Barbecue season is finally here

Barbecue season is finally upon us and nothing says summer and BBQ season like a delicious food. Here are some basic BBQ questions commonly asked.

What is the difference between BBQ’ing and grilling?

When we think about grilling we think of direct heat, building a fire usually using charcoal briquettes, and then you’d let those burn down to where they’re glowing then you’d put meat for 15,20,30 minutes – hamburgers, steak, hotdogs over direct fire. Barbecuing is done with more indirect heat. That means that the heat source will be further away from the meat because usually w/Barbecuing you’re cooking bigger cuts so you have to use lower temperature to keep from cooking the outside too fast compared with the inside—that’s where we get the term “Low and Slow” — 200°/225°/250°F for many hours.

BBQ’ing is 3 part process

1. Purchasing and Preparing the Product

1. Purchase a Pork Shoulder/Boston Butt 4-5 lbs. bone-in or boneless.

2. Season with salt and pepper, some paprika, brown sugar. There are different seasonings and rubs but the bigger the cut, the more seasoning you apply.

2. Cooking and Smoking

Put it in some kind of smoker in indirect heat. Sometimes you can use charcoal to be the source of the fuel but there are also a lot of commercially available smoking chunks of wood—oak, hickory, pecan, mesquite, peach, apple. Put them onto the coals, let them generate the smoke. Texas Oak is the most commonly used. You want to make sure you don’t overcook. Low and Slow—internal temp of 190° to 200°F. Give it a good smoke.

3. Resting and Holding

Resting time is very important! Resting lets juices get re-absorbed, keeping the meat moist. Proper holding ensures the meat stays safely above 140°F. Wrap the meat in butcher paper to seal it and protect it and let it rest for a few hours in an insulated container, like a Cambro.

Here is list of meats with smoking times and temperatures to help get the season started.