Barbecue 101 - A guide to Ultra Barbecue - Part IV Meat, Section 1

Now that we have chosen a vessel and some fuel, it’s high time to consider cooking some meat. This article will focus on the selection of readily available red meats. High end meats, poultry and fish will be dealt with another time. For now, let’s discuss meats that can be obtained easily at the grocery store.

Meat is muscle fibers that are organized and bundled together with connective tissue, with a sprinkling of fatty deposits. How these muscles develop and are used by the animal usually determine how they should be cooked.

When you are selecting meat for your pit, fat is important. Surface fat prevents meat from drying out in later stages of cooking, and contributes to “bark” formation. Internal fat adds the rich flavor and keeps the interior strands from drying out, offering the sensation of juiciness; a highly desired trait. When buying package meats from the grocery store take a careful look at the label to be sure that there is not water added. Major retailers have started engaging in the dreadful practice of adding a saline solution to meat. Meat should not need an ingredient label. If your grocer carries such products, shop elsewhere.

In the south pork is the King of barbecue. There are very few differences in commercial pork. It is all uniformly ordinary. Hogs are bred and fed to be lean. They are raised in confinement and fed controlled diets to make them more appealing to the consumer. Look for enough surface fat to keep the exterior from drying out and cook properly.

Buying beef is more entertaining. There are clearly better choices. Buy USDA Choice Beef and look for good marbling. Surface fat is good but should be kept thin. Unless you have honed your skills in choosing beef, it pays to buy Certified Angus meats. The Certified Angus program offers a minimum quality guarantee. When selecting ribs and briskets, look for packages that are uniform in thickness and choose packages that are more pliable.

Basically, there are two kinds of meats to choose from: tough or tender. Tender cuts like loins help hold the skeleton together and get very little use for work. There is not very much connective tissue and the texture is fine. Tender cuts are generally smoke roasted or grilled at higher temperatures and cooked to a desired doneness. Tough cuts come from the working muscles like brisket or shoulders, are chock full of connective tissue, and are generally suited for “barbecuing”. Remember our definition of barbecue: meat that is slow cooked over a long period of time to melt collagen and connective tissue making the meat tender and succulent.

Raw meat contains aging enzymes which continue to affect flavor, tenderness, and appearance until they are destroyed by heat. These enzymes continue to break down connective tissue and muscle fibers over time. These enzymes do their best work on whole beef carcasses that are hung in coolers for weeks at a time. This is called “dry aging.” The industrialization of meat packing plants has brought the demise of the practice of dry aging. There is some done at the local level and in high end supermarkets. Wet aging, a process where you leave a primal cut in the cryovac in a refrigerator for a week or two before using it, will help develop flavors. Sometimes, these bags will have a strong odor when opened. A quick rinse and a sniff test will tell whether you have been successful at aging or the meat is spoiled and should be disposed of. Aging enzymes are most active in meat warms. Many cooks will allow meat to come to room temperature before cooking. Slow cooking also takes full advantage of the aging process.

Careful planning and choosing meat is critical to the process of successful barbecuing. Whether choosing to cook tender or tough cuts, be discerning in your pick. Choose good quality unenhanced meats from a reputable source. This will provide a solid foundation to the cooking processes and allow the science to better work in your favor.

The Palmetto Barbecue and Brew Festival

I got the bug to cook competition barbecue about 15 years ago. I got invited to attend a local contest held in Marion Square in downtown Charleston, SC. I was running restaurants at the time and my HVAC guy was going to be cooking with a team on Friday night. What I didn’t know was I had been invited to one of the premier contest fundraisers in South Carolina.

The event was called the Prestigious Palmetto Pig Pickin’ or PPPP for short. In those days it was held in February, usually on Presidents Day weekend. It was a Memphis in May sanctioned event and featured some of the best cookers on the circuit at that time. We had a blast at that contest, talking with cooking teams, eating food and enjoying some really good music. I was awed by the equipment and enamored by the tasks at hand. Teams were cooking whole hogs, whole shoulders and ribs for the contest. We were being treated to a wide variety of foods at the Friday night Anything Butt Pork contest. I had no idea what was involved, but we were having a “large time”. I caught the bug right then and there. I could do this. I could cook whole hogs and win prizes.

A couple of years later, after some cooking lessons, we sent in our first application and” Pigs on the Wing” was born. The contest had moved off of the square and was relocated to Brittle Bank Park. The new venue was bigger and easier to access. A few years later the location changed again to the Ladson Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds would provide much better infrastructure for the cooking teams and plenty of facilities for the Sertoma Club. The contest continued to be the South Carolina State Championship for barbecue and is recognized as the biggest and best contest in the state.

We stayed involved with this contest for 10 years. We considered it our home event. Every year we would throw a big party and invite all of our friends to the Pig Pickin’. Over the years the Sertoma Club changed the dates to the first weekend in March. This was a welcome change. Foul weather had been a trademark of this contest. Weather patterns in the South East are volatile during the early spring. We were fortunate enough to win the contest in 2006, our 9th year. We defended our title in ’07 and retired the date from our schedule, and changed our team name. It had been a great run.

In 2008 we made a commitment to try to qualify for the Kansas City Royal, and gain an invite to the Jack Daniels Invitational. To do this teams have to cook in Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned events. The Sertoma Club was bringing a qualifying event to the Ladson Fairgrounds. So, even though we had retired the date, we found ourselves at the Fairgrounds cooking the KCBS contest. Once again the weather was a factor, but we did well in the contest.
In 2009 the Club decided to move the contest to Edisto Island, SC. We were unquestionably retired. The KCBS contest was not going to be associated this year. We were considering judging the event. Jim Tolley and Thommy Brush had been very good to us over the years and we wanted to be involved at some level.

Mike Fields from the Mikes Catering Team approached me about cooking a category with his team. After some arm twisting and a bit of a service trade with the Carolina Pit Masters, Mary and I decided to join the crew at Mike’s for another run. Mike would cook the whole hog, I would do the shoulders and we would pull together as a crew and cook ribs. So on March 20, 2009 we packed up the truck with the necessary gear and headed for Edisto Island.
Mike’s Catering is a great team. The team is a melding of talents. Mike’s son James and wife Cindy join Tanya and Donnie Clayton to make one of the best crews on the circuit. The contest is a challenge with three categories and on site judging. The teams Any Thing Goes entry for Friday night was a Seafood Bisque that was being carefully tended by a fellow I know only as Kenny. Kenny is a staple with the Mike’s Catering Crew. He is a well seasoned cook and he knows how to make a mean Bisque.

Friday night was a good time. Meats were prepped and the cooking started. I would be using a small Alveron cooker for the shoulders. All of the cookers settled nicely and the meats were on time. I made several walks around the field visiting old friends. The night was uneventful, we flipped the hog at the appointed time and settled in for some sleep.

Saturday morning is always busy at this event. Turn in times start at 9am and there are on site judges to contend with. We started building boxes about 8am and continued to prepare for onsite judging until around 1pm when the last of the rib judges left our area. It was fast and furious for a while but we managed to put great boxes together and Mike did an outstanding job with the on site judges. The afternoon was spent enjoying the contest.

At 4:30pm it was time to go to awards. Mikes Catering won a 2nd place Anything Butt Pork for the Seafood Bisque and 1st place whole hog. Fatback and the flying pigs won the contest. Congratulations to all who entered and placed.

After an afternoon of celebrating a huge win in the whole hog event, we decided not to operate vehicles so Mary and I made arrangements to say in Edisto for the night. The post contest party with the Alveron Crew was hilarious. Alveron had done very well too. We are all great friends, so John Haney bought pizza and we proceeded to celebrate multiple victories.

Sunday was breakdown and load out. All tasks went smoothly. Mary and I said our good byes and headed for Summerville around noon. This contest continues to be a well run, well organized event. Although we have retired our team, we always look forward to helping out wherever we can. It’s already on the calendar for next year.
For information on this contest to to: http://www.pigpickn.com/

Macon and the Superior Smoker

Enjoying the many different cultures of the world through food is one of life’s simple pleasures. Cooking is a passion. Cooking vessels are an obsession.

My good friend, Chris Finney, is a design engineer. He makes cool stuff for a living. He and I share the obsession with cooking vessels, although on different levels. Finney designs them. I like to collect them. Chris has been working on a plan for a new kind of cooker for some time now. He has teamed up with Joby Stanaland at Superior Smokers and produced a cooker that handles heat distribution in a different manner. How it works is not our subject. Quite frankly, I haven’t seen the cooker in action, so it wouldn’t be prudent to write about it.

Chris’ cooker was sitting in Macon, GA. The fabrication crew had finished the cooker and trailer and Chris was trying everything he could to get the cooker to Salisbury, NC where he resides, at least on the weekends. He was covered up with work and family obligations so we worked out a deal where Garland and I would make a road trip to Macon and get his cooker as far as Columbia, SC, Garland’s home turf. Chris would let me use his Superior Smoker, SS1 in exchange for the delivery service.

I decided to travel to Columbia on Friday night. I would hold up at Garland and Rebecca’s. This would give us the opportunity to get an early start on Saturday morning. I would meet the Hudgins’ at their favorite sushi restaurant in town. Garland is a sushi junkie. It’s that plain and simple. Garland can eat his weight in all types of sashimi and sushi rolls. He has been kind enough to share his knowledge with me and my family. It has been a rewarding experience. The man knows what’s good in bait.

Dinner was great, as usual, and after a couple of bottles of Saki we decided we needed more entertainment. Next door to the restaurant was an authentic Japanese Karaoke Bar. This was a road trip. Road trips shouldn’t have rules, only guidelines, so we went in. We took our seat at a table and had a great time watching the patrons try their voices at different songs. Garland even gave Steve Miller’s, The Joker, a spin. The big G is quite a clown. It was midnight Friday and the laughs were in full blaze.

We had to leave the bar a little early. We were going to continue the road trip in the morning. When we got back to the Hudgins house, we took a good look at a new cooker that Garland had just received. Garland is a BBQ Guru Representative. He had received a new Caldera Tall Boy from the Guru Company to use on the trail. Interesting BBQ machine, I’ll be interested in how it performs.

It was a short night. Rebecca awakened us early so we could get an early start. We cleaned up and got started about 6:30am. The trip down I-20 was uneventful until we reached a little town called Eatonton, GA. My phone rang just as we were about to cross the railroad tracks into Eatonton. It was my buddy Bob Brown. Bob told me that Eatonton was the home of Joel Chandler Harris, writer of the book Song of the South. Bob informed me that there was a monument of Br’er Rabbit in the center of town, and it was a “don’t miss” attraction. We looked for the center of town on the way through but didn’t see it. We were going to make it a point to find the statute on the way home.

We got into Macon about 11:00am. We arrived at C&C manufacturing and Jeff Conley the President of C&C greeted us with a smile. The Finney UFH was parked in the garage opening of the shop. It looked great. We got a short look at the cooker and proceeded to tour the shop. The crew of C&C Manufacturing builds Superior Smokers. We were treated to a complete tour of the facility and saw cookers in all phases of the build. Garland and I were fascinated by the quality and care these people put into their builds. They were as interested in what we do as we were in their product. We stayed and talked about cookers for about 3 hours. What a treat!! I could have stayed all day, but it was time to head home if we were going to be able to make the trip around. We inquired about Dwayne Allman's grave and the soul food restaurant that they made famous in Macon. We got directions to the restaurant, took a bunch of pictures and headed for home.
Garland was hesitant about pulling the trailer into downtown Macon, so we decided to leave H&H restaurant for another trip and set the GPS for the return trip to Columbia, SC. We were both hungry and decided to make a BBQ lunch stop. We passed a couple of roadside joints and decided to eat in Eatonton. We were determined to stop there anyway.

We saw a sign for a place called Kinorhook Bar-B-Que. A short trip off of our main road and we had arrived at what looked like a private residence. There were bikes and other items about the yard. A sign in the window said “Open” so we turned the knob on the front door and walked in. A window opened and a gentleman asked if he could help us. We ordered a little taste of the menu and were directed to have a seat in the dinning room. The gentleman told us there was a remote in there somewhere and advised us to turn on the basketball game. We did as instructed and waited for our food to arrive. We had ordered brisket sandwiches, a pound of pork-hot, and some fresh pork skins. When lunch arrived our host introduced himself as Fred Ward, owner of Kinorhook Bar-B-Que. Mr. Fred was a General Motors employee that had retired to this small community. He was having trouble keeping busy. The poor economy was slowing businesses in the area. Fred told us he was going to keep servicing this community as best he could. We ate well and ordered some ribs. Mr. Fred told us they were his specialty. We continued to talk and relate stories and Fred wanted a tour of the Finney Machine. After a short look around the cooker we were towing Fred told us about how he got his business name. He told us that Kinorhook was a small community. It seemed everyone around those parts was related either by blood or by marriage. “Kin or Hook”, Mr. Fred stated. We were rightly amused!

The time had come to continue our journey, we snapped a couple of pictures of the restaurant and Mr. Fred and loaded to go to Eatonton. It was time to find the rabbit. We saw a sign for the Uncle Remus Museum and I figured that would be a good place to start hunting rabbit. Low and behold, standing right out front of the museum was the monument we were searching for. We stopped, visited the museum and took pictures, if only to verify we had stopped at this historic venue. Again, we were righteously amused!

The rest of the trip down I-20 was uneventful. Garland and I passed the time talking about our impressions of the fabrication shop and discussing everything barbecue. Garland is a wealth of opinion. We pulled into Columbia about 7:30pm, unhooked Finney’s cooker, shook hands and by 8:00pm I started my rainy trip back to Charleston, to arrive home by 10:00pm.
Road trips are as much fun as they are interesting. Helping out my BBQ friends is very important. Finney was able to get a much anticipated cooker into his hands without too much effort. I can’t wait to get the Superior SS1 and start testing. I got to spend a couple of days with my good friends Garland & Rebecca Hudgins. The tour of the fabrication shop was worth the time spent, and the visit to the Rabbit…Priceless!

Time to get up for School

The start of the 2009 season has arrived. Thursday evening, March 5th, I started loading the first truck of the year. We were heading to the Dorchester Shrine Club to be a part of the Carolina Pit Masters Barbecue Cooking School.

4 years ago, I got the idea that South Carolina needed a barbecue cooking class. I wanted to make it competition oriented but be appealing to anyone who wanted to cook better BBQ. This year, Russ Cornette and I gathered with some of the greatest barbecue minds in South Carolina. Russ Cornette from Smokin’ Coles, John Haney from Alveron Cookers, Tim Pattan from Swamp Sauce cookers, Charles Fretwell of BS Pitmeisters, Garland Hudgins from the Big GQ, and myself would be this years self-proclaimed barbecue Professors. We would gather on the grounds of the Dorchester Shrine Club in Summerville, to preach the gospel of cooking barbecue to 22 information hungry students.

Our mission is simple: to teach and promote the art of quality barbecue while benefiting charitable organizations. Students would be arriving at 8am, Friday, March 6th from all parts of the Country. We placed an ad in the National Barbecue News and attracted a writer from Alberta, Canada and another from Chicago. This class wouldn’t only give us some national exposure, we had gone beyond the borders and reached into Canada. There would also be a pair from Tennessee and many from around the Palmetto State. It would be a great cross-section of personalities.

Last year the weather was a total disaster. It started raining at 9am on Friday morning and we got heavy rains for 2 straight days. This year was quite contrary. We moved the date forward one week hoping to get some better, more stable weather. The gamble worked. The weatherman was predicting sunny skies with highs near 80, clear and cool overnight. Perfect Barbecue weather!

The content of the class is pretty easy to manage. All of the categories that are cooked in a South Carolina Barbecue Association judged contest are taught. The common categories are whole hog, Boston butts, ribs and chicken. South Carolina contests are starting to become multi-category events. A trait I am happy to see.

Friday started at noon with a great lesson by Russ Cornette on rib preparation. Students were taught the art of cutting St. Louis spares out of a 3 down spare rack. Russ compared the advantages of membrane removal and discussed rub and sauce choices. Each student then prepared their own rack of ribs and on to the FE they went.

Right after ribs, John Haney and Tim Pattan did an excellent piece on chicken thighs. John discussed the differences in brines vs. marinades and Tim showed his award winning technique on trimming for success. The segment was a demo, and all of the chicken was dunked into respective containers to be used for a comparative dinner. Each student would get the opportunity to taste the difference in a brined vs. marinated product.

The next segment was whole hog. It was my turn to show how to prepare the whole beast. Whole hog cooking is becoming a lost art form and I am determined to keep the traditional methods alive. Ample time is spent showing students how to trim, wash and inject to get the best appearance and flavors available from the finished product. Hogs were brought to the prep tables, injected rubbed and put back on refrigeration. We would load the pits later.

The last preparation segment was Boston Butts. Russ took on the task of showing his trimming, rubbing and injection methods for making the highest quality Boston butt for perfect barbecue. He uses time and contest tested techniques that produce a great final product. Students then all got to prepare their own Boston butts following the steps outlined earlier. The pork roasts were put back on refrigeration for later as well.

It was now time for a great dinner. Mike Fields from Mike’s Catering provided some great sides to go with the chicken that John and Tim had cooked. Dinner featured a Carolina Pileau, coleslaw, beans, and banana pudding. We had worked up quite an appetite and Mike filled the void with a delicious meal.

After the great dinner, the South Carolina Barbecue Association judges took the limelight. There was a short demonstration from Russ and Tim on building a rib box and another from John and Tim on building a chicken box. Boxes were built and the judging began. The open format judging is a one of the things that makes this school a unique experience. A student can watch an actual judging and ask any question about the process that he wants. SCBA Judges look forward to this opportunity to interact with the cookers. It is truly a great opportunity to learn what goes on under the judge’s tent.

After the judging, it was time to load the pits. Hogs and butts were loaded into respective cookers and the night began to take shape. Carolina Pit Masters staff would watch to make sure cookers performed well and that the meats would be done. Some of the students were cooking whole hogs for the first time. We do everything we can to ensure a successful cook.

Once the pits were loaded, it was time to relax, visit, and enjoy the night. Some students went home, some to nearby hotels, and some camped out right on site. The night weather was beautiful. Clear and cool, perfect weather for cooking championship barbecue. Garland was running a couple of WSMs while I ran Lucifer, my new hog cooker. Russ was running his Hunley, and Matt was looking after a hog cook going on at Uncle Jed’s. Tony McKee was cooking his first whole hog on his new pit. John Haney had a hog on his cooker, and the last one was on Doug Quinn’s. Boston butts were on Charles Fretwell’s Backwoods, Eric McPeak and Joe Justice’s BWS Competitor and Ed Looney’s Carolina Grill. There was a wide range of cookers being used. All would produce a great product.

The night cook went on without incident and Mike cooked us a fantastic breakfast. Judging would be at noon. Russ and I did a demo on building a pork box, while the large cuts finished in the cookers. At noon the SCBA took the stage again, boxes were built team style, and the open judging took place again. The SCBA provided another great look at the judge’s area. Tom Corwin, the SCBA’s Chief Marshall, presides over this and does a fantastic job. His judges did him proud today.

We are very proud that the South Carolina Barbecue Association supports this event. One of the greatest assets to the class is the open judging segment. After barbecued meats are cooked, boxes are assembled and presented just like in a typical contest. The students are allowed to watch the judging process, and there is an open question and answer period where all samples and scoring categories can be discussed. This is invaluable information for the contest cook. This segment is unique to the Carolina Pit Masters Barbecue Cooking School.

When the judging was complete, it was time to gather and wrap up the class. Questions were answered and awards were presented. Cooking Staff took an opportunity to take a little breather while Mary and her crew helped cooking crews load out. Cooking Staff trucks and trailers were loaded and the class officially concluded. It was another successful gathering of great BBQ folks in Summerville.

Thanks to everyone involved. Many thanks to our sponsors: The Dorchester Shrine Club, Piggly Wiggly, Smokin’ Coles, Swamp Sauce, Po Boys BBQ Sauce, Alveron Cookers, Mike’s Catering, Butcher Barbecue Injections and Marinades, BBQ Guru, Cook-n-Out, and Wrights BBQ Grills.
We hope to continue to provide training in many areas for outdoor cooking. Russ and I are planning future classes and packages. We hope to have a grilling series out soon. Keep an eye out for the Carolina Pit Masters Barbecue Cooking School. Graduates will be contenders and it will make you a better cook.

Barbecue 101 - A guide to Ultra Barbecue - Part III Fuel, Section 2

Proper preparation of high quality barbecue takes time, effort, a good sense of flavor, a good cooking vessel, and fuel. Gas, propane, electricity and pellets are good sources for heat but in my humble opinion the best barbecue is prepared over wood or charcoal.

American barbecue draws it roots from a process where meat was cooked over a fire on a structure of sorts. This was called barbacoa. This is not a bad method of creating good barbecue, if you have the time to spend with an open pit. The lean meats from wild game, fish and fowl didn’t cause problems with fire management. Flare ups were kept to a minimum. However, the introduction of the fatty pig caused fires to become unmanageable, and the early settlers learned to burn wood to coals to keep from burning meats. They also started to dig trenches to better focus the heat. These trenches were generally two or three feet deep and as the “pits” evolved, covers made of wood then cardboard to enclose the vessel for a more efficient burn. Traditional barbecue was then made by burning wood to coals in a separate area and then sprinkling the “live” coals under the meat. This method started the “thin blue smoke” that creates the subtle flavor that barbecue cooks desire.

Modern wood burning pits are designed to keep grease drippings from directly falling on the fire. Raw wood must be burned carefully on a hot bed of coals to keep the wood from smoldering and the smoke sweet. Most cooks use charcoal for heat and add a few chunks of seasoned hardwood for smoke flavor.

If you prefer to burn wood, it should be dry and well seasoned. Green wood produces bitter smoke. Fires should be built to be hot enough to keep wood from smoldering. Smoldering creates creosote which is not very tasty on the meats. Most hardwoods are good for smoking. Enthusiasts prefer wood from fruit or nut trees. Hickory, pecan, apple and cherry are the most popular. Softwoods and pines contain too many resins and tars that produce bitter smoke and should be avoided.

Charcoal is wood burned to coals then deprived of oxygen. It burns hot and clean leaving very little ash. Once the coals are fired up they act just like live coals and are a good fuel choice for pits.

Charcoal is available in different forms.
· The best is natural lump. It is the purest form of charcoal and burns hot and very clean. Most of the residuals have been burned off so it imparts very little smoke flavor.
· Natural charcoal briquettes are a good product. Wood char is made into a paste, a vegetable binder such as cornstarch is added and the resulting mix is formed into pillow shapes. They are uniform in shape, easy to handle and burn at a fairly predictable rate. They are becoming easier to find but are still a bit pricey.
· The most recognized charcoal is the formulated charcoal briquette. This is the product that you purchase at the grocery store or at discount stores. They are made from a mixture of carbonized sawdust, clay, limestone, sodium nitrate, anthracite coal and soft coal. They contain some raw sawdust for smoke flavor and paraffin to aid in quick lighting. Clay and limestone leave a lot of ash which will block air flow and interfere with heat transfer. Coal has a characteristic odor when burned which can be detected in barbecue, particularly when unlit coals are added during the cooking process. In some contest cases this can work to your advantage. Inexperienced judges are reminded of backyard barbecues; an experienced taster will object. Briquettes are good for open grilling, but when the environment is enclosed and meat is exposed to charcoal for a long period of time, caution should be exercised.

Taking the time to learn how to build and maintain a good clean fire will result great tasting, traditional style, barbecue. If burning sticks is not something that is viable for you, then charcoal is a great alternative. Using good charcoal mixed with some high quality wood chunks will produce a barbecue product that you will be proud of. Propane may become traditional in the future, but for now, I like my fire and live coals.

Hoofin' for Heros

Back in mid October a lady named Diane Dillon posted on the SCBA message board that she needed some help. Diane was planning a fundraiser called Hoofin’ for Heroes. Her group is horse enthusiasts, and they were planning a trail ride to benefit the Wounded Warriors. I saw the post early in the morning and had a feeling I would be talking to Bob about this before the day was done. Sure enough, late in the afternoon I received a call from Bob and he had already decided to champion the cause.

Carolina Pit Masters is always ready to help out a great cause. Diane had two hogs donated to her and she wanted to serve a barbecue dinner to the riders after the trail ride. Unfortunately, Diane couldn’t find anyone locally to donate time and resources to her cause. It was Bob to the rescue. Terry Thrasher and Seth Watari had answered Diane’s post too. Bob is a natural organizer. He stepped up and took control of the planning and organizing of the dinner and started to do what Bob does. After some networking and phone work, Bob had managed to get enough resources focused to provide Diane with a full catered dinner for the end of her trail ride at no cost to her. There was going to be a conglomeration of personalities together for this event and I was looking forward to the opportunity to work with great people for a great cause.

The crew was set. Carolina Pit Masters with Bob at the helm, Mike Fields from Mikes Catering, Terry Thrasher at Primal Q, Mike Meadows and his crew with Beer, Bean & BBQ, Billy Montana and Jack’s Place, Big Hat Al and Debbie Werts, Seth and Nona Watari, Charlie Dickens, Garland and Rebecca Hudgins with Big GQ, and Mike and Vicky Adams from Po Boys BBQ Sauce would all band together and produce a dinner that would make a soldier proud. These people deserve great recognition for the work they produced. Everyone had a ball and dinner was well received.

Mike Fields had arranged to have a large tent donated, but couldn’t attend the cook. Mike had a previous commitment. Bob, Mike and Al were going to go to Whitmire and set up the tent Thursday afternoon. I was committed to work Thursday, Mary and I would go Friday as would most of the rest of the crew. Billy Montana, Garland & Rebecca, and Mike & Vicky would come up Saturday.

Thankfully, the trip was uneventful and Mary and I arrived before Noon on Friday. Bob had the campsite set up and was wrapping up a few odd jobs. We didn’t need to pull a cooker for this event. Terry Thrasher and Mike Meadows would be providing the heat for the hogs and butts. Seth Watari was donating 10 Boston Butts and wanted to cook. Mike was going to fire a cooker for him. My job was to provide entertainment and supervision, and make sure the dinner cater went as planned. Since entertainment is my specialty and catering is a timing issue, I wasn’t worried. As the day progressed, the crews arrived. Al first, then Terry and Mike with their cookers, Charlie was the last of the cook team, Debbie and Tanner Werts would arrive later in the evening.

The night’s festivities went as usual. The temperature was supposed to get into the low twenties so Charlie built us a nice fire. The music filled the winter night and adult beverages were consumed for warmth. The hogs went on the pits about 4am and Mike and Terry tended the fires though out the day. Mike was going to cook his hog using what is known as the Myron method. Filled with injection, and wrapped in foil for the entire cook. I was looking forward to tasting the results first hand. Terry was using his Carolina Grill. His hog was parted out by the butcher and would be cooked in four pieces. I knew Terry was up to the task.

The cook went along pretty much as planned. We mingled with the horse riders and met many of the fine young people who were there with the military to volunteer their time to support Diane’s cause. Lunch was provided and the fire burned all day to take the edge off of the chill. Around 4pm it was time to get ready for dinner. We let the pits fall back so the meat would be cool enough to handle and started to make BBQ. Seasonings, spices and sauces were added while the Billy Montana crew worked up the beans and slaw. Everyone enjoyed the dinner. Hash was provided by the butcher of Terry’s hog and Diane had purchased some cookies that topped off the dinner nicely.

Awards, and thank yous followed dinner and the night time party kicked off. There were two fires going. Whenever you have two things going at the same time, there’s going to be a contest on which fire is better. “Competitive Bob” wouldn’t be out done and soon there were two roaring fires blazing, music was blaring and the beverages flowed freely. It was a great time. The party lasted into the early morning hours. The temperature dipped a bit to low for my tired bones and I turned in. I knew we would have a job the next day, cleaning and packing up to leave. Mary and I slept well.

We rose early and went to a local truck stop for breakfast. We joked and laughed our way through a country breakfast. Garland always says “it good to be among friends” and I couldn’t agree more.

We arrived back at the campgrounds, cleaned up and broke down all of the equipment we toted out. It only took up a couple of hours to get it all put away. Garland volunteered to tow Mikes grill back to Newberry, we all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

I’m blessed to be able to work with the crew of people I call friends. This event represented a cause that we feel strongly about. I only hope that we could help raise enough money to help the heroes out in some way. We’ll keep you posted on the success.

Barbecue 101 - A guide to Ultra Barbecue - Part III: Fuel, Section 1

Making barbecue properly is an art. This is the continuation of a series of articles that will discuss creating the culinary delight known as barbecue. I have defined it to state: Barbecuing is a process of exposing meats to heat at low temperatures, in the presence of hardwood smoke, for an extended period of time to break down the connective tissues and relinquish a succulent product.

Following up the articles on vessels, fuel should be the next consideration. Choosing your heat source and more importantly, deciding how much attention you want to pay to that source, will indicate which fuel to use. Fuel will vary as to the cooker. Propane, natural gas, electricity, pellets, wood, and charcoal are all fuel sources that can provide the heat needed to make proper barbecue.

Propane, natural gas, and electricity are the easiest fuel sources to manage. A quick adjustment to a dial or valve will keep heat consistent over a long cook. The systems may be controlled with thermostats or thermocouples and will provide many hours of consistent heat with minimum work. Many commercial barbecue operators will use these sources.
Propane is popular for mobile cookers. Portability and availability are the key factors. All these sources need to have a method or system to provide hardwood smoke. Chip and chunks pans are often placed on top of the fuel source burners to satisfy the requirement.

Pellets provide ease of operation too. An electric auger system will automatically feed a small fire in a pan. The system is usually controlled with an electric thermostat. Pellets are produced in a wide variety of flavors and can be mixed in the hoppers to produce a customized smoke flavor. Insulation is effective in most of these style cookers and a large fire is not necessary to keep the units up to temperature. Many cooks and judges agree that pellets may not be providing the smoke flavor that is becoming more popular in contest que. However the set it and forget it feature makes this source very popular.

Propane, natural gas, electricity and pellets are by far the easiest sources of heat to manage over the long hours it takes to produce great barbecue. A turn of a dial and a thermostat will provide an operator with time to sleep or work around the house while the barbecue is cooking. Chips or chunks or pellets will provide some smoke flavor. Team it up with a great rub and sauce and you will be able to make a special product for both the contest and the kitchen.