Life and Times of a BBQ Wannabe

bykwheeler

88 followers

11 years ago

The drive to become a backyard barbecue pitmaster hit home three years ago when my wife and I staged our inaugural” Ace In the Hole BBQ” competition here in Holbrook (AZ) back in 2011. I had seen the shows BBQ Pitmasters and other barbecue shows on Discovery and Destination America channels, but it wasn’t until we hosted our first competition that the bug really bit. Working with 24 professional barbecue competitions teams from around Arizona, California, and New Mexico and seeing, smelling, and tasting competition grade barbecue was heaven. The thought that went through my mind was, “I can do this,” while my wife’s first thought was, “This is an expensive hobby.”

We are both right, but the goal of this site/blog is to show the average everyday person, like myself, that we too can create competition level barbecue on our back patios, decks, porches, or where ever you cook, smoke, or grill your meats at. Yes, there will be a steep learning curve as you learn your equipment, your meats, and your flavor profiles, but in the end there are rarely any “bad” experiments (e.g. meats) when you are barbecuing. Well, maybe if you make the mistake of using lighter fluid, that is really bad.

Why Barbecue and Why Now?

The barbecue bug actually started in the summer of 2006 when I was in Washington, D.C. studying at American University for my school district I was working for at the time. The last weekend I was there I wanted to go see D.C. without the large group of teachers I was with and large crowds at all the major attractions. I was in for a surprise when I exited the Metro (the D.C. subway system) downtown just a couple of blocks from Pennsylvania Avenue. For a ten block stretch, Pennsylvania Avenue was turned into the largest barbecue championships I have ever witnessed. One side of the ten blocks was nothing but barbecue competition team after barbecue competition team. Just out from each of the teams in the middle of the street was their vending booths selling what they were cooking. I was in HEAVEN.

The reason barbecue has become my newest passion, well my wife says obsession but that is just a matter of semantics, was that this is really a simple, easy, cost effective way to cook. And the best part is that everyone does it their own way and it is just right, there is no one perfect way to do things. Each section of the country has its own unique style and flavor, yet as the backyard bbq you get to try it all and create your own stuff. The fun is in the experimenting and figuring out what it is that YOU like as barbecue, not what someone tells you is barbecue. While on that subject, let me get one misconception out of the way right off the bat: barbecue is not throwing barbecue sauce on a meat an calling it barbecue (more on this later).

I Can Just Throw It On My Gas Grill, Right?

Eh, not really the preferred method, but can be done in a pinch. There is a distinct difference between grilling, on a gas grill or oven, versus smoking (aka barbecuing) on a stick fired, pellet, or charcoal fired smoker. The science behind barbecuing is that indirect heat is used to infuse the meat with a smoky flavor that permeates the meat and compliments the basic rub that was applied to the meat. Rubs, injections and marinates are a different article, but let me just put it this way, without a these the meat’s flavor would be bland and overly smoky (trust me I have done it).

Grilling is a process of using direct heat to cook your meat. Most commonly you can think of this as your typical backyard get together where hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken wings, and brats are being cooked to feed a large group (basically more than you) of people. This can be done on propane or charcoal fired grill and definitely has a beloved place in the backyards of most Americans. When done correctly, a gas grill can be used to create an indirect heat in order to smoke your meats, but it will need some help in order to make sure you meat flavors come out right.