The Barbecue Thread

[Chino]

I enjoy herbs in brine, but only the hearty ones (thyme, rosemary, sage, marjoram), soft herbs just get destroyed and really don't lend much to it. For me I just add salt til it tastes a bit salty, then brown sugar till it tastes sweet. Toss in some peppercorns and dried chiles, that serves as a good base. And some onions to Piss off Tim

How long do you typical let chicken brine in something like that? Overnight? Or is that overkill?

[lonestar]

If it's a whole bird, yes, otherwise a good 4-6 hours will do.

[orcus116]

So I finally got a decent grill and I'm looking for recommendations/tips on how to properly cook a rack of ribs.

[Chino]

So I finally got a decent grill and I'm looking for recommendations/tips on how to properly cook a rack of ribs.

What kind did you get?

There's a thing called the "3-2-1 method" that's pretty fool proof. Three hours uncovered. Two hours wrapped in foil. One hour uncovered. There's no exact right way to do it. Everyone has their preference. If you search that on YouTube, you'll find a ton of examples.

[Chino]

Made some pork belly burnt ends last night. Always a good time 

[orcus116]

So I finally got a decent grill and I'm looking for recommendations/tips on how to properly cook a rack of ribs.

What kind did you get?

There's a thing called the "3-2-1 method" that's pretty fool proof. Three hours uncovered. Two hours wrapped in foil. One hour uncovered. There's no exact right way to do it. Everyone has their preference. If you search that on YouTube, you'll find a ton of examples.

I got a Char-Broil 4 burner gas grill. What temp would I be looking at for the ribs? I'm guessing fairly low.

[Phoenix87x]

They look great Chino

[cramx3]

They look great Chino

Yeah, that looks delish

[pg1067]

So I finally got a decent grill and I'm looking for recommendations/tips on how to properly cook a rack of ribs.

What kind did you get?

There's a thing called the "3-2-1 method" that's pretty fool proof. Three hours uncovered. Two hours wrapped in foil. One hour uncovered. There's no exact right way to do it. Everyone has their preference. If you search that on YouTube, you'll find a ton of examples.

I got a Char-Broil 4 burner gas grill. What temp would I be looking at for the ribs? I'm guessing fairly low.

Compared to others here, I'm a rank amateur and am probably doing about six things wrong, but what I do is the following:

- 12-24 hours before I want to start cooking, I peel off the membrane layer from the underside of the rib rack and liberally coat the ribs with a dry rub.
- 5 or so hours before I want to eat, I fire up one of the four burners on my grill and load up the wood chip box (I'm partial to apple wood).  I get the internal temperature to about 200-225 degrees.
- Ribs go on the opposite end of the grill.
- Every hour, baste the ribs with apple cider vinegar.
- After 5 hours, I LIGHTLY baste the ribs with BBQ sauce and put them over medium direct heat for 5-10 minutes just to crystalize some of the sauce.
- Remove from heat and baste with a LITTLE more sauce and eat.  I will usually put a little more sauce on my portion, but not too much.

I think I'll be doing this next weekend for my son's birthday.

[Chino]

  Thanks dudes.

So I finally got a decent grill and I'm looking for recommendations/tips on how to properly cook a rack of ribs.

What kind did you get?

There's a thing called the "3-2-1 method" that's pretty fool proof. Three hours uncovered. Two hours wrapped in foil. One hour uncovered. There's no exact right way to do it. Everyone has their preference. If you search that on YouTube, you'll find a ton of examples.

I got a Char-Broil 4 burner gas grill. What temp would I be looking at for the ribs? I'm guessing fairly low.

Compared to others here, I'm a rank amateur and am probably doing about six things wrong, but what I do is the following:

- 12-24 hours before I want to start cooking, I peel off the membrane layer from the underside of the rib rack and liberally coat the ribs with a dry rub.
- 5 or so hours before I want to eat, I fire up one of the four burners on my grill and load up the wood chip box (I'm partial to apple wood).  I get the internal temperature to about 200-225 degrees.
- Ribs go on the opposite end of the grill.
- Every hour, baste the ribs with apple cider vinegar.
- After 5 hours, I LIGHTLY baste the ribs with BBQ sauce and put them over medium direct heat for 5-10 minutes just to crystalize some of the sauce.
- Remove from heat and baste with a LITTLE more sauce and eat.  I will usually put a little more sauce on my portion, but not too much.

I think I'll be doing this next weekend for my son's birthday.

This sounds like a solid plan and probably better than anything I could have recommended. I'm really not well versed in the ways of gas grills, but this all sounds fine to me. Only small change (addition) I'd make is to put an aluminum pan under the grate beneath your ribs. You're not going to be using those burners anyway, and it'd make a good trap to prevent any drippings from gunking up your grill. You could also fill the pan up a bit with water, and it'd help keep the temperature in the grill stable if you were to ever experience swings.

A wood chip box or a smoking tube are crucial though imo. I'd definitely recommend getting one of those. That will completely change (enhance) the flavor of your meat. I like a an apple/cherry combo when I do ribs.

Also, using a spoon will make getting that membrane off the back of the bones a lot easier should you ever have difficulty.

[lonestar]

Yeah, that's a solid plan. Definitely soak your chips in water for a few hours before hand to increase the smoke output and get a longer burn on them. Temp is good, right above 200. Keep the robs off the heat and heat to one side to get the smoke circulating in some fashion. Saucing is a zen thing, play with ideas, see what works, then take credit as your secret method.

[pg1067]

Also, using a spoon will make getting that membrane off the back of the bones a lot easier should you ever have difficulty.

Couldn't help but think of this:




I remember the very first time I tried to cook ribs (on a charcoal bbq).  I knew NOTHING.  I slathered then with sauce and put them over direct heat.  You can imagine the outcome.   

[lonestar]

That had to make a spectacular mess of your grill...plus the smell man.

[bosk1]

For Mothers' Day, we had two families over and made some good food.  The star was a smoked salmon that I did on the Kamado.  I put it in a dry brine 12 hours before of 4 parts brown sugar; 1 part salt; 1 tbsp. each of black pepper and granulated garlic.  It formed a nice pellicle by the next morning.  Here it is before going on the grill:



I kept it on that wire rack and put the rack on the grill.  That way, didn't have to worry about trying to get stuck fish off of a hot grill when it was done.



After about 90 minutes at around 175 degrees, I drizzled a couple of drops of honey on each piece and brushed it to coat it with a nice light glaze.

Here it is all done at the 2 hour mark:



Total cook time was just under 2 hours.  Used a small applewood log for smoke.  The pieces were small, and I think my temp crept up a bit too close to 200 for a bit, so it was ever so slightly past being perfectly done.  But it was pretty close and was, overall, pretty amazing.  Added some grilled asparagus, fruit salad, brown rice, and a few other sides and desserts to make some moms feel very special for their poolside brunch at the Bosk1 compound.

[lonestar]

Nice...I love curing like that. My usual is about equal parts sugar and salt, and citrus zest. I let it go overnight...then rinse, pat dry, and let it go overnight again uncovered. The pellicle is just dope by then. After that a good cold smoke, or we did one at the hotel where I'd soak it in Tito's vodka and citrus juice for a few hours and let it dry again. Of cours I could never taste it after that point, but I was told it was amazing.

[bosk1]

So you leave it dry and uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours after the initial overnight cure?

I wasn't sure on the sugar/salt ratio.  Recipes I saw ranged from 2:1 to 5:1.  Even at 4:1, it tasted a bit on the salty side.  Maybe I didn't rinse it thoroughly enough? 

[lonestar]

Yeah.. Probably not quite 2hrs,but overnight for sure. A chef buddy used to just put a fan on them for a few hours for the same effect. Also, be conscious of the salt you're using, iodized salt will kick up the saltiness by volumes, a good kosher salt like Diamond Crystal is preferable.

[cramx3]

The Bosk1 compound looks nice! Oh and so does the salmon!

[bosk1]

The Bosk1 compound looks nice! Oh and so does the salmon!

Yeah, we've done a TON of work on the backyard during Covid.  We actually started the year before, and were already intending on trying to get quite a bit done during winter of 2020.  But with the lockdown, we just went into overdrive during winter and spring.  That retaining wall, lawn, pergola, and all the plants didn't exist.  There was just a dirt hill and a weed field where the lawn is (we had a trampoline there for years).  Now it looks like this:







A lot of this was inspired by Gary, and all the outdoor work he posted about a couple of years back.  I have been meaning to post a progress montage that shows the work we did, but just never got around to digging up the pics over the months.  Anyway, sorry for turning this into the Home Improvement thread.

[cramx3]

That looks mad chill, nice job with it 

[gmillerdrake]

That looks awesome Bosk! It’s a vacation in your back yard. Very peaceful looking. It’s weird to hear/read that I ‘inspired’ someone     Seems so mature or something like that. As I’ve aged I’ve gotten more and more into yard work and improving the landscaping around our home. It’s so addicting. Very cool stuff there and it looks incredible.


I still haven’t had the time to get my planters and annuals planted this spring. Hoping to get it knocked out this weekend.

[hunnus2000]

Yeah - nice looking backyard Bosk! 

[Chino]

I sometimes fantasize about what it'd be like to have property that didn't have fall and winter, at least not to the extend we have it in New England.

I swear I spend more time maintaining and cleaning nature's shit off my property than I do sitting and relaxing on it 

[gmillerdrake]

Also.....not sure what part of Cali you’re in Bosk but the habitat you’ve created looks amazing.....but also attractive to indigenous animals. Do you have venomous snakes in your area? If so, I’d keep a keen eye out.

[lonestar]

Also.....not sure what part of Cali you’re in Bosk but the habitat you’ve created looks amazing.....but also attractive to indigenous animals. Do you have venomous snakes in your area? If so, I’d keep a keen eye out.

Loads of rattlesnakes in them parts.

[bosk1]

^Yup.  We have seen a couple in the 11 years we've been here.  It's just part of living in this area.  We just have to keep an eye out.  But honestly, the wild turkeys are more of an issue than the snakes.  They are more prevalent and more destructive.

[pg1067]

^Yup.  We have seen a couple in the 11 years we've been here.  It's just part of living in this area.  We just have to keep an eye out.  But honestly, the wild turkeys are more of an issue than the snakes.  They are more prevalent and more destructive.

It's not a bad problem to have.

[ReaperKK]

Today I was at lowes picking some stuff up when I came across this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pit-Boss-820-sq-in-Matte-Black-Pellet-Grill/5001913559

This looks like a good deal. My smoker is currently dead and my propane grill is on the way out. How is a pellet grill as an all around use BBQ? My buddy swears by his but I thought I'd get your opinions.

[goo-goo]

@Bosk

That's my go to salmon recipe (honey glaze). I can't eat salmon any other way 

Sorry for being MIA but I've done a lot of grilling, smoking, baking, and roasting with the Kamado lol. For those of you with Instagram, here's my link where I have been uploading my cooks. I don't think I have uploaded all the pictures.

https://www.instagram.com/oquintero99/

I bought a few upgrades for the Kamado:
-Joe Rotisserie - been roasting a lot of chicken with this one. Have also cooked a beef tenderloin and did some Tacos al Pastor this past weekend.

-Pizza Stone - Pizza tastes so much better like this. I only bought the crust and I added a few ingredients (yes, pineapple!!)

-Stainless Steel charcoal basket - so the original grate that goes on the bottom has small holes and they plug with the smaller charcoals often restricting airflow. This avoids the hole plugging issue and I've noticed that the heat lasts a bit longer and it is also more constant. 

-Meater thermometer - This is a gamechanger for me. I was looking for a probe for the rotisserie since I saw some "hacks" and I just didn't have enough room to tape the wire probe and to tape the reader onto the shaft so it also spun. I bought the 1st gen on eBay for 35 bucks (Bluetooth 30 ft range; the current gen range is 160ft I believe). Anyways, the probe has two sensors: the one that goes through the meat (tip) and one on the end that doesn't have the meat. The opposite end (end without the tip) measures the ambient temperature inside the dome, near the food. Usually, the probe that comes with the Kamado (or any other smoker/grill is not that accurate so you can be off by 10-20 Deg (hotter or colder) and you wouldn't know. And this affects your cook by a lot.

-Some wire racks that hold the grates/stone/deflector
https://smokeware.com/collections/kamado-joe-classic-grills/products/grate-rack-bge?variant=965154447

[goo-goo]

Today I was at lowes picking some stuff up when I came across this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pit-Boss-820-sq-in-Matte-Black-Pellet-Grill/5001913559

This looks like a good deal. My smoker is currently dead and my propane grill is on the way out. How is a pellet grill as an all around use BBQ? My buddy swears by his but I thought I'd get your opinions.

It depends on how involved you want to be with grilling/cooking/etc. This helps you a lot with NOT getting involved. Kind of like set it and forget it. You are restricted by the pellets though. You can't use charcoal or simply wood. It has to be the pellets. There are some that also regulate the smoke produced.

With a kamado ceramic grill, you can grill, bake, roast, smoke but it is a bit more involved (setup the charcoal, light it, keep track of the temperature/airflow, etc.).

[Chino]

The pellet it grill is the best of all worlds but a master of none of them. I love mine to death though, and out of the four grills/outdoor cook machines I have, the pellet grill gets the most use by far. I love mine, and I'm upgrading to a larger one they day mine finally dies. I thought that would have happened by now, but it doesn't want to quit yet.

[bosk1]

I haven't done much chicken, although the last batch of glazed thighs I did came out really nice.  However, 2 of the 5 baby chicks we got in March turned out to be roosters, which we cannot have in our neighborhood for noise reasons.  So...a few YouTube videos later, this was my first spatchcock chicken on the Kamado:



Not the prettiest presentation, and it was a skinny bird compared to the meat chickens most of us are used to getting at the supermarket.  But with a nice dry rub and fresh rosemary from our garden, he was pretty tasty.



We also did a ham last week, although we did not intend to.  I intended to do a pork shoulder so we would have some pulled pork to take on a campout this past weekend.  But my wife was in a bit of a rush at the market, and didn't realize the store had mixed in some uncured hams in where they usually have the pork shoulders.  I didn't look at it until it was time to take it out and put the rub on it.  At that point, I didn't have time to cure it, so I just rolled with the typical pork dry rub and low-and-slow smoke method to see what would happen.  Since a ham doesn't have the same muscle, fat, and connective tissue configuration or marbling that you get in a pork shoulder, it didn't break down to where you could shred it.  But it got a really nice smoke ring and nice flavor.  It basically tasted like a nice smoked pork roast, and we had to slice it rather than shred it.  Wasn't bad at all.  Unfortunately, no pictures.  Sorry.

[faizoff]

I believe I've had rooster and remember the meat being kinda tough overall. That does look great with the rub!

I made some smash burgers with chicken this July 4th weekend. came out the most tender I ever made, didn't smash them too hard this time round and undercooked them on the pan.

That made for a very juicy just cooked right tender burger.

[Chino]

I'm late as hell, but that sammich looks amazing.

[ReaperKK]

I believe I've had rooster and remember the meat being kinda tough overall. That does look great with the rub!

I made some smash burgers with chicken this July 4th weekend. came out the most tender I ever made, didn't smash them too hard this time round and undercooked them on the pan.

That made for a very juicy just cooked right tender burger.

Do you have a recipe? That look fantastic.