The Barbecue Thread

[jingle.boy]

Smash Chicken Burgers!?!?!

[hunnus2000]

Speaking of smash burgers, what is your preference for a tasty burger?

BBQ the burger on a grill?
Or smash it out on a griddle?

These days, my preference is on the griddle because it's more tender and juicey.

What say you?

[Chino]

Speaking of smash burgers, what is your preference for a tasty burger?

BBQ the burger on a grill?
Or smash it out on a griddle?

These days, my preference is on the griddle because it's more tender and juicey.

What say you?

I can't decide. Both are equally amazing. Good beef is good beef. I think when it comes to burgers, the bread and cheese choice is arguably more important than the meat.

[lonestar]

I definitely prefer the griddle, on a grill too much of the juice and grease is lost through the grates, whereas with a griddle it simmers in them.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Yea since I discovered smashing burgers that's basically the only way I cook burgers these days and I guess that's tricky doing on a grill.

[ReaperKK]

After 5 uses my Pitboss digital screen went out, I can barely make anything out on it. Gotta see if I can get it warrantied.

[Chino]

After 5 uses my Pitboss digital screen went out, I can barely make anything out on it. Gotta see if I can get it warrantied.

This is my biggest fear with upgrading to a new machine when the day comes. Mine is 6 or 7 years old now and doesn't even have a digital readout for temperature, let alone a screen of any kind. It's basically all mechanical and is easy/cheap to fix. There's a cpu onboard, but all it does is read temperature off a probe and sets the auger speed accordingly. I don't need anything fancy, and I hate that all the new machines are getting packed with so much tech in them.

[lonestar]

I'd be so weary of using any level of electronics like that around that much heat, smoke, and grease, without having multiple layers of insulation separating the two.

[pg1067]

Speaking of smash burgers, what is your preference for a tasty burger?

BBQ the burger on a grill?
Or smash it out on a griddle?

These days, my preference is on the griddle because it's more tender and juicey.

What say you?

Ever since I saw this video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yX_bpbCmfo&t=248s  I haven't made a burger any other way.  I don't use his sauce, but I season the meat with salt, pepper, garlic power, onion powder and paprika (roughly half as much paprika as everything else).  We also don't usually have American cheese in the house, so I usually use sliced cheddar (my son likes one slice of cheddar and one slice of provolone.  And these buns are perfection:



I put a couple tiny pats of butter on the cast iron griddle and brown the buns and then move them to the top rack of my grill.  Then the meat goes on.  Yum!  And even better if I have the oomph to make a batch of these bad boys on the side:

[Chino]

Yo, those buns are legit the best on the market right now. 

[pg1067]

Yo, those buns are legit the best on the market right now.

Right?!  Every once in a while the grocery store near me is out and I have to get something else, and it's such a disappointment.  Even other brioche buns aren't close.

[bosk1]

I'll have to try those. 

[bosk1]

Chino, no comment on my chicken?  Or ham?

[lonestar]

Yo, those buns are legit the best on the market right now.

Try and find Pretzilla buns....

[XJDenton]

Speaking of smash burgers, what is your preference for a tasty burger?

BBQ the burger on a grill?
Or smash it out on a griddle?

These days, my preference is on the griddle because it's more tender and juicey.

What say you?

Is it possible to smash a burger on a BBQ? You need a flat surface don't you?

[pg1067]

Speaking of smash burgers, what is your preference for a tasty burger?

BBQ the burger on a grill?
Or smash it out on a griddle?

These days, my preference is on the griddle because it's more tender and juicey.

What say you?

Is it possible to smash a burger on a BBQ? You need a flat surface don't you?

LOL...yes.  You use a cast iron griddle (or a flat top grill) on top of a grill or even on a stove top.  Check out the video I linked in my post a couple hours ago.

[XJDenton]

Well that's just cheating.

In any case, smash burgers are nice but I don't think they are well suited to the BBQ setting IMHO. Prefer a nice thick burger off the grill.

[Chino]

Chino, no comment on my chicken?  Or ham?

I somehow completely missed that post. You slaughtered the chicken yourself? Is that legal where you live?  I had a buddy of mine get a fine a few years ago for slaughtering rabbits on his property. Kudos on the spatchcock method. I won't cook a whole bird any other way these days. I'd really like to try a Thanksgiving turkey that way.

As for ham, I have next to no experience with it (cooking it myself that is), especially on a smoker. I don't mind it sliced like a steak though. I like it a lot that way actually.

[goo-goo]

For those of you that have a Kamado Classic Joe, Atlanta Grill Company has the rotisserie for a heavily discounted price. I bought mine from them and they shipped fast via Fedex. Been using this one a lot. They also have it for the Big Joe.

https://atlantagrillcompany.com/products/joetisserie%C2%AEclassic?_pos=1&_sid=cd0376742&_ss=r&mc_cid=49dc14f7e4&mc_eid=e3387e3661

[Chino]

For those of you that have a Kamado Classic Joe, Atlanta Grill Company has the rotisserie for a heavily discounted price. I bought mine from them and they shipped fast via Fedex. Been using this one a lot. They also have it for the Big Joe.

https://atlantagrillcompany.com/products/joetisserie%C2%AEclassic?_pos=1&_sid=cd0376742&_ss=r&mc_cid=49dc14f7e4&mc_eid=e3387e3661

For some reason while I was stuck in traffic last night, I was envisioning putting a brisket on a rotisserie. I don't know how it would come out, but this could be the universe sending me a sign to experiment.

[goo-goo]

For those of you that have a Kamado Classic Joe, Atlanta Grill Company has the rotisserie for a heavily discounted price. I bought mine from them and they shipped fast via Fedex. Been using this one a lot. They also have it for the Big Joe.

https://atlantagrillcompany.com/products/joetisserie%C2%AEclassic?_pos=1&_sid=cd0376742&_ss=r&mc_cid=49dc14f7e4&mc_eid=e3387e3661

For some reason while I was stuck in traffic last night, I was envisioning putting a brisket on a rotisserie. I don't know how it would come out, but this could be the universe sending me a sign to experiment.

 

I've roasted chicken and beef tenderloin, both of them brushed with molten butter. Whole different level of taste. I have wondered myself if roasting a brisket would come out good.

Yesterday, a friend of mine sent the menu of a restaurant that had FRIED SMOKED BRISKET. Now that's intriguing! I'll see if I can do that.

[bosk1]

I somehow completely missed that post. You slaughtered the chicken yourself? Is that legal where you live? 

...

Kudos on the spatchcock method. I won't cook a whole bird any other way these days. I'd really like to try a Thanksgiving turkey that way.

This was my first time.  I like that you get a really nice, even cook.  I really want to do a store-bought chicken that way now.  My wife was talking about maybe trying the beer can method, but I was like, "Nope, I've already got a plan."  She's totally down with this method now.

As for ham, I have next to no experience with it (cooking it myself that is), especially on a smoker. I don't mind it sliced like a steak though. I like it a lot that way actually.

I did a cured ham awhile back, and that actually turned out nice.  Even with the cure, the smoke penetrates, and it comes out nice.  This last one wasn't planned.  She thought she had bought a pork shoulder, and by the time we took it out to prep it and realized it was an uncured ham, we didn't really have time to do anything about it (unless we would have scuttled the dinner plans entirely and just saved it for another cook).  But even though it may not be a "normal" way to cook a ham, it was good, so... 

[Chino]

What does curing a ham even mean? Is that just a different way to say "brining for a days", or is it a multi-month process?

[XJDenton]

Curing is any method of meat preservation that uses salt. What Americans refer to as ham is usually a pork joint subjected to a reasonably short treatment (few days) in a wet brine, including normal salt and Prague Powder #1, a pink curing salt that gives the ham the pink colour and preserves it in nitrates, alongside other herbs and aromatics for flavour.

[bosk1]

Yeah.  Almost all hams that people buy are cured.  It is almost unheard of to buy an uncured ham and cure it yourself, but I'm not sure why that is.

[XJDenton]

Well pre-cure, its just "pork leg". As for why people don't so it at home? It's a multi day job and needs some specialist ingredients if you want it to taste like store bought ham, so I guess convenience answers that question.

[XJDenton]

If you want to have a go, this is the kind of salt you need:

https://www.amazon.com/Hoosier-Hill-Farm-Prague-Powder/dp/B00C2PIC92/

[hunnus2000]

Well pre-cure, its just "pork leg". As for why people don't so it at home? It's a multi day job and needs some specialist ingredients if you want it to taste like store bought ham, so I guess convenience answers that question.

Interesting, I never knew this although I can't think of a reason why I should have known this.

So has anyone done a full pig roast over an open fire? Watching Man, Fire, Food has always piqued my curiosity about this.

[XJDenton]

I was present for a full pig roast when I was in the Scouts. Honestly though I feel apart from the spectacle you'd do better with a fully butchered pig. A suckling pig could be worth considering though.

[bosk1]

Yeah, the biggest prohibitive factor seems to just be the logistics of it.  No need to go to all that hassle when a pork shoulder will do nicelly.

[Stadler]

Well pre-cure, its just "pork leg". As for why people don't so it at home? It's a multi day job and needs some specialist ingredients if you want it to taste like store bought ham, so I guess convenience answers that question.

Interesting, I never knew this although I can't think of a reason why I should have known this.

So has anyone done a full pig roast over an open fire? Watching Man, Fire, Food has always piqued my curiosity about this.

Yes.  Not me, personally, but my cousin once and my dad and his friends once.   Unbelievable, but a LOT of work, if memory serves.

[Chino]

My problem with pig roasts is that different sections of the pig cook better at different times and at different temps. I feel like a lot of quality gets lost in the show when it comes to pig roasts.

[lonestar]

Be sure to educate yourself thoroughly on curing salt and it's usage, I can be toxic in its raw form.

[XJDenton]

Be sure to educate yourself thoroughly on curing salt and it's usage, I can be toxic in its raw form.

Yeah, sodium nitrite is toxic in large enough quantities, so you need to be a bit careful when using the salt. This site has a pretty comprehensive guide to wet curing.

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/salting-brining-curing-and-injecting/curing-meats-safely/?p=22364

[Stadler]

Be sure to educate yourself thoroughly on curing salt and it's usage, I can be toxic in its raw form.

I've never experienced lonestar in his raw form, but now I'm intrigued.