OT Big Poppa's BBQ Thread...

[Big Poppa]

Ok its knee deep in the BBQ season and I thought I would start a thread about differing styles and recipes.....

As many of you know my hobby is cooking. I cook all the time and really enjoy it. I am pretty versed in most styles and have been serious about it for about 25 years. Most of you by now saw the Food TV show with Dweezil and Lisa but if you haven't it is still on Lisa Loeb.com and the recipes are available on Foodtv.com

I use two styles and techniques for grilling depending on if Im in SLO or the Desert. In San Luis Obispo I cook "Santa Maria Style" BBQ. Those at the open house tasted the style at the Firestone Grill and at the Madonna Inn for the Jam.

Santa Maria BBQ uses red oak logs that you reduce to coals that impart a fabulous flavor on their own. The BBQ is special and consists of a fire box and a grate that is suspended over the fire with a large wheel to raise and lower the grate. Its simple you put your hand below the grate and keep the grate at the level where you can only test the fire for a 5 count. The cool air of the central coast swirls the heat in sort of a primative convection. Chicken, Beef, and Lamb, and pork are expecially great.

In the desert I use a 53" Viking Gas Grill. I use the BBQ much like I cook inside. First step is to sear the meat over very high heat and then transfer at a reduced heat with the cover closed on the shelf for indirect completion. Inside I use the stove and transfer to a 450 oven for the direct/indirect deal. Most restaurants cook this direct indirect way.

Seasonings

The tried and true no brainer for me is Garlic Pepper that has both sweet and hot and black pepper along with garlic along with Lawry's seasoning salt. I only season one side, the top side. I give the beef good 'jockey marks' and turn the steaks on the opposite angle and give the criss cross patttern before flipping..repeat on the other side and place the meat on the shelf. I also make my own dry rubs and buy many different ones on the internet. Ialso really always like the steady eddie Montreal seasoning too.

Sauce
At the very last minute. I make many different sauces and also scour the internet for new ones. Current favorites are "lolipop tree in new hampshire...love their honey bourbon for meat and their tangerine wasabi is killer for chicken. Also a recent fave is The Salt Lick Sauce from outside of Austin...really great mustard based sauce. We have a local one here called Jack's that is really pretty good also

Chicken
For chicken I use Garlic salt along with black pepper and sear the chicken without killing it. I use beer to steam the chicken cook indirect for about 40-45 minutes. Always use bone in. Once again the sauce in the last 5 minutes.

New must have bbq and kitchen tool

Reveo food vacuum

This thing is genius! You put your dry spices a little oil and a small amount of the intended sauce in the vacuum chamber. It sucks out all of the air and the spices and oil and sauce are forced into the meat. On the longest segment it is the equalivant of marinating for four days, (only 20 minutes!) Works really good for artichokes too. Amazon.com sells them and I have given about 5 out this year to overwhelming love coming back. Its a bit pricey but well worth it if you are serious about flavor. Props to Brian Ball for giving it to me for Xmas.

Ok how about you guys sharing some techniques and recipes here/ Fred how about your pork shoulder?

 

[shamus63]

Sorry to say that I have no patience for cooking; good thing I'm married to a woman who loves to cook.

"Without us, some guys would starve."

 

[Dargin]

You need to edit your post! You forgot my favorite, the rotisserre.

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

I love eating. I eat about 5 - 6 meals a day, but you can't tell by looking at me!


That being said,

My bro loves cooking, even though I generally don't like eating his food.

Hello Nick???!?!?


Where's my bro? Time to chime in, Booper Ewok

 

[GHWelles]

I do the searing thing with my Solare infra-red gril, but need help on the rest. I like that Santa Maria seasoning sold at Jensen's. I am cooking Buffalo Steak tonight.

 

[AnthonyD]

I too am married to a woman who loves to cook and ventures out into all things culinary - it's a beautiful thing!

The BBQ is my domain, though, and this is the time of year when we begin to consume much meat! That being said, it is my wife who preps, marinates, seasons, etc. - I throw it on the fire and do my best to not burn it! So I've no recipes to share, though I can recommend the two tools I have become wildly attached to - Pampered Chef Bar-B-Tongs and their Bar-B-Boss Spatula.

The tongs are good, solid tongs that do the job - well balanced, great spring action and good reach. But it's the Bar-B-Boss that steals the show...

The Bar-B-Boss is also sturdy, well balanced and has great reach. It's big without being oversized. It incorporates a sharp spatula edge along the front lip, a serated knife edge along one side and a series of tines along the other side. If that weren't enough, they manage to fit a bottle opener into the thing too!

I've had this thng for years and love it. For Fathers day my wife got me some new-fangled double-burger flipper thing that we ultimately "re-gifted" 'cause I don't see myself using anything other than the Bar-B-Boss!

 

[Colin]

My cooking is so bad, we say the prayer after the meal

 

[francric]

My BBQ'ing is ok, nothing to talk about but I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys do........I've always been interested in how it's done correctly. I'm off to amazon to check out the food vacuum. Thanks BP

 

[PeteDuBaldo]

This thread got me hungry so I just went and fried up and then ate half a pound* of bacon. Man, I'm a glutton






*net wt. before cooking

 

[Colin]

I just went and fried up and then ate half a pound of bacon. Man, I'm a glutton

 

[mcvinyl]

BP you need to do a BBQ Aussie style.

Step 1 - Open a beer and talk with other male guests about football.
Step 2 - Try to get the fire on the BBQ started.
Step 3 - Open another beer, talk about more football.
Step 4 - Ask your wife to bring out the meat.
Step 5 - Open another beer, possibly fart.
Step 6 - Throw said meat onto said BBQ
Step 7 - Pour some beer over the meat "It's marinade darlin'"
Step 8 - Keep cooking meat until it has the look, feel and consistency of shoe leather.
Step 9 - Open another beer
Step 10 - Get wife to take meat back inside and put it onto plates for guests
Step 11 - Open another beer
Step 12 - Avoid eating any salad on your plate - only eat the meat
Step 13 - Take congratulatory bow on your magnificent cooking skills even though it was crap.
Step 14 - Open another beer
Step 15 - Undo belt & top button of pants and talk with the other male guests about football while the women do the dishes.

I can't understand why Colins' & my wife hate it when we say "let's BBQ"

Simon

 

[Colin]

And you have to continually turn the meat over and over and ...

 

[fsmith]

Oh yeah... now you're talking. I love BBQ and I grill all year 'round.

No gas, never have never will. I've had a couple of Weber grills that have lasted many years each. I just recently got turned on to the Big Green Egg style of smoking/BBQ. I was talking to my wife about buying one at a cookout they have locally each year. For years she kept telling me that she wanted to get over to her mom's and grab the "hibachi" that her dad used when she was growing up. I figured she meant the tabletop style little hibachi grill. Anyhow once I described this Big Green Egg thing she says, that's what's over my mom's... the hibachi!

Anyhow I now have that and that's what I use to do my long slow cooks. I can fill it with charcoal get the temp set at around 225 and let it go all night. When I do shoulders I get about 20 lbs. of boneless shoulder and the night before I use a dry rubon it. Typically it's been differing amounts of:
coarse ground black pepper
paprika
turbinado sugar
salt
dry mustard
cayenne

I play with the amounts depending on how hot I want it to be. Rub it in and let it rest overnight. The next night I add more rub and drop it into the egg and cook it indirectly for about 12-18 hours. I don't have to add any charcoal during this time. Once the meat reaches about 200 deg internal it's ready to go. I use a remote thermometer to keep track of the meat and grill temps through the night. I get an alarm if either goes to far up or down.

I wrap the shoulders in foil and put them into a cooler for about an hour or two and then they're ready to pull. All of the fat and membrane has been rendered by this time and it just about falls apart. Lately I've been using Sweet Baby Ray's honey BBQ to flavor the meat after it's been pulled. I've had many compliments about this recipe. I've played around with different recipes, but keep coming back to this one.

Doing that much meat at one time I always have some left that I package up with my vacuum sealer and it keeps a long time. I always try to have some around although I'm about out and need to fix up another batch.

As far as every day cooking, I'm known as the expert around these parts for my BBQ chicken, steak and salmon. We eat all of those a lot. All done on the weber, and did I mention, no gas!!!

BP, I'm thinking I might be able to bring some to the bash in November. Vacuum packed and frozen it'll make the flight no problem. We would just need to have somewhere to heat it up and grab some rolls...

 

[fsmith]

This thread got me hungry so I just went and fried up and then ate half a pound* of bacon. Man, I'm a glutton






*net wt. before cooking

Pete,
There's this place near where I work that has a BLT with 1 lb of bacon on it. UFB!!! That thing is great...

fred

 

[pauldogx]

Thanks BP for the promised thread!!!!!! Montreal seasoning indeed does rock!! Had 2 NY strips w/montreal the other night and they were awesome along with a few Red Stripes. I'm on a teriyaki kick right now----gonna try some teriyaki shrimp and steak this weekend. Havent found a teriyaki thats as good as my local Japanese steak house. May have to delve into making my own.

 

[pauldogx]

Pete---I also have a seroius bacon habit------without bacon, life itself would be impossible!!!!!!!!

 

[Psychicpet]

awesome! was needing some new recipes for the long week-end!
thanks for the tips BP, and keep the recipes comin!

 

[fogman]

Pete,
There's this place near where I work that has a BLT with 1 lb of bacon on it. UFB!!! That thing is great...

fred

I've heard of places that do this!

What do they call the sandwhich? The Cardiac?!

 

[Big Poppa]

Thanks BP for the promised thread!!!!!! Montreal seasoning indeed does rock!! Had 2 NY strips w/montreal the other night and they were awesome along with a few Red Stripes. I'm on a teriyaki kick right now----gonna try some teriyaki shrimp and steak this weekend. Havent found a teriyaki thats as good as my local Japanese steak house. May have to delve into making my own.

One of the only good teriaki sauces that I have found is Scott's Japanese Teriaki...I think that you can buy it online.

Fred how about fedexing some pork to the poppa!?!

 

[fsmith]

One of the only good teriaki sauces that I have found is Scott's Japanese Teriaki...I think that you can buy it online.

Fred how about fedexing some pork to the poppa!?!

BP your timing is impeccable... I was planning to do a cook this weekend for the 4th of July. PM me with the details on where to ship it and I'll get it out next week once it's vacuum packed and frozen.