What styles of barbeque exist in American cuisine?

Question

I'm originally from the Michigan thus i don't know much about barbeque due to the lack of barbeque establishments.

From my understanding (correct me if i'm wrong), there are several regional variations or styles of BBQ in the US. Each of type is defined by a BBQ technique or method: Texas (Brisket style), St. Louis, etc.

Thus my question; what other types of BBQ currently exist and what defines it?

Asked by chrisjlee

Answer

There's a great YouTube video by Rhett & Link called the The BBQ Song (A Review of BBQ in the Southern United States) that is actually a really good starting point for answering this question.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

In the mountains of Tennessee, they like a smoky sauce.
But over there in ole Memphis, a dry rubbed rib is boss.

The folks down in Georgia can't make up their mind,
You can give it to 'em sweet or spicy, and they'll say "that tastes alright."

You might think that South Carolinians are just a little bit off,
Would you believe their BBQ's yellow--with a mustard sauce?

Pork shoulder is the cut of choice in Mississippi
And they pride themselves on BBQ that's totally vinegary.

And Louisiana, them Cajuns,
they like to spice it up. They like to spice it up.

This is our review of BBQ,
in the southern United States.
And when my life is through,
bury me in BBQ,
But make sure it's vinegar based,
cause you know that slows decay,
and it's the style from our home state, North Carolina! Solo!

Mutton is big in west Kentucky, that's a fancy name for sheep,
But in the rest of the state, sliced pork butt is what they eat.

Arkansas is kinda like Georgia, a BBQ meltin' pot,
and when you ain't looking, them good ole boys'll make that BBQ hot!

Alabama's got the strangest thing I've seen in my BBQ days,
Cause their BBQ sauce is white, made out of mayonnaise.

Down in Texas, where the long horn steer roam free,
They love to smoke their brisket, that's a big ol' slab of beef.

And down in Florida...
Is Florida a southern state? No it ain't.

This is our review of BBQ,
in the southern United States.
And when my life is through,
bury me in BBQ. . .

People not from the south
think BBQ means "cookout"
and that's something they're wrong about.

(Spoken outro:)
BBQ is not a verb, BBQ is not a grill
BBQ is meat prepared in a very special way
Which varies depending on where you go

Answered by Callithumpian

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How do I control the smoke from a chimney starter?

Question

I'm seasoning my new Weber Smoky Mountain smoker according to the excellent instructions, given for free, on Amazon, by a 20x BBQ grand champion. (What an amazing thing for this guy to do!)

Anyway, I'm using a Weber RapidFire chimney starter, and both times I've used it so far, it's completely filled the entire backyard with wood and paper smoke.

My upstairs neighbors sleep with their windows cracked when it's warmer (which is when I'll be BBQing), and so I'd really like to not smoke them out of their own bedrooms at 6 in the morning. Any advice for minimizing smoke when using a chimney starter?

There's some advice here about using only one sheet of newspaper doused with a bit of oil, but I don't know if that mitigates smoke.

Asked by Rich Armstrong

Answer

First off, I'd cease using paper as your tinder. While it is the cheapest way to get your charcoal started, it does create a lot of smoke and ash flying around. And avoid oil-soaked paper. This will create even more smoke (I speak from experience).

I started using firestarter cubes, as they burn hotter and longer, meaning my coals are ready for cooking faster. Also, another side effect has been that the only smoke I see is from the charcoal itself. I started using the Weber ones, but they are expensive and don't burn as long. So I switched to a different fire lighter. You'll have to forgive me, as the name escapes me -- once I get home I'll edit this answer with a picture of the bag. Anyway, they're cheap, at about US$ 5-6 for a bag of 72. And they burn long, hot, and smoke-free.

The only remaining problem you'll have is that when charcoal begins igniting from a low starting temperature, it puts out quite a bit of smoke. If you are still worried about smoking your neighbors out, you will probably want to experiment with different brands and types. Stubbs briquettes are a bit less smoky on ignition, as is most lump charcoal. If you use lump, though, you should make sure you pack the charcoal ring in your WSM nice and tight, or it will burn very hot and fast. Also, put a piece of expanded steel on the charcoal grate to keep the small pieces of charcoal from falling through.

Answered by Sean Hart

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Why would a portable barbecue warn against using pots on the grill?

Question

My wife just bought a Coleman Road Trip portable propane barbecue, which we plan to use for camp cooking/grilling.

I was thinking of using it as a camp stove as well - to heat water, make coffee, etc. However the grills have a warning not to place pots on the grill.

Is the concern just scratching the non-stick coating? I know they sell another set of grills for it, but I'd rather not have to tote two sets.

Asked by BillN

Answer

Personal experience: I have used pots and pans on this and similar grills with no problems. My guess would be, if it says not to use them, it's probably as you said - for the non-stick coating. There is a specific grill grate you can buy for the larger models, and perhaps you're not going to get the most efficient heat transfer by putting it directly on the attached - but that doesn't mean it won't work at all. Personally, I'd rather have something slightly less efficient than have to carry two grills.

Not sure which model you have (since you said the portable, I assume this red table-top), but the LX can handle pots and pans according to this site: "Grill lid detaches to make room for large pots or pans." As far as I can tell, they're essentially the same grill as far as how they function, just different sizes and features.

Just to be safe, I would probably fire it up in your yard before the trip and try cooking something that you would cook on the trip, like a pot of coffee or a can of beans. That way you won't have any surprises when you're deep in the woods and don't have a backup!

If you aren't comfortable using it after your test, or for any reason, there are other solutions available that are pretty easy to carry. You can get a propane burner, they're very small and light and easy to pack. There are some that sit directly on top of the propane bottle, but I don't recommend them - they are very easy to tip, especially if you have children at the campsite.

Unrelated to your specific question, but related to camping, I always recommend taking a small cast iron pot or dutch oven of some kind on any camping trip. In a jam (let's say you run out of propane), you can use that on any fire that you build, even directly on the wood/coals/whatever, and a pot is more versatile than a pan because it can be used for things you said, such as boiling water and making coffee as well as your typical browning, etc.

Answered by stephennmcdonald

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What fuel (burning material) gives the best flavor to meat when barbequing?

Question

I normally barbecue with coal, but I've seen wood chips in shops, so I started wondering...
I assume the material you use gives a different flavor to the meat. What is your experience on this regard? When is coal preferable, wood, or gas (the latter IMHO ruins the point)? If wood is better, which kind of wood gives a better taste to the meat?

Asked by Stefano Borini

Answer

There are two main types of charcoal, briquettes and hard lump. The first comes in preformed pieces, so they are all the same size and include a filler material. They will sometimes also have lighter fluid in them already and be "easy start" or something similar. Hard lump is just charcoal from hardwoods with no filler. These will usually be in all kinds of shapes and look like "natural" pieces of wood (albeit in charcoal form). Hard lump is easy to light, burns hotter, and leaves much less ash than briquettes. It also has a better flavor. I strongly recommend hard lump charcoal.

Wood is usually used to provide smoke as a primary function rather than heat. Smoking on your grill gives a lovely smokey flavor (d'uh). The standard way to use wood is to soak it in water for a period of time prior to cooking. Packages will often say to soak for an hour, and that's ok with wood chips which are very small (but I recommend longer), but it isn't good for anything larger. I generally soak wood for at least 18 hours.

Wood also comes in various sizes, from very small chips (slightly larger than a coin) to large chunks bigger than a fist. The smaller the chips, the less heat they provide and the faster they burn up. These are generally better for shorter smoking times. Large chunks can smoke for 12+ hours if they are properly soaked. In both cases, I put the wood on to already burning coals to get them going.

You can also use just wood to create your heat, in which case you do not soak the wood. When you hear about woodfire ovens, this is what they do. However, I think this is a hassle as it's harder to get the wood lit than charcoal and doesn't provide as much smoke since you haven't soaked the wood. So it's really sub-par in my view. The exception is if you are doing low and slow smoking on some types of charcoal grill, you can use a small bed of coals to light large chunks of soaked wood. Once they get smoldering, this becomes the only source of heat as the coals go out. They smolder hot enough to get new wood going if you find you need more. Great for 12 hour smoking at 200F for Boston Butt or Brisket.

In terms of wood, you want hard woods with low amounts of resin / sap. No glue, nails, etc. It wants to be natural. This is a decent description of types of wood and the smoke they produce. Common woods for BBQ in the SE US are hickory, mesquite, and cedar. I've used old wine barrel chunks which have a really nice flavor, and also bits of rosemary branch (thick from a large plant) which didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. You can even use the shells of nuts like pecans. This is really a question of seeing what's readily available and experimenting with your own personal taste.

You can also use wood with a gas grill by putting it in a smoking box or tin foil with holes in it, and placing directly on the heating element. Wood chips work best for this. I've never had much luck with this though. It's hard to get the chips smoking and, more importantly, gas grills don't have the airflow through them to properly move smoke over the food. I switched to charcoal pretty quickly and a Big Green Egg about two years ago, and I've never looked back.

Answered by yossarian

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What kind of fish would you recommend on barbeque?

Question

On my seasoned barbeque, i usually cook pork ribs or chicken wings or other delicious kind of meats but i have never cooked fish and i would like to try. I'm searching for easy to cook and tasty fish to put on my barbeque.
What would you recommend?

Answer

Salmon is very good when it's grilled on a cedar plank. The smoke from the cedar flavors the meat while it's cooking and gives it a great flavor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4R90J5p_Yo

You can buy cedar planks at many cooking stores.

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How to barbecue marinated chicken drumsticks

Question

I'm looking for some general advice on how to do this. I've attempted this twice and they turned out OK, but the outside layer looked a little black. Everyone really liked how it turned out but I'm wondering how I can improve. This is my process:

1. Skin the drumsticks.
2. Marinate them for 20-30 minutes (we bought a bag with the flavor in it that was for this purpose).
3. Put the chicken on the barbecue on medium to low heat.
4. Flip/rotate the chicken every 5 minutes or so for a total of 25 minutes.

Answer

Alton Brown has an interesting technique in an episode of Good Eats in quite a bit of detail.

But, what I just do is to put it on direct heat (right over a medium-high flame) to sear the skin side and then move to indirect heat (burner right below turned off, other burner still on) and cover to complete. I will admit I've burned it a couple times, but every time I do, it's cause I've forgotten to check it, and left it without checking it.

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