Just The Basics...Newbie

don06 · BBQ Fan Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 134

Hi!

I saw a post buried in a thread here earlier, but can't find it now. Can you tell me again...there was a certain order of meats that were suggested for new guys to learn to cook with. Starting with the easiest/simplest. Can you list those again here? And the cooking times and temps? I'll get into the rubs and sauces later. I just want to know the times and temps right now...and guess it will take a while to learn how to keep the temp right. I guess you have to add charcoal all night.

Oh...and it may make you Q hard cores happy to know, after reading dozens of posts here, that I've decided to do this the good old way...charcoal and wood. No gas or electric!

The pictures some of you pros post here are driving me crazy! YUM! Can't wait to learn how to do it myself.

Thanks in advance!

Don
Somewhere in Mississippi

bigabyte · Posted: Mar 15 2006 Post subject:

Well, you should start with either boston butts or chickens. Choose chickens if you want to cheaply pefect the process of maintaining your fire and smoke. Birds only cost a couple bucks so if you ruin it, so what? Boston butts are next to impossible to mess up so they are also a good meat to start with. However, you may not have your temps just right with a butt, they can take a lot of abuse and be very forgiving.

My recommended order (this is not how I did it):
Chicken
Boston Butt
Ribs (cheaper than brisket because they're smaller)
Brisket (big hunk of beef, priciest of all 4 standard BBQ meats)
_________________
--Chris Baker
--Mad BBQ Scientist
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mding38926 · Posted: Mar 15 2006 Post subject:

Got to agree with Doggy............I would think a chicken with some sausages thrown on as well would be a great start.
_________________
Dinger

Steve-O · Posted: Mar 15 2006 Post subject:

ABTs or sausage any old time

Chicken
Boston Butt
Turkey
Spare ribs
Brisket
Fish
BabyBack ribs
Other cuts of meat. Pork loin, veggies, cheese, fancy stuff....
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"BBQ may not be a religion in Texas, but the two institutions are closely associated."
- Robb Walsh "Legends of Texas Barbeque Cookbook"

Old Dave · Posted: Mar 15 2006 Post subject:

I will have to agree with the rest of the people on this string and tell you to go with chicken. Can be smoked or cooked between 250 to 350 degrees in your cooker and will usually come out great.

I like to butterfly them as it promotes more even cooking and is pretty foolproof for anyone. I have a picture of a couple of them on a small smoker.

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Old Dave
Ribs & Bibs BBQ Team
http://olddavespo-farm.blogspot.com/

don06 · BBQ Fan Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 134

Great stuff guys! Thanks. The pic of the chickens makes me want to cook now!

Any recommdeded times and temps to cook these different things? Is there a rule, such as cooking so many minutes per pound on some things?

I'm starting a bar-b-q fact sheet for myself. Writing down all this info so I can keep it here handy. This may not be as difficult as I thought. At least I know what an offset firebox is now!

Don

DawgPhan · BBQ Super Pro Joined: 12 May 2005 Posts: 3444

DawgPhan · BBQ Super Pro Joined: 12 May 2005 Posts: 3444

oh and 225 isnt magic...keeping it around there is a good idea, but going up to 275 for a while isnt going to hurt anything...remember that when you are adjusting your dampers that you want to adjust for where you are going and make small adjustments...you will run yourself ragged if you mkae big adjustments and the temps are swinging from 215 to 300 and back...

kickassbbq · BBQ Pro Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 664 Location: mn

The DonO6 Man,
Welcome!!!!!!!!!
You can check out my site for some BASIC ideas about BBQ.
Smoke On!!!!!
ed
www.kickassbbq.com
_________________
Smoke On!!!!!!
www.kickassbbq.com

Steve-O · Posted: Mar 16 2006 Post subject:

225 for 2 hours (till internal temp is 165) is pretty consistent.

Along with the notes, read a couple of the books recommended. Paul Kirk's book has the basics pretty good. Once you have the cooking times and temps down, you can begin to experiment. Inject, rub, mist, etc.
_________________
"BBQ may not be a religion in Texas, but the two institutions are closely associated."
- Robb Walsh "Legends of Texas Barbeque Cookbook"

don06 · BBQ Fan Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 134

You guys are so fantastic and so nice! Great people!

Two days ago I didn't even know what an offset firebox was ( or what to call it) , even though I have one on my smoker ( that I used to call a grill)! Dawg helped me on that! I had no idea about cooking temps, but I see they range (mostly) from 180- 250. And SLOW cooking. Internal temps to at least 140, 160 seems better. Use air vents to control cooking time and temp. I wondered what those things were for! I never knew all this stuff till you guys came to the rescue. Now where can I buy a thermometer to measure internal temps? What do I ask for?

At least I have a smoker (used to call it a grill), with an offset firebox, and plenty of smoking wood. Most of you say not to wet the wood, so I won't. Many of you say to put it in heavy foil, punch holes in it, and set it on the coals. Some of you say to put the real wood itself on the coals. I'll try both.

Aw-right. My first thing will be a chicken. Thanks kindly for posting the things to try first. My digital camera is out now, but when I get a new one I will post the pics here, and I hope that will be within a week.

Gonna start with Kingsford brickets. Started in a metal cylinder with newspapers (what do you call that thing?) I know many of you like the charcoal chunks better, but let me start at the starting point with brickets. I'll add some wood for smoke, and probably ruin 9 chickens learning how to get the temp right! But you gotta start somewhere.

You bar-b-q guys are the greatest! Lots of soul and flavor here. I can tell already that this isn't an automatic thing, but I'm sure there are standard methods that work every time. Otherwise, we wouldn't have the fine bar-b-q place we do, that turn out great stuff every time. I need to learn the systems. There has to be a tried and true formula.

Oh...and kickassbbq...many thanks for the great link! I'll copy it and put it in my new bar-b-q folder and refer to it. You guys take this stuff seriously! GREAT! Just what I need!

Don
Somewhere in Mississippi....

mding38926 · Posted: Mar 16 2006 Post subject:

Don make sure that you run your bird up to 175-180 (deep thigh) to make sure that the bird is done. The last thing you want to do is undercook the bird and get yourself sick.

..........and you will be starting the charcoal in a charcoal chimney............
_________________
Dinger

DawgPhan · BBQ Super Pro Joined: 12 May 2005 Posts: 3444

metal cylinder for charcoal starting is a chimney starter.

You can buy a probe thermometer at target...basically a little metal probe attached to a wire that you plug into a little digital timer.

You are going to want to measure the temp in the smoker at the grate close to the meat. The smoker will be hotter closer to the firebox side and cooler at the other end.

Take the probe and stick it through a 1/2 of a potato or onion and set it in the smoker on the grate next to the chicken. run the cord out of the smoker and let it hang out on the outside. If you have a little work bench on the front you can put your timer there and plug in the probe.

For chicken you are going to want to get to about 180 in the thigh for it to be done.

Oh and I dont know if the exhaust has a damper on it but leave that one wide open all the time and just adjust the one on the firebox..Oh and it is a lot easier to increase the temp than it is to bring it down...

oh and rule #2 is...if you are lookin you aint cookin....so no peeking...

P@t · Newbie Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 64

don06 · BBQ Fan Joined: 14 Mar 2006 Posts: 134

Dawg!

I saw some pics here, as you said, with the temp probe through a potato. Does the potato just serve to hold it, or is the temp in the potato a good gauge of the temp in the meat? Or is it just to gauge the temp of the smoke pit? I thought you had to put it in the meat to get the right temps. Explain.

As I understand it.....charcoal in the offset firebox....my choice of dry wood for smoke flavor...slow cook around 200 temp...leave the chimney open...adjust the temp by using the air vents elsewhere. If you know how to do it, it will last for hours. I assume you start smoking with only the amount of lumps that will fit in the chimney starter.

Sorry...Still trying to learn the lingo...then I gotta learn to bar-b-q!

Now...what's the name of the thermometer?

Thanks guys!

Don
My Head's in Mississippi
"I keep thinkin 'bout that night in Memphis...Lawd I thought I was in Heaven..." BFG....ZZ Top

Jeff T · Posted: Mar 16 2006 Post subject:

Don...
Welcome to the ring sounds like everyone`s got ya covered and yes this is serious stuff.......man`s gotta eat ya know. Laughing

Just kidding
dont be shy about asking questions. Get things all planned out before ya start a fire that way if ya got questions we can help point ya in the right direction and there is no such thing as a dumb question. We would like you to have fun and cook good food than get sick.
Here is a catering commitment thing i found on the internet that sum`s it all up for me....and it can be this good at home in your back yard also. Just change the "I`s and My`s" to "you and your`s". Would like to give credit to the writer but can`t remember where i found it. Rolling Eyes

"I bring the pit to every party I cater, I freshly prepare, assemble and custom cook your meat on site. I will bring everything... including my smoker/bbq and all necessary equipment and arrive at your party location hours before your guests arrive to start adding that great smoke flavor. This guarantees you the freshest food & the greatest taste. My smoker/bbq cooks at 200-225 degrees, unlike grilling that cooks at 700-900 degrees. Grilling is a fine method of cooking, but it doesn't produce food with the hearty, woodsy resonance of slow-smoked fare. Those who have tasted true barbecue know the difference, and they are almost certain to be passionate about the distinction. For them, smoked ribs are as superior to a grilled pork chop as a lottery win is to taxes. In the same vein, anyone who has spent an afternoon barbecuing with children or friends understands why.
Americans made BBQ their traditional party of preference. It's a national pastime older than baseball and just as spirited. When you add all the fun to the flavor of the food, you don't need a diploma to tell you that you have reached a new level of barbecue bliss. Two essentials of real barbecue are a low cooking temperature and a cloud of wood smoke. The best way to barbecue is with a log fire, which is how it all began, and this is the way i do it. Now you can have my authentic wood-burning pit right in your own back yard. Dazzle your friends and listen to their "ooohs" & "aaahs" as they look into my BBQ PIT and see their dinner being roasted in front of their eyes. The result is a heap of real good eatin'."

Bring a tear to your eye`s don`t it fellas.

DawgPhan · BBQ Super Pro Joined: 12 May 2005 Posts: 3444

Probe thermometer

http://www.comforthouse.com/cookther.html

Minion Method

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html

Use the minion method for long smokes. The probe thermometer goes through the potato and measures the pit temp at the grate. The potato just holds it. Basically you dont want the probe laying on the grate, but you want it right there at it...

For chickens you might need up to 6 hours of BBQ temps so you might either try to modify the minion method for your cook or you could keep adding ashed over charcoal from your chimney starter...the minion method might be less of a hassle though.