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Any bass playing BBQ pit masters out there?

#21
bigboy_78 said:
OK. Aussies like to claim having a barbie as some sort of unique national pastime, but I am starting to realise that you guys are the masters of real BBQ.

BBQ in Australia has slowly morphed into anything involving cooking outside. These days we basically have same gas cooktops outside as we do inside. My idea of BBQ is cooking with FIRE created by burning parts of dead trees. Is this the sort of things you guys are doing? Can you cook a steak or a few snags in these Smokers/BBQs you have or is it only for slow roasting?

I’m really keen to get back to traditional BBQ, but not sure where to start. I’m more a fan of actual wood than the little heat-bead type fuels.
Click to expand...


So far everyone has been talking about wood, or charcoal flame cooking. The gas / charcoal debate is an issue in the sates, but for smoking, it's all wood or wood product.

Grills like the Green Egg can hold a temp of 200 degrees for long periods, or cook pizza at 700 degrees for shorter periods.

Smokers tend to work best for low and slow, and grills, while having heat control, don't quite get down to the temp for a day long brisket.

So I take it Australians cook more than shrimp on their barbies then?
 
#22
Phalex said:
So I take it Australians cook more than shrimp on their barbies then?
Click to expand...

We don’t even eat shrimp, we eat prawns and I think I’ve had them off the BBQ once in my life. I don’t know who’s idea that slogan was but it worked a charm on you guys in the 80s.

I think in the US BBQ is a more of a type of food than a method of cooking. We say anything cooked outside on a grill is BBQ. Our traditional wood BBQ is 10 bricks, a fire and a lump of cast iron to cook on, this Low & Slow method of cooking is rare. Can it be done in a standard Weber Kettle?
 
#23
bigboy_78 said:
OK. Aussies like to claim having a barbie as some sort of unique national pastime, but I am starting to realise that you guys are the masters of real BBQ.

BBQ in Australia has slowly morphed into anything involving cooking outside. These days we basically have same gas cooktops outside as we do inside. My idea of BBQ is cooking with FIRE created by burning parts of dead trees. Is this the sort of things you guys are doing? Can you cook a steak or a few snags in these Smokers/BBQs you have or is it only for slow roasting?

I’m really keen to get back to traditional BBQ, but not sure where to start. I’m more a fan of actual wood than the little heat-bead type fuels.
Click to expand...

Ah, there's a huge difference between 'Barbecue' [low and slow] and 'Grilling' [hot and quick]. Here in California it's predominantly grilling, although I'm learning to slow things down (except steaks!).

In the US there's huge rifts between various areas on whether BBQ is beef or pork, mops vs. dry rubs, NC style vs. Texas style vs. Kansas City style, thick sauces vs. vinegar based sauces etc.
It's all good, though.

I cook our Christmas prime rib in my gas grill with smoke and indirect heat. Low and slow...
 
#24
bigboy_78 said:
We don’t even eat shrimp, we eat prawns and I think I’ve had them off the BBQ once in my life. I don’t know who’s idea that slogan was but it worked a charm on you guys in the 80s.

I think in the US BBQ is a more of a type of food than a method of cooking. We say anything cooked outside on a grill is BBQ. Our traditional wood BBQ is 10 bricks, a fire and a lump of cast iron to cook on, this Low & Slow method of cooking is rare. Can it be done in a standard Weber Kettle?
Click to expand...

It can be done on a weber kettle. Ribs are very doable as are whole chickens if you bank the coals to the sides. A brisket, or a pork shoulder, probably won't work so well. They make a smokey joe smoker for that type of application.

I can't speak highly enough of the big green egg. It's a ceramic Kamado style grill. They're heavy and expensive, but they do everything very well.
 
#25
It has morphed here as well to be referred to almost anything that qualifies as an outdoor kitchen, even gas. I have a gas grill, charcoal grill and smoker and use whichever fits the meal, the gas one being mainly for quick, easy things or cooking sides in a pot to go along with the real BBQ. We deep fry whole turkeys here over big gas burners too.


In it's pure form.....

Barbeque = Wood, indirect heat, smoke, low temp., long cooking times. Brisket, Roasts, Ham, Lamb, Ribs, Chicken, Sausage, some Fish, etc.

Grilling = charcoal (though I prefer wood lump coal), direct heat, hith temp., fast cooking time. Steaks, seafood, birgers, porkchops, lambchops, chicken, some sausage, etc.


There's also in-between stuff like adding small wood chips to a charcoal fire, or grills made with a direct cooking grate over the fire and indirect smoking area on the other end, etc.


There is also Open-pit BBQ, which is basically a big metal grate tabletop set over an open wood fire on the ground. Don't see that much in city backyards bit man, is it good.


And yes, I love to cook, and eat, BBQ anything. Our native woods here are Live Oak and Mesquite, so I use those the most, although a little pecan thrown in can bring a nice flavor as well.
 
#26
I smoke a turkey on major occasions. I brine them overnight in a 5-gallon bucket. Here's my brine recipe, which is pretty basic:

2 gallons water
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups pickling salt
A healthy dose of cheap-o maple syrup

Submerge bird for at least 6 hours. Remove; coat with sunflower oil; stick in smoker and proceed to smoke. Par time for a 20-pounder is between 5 and 6 hours.

I prefer apple wood for smoking and I have a good stock laid in.
 
#27
Thanks for the brine recipe, gonna have to do a turkey sometime.

I have done whole chickens several times using something similair to this...


bch1.jpg



Ooen a can of beer and set it in the middle and put the chicken over it. The beer steams away during the cook and keeps everything nice and moist.


chicken_in_oven.jpg




Probably need a really big beer for a turkey.:p
 
#30
Here's a turkey beer brine recipe you can try. I always brine them for at least 24 hours.

1/2 gallon apple cider
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
2 cups Kosher salt
1/4 cup whole black peppercorns
4 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp. whole cloves
1 Tablespoon juniper berries (optional)
11 (12 oz) bottles/cans beer OR 1 gallon water

I like to use applewood for poultry but I use a combination of hickory and applewood for pork. I haven't done a brisket yet but it is on my list of things to BBQ! In that case I would use mesquite.
 
#31
bigboy_78 said:
OK. Aussies like to claim having a barbie as some sort of unique national pastime, but I am starting to realise that you guys are the masters of real BBQ.
Click to expand...

Yeah, in the US BBQ seems to be an entire form of cooking.

In Australia BBQ really more of a social gathering, where its too hot to cook inside so you do it outside instead. Generally involving copious amount of alcohol.

Phalex said:
So I take it Australians cook more than shrimp on their barbies then?
Click to expand...

Haha, we call them prawns, and generally putting seafood on any sort of communal BBQ will result in a lot of dirty looks.

There's always that one guy who brings a big fillet of fish and whacks it on early in the piece, and from then on all you're chops taste like they've been swimming.
 
#32
Just bbq-ed using indirect heat for the first time.

I was a bit nervous, but it came out really good!

I started with a home made marinade that I've used before (mostly for baked chicken) and seared the outside on both sides to give grill marks and a crunchy skin. Some fat hit the flame and there was a flare up which charred one a little -thankfully only one- and then placed them all on the unheated rack and brought up the flame to medium, closed the lid and cooked at 400 for about an hour...
 
#36
Personally I think a Weber Kettle is a great place to start down the road of BBQ.
You can grill, indirect grill, and smoke very well with it. There are a ton of add-ons for it too.
I liked Cowboy Charcoal till I found plywood pieces in it. Stubb's has been my choice of late.
Once you get hooked , BBQ is a way of life.
 
#37
I don't have a clue how to make good BBQ. Lots of great ideas in this thread, but it seems to me you have to have a feel for it to do it right. That being said, I'm really good at tasting and identifying good BBQ. :)

I had some tonight at The Salt Lick in Driftwood, Texas. Pit style BBQ, and man it was awesome.

-Mike
 
#38
My back porch is full of barbecue equipment - two smokers and two grills. I cook outside an average of three times per week. Yesterday I made a prime rib on the grill and it was excellent. We had the world's best french dips today. I also make great pulled pork, brisket, chicken, and ribs. We also really enjoy smoked trout, steelhead, and salmon.

One of my favorites is turkey. First my wife de-bones it like you would for a turducken. Then I brine it overnight. After that I smoke it for three hours using mequite. Lastly, she trusses it up and stuffs it. It comes out great and the whole family agrees !

Another favorite is pastrami and it's really pretty easy. First make a corned beef (or buy one) and then smoke it a few hours. Before serving, steam it for an hour and there you have it. You can use briskets or round roasts if you want. The roast will slice better but brisket is the traditional, deli-style way.
 

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