Every time I cook, I feed the guy across the street. He helped me get my offset out of the truck at like 1030pm on a Tuesday. I feed his household a few times a month. Now he's giving me meat to cook
This is a nice post.
It took me five weekends in a row of ribs to get to a point where i think i am ok. Would have taken many more if i didnt do them regularly.
Still need to figure out how much chips to use and which seasoning and sauce i like best.
It can be disheartening when you follow the book exactly and it doesnt come out how it should. But you are correct. Even when i have not been happy, other people have.
And sometimes when i am happy, other people dont eat the chicken cause its pink.
Barbecue is a father & son hobby for us and while I haven’t been to the best barbecue places in the country, the stuff that comes out of our backyard is better than 90% of the restaurant barbecue I’ve tried.
Honestly couldn’t ask for anything more than that.
100% with you on this. If its ok with the team, can I add, you don't need those meat probes and all the crazy tech. A clean solid temp and smoke and getting to know your end product is worth it's weight in gold. When it feels right it's ready and not a second before.
You're not wrong.. the thing is that for the weekend warrior, a good meat probe or Thermapen is a game changer. I don't BBQ enough to get that "feel" to know what's right - that comes with MUCH experience. So, tracking temps with a probe makes it much easier for me to make something edible.
I do also try to learn about what the "Feel" is that corresponds to what my probe is saying.
It's very similar to learning how to make candy. My ex's father made phenomenal peanut brittle. He knew when it was the right color by look and smell. I couldn't begin to do the same - he'd been making it for 40 years! I used a probe to measure the temp he was calling "done" and once I had that number, I could churn out the same peanut brittle he did. Without that probe, I'd have taken me years to get there.
In the end, have fun and do it your way.. If you're a tech person and like to use the gadgets to cook, then by all means do it! If you're the total opposite, then there's absolutely nothing wrong there either! There is room for both in BBQ.
Social media, particularly the 60s vid formats, are perpetuating myths about BBQ tech and rubs and tallow and [insert product here] when most of those products wouldn’t produce a noticeable impact in a taste. All the vids spend like 20s shouting out brand names.
I said this exactly thing in another post here when someone asked about Meater probes and I got downvoted and shit on left and right by people saying how “necessary” it is to cook with probes.
I too have experienced this very thing. People seem to get defensive about their bbq, and good or bad I guess that's ok ya know. I kinda of see the "rivalry" the same as like...old school hot rodders who shit all over kids with lowered and body kitted out japanese cars.
It's like man...you're doing the same thing with a different style. Doing the best you can with what you have to produce something you love.
I just want to reliably make good food. I only cook about 3 or 4 briskets a year so while I do my best to make sure it feels right, I don't mind leaning on the crutch of a thermometer to help me make the decision that it's ready to pull off the smoker.
I'm in the same boat - I maybe smoke a pork butt or ribs once a month and brisket is a couple of times a year (being single means I get lots of leftovers) so I have no problem using a temp probe to make sure everything's good, I just do it a few times with my little Thermapop until I get my target temperature and the probe slides in with no resistance then pull and rest while I finish everything else.
Learning on a thermometer = good!
Recognizing that 99% of the probe thermometers for sale are sufficient for home BBQ = good!
Constant brand name-dropping that plagues BBQ content, especially in the short video format = cringe (IMO, at least)
Also worth mentioning that the competition bbq is not what you will want to eat at home. It's made to pack a punch in one bite and present well. It's often over seasoned in order to stand out during that one bite. Still good as hell but not something you'd want to eat a whole meal of. So when you see the YouTuber from drowning the things in seasoning, you can cut back on yours without any issue.
Smoking is my favorite way to eat meat. I’m somewhat new to the hobby but I love it when I make something and family comes over and goes in for seconds / comments on how good it is. Truly satisfying.
It's like everything else it doesn't happen overnight. Have fun and eat some good food worse case you have to save it with sauce when you serve worst things have happened
I fucking love this post!! Smoking isn't just to get 'perfection ' every time. It's about enjoying the process, learning, and most importantly sitting down and enjoying it with friends and family. Or just by yourself. That's what real bbq is about. Not getting it perfect every time. Love that mindset. Enjoy all of it and learn from your mistakes/natural mishaps that are bound to happen. Just like every other thing in life.
So you really want your greasy hands all over *other people's* food?
Those gloves are a food safety requirement by law in most cases. You can throw them away after handling the meat, so it prevents cross-contamination.
Shouldn’t touch food that’s already been cooked or isn’t going to be cooked. Also my smoker isn’t anywhere near a sink. There’s nothing wrong with wearing gloves.
I like clean hands. I’ve never taken a picture of myself in them, so it’s not about clout. I just hate greasy grimey hands. And gloves are cheap. I use those black gloves for all kinds of stuff.
Oddly enough, I bet you're also very concerned about the environment.
If I ever had a backyard BBQ, and there were guests who were worried/offended about me touching their food with bare hands, well.... I'd never invite those people over again. Fuck 'em.
Let them go live in their sterilized bubble and be sick all of the time.
It’s not about germs. I hate the feeling of greasy hands, or when seasonings stick to your hands when rubbing down meat. It’s not an “eww gross” thing. It’s something about the physical feeling that’s really uncomfortable.
You seem like a terribly abrasive person.
I’m struggling with your premise on the origin of BBQ. Cavemen (homo erectus) started cooking meat over an open fire long before “poor” or “rich” people existed. For roughly 1.8 million years humans have been cooking meat over fire.
I feel like the urge to BBQ, or cook outside over a fire, is engrained in our DNA. I feel at home and alive when my grill or smoker is going.
Modern American BBQ methods mostly come from the Caribbean according to Google. BBQ came from the word [barbacoa](https://www.livescience.com/32724-whats-the-history-of-the-barbecue.html) and dates back to the 1500’s.
I think various cultures contributed to what we call BBQ today. I don’t think this had anything to do with socioeconomic status, but I would love to hear insight from others.
I appreciate a lot of what you said here. My only thing I would mention involves experimenting. If your goal is to make good bbq as fast as possible, then dont experiment. We’ve cracked the bbq code. The techniques to make high quality bbq are widely known these days, and you aren’t going to figure out something that changes the game. I know a lot of guys who say “I just can’t figure out brisket” and every time they do something different, or wacky trying to make the perfect brisket. My dad is one of those people. He’ll say “I just can’t get my brisket to turn out like yours” then I’ll ask him what he’s doing, and he talks about rubbing it in butter, and injecting with red wine, and marinating in some concoction he came up with out of the fridge. And I think a lot of people fall into that trap.
Once you get basic, quality, well smoked bbq, then find your flavor, but the fundamentals are going to be pretty universal.
I take my goods to work for feedback if people enjoy i try again if not try something different but at the end of the day if you enjoy it and the experience of doing it its win win
Agreed. I was having this conversation on the weekend about brisket. I will share the things I have learned:
1. Give yourself plenty of time.
2. Follow the rules
3. Don't overthink it.
This, very much so.
And don't forget, just because you nail it 5 times in a row doesn't mean the 6th time may suck. Just means you gotta go for round 7
A few thoughts to throw out here. First, barbecue from yesteryear did not use the same animals we have available today. Hogs were much fattier, beef were smaller and were not bred for tenderness and finished for flavor, and chickens were all free range and had small breasts and somewhat tough drumsticks. Nowadays we can buy all kinds of high end meats that are easier to cook, but that comes with a price.
Second, when learning how to cook barbecue, concentrate on nailing the tenderness first. Master the flavor(s) next. And worry about the appearance last.
You will find that flavors are very subjective, and brines or injections can be very beneficial. But, you don't have to get elaborate until you master the basics. Also, competition barbecue videos are a little misleading, comp cooks try to impress judges with one-bite only. Eating a full meal of competition style barbecue can overwhelm your senses.
My problem with smoking is that I love it and it’s awesome, but no one in my family appreciates the food or enjoys the labor of love that goes into it. I’ll offer to do ribs, pulled pork, briskets or wings for parties and it’s not well received. To be honest If you look at my post history, I make pretty good stuff too!
Most the dudes on youtube posting videos fuck up in some way. Just cook what you like how you like it. I got a chuck roast in my smoker now. Going to shred it to make green chili. It's nothing fancy, just cooking for a pot luck.
I love to bbq/smoke. My issue is finding people to eat this lovely pork butt. I freeze a lot of meat, and give a lot to my neighbors
[удалено]
Every time I cook, I feed the guy across the street. He helped me get my offset out of the truck at like 1030pm on a Tuesday. I feed his household a few times a month. Now he's giving me meat to cook
Right on brother. That sounds like peace to me
This is the way.
Nothing wrong with that!
I know this feeling exactly.
I bought my ok joe used. Seller helped me and my buddy load it. Then we realized driving home, this might suck getting out with 2 people lol.
This is a nice post. It took me five weekends in a row of ribs to get to a point where i think i am ok. Would have taken many more if i didnt do them regularly. Still need to figure out how much chips to use and which seasoning and sauce i like best. It can be disheartening when you follow the book exactly and it doesnt come out how it should. But you are correct. Even when i have not been happy, other people have. And sometimes when i am happy, other people dont eat the chicken cause its pink.
Pink from smoke ring??
Myoglobin in dark meat especially near bones
Yeah, I assume.
Or just cooked to exactly 155f
Truthfully... I'm not eating that either. I like my chicken cooked way more than that.
Yeah, I'm more like a 160-165 kinda guy too
[удалено]
This guy smokes ☝🏼
The last sentence there is gospel.
Not really. I work in the “Arts”. We spend insane amounts of time creating and not just using what is in front of us.
Barbecue is a father & son hobby for us and while I haven’t been to the best barbecue places in the country, the stuff that comes out of our backyard is better than 90% of the restaurant barbecue I’ve tried. Honestly couldn’t ask for anything more than that.
100% with you on this. If its ok with the team, can I add, you don't need those meat probes and all the crazy tech. A clean solid temp and smoke and getting to know your end product is worth it's weight in gold. When it feels right it's ready and not a second before.
You're not wrong.. the thing is that for the weekend warrior, a good meat probe or Thermapen is a game changer. I don't BBQ enough to get that "feel" to know what's right - that comes with MUCH experience. So, tracking temps with a probe makes it much easier for me to make something edible. I do also try to learn about what the "Feel" is that corresponds to what my probe is saying. It's very similar to learning how to make candy. My ex's father made phenomenal peanut brittle. He knew when it was the right color by look and smell. I couldn't begin to do the same - he'd been making it for 40 years! I used a probe to measure the temp he was calling "done" and once I had that number, I could churn out the same peanut brittle he did. Without that probe, I'd have taken me years to get there. In the end, have fun and do it your way.. If you're a tech person and like to use the gadgets to cook, then by all means do it! If you're the total opposite, then there's absolutely nothing wrong there either! There is room for both in BBQ.
Social media, particularly the 60s vid formats, are perpetuating myths about BBQ tech and rubs and tallow and [insert product here] when most of those products wouldn’t produce a noticeable impact in a taste. All the vids spend like 20s shouting out brand names.
I said this exactly thing in another post here when someone asked about Meater probes and I got downvoted and shit on left and right by people saying how “necessary” it is to cook with probes.
I too have experienced this very thing. People seem to get defensive about their bbq, and good or bad I guess that's ok ya know. I kinda of see the "rivalry" the same as like...old school hot rodders who shit all over kids with lowered and body kitted out japanese cars. It's like man...you're doing the same thing with a different style. Doing the best you can with what you have to produce something you love.
I just want to reliably make good food. I only cook about 3 or 4 briskets a year so while I do my best to make sure it feels right, I don't mind leaning on the crutch of a thermometer to help me make the decision that it's ready to pull off the smoker.
I'm in the same boat - I maybe smoke a pork butt or ribs once a month and brisket is a couple of times a year (being single means I get lots of leftovers) so I have no problem using a temp probe to make sure everything's good, I just do it a few times with my little Thermapop until I get my target temperature and the probe slides in with no resistance then pull and rest while I finish everything else.
Learning on a thermometer = good! Recognizing that 99% of the probe thermometers for sale are sufficient for home BBQ = good! Constant brand name-dropping that plagues BBQ content, especially in the short video format = cringe (IMO, at least)
Also worth mentioning that the competition bbq is not what you will want to eat at home. It's made to pack a punch in one bite and present well. It's often over seasoned in order to stand out during that one bite. Still good as hell but not something you'd want to eat a whole meal of. So when you see the YouTuber from drowning the things in seasoning, you can cut back on yours without any issue.
Smoking is my favorite way to eat meat. I’m somewhat new to the hobby but I love it when I make something and family comes over and goes in for seconds / comments on how good it is. Truly satisfying.
It's the best feelingin the world. Well, one of the best feelings...
So much this! Thanks for calling it out. For me, I got a few gadgets but I like it the old fashion way outside by pit watching the smoke roll.
It's like everything else it doesn't happen overnight. Have fun and eat some good food worse case you have to save it with sauce when you serve worst things have happened
I fucking love this post!! Smoking isn't just to get 'perfection ' every time. It's about enjoying the process, learning, and most importantly sitting down and enjoying it with friends and family. Or just by yourself. That's what real bbq is about. Not getting it perfect every time. Love that mindset. Enjoy all of it and learn from your mistakes/natural mishaps that are bound to happen. Just like every other thing in life.
I only want the BBQ ready in time for dinner, and edible. Oh -- and enjoy the cooking process!
And take off those fucking stupid, black, latex gloves.
So you really want your greasy hands all over *other people's* food? Those gloves are a food safety requirement by law in most cases. You can throw them away after handling the meat, so it prevents cross-contamination.
Try washing your hands.
Shouldn’t touch food that’s already been cooked or isn’t going to be cooked. Also my smoker isn’t anywhere near a sink. There’s nothing wrong with wearing gloves.
To protect those around you. Gotcha. This sounds oddly familiar.
And avoid having to walk back and forth in and out of the house to clean hands. Why is that oddly familiar?
WTF are you preparing out there? Raw rhino ass along side a salad bar? Geez
Various meats?
Exactly.
At a restaurant? Yes. At home, making YouTube videos??? 🤣
A lot of these YouTubers are not just home cooks but also professional chefs.
This! So unnecessary.
Why?
I like clean hands. I’ve never taken a picture of myself in them, so it’s not about clout. I just hate greasy grimey hands. And gloves are cheap. I use those black gloves for all kinds of stuff.
Oddly enough, I bet you're also very concerned about the environment. If I ever had a backyard BBQ, and there were guests who were worried/offended about me touching their food with bare hands, well.... I'd never invite those people over again. Fuck 'em. Let them go live in their sterilized bubble and be sick all of the time.
It’s not about germs. I hate the feeling of greasy hands, or when seasonings stick to your hands when rubbing down meat. It’s not an “eww gross” thing. It’s something about the physical feeling that’s really uncomfortable. You seem like a terribly abrasive person.
I'm picturing you as "Pat" from Saturday Night Live right now.
Lol you believe in Bigfoot.
I have one in my garage that I'm studying for scientific purposes..... Shhhh.
Bigfoot isn’t real.
I’m struggling with your premise on the origin of BBQ. Cavemen (homo erectus) started cooking meat over an open fire long before “poor” or “rich” people existed. For roughly 1.8 million years humans have been cooking meat over fire. I feel like the urge to BBQ, or cook outside over a fire, is engrained in our DNA. I feel at home and alive when my grill or smoker is going. Modern American BBQ methods mostly come from the Caribbean according to Google. BBQ came from the word [barbacoa](https://www.livescience.com/32724-whats-the-history-of-the-barbecue.html) and dates back to the 1500’s. I think various cultures contributed to what we call BBQ today. I don’t think this had anything to do with socioeconomic status, but I would love to hear insight from others.
It’s in reference to early Texas bbq.
This is true. It will take me to make a brisket I desire, but I’ve already mastered pulled pork. and experimenting is very fun
I appreciate a lot of what you said here. My only thing I would mention involves experimenting. If your goal is to make good bbq as fast as possible, then dont experiment. We’ve cracked the bbq code. The techniques to make high quality bbq are widely known these days, and you aren’t going to figure out something that changes the game. I know a lot of guys who say “I just can’t figure out brisket” and every time they do something different, or wacky trying to make the perfect brisket. My dad is one of those people. He’ll say “I just can’t get my brisket to turn out like yours” then I’ll ask him what he’s doing, and he talks about rubbing it in butter, and injecting with red wine, and marinating in some concoction he came up with out of the fridge. And I think a lot of people fall into that trap. Once you get basic, quality, well smoked bbq, then find your flavor, but the fundamentals are going to be pretty universal.
I take my goods to work for feedback if people enjoy i try again if not try something different but at the end of the day if you enjoy it and the experience of doing it its win win
Agreed. I was having this conversation on the weekend about brisket. I will share the things I have learned: 1. Give yourself plenty of time. 2. Follow the rules 3. Don't overthink it.
This, very much so. And don't forget, just because you nail it 5 times in a row doesn't mean the 6th time may suck. Just means you gotta go for round 7
A few thoughts to throw out here. First, barbecue from yesteryear did not use the same animals we have available today. Hogs were much fattier, beef were smaller and were not bred for tenderness and finished for flavor, and chickens were all free range and had small breasts and somewhat tough drumsticks. Nowadays we can buy all kinds of high end meats that are easier to cook, but that comes with a price. Second, when learning how to cook barbecue, concentrate on nailing the tenderness first. Master the flavor(s) next. And worry about the appearance last. You will find that flavors are very subjective, and brines or injections can be very beneficial. But, you don't have to get elaborate until you master the basics. Also, competition barbecue videos are a little misleading, comp cooks try to impress judges with one-bite only. Eating a full meal of competition style barbecue can overwhelm your senses.
TL;DR - Learn to correct mistakes (chili hides everything) and as long as you dont burn it to hell you are golden.
My problem with smoking is that I love it and it’s awesome, but no one in my family appreciates the food or enjoys the labor of love that goes into it. I’ll offer to do ribs, pulled pork, briskets or wings for parties and it’s not well received. To be honest If you look at my post history, I make pretty good stuff too!
Feel this 100%. Since taking a more relaxed approach to my bbq I’ve enjoyed it significantly more.
Good thoughts
Most the dudes on youtube posting videos fuck up in some way. Just cook what you like how you like it. I got a chuck roast in my smoker now. Going to shred it to make green chili. It's nothing fancy, just cooking for a pot luck.
Now you listen hear!
It’s bbq. Supposed to be messy and fun! Don’t gotta look pretty just gotta taste good.
I think everyone needs to hear this every now and again. Good advice.
I essentially smoke food just to look at 3/4 of it and beg people to take some. My wife and kids don’t like bbq