I know, Texas is famous for barbecue (BBQ) but I am still struggling with the whole concept. Husband bought me a lovely smoker/grill, probably in hopes of having something other than roasted chicken. I soak mesquite chips or lumps, prepare half the grill with lump charcoal, put the wet mesquite on the glowing red charcoal, and put the meat and vegetables on the cooler half. It turns out pretty well, but for the amount of work involved, I'd just as soon use my oven in the air-conditioned kitchen! What am I doing wrong, or not doing, or ought to be doing differently? Non-Texans are more than welcome to weigh in since I'm open to all and any advice.
I don't know, I either smoke something or bbq something. At our house they are 2 different things... My smoker/griller Part you put your smoke source in. The second section is where you smoke the meat or whatever... The 3 section is where you grill things like hamburgers or chicken. Now I know allot of times I am a little dense and maybe there are different kinds of them but this is what we do....So we would smoke a turkey, chicken or bacon on the middle section and only actually cook on the right side...
I grill almost every night. We have a propane BBQ, and I don't bother with trying to 'smoke' anything. A few seasonings, and sometimes some sauce for basting is all I use.
We do not cook outside. We tried and while a plain hamburger patty does taste fantastic when cooked over charcoal, I do not see any purpose in standing out in the broiling heat to cook meat that can be cooked just as well inside in the comfort of an air conditioned kitchen. BBQ and smoking are two different processes. The only BBQ I grew up with was the sauce my Mom put on the chicken pieces that she cooked for a few hours in the oven, inside, in the kitchen, in the air conditioned house. I am not sure why the fanatical interest in the process of grilling, smoking or cooking outside has taken such a strong hold. When I was growing up in Texas I didn't know anyone who cooked outside unless they were camping out at the lake. I think the almost year round nice weather has caused some newcomers to the state to become addicted to cooking outside. Personally I do not know any born and raised Texans in our families or friends who cook outside.
@toni - I'm with you in that I much prefer to cook inside. Don't see any reason to be standing outside sweating over a BBQ - BUT - it IS definitely a fad here. Everybody is cooking outside. I put it down to people cooking outside are cooking lots whilst it is too much effort for me to go outside, get the BBQ dusted off so to speak and then cook on it. I understand the grilling if you're camping but otherwise I personally prefer to cooking inside in the kitchen.
Thank heavens! I thought I was the only one that preferred cooking/grilling/barbecuing indoors during the hot months. Our outside cooking is done mostly from October to April. I'm slowly getting the hang of smoking. I tend to overcook grilled meats, and barbecue is mopped in the last half hour with a store bought sauce. If Sweet Baby Ray's makes a great sauce, who am I to argue? Camping? My forebearers worked long and hard to get out of camps, teepees, long-houses, etc. My idea of camping is not having a chocolate placed on my pillow after someone has turned down the bed, fluffed the towels in the bathroom, and replenished the shampoo in the shower. I don't do hardship . . . . .
We used to spend many summer weekends at Lake Texoma when I was a kid. Dad had a very high stress and demanding job so being at the lake away from the phone was the only respite he got. Our camping involved my brother and I sleeping in the car. Mom and Dad slept on floaties in the boat. I am with you, my idea of roughing it now is no HGTV in the hotel room.
The only things we barbeque outside is hamburgers or steaks in the summer. When we go camping though it's cowboy potatoes cooked in a cast iron pot setting on the coals or whole potatoes baked on the coals, grilled burgers or steak over the fire, and finished with a fruit filled caked bake in a dutch oven over coals.
I have 30 pounds of fresh pork belly in the freezer that we will smoke in the thing pictured above to get bacon. That's what you smoke....you don't cook or put it on the grill to get bacon with fresh pork belly...That is the difference..... After it becomes bacon then I will bake it, on a cookie sheet, in the oven, in the house and can it..
Ed has a big charcoal grill that we use if we're doing a cookout. But he also invested in one of these, and MAN is it handy! It's a tabletop charcoal grill. About the size of a large bread board and we often cook our dinner steaks or chicken on it. It's portable, we just set it up on the back porch coffee table and cook away, and then when we're done, it's compact enough that it slides easily under the coffee table for storage. Those legs actually fold so that it sits flat on its bottom for storage. Best investment ever and it was under $50 on Amazon!
