Beginner's Guide To BBQ

Get to know your meat

- It's important to know certain things about the meats you're working with to ensure you are bringing the best flavors out and keeping the moisture of the cut in.

When smoking meat, get familiar with the composition and color of the meat. The composition means the fat, bone, muscle and cartilage content of the cut.
Another important component is the texture, meaning grain structure (the direction of the grain is important when cutting your meat).
Different meats require different care. If you were to cook a chicken breast the same as a fattier meat, you may end up with chicken jerky!
Check out our grades of meat Blog for a deeper look into cuts and grades of meats.

How wood savvy are you?

- Don’t forget your wood and fire go hand in hand when smoking.

To get the best results, remember different types of hardwood will affect the flavors of your food based off of the aromas they create.

Make sure you are using food-safe hardwood or pellets.

Some hardwoods you could choose from are maple, oak, hickory & mesquite.

NO PEEKING!

Smoking is an indirect cooking method so there is no need to open up your grill or smoker. Opening means you can lose the temp you’ve built up and could cause temperature swings. Let your temperature probe do the work and keep that lid closed.

Speaking of Probes -

When it comes to smoking, time is not your friend, in fact he isn’t even invited to the party.

Smoking times vary due to, well … everything. The recipe, wood, smoker, exterior temps, amount of meat ect. are going to change each time, so never depend on a clock to verify your meat is done. It is dangerous to serve any food without an internal temp check!

Some smokers include an internal temperature probe, but if not its a good idea to invest in a quality probe to ensure your serving safe food.

Remember to always check your meat in the thickest part of the cut.

The Rookie Rib Mistake

If you don’t wanna see your guests gnawing away at those perfectly seasoned ribs you worked so hard on, don’t forget to remove the thin membrane.

When smoked the membrane becomes rubbery, even if your ribs are tender.

While some people claim it adds to the texture, or they don’t notice the difference, most people find it chewy and removing it is mandatory if you ever plan on winning any competitions.

Removal is pretty easy, just make a slit at the end of the rib rack, and gently pull the membrane off.