not. Can anybody confirm?:

I've found a few versions of Reno Red on the Web (see sidebar). Here's my own "Austinized" (and somewhat tame) version complete with illustrations and ingredients by brand.
Ingredients:
• 5 lbs H-E-B brand Beef Chuck for Chili
• 2 medium purple onions
• 3 teaspoons Adams brand Ground Cumin
• 5-8 heaping tablespoons Adams brand Chili Powder
• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 5-15 Bolner's Fiesta brand Ancho Chili pods
• 1 teaspoon Adams brand Oregano in 1 cup of water ("tea")
• Black pepper

[Questor]

I also checked a recipe for brisket, and the ones I saw were oven recipes. It looks pretty appealing. Trouble is that brisket just isn't available here. It doesn't help that I have been traumatized with corned beef, which is brisket and is perhaps the worst use of food imaginable.

[victorcharlie]

I know I shouldn't have to say it.......but Bar-B-Que is a North Carolina, and Tennessee thing.......

[hardertr]

Brisket stinks... UNTIL it's cooked for about 12 hours at 225 degrees with mesquite smoke... then it falls apart and melts in your mouth... dang, I'm droolin'... 

SHOOT...in 12 hours I can have a 12 pound brisket SMOKED, COOKED, SLICED, EATEN, washed down with (insert beverage of choice here), and on my way back for a brisket samich for a snack!

It always amuses my how folks will waste so much time trying to cook a brisket.  Seriously, I can have one on the table 4 hours after it hits the smoker.  Only about an hour of that is actual "smoke time".  If I move it to the oven, I can have it done in under 3!  And NO, it is not "shoe leather tuff".

AND ANOTHER THING...real men don't "pouch" their meat in BBQ sauce...that's just silliness!!

Disclaimer: I was born in Texas, call Texas home, and will no doubt die here.  My grandparents' had a BBQ catering outfit here many years ago, and even THEY could have learned a thing or two from me.

[rockbilly]

This is a fast and easy chili that I have cooked in several chili cook-offs here in West Texas, including the grand daddy of all chili cook-offs Terlinqua.

I use chili groung (course) beef when cooking in a cook-off, but it works equally as well with venison, and adding a little ground pork can make a big change in the texture and taste.

5 pounds of meat ( venison, ground beef, sliced sirloin)
1 cup of chili blend (Pendery's if you can find it, if not use any chili powder)
2 large onions chopped fine, or pureed in a blender
5 cloves of garlic ( roasted and mashed, you can chop fine if you don't have time to roast)
2 tbsp of cilantro (Chopped fresh , or dried)
1 1/2 tbsp of dried, ground habanera pepper (You may want to start with less and add to taste)
1 1/2 tspn of salt
1 1/2 tspn cumin (Comino)
2 15oz cans Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp of cooking oil

In the oil, cook onions until clear, add meat and brown well, add garlic, cilantro, habanera, salt and cumin, blend well and cook for about five miuntes.  Add chili blend and tomato sauce and cook for 15-20 minutes just short of a rolling boil.

Serve and enjoy.

If you can't find the habanera pepper you can use chipotle pepper in its place.  Both of these peppers are very hot, so you may want to start with a smaller amount, say 3/4 tspn and add to taste.  If you want a thicker chili, add a tspn of Masa Harina to thicken, this should be added a teaspoon at a time until the desired thickness is obtained.  No Masa, use flour.

I also like to change this up and use eight sarreno peppers in the chili.  First I roast the peppers on the grill, (they will turn dark, almost black) scrape the skin off, open and remove seeds, dice and add to the chili at the same time the tomato sauce is being added.

This is an all meat chili, if you want to change it up and make a SOB stew, then add your beans and other crap that folks add to that stuff they try to pass off as chili.

I used this recipe last week-end in a Masonic chili cook-off, I didn't place, but was the only entrant that sold all of their chili.  I used 31 pounds of venison, cut back on the pepper, and had wifes and children raving about my chile.  Most of these folks swore they would not eat deer meat.

The chili that won was so hot it was like liquid fire, I don't know how anyone can say it was good, but it sure was hot! 

And the secret to a good brisket is slow cooking.  Sear on a hot fire to seal in the juices, then smoke for 8-10 hours.  I like to wrap it in foil for the last couple of hours, this makes for a tender piece of meat.

[Questor]

Rockbilly:

I know what we're having for Thanksgiving at the Questor household this year.

[Questor]

Perhaps the Texas contingent will find these observations to be of value:

1) When I make chili, and similar things, I like to use whole cumin (comino) seeds instead of the ground powdered seeds. It takes quite a few of them, but the flavor is really good.

2) Fresh poblano peppers are really good in chili. I roast them, then skin and seed them. They're not quite as hot as a jalapeno, but the flavor is better. I think poblanos are dried and then the dried ones are called anchos. There's a big difference between fresh and dried for flavor and heat.  I have been told that poblanos are rather mild, but the ones we get here are uniformly pretty hot.

[JoeG52]

I am willing to make the sacrifice and be a judge if anyone wants to submit samples for testing. 

[williamlayton]

Fat side up or down when on the smoker??
I stay away from tomato in the Chile most of the time.
there are a lot of Mexicans who would get mighty angry with the thought of BBQ starting in anywhere but Texas.
Blessings

[TNrifleman]

Guys, FWIW, I think victorcharlie got it right. Real BBQ is a NC,TN thing!

[williamlayton]

Well here is an official History---read OFFICIAL.
There are several types of cooking that have come down to us thru history---all seem to have begun outside.
Roasting, as pig spiked over an open fire---not BBQ---notice no sauce.
Anything over a pit of coals--cooked OVER coals--grilling, NOT BBQ.

BBQ began as learned from our Mexican brothers in TEXAS, by GOD.
It was done in a pit allright--but the coals were seperated from the cooking. It is SLOOOOOOOW cooking by smoke.
Nowadays, the boys have these modern concoctions called smokers,. These thangs Are steel, often stainless, pipe with a smoker box at one end---to accomodate the folks that do chili at the same time there is an additional grill for that purpose.
Nope cookin over coals is grillin it aint BBQin.
Any hardwood is suitable---some like oak, some pecan---pronounce that correctly boys, pu-kahn not pea-can--others, mesquite. It doan take a lot but it takes a lot of time.
I baste mine with vinigar, as it cooks---nothing but vinigar. Doan open that pit too often boys--it likes the dark.
I don't make sauce--I don't use sauce--I will not serve with sauce----nope noway nohow nada.
Brisket is the preferred meat---don't trim the fat boys--it aint health we're after--it's BBQ.
I cook mine with the fat side up, so tha fat gets into the brisket.
Those that make a---Lord, forgive me for usin that word agin--sauce, usually do it with the fat side down, catchin tha drippins in a pan for the---well you know that word.  
When it is done there is a burned crust and then a smoke ring around the meat--at least 1/4 inch--the inside is juicy ---UMMMM UMMMMM GOOOOD.
Blessings &
 

[williamlayton]

Regulate the heat so it cooks slower or the viniger helps, I think.
Everybody swears they do it different--just the way I learned and it works for me.
The slower the better I think.
I have a hard time getting apple.
Funny about brisket. I could not even find anybody in Louisiana who knew what it was when I lived there way back when. I think it is different now.
Culture is culture and, really, it is all pretty good.
I like good pork ribs---good ribs to begin with---good meat to begin with.
It is hard to make poor meat good---well witout the  aaarrrrg I can't say the word.
Blessings
 

[rockbilly]

Ooops, I should have said I use roasted or charred poblano peppers in the chili.  The Serrano are use in my salsa.

This goes good over Mexican food, or as a dip.

I 15oz can finely chopped tomatoes, or four fresh tomatoes finely chopped.
       1 medium onion finely chopped (Sweet onion is best)
   6-8 Serrano peppers (More or Less to taste)
   Pinch of salt
                ˝ tspn of cilantro (fresh or dried)

Mix well, cover tightly and set overnight in refrigerator.  This will not keep for a long period so only mix what you think you will use in two-three days.

Williamlayton.  Fat side up ALWAYS.  This helps keep the meat moist.

I must say, I am 100 proof Texan, but I have enjoyed some mighty fine BBQ in both North Carolina and Tennessee.  The hickory or fruit wood smoke over a big slab of ribs or pork loin will bring even the most die hard Texan to the table...........

[Cement Man]

I'm was a Chicago boy who has worked and lived in the South a lot.  I have come to the conclusion that I never knew what real BBQ was until I went South.  I have eaten great BBQ in many places, but my favorites are in Nashville, Memphis, and Owensboro, Ky., "Burgoo Capital" of the world.   On the other hand, if you aren't from Chicago, you probably don't know what a real pizza is...................

[Questor]

Cement Man:

I took for granted that it was hard to find bad pizza in Chicago, but I managed to do it three times in a row up in the northern 'burbs. I couldn't believe my bad luck.

My favorite barbecue is Florida pit barbecued pork ribs. Nothing like it! MMMM!

[powderman]

Like TM7 I have a brinkman, 9 years old and still smoking. I live in the country so I have a good assortment of smoking wood. My favorite is sassafrass, plenty of it around too. Hickory is very good too. I use a marinade overnight, at least 12-16 hours before smoking or grilling. Marinade is mostly teriyaki, + some soy sauce, a1 sauce, and a bit of honey bbq sauce. 75% is teriyaki, rest is the other. I never measure, just dump and mix. I smoke mainly chicken, ribs, and venison, can't afford beef. SAme for grlling and smoking. If I can find some brisket, cheap,  I'd like to try it in the smoker. POWDERMAN. 

[williamlayton]

I wonder, I do not know, why brisket is not available as readily as I find it.
Maybe Rockbilly or one of you other boys have a clue.
It is a less expensive portion of the cow down here--Houtston, Texas and other places around here.
Blessings

[rockbilly]

Williamlayton.  The cut of meat that we refer to as brisket is really an undesirable and tough cut in most places,  it is processed and called corned beef.  I would bet that in those places where it can not be found it is being place in the brine and called corned beef.  Just a guess, but I can think of no other reason, other than maybe it is being cut for fajitas.  I know from my travel in the military that brisket is hard to find in most places.  BBQ, or smoked briskit is pretty much a Texas thing, like most of the south the BBQ is most often pork.  Our forefathers took advantagfe of what was available in that area, this is the reason for a lot of the differences in foods around the country.

But luckily for us, we know that a little seasoning, a little smoke, and a little time will even change an old cow poke’s boot into a tasty bill-of-fair.

[williamlayton]

TM7
Today, at the Golf course, over coffee, I brought up this subject and your question. Now, golfers are especially know for their BBQin of the Bull but most of these guys do the cow also.
One suggestion from a guy I respect suggested, after smoking it open--now some time expiermenting may be necessary--for a number of hours, wrapping the brisket in foil and let it finish on the pit.
He said this made the brisket especially tender.
Lots of way of doing this thing boys---but you must understand that everybody has a way  which "is the only way to do it".
Blessings

[Questor]

TM7 brings up an excellent point: the price of barbecue meats. My firm belief is that barbecue meats should be the less expensive cuts because the cooking technique improves cheap cuts the most. For example, barbecued (grilled if you insist) hamburgers, spare ribs, and chicken are relatively cheap here so that's what we use.

I used to live in an area where flank steak was the favored beef for Asian cooking because it was one of the cheapest meats you could get. I moved north and now flank steak, if you can find it, is very expensive, so I quit using it.

[Questor]

I heard about a thing called beercan chicken where you take a whole chicken and shove a half-full beer can into the body cavity, then cook it in a covered barbecue by standing the bird up can-side down. Danged if it didn't turn out really good! The skin gets nice and crisp. The fat runs out of the bird. The meat is moist. One tip: don't waste perfectly good beer on this. Just fill the can halfway with water. The results are the same and the beer will go to a higher purpose (pun intended).

[Heavy C]

TM7
Today, at the Golf course, over coffee, I brought up this subject and your question. Now, golfers are especially know for their BBQin of the Bull but most of these guys do the cow also.
One suggestion from a guy I respect suggested, after smoking it open--now some time expiermenting may be necessary--for a number of hours, wrapping the brisket in foil and let it finish on the pit.
He said this made the brisket especially tender.
Lots of way of doing this thing boys---but you must understand that everybody has a way  which "is the only way to do it".
Blessings

That is a good technique which I learned from a younger brother that actually competes in BBQ cook-offs.  With the fat that remains on the meat it has a braising effect on the meat therefore tenderizing it a bit more.  By the way WL, I side with you on not using additives after the meat is done.  It truly takes away from the experience.

[victorcharlie]

I'm was a Chicago boy who has worked and lived in the South a lot.  I have come to the conclusion that I never knew what real BBQ was until I went South.  I have eaten great BBQ in many places, but my favorites are in Nashville, Memphis, and Owensboro, Ky., "Burgoo Capital" of the world.   On the other hand, if you aren't from Chicago, you probably don't know what a real pizza is...................

Without a doubt, Chicago has the best pizza I've eaten......... as a young man I spent many evenings frequenting the establishments on lower Wacker Avenue and Rush street.........Chicago is certainly a fun city........

[williamlayton]

Every area of the country has its own flavor.
I had wonderful experiences with italian in Boston.
good BBQ from the Hill country.
SF has great Chinese.
South louisiana has great food--I am going too Franklin soon and I may have to spend the night--I need a fix of Cajun cooking.
Now we, in Houston, are blessed with some old and great Tex-Mex.
While the german/Chek communities in texas do some great sausages, I would truely love to visit the cheese and Sausage made in the mid-west.
Lordy I am getting hungry.
Blessings