DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Outdoor Cooking

I've got 3 slabs on the smoker right now. I use my own version of the 3/2/1 method. I rub them the night before with equal parts kosher salt, ground black pepper and brown sugar. To this I add garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and paprika. Sometimes cinnamon and/or cayenne powder. I then wrap them and put them in the fridge overnight, and leave them in the fridge until they're ready to go on the smoker (offset stick burner). I read that meat will stop taking smoke once it reaches a certain temp, and I find this to be true, so I start cold to allow it to take on more smoke. A lot of folks will tell you to bring the ribs to room temp before putting them on. I maintain my smoker at 250-300....shooting for 275, but I don't sweat small fluctuations. Once the ribs are on, I'll wrap them in foil at the 2hr point after coating them with a mixture of butter and brown sugar. I'll leave the on for another 1-1.5 hrs.....I'll take them off when they're really limp and unwrap them. I then put them back on for another hour or so and take them off when the meat is shrinking from the bone and thermometer probe goes in like butter. Now these are just short of fall off the bone ribs, and won'd win any competitions due to their soft texture....but this is the way my family and I like them. They are absolutely delicious, even without sauce.

Those sound like they would be delicious. And I'm with you when it comes to putting sauce on smoked meat. If the meat is smoked properly, putting sauce on it actually ruins the deliciousness of the meat itself. Sort of like putting A-1 on a great cut of steak.

Yeah, who would do such a thing .... when there is ketchup available ......

It's impossible for sauce to ruin the taste of meat if the meat is perfect, you dip the meat into the sauce.
Now, if Ribs are without sauce, they can be fine, but a good sauce added to the equation can also be fine.
A1, I don't know how anyone puts up with that flavor, but they stay in business so others must have different tastes.
BBQ cooking is over celebrated.

What bothers me lately is, "fresh cracked" eggs. all eggs have to be cooked right after they are cracked.
What is next in moronic advertising? all meat dogs? how about two handed sandwich? No, I got it! A "picked up" sandwich.

If you enjoy our " picked up" sandwich, with it's "fresh cracked" eggs, and get some " open mouth" flavor in your moronic advertising it won't make me forget that it cost my " hard earned" money just to get it to eat.
Advertisers, and sales people should be given less resources by society.

You can put sauce on smoked meat if you like. It's only another flavor that mixes with the smoked flavor. I don't like anything that compromises the flavor of well smoked meat. Adding another flavor only dilutes and compromises that flavor. To each their own.

I agree. If one likes the flavor of a sauce on BBQ, which I do in limited quantities, you add it at the table to enhance the flavor, not saturate the meat in the cook process.

It is a seasoning. If you like your chili hot, fine, but you don't make the whole darn pot hot.

Ribs cooked the way I described have more that enough flavor and seasoning with the thin crunchy bark and the melt in your mouth meat underneath. But some people just won't eat barbecue without sauce, so I have to have some on hand. I never put it on while on the smoker.

No need to and why you should do it that way.

Like I said, in the end I like some sauce on my BBQ. For ribs, a think like on one side.

For sandwiches of pork, many times simply some slaw does the trick. Other times I like some other. As mentioned, sauce is a last option to be added at the table by the person eating. In no case it is anything like eating a manwich sloppy joe or something similar. Probably more like dab of bearnaise sauce to go with a steak.

I like wet ribs, I like dry ribs, I like ribs. I like mine to have some bite, not fall off the bone. I won't wrap them because of that.

I do think wet or dry ribs are close to the same thing. The meat is seasoned, a rub is basically a dry sauce.

It depends. Pulled pork can/should be sauced up. Brisket... not so much, IMO. I like my beef ribs more plain, but pork ribs sometimes get a glaze at the end of the cook (this is more dependent on how late I am with the food).

Ok, this thread got me off my butt.

As a few know, my wife and I sold our hose last Oct. We no longer needed a big house or lake access as we sold the boat several years ago. We moved in to a nice new apt complex..a 2 bedroom job.

As such, we can't have open flame grills on our patio, we have to go with an electric grill. I finally went out today and got one because reading about all the grilling got me wanting to do that. The deal is I have never used an electric grill, so I was a little worried about how one would perform. I have to say i am pretty pleased.

I ended up getting a Weber Q1400. More than big enough to cook for the two of us, thought I don't see any real possibilities to smoke anything with one element, so there is nowhere to off-set, and the lid isn't all that high. I could get a pork tenderloin on there, but that would be about it.

I just cooked some burgers. Figured I'd just start simple and cheap if everything came out badly. I got some hickory smoke going with several soaked wood chips in a foil pack I set on the empty part of the grate. They tasted great. Better than I expected having been pretty much a charcoal and wood cook my whole life.

I am excited. I'll have to fool around with the timing so I have everything ready when the chips start to smoke, but it looks like I will be able to put out some good grub outside again.

I may try a few beef filets this weekend, I am curious how those will turn out. I am just not sure how I want to attack those. I am not sure if I just want to go for it all on the grill....maybe high heat at first to sear a bit, then back down the thermostat to finish, or just high heat for several minutes on each side to get the grill marks and pick up some smoke flavor, then pan finish in a 325 degree oven.

If any of you have had experience with electric grills, any tips would be welcomed.

The burger bit is so-so, but you have to like anything with the character "Tony Soprano" in it!

Versatile Dog cooking out:

Perfect! Life doesn't get much better than that.....

Unless our beloved Browns win the SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've got chicken thighs and corn on the grill.

Chicken thighs are my favorite cut of chicken. They are hard to screw up. They are always juicy. And the crispy skin. Yum. I like to stuff mine with fresh herbs.

I just did salt and cayenne pepper on them. Some BBQ sauce on the side for dipping... wonderfully crispy delish skin.. yum

Chix-thigs, as we always called them, are so much better with skin on and bone in. I just sprink them with salt and garlic powder and bake at 350 until they're crispy. My fave dinner with steam in bag veg. I usually order a family pack of 8 thigs and repack in freezer bags with 2 per quart sized bag. My last order from the grocery had to be delivered, bc my truck was in the shop, and they sent me boneless/skinless. I foolishly kept them. They're no good.

My go-to is thighs & drumsticks coated with GFS' Jamaican Jerk Seasoning.
Smoke for about 2 hours.
Make a standard brown gravy, but season it with some of the jerk seasoning and one scotch bonnet/habanero. Move chicken to a dutch oven or a large covered skillet and pour gravy over. Simmer or put in the oven for 30-60 minutes.

Serve with red beans & rice and a Caribbean steamed cabbage

Switching gears just a bit.

When I lived in Ohio, I belonged the a "Sportsmen Club." We all went in and bought some land in S. Ohio. We built the cabin ourselves. The woods were deep and full of game. Guys would go and hunt deer. I was not a deer hunter, but did go twice w/my Compound bow. We hunted grouse, pheasant, turkey, etc, etc. Deep ravines w/tons of trees and cover were great for bird hunting. Anyway, our club had a spit [rotisserie] that we would occasionally use.

I used to host an annual party at my home where we would roast a pig. I would borrow the spit and of course, all the guys from the club would be invited. We would get up and cook a 80 to 100 lb plus hog on the spit. We were kinda backward and we used sheets of plywood to help keep the heat in and we would keep soaking it so it wouldn't go ablaze. I remember some of the sophisticated wives of some of my friends and co-workers who were not part of the club would say they would never eat the poor pig. Of course, the meat was so freaking delicious that almost every gave in. My wife made alternative dishes for the squeamish.

Anyway............do any of you guys have experience w/that? It's some of the finest meat you will ever eat. Any tips or tricks? Any cool stories. Believe me, we had plenty. LOL

I agree. I have never understood the love for poultry white meat. Just due to the nature of how you have to cook chicken or turkey, the white meat gets dry and basically flavorless IMO, even when it is cooked perfectly.

Pass the gravy please.

I did the same. We leased some property in NE Tennessee. Not many hogs up there. When I went to visit family in south Alabama, we went hog hunting a lot. They were all over the place and there was no season for them as they were considered pest animals. I also hunted hogs in Florida, again, they were everywhere.

I like pork of any kind...wild or farm raised. As for cooking, in S Alabama you didn't do the ground cooking, luau thing so much, it was spit or smoking.

I did do some ground cooking in Florida with friends. We cooked Cuban style. In Florida it was much easier digging the pit in the sandy soil. If we couldn't find the banana leaves to cover the pit, we used cabbage leaves. You could find this anywhere and they worked just as well.

As for Cuban cooking, think a lot of limes and oranges with cumin and oregano as your marinade.

I've never tried cooking one in the ground. Is there a big difference in taste?

From a moisture standpoint I think there is. How one thinks that impacts "taste' might be subjective. A smoked pork shoulder might seems dry to some, but it tastes pretty darn good.

The heat in the ground pulls moisture out of the ground. All the soaked leaves you use also hold moisture.

I love Cuban food. Just to turn the discussion a bit, you can make great cuban pork in the oven at home, or even a croc pot for a larger cut of pork.

Basically just marinate pork loins in a few cans of OJ and 1/2 cup lime juice. Some water to cover. Add a very liberal amount of cumin, oregano, and garlic and some salt to the brine. Sit it 24 hours in fridge and cook as usual.

A tip on any brine, add ice cubes at the beginning to get the temp down as fast as possible so you aren't marinating in a bacteria stew for the first few hours until the fridge finally brings the temp down.