Is My Barbecue Ready Yet? – Cooking Beef Brisket
July 25, 2008 by homebbq · Leave a Comment
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By Kevin Bevington
Now that we have our rub, the right equipment, and we are able to control a consistent temperature, we are ready to attempt the toughest meat to cook, Beef Brisket. Lets first discuss how to select the meat you are about to cook. Beef Brisket can typically be sold in 3 different size cuts.
First, is the whole packer cut, this whole cut includes the 2 very distinctly different muscles that make up the entire cut, you have the flat which would be considered the flat long piece of meat, the point, which includes the nose end, and the meat layer underneath the flat, which is separated by a layer of fat which is also known as a deckle layer. The whole packer cut is the most desirable cut to cook in your smoker, the main reason being, the tremendous amount of fat that can be left on this cut to give it plenty of moisture to draw from while cooking.
The next cut would be just the flat cut. The flat is exactly that, if you buy this piece of meat, it will likely be closely trimmed, and that makes it more of a challenge to cook in your smoker, without drying it out.
Ok, now lets discuss the grade of meat you will need to choose, I will only touch on this briefly, because this subject could easily be an article of its own. The 3 beef grades we will discuss here are as follows;
Select - This grade is a leaner animal, and with beef brisket you need marbled fat to help get this fibrous cut tender, without falling apart, and being dry. This is not the grade to choose.
Choice - There is actually more than 1 level of choice, however, as a whole, choice has more marbled fat, and would be the one to pick, based on availability. You can cook a choice brisket until it is tender, without it falling apart, and without it being dry.
Prime - This grade has the highest level of marbled fat, and as a result, if cooked properly can produce a brisket of extreme quality. However, it can be very difficult to find.
Based on what is available to you, you need to select your brisket based on marbling (a web like appearance) of fat, and size. I would normally choose a heavier whole packer brisket, my favorite size somewhere between 14 and 16lbs. I would not cook one under 10lbs.
Now that we have our meat selected, you will want to marinate this piece of meat, either using a dry rub, or a combination of a marinade and a dry rub. You can also inject this piece of meat, however because it is so fibrous you will have to be very careful injecting, the majority of your injection could end up everywhere, instead of inside the brisket. If you do decide to inject, I would inject in the same direction as the grain.
Once you have placed your desired rub, and or marinade on your brisket, let this piece of meat marinate for at least 6 to 8 hours. I prefer to give it 10 to 12 hours marinate time.
Here is my recommended method for cooking this piece of meat. Your cooking temperature should be between 225 to 250 degrees F. Place the brisket in your smoker, fat side down, and cook until it the bark reaches the desired color. The internal temp at this point should be between 150 - 170 degrees F. Double wrap in aluminum foil, and put it back into your smoker, and continue to cook until tender in the thickest part of the flat. Using your instant read thermometer, the internal temp should be between 190 - 196 degrees F, and your thermometer should slide easily in and out of the meat. Then remove from your smoker, and let rest in a warmed environment, for a minimum of 1 hour. Then remove the brisket from the foil and slice against the grain, to a thickness of 3/8 of an inch. Serve immediately with your favorite bbq sauce.
Is My Barbecue Ready Yet? – Cooking Ribs
June 26, 2008 by homebbq · Leave a Comment
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By Kevin Bevington
There are different ways to cook, and determine doneness in your BBQ ribs, and we are going to break those down into the 2 types.
St Louis Spare Ribs – St Louis Spare Ribs can be one of the most difficult meats to cook and to get done accurately. Many of the ways you would determine doneness, take some time and experience to identify and master. But first, we will cover a good process to use, which will take you real close to being done, and then you can apply a couple of simple techniques to determine doneness.
You should cook ribs at a temperature of 250 – 275 degrees F. Place your ribs in the smoker bone side down, and cook them for 2 hours, or until they get a real nice color. Then wrap the ribs in heavy duty aluminum foil, still leaving the bone side down. Then cook for them for 1 hour wrapped.
Then open the foil (do not take them out of the foil), and cook for an additional 1 to 2 hours, depending on the following factors; physical size and weight of the ribs, and airflow through the cooker. The larger, or heavier the slab of ribs are, the longer they will take. Also, the more air flow through your cooker, the less time they will take.
So, until you have a good feel for your smoker use the following techniques to determine the doneness of the ribs.
After about 30 minutes with the foil opened, place your hand (in heat a resistant glove of course) underneath the foil, in the center of the slab, and lift. The slab should bend easily, and begin to crack in the thickest part of the slab. If you see both of these characteristics, then the ribs are done. If you only see one, or the other, then they are not done, and need more time to cook.
A good way to learn this technique, and verify that you your ribs are done, is take an instant read thermometer, and check the temperature in the thickest part of the slab. This should read approximately 194 – 196 degrees F.
Remove the ribs from the cooker, and place them in a warmed environment until you are ready to cut them. With Ribs, they are best cut and served as quickly as you can, after you remove them from the cooker.
Baby Back Ribs – On baby back ribs, we use the very same technique. Cook for 2 hours, then wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil. Leave wrapped for 1 hour, then open the foil, and let cook for an additional 15 minutes to 1 hour, or until done. You can use the very same doneness techniques discussed above.
Is My Barbecue Ready Yet? - Part 2
June 22, 2008 by homebbq · Leave a Comment
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By Kevin Bevington
Ok, we made our rub. Now that we have our barbecue tasting good, we want to make sure we are cooking it properly. BBQ that is cooked properly will actually stand out better than BBQ that may actually have better tasting seasoning and sauce. This is where a lot of new barbecue competition teams miss the boat, and especially those in the backyard trying to cook bbq for their friends and family.
Let’s start with the tools you will need to bring you closer to your tender barbecue goal. First, let’s talk about your cooker, or bbq smoker. Let’s face it, you can cook barbecue on anything, bullet style smoker, offset fire box smoker, ceramic smoker, electric smoker, pellet grill, charcoal grill, and even a gas grill. The most important aspect to cooking barbecue on any of these pieces of equipment is temperature control. You need to be able to maintain a consistent temperature, on whatever you are cooking, this means controlling fuel, and especially air flow. The more air you have flowing through your bbq cooker, the hotter it will be. If you slow down this air draw, you can then control your temperature.
In order to know what temperature you’re cooking your bbq at, you need a thermometer inside your cooker. The cheapest means of doing this is an oven thermometer, place this at the same level your meat is cooking at. An oven thermometer does not adjust quickly to the surrounding temperature, so a quick look will give you a fairly accurate reading of what the temperature is. A better means of checking temperature inside your barbecue cooker is by using an electronic probe thermometer inserted into the pit, at the cooking grate level. By using this means, you can keep an eye on your cooking temperature without opening the cooker to check it. However, you need to make sure that what you’re using to do this is made to be accurate at temperatures above 180 degrees F. Many probe thermometers begin to lose their accuracy pretty dramatically above this temperature. Most cookers come with a thermometer built into the door or lid. You can certainly use this, but keep this in mind, you will need to make sure it’s calibrated, and that is located close to where your meat is, in your bbq cooker.
The next tool in your arsenal, and arguably the most important one, is an instant read thermometer. The simple dial instant read that you can buy almost anywhere, will surely work, as long as you keep it calibrated. This is usually done using an ice bath, which is a container filled with ice, and a small amount of water added to fill the gaps between the ice cubes. This should read 32 degrees F; you can then adjust the lock nut on the back to make sure your thermometer reads properly. You can also use boiling water; however, water boils at different temperatures, based on how close you are to sea level. Again, you can buy electronic probe thermometers, and place them into your cut of meat, and watch the internal temperature throughout your cook, but as mentioned previously, you need to make sure they are accurate above 180 degrees F. Since most cuts used for barbecue, are larger, more fibrous cuts, and the goal is to cook them until they are tender, their finished temperature will be well beyond 180 degrees F.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of “Is my barbecue ready yet?”
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About the Author Kevin Bevington is the Pit master for the Championship BBQ Team, HomeBBQ.com He has won over 50 Championship Titles including 27 Grand Championships, and 27 Reserve Grand Championships. Kevin is releasing 2 DVD’s for the Backyard Cook, Grilling with HomeBBQ.com and Backyard BBQ with HomeBBQ.com. He also sells some of the finest bbq and grilling rubs, and Barbecue Sauce, the actual products he uses in Barbecue Competitions. |
All BBQ Needs Is A Good Rub!
June 18, 2008 by homebbq · Leave a Comment
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By Kevin Bevington
As the masses begin to uncover their bbq grills and smokers for the season of barbecue and Grilling, many wonder what will set theirs apart from the rest. The answer? A good rub can make a world of difference. Sure, a good barbecue sauce is still a good thing to have to compliment your meal, but the seasoning is the key.
A bbq rub, is commonly referred to as a dry marinade, many times, it can actually bring more flavor to your barbecue than a liquid marinade, especially when used in a similar fashion.
Ok, lets look at the ingredient make-up of the barbecue dry rub, first, almost all barbecue rubs will contain the following basic ingredients;
Kosher Salt
White Sugar
Black Pepper
Paprika
These ingredients are typically used in fairly equal amounts, and other spices, and sugars can be thrown in to enhance flavor based on the type of meat you are cooking. A few of these additional ingredients are;
Spices
Celery Salt
Cumin
Chili powder
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic
Sugars
Brown Sugar
Turbinado Sugar
Demerara Sugar
Golden Granulated
The most important thing to remember about putting a good dry rub together is balance. A good balance of flavors is key to complimenting the meats natural flavor, you don’t want to cover it up.
Once we have our ingredients established, along with their measurements, we can now use them on our bbq. On thicker cuts of meat, such as pork shoulder cuts (used in pulled pork bbq), or beef brisket (a texas bbq favorite), we will want to give ample marinate time for the flavors to work into the meat. On these thicker cuts, you will want at least 4 to 6 hours at a minimum, but ideally 10 to 12 hours is best. On thinner cuts such as pork ribs, or steaks, you should be looking for a minimum of 30 minutes to 1 hour, and ideally 4 to 6 hours.
Another key to using a rub is to work the rub into the meat. When you apply a bbq rub, you can apply it over a wet base, such as mustard, or oil (olive or canola). This is called a wet rub application, and can help the rub adhere to the surface of the meat. The most popular way to apply a rub is to shake it on heavy and dry. Once this is done, it is important to work it in, or massage it into the meat. This will help the rub flavor penetrate much quicker.
Now that I have given you the basics, it’s your turn! But, I will give a great all purpose BBQ Rub that works especially well on pork, and chicken. Enjoy!
Basic BBQ Rub
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/3 cup garlic salt
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
Kevin Bevington is the Pit master of the Championship BBQ Team, HomeBBQ.com. He has won over 50 Championship Titles. He also sells some of the finest bbq and grilling rubs, and Barbecue Sauce. For more information, please visit:
http://shop.homebbq.com
http://www.homebbq.com
