BBQ - Texas Style Sauce

Texas style barbecue is generally dry rubbed and slow cooked. The sauce is usually on the side, and many chefs like to serve it warm. It's known for being on the spicy side and thinner than a Kansas City sauce. This allows the sauce to penetrate the meat fully, as opposed to sitting on top like thicker sauces tend to. Some Mexican influence can be seen in many Texas style recipes, with liberal amounts of hot peppers, chili powder and cumin added to the tomato-based sauce. As with most sauces, vinegar is also important for the tangy flavor, but unlike other regions, some Texas recipes contain coffee.

BBQ - North Carolina Style Sauce

North Carolina has a couple of different styles of sauce. The sauce in the Eastern area of the state is vinegar based and very thin. Little to no sugar is used in these sauces, so they aren't sweet, but instead, rather bold and spicy. A liberal amount of sauce is traditionally added to chopped pork or beef brisket, which is served wet. The sauce in Western Carolina is also thin, but it uses a little bit of tomato or ketchup, resulting in a pinkish sauce.

BBQ - South Carolina Style Sauce

The meat of choice in South Carolina is pork, and the sauce is mustard-based. Vinegar, sugar and spices are added to yellow mustard, along with other ingredients like lemon juice and butter, depending on the person.  Honey or syrup is often added to thicken it slightly and add a sweeter edge.  In some parts of South Carolina, small amounts of ketchup are added, but most of the sauce recipes are strictly mustard baesd.

BBQ - Kettle Grill charcoal strategy

Encirclement strategy. When cooking for long periods of time on a kettle grill the encirclement strategy is a great option. This method works by placing a ring of charcoal around the meat and allowing the fire just enough oxygen that it barely burns around the ring. It provides stable cooking temperature for as long as six hours and it cooks all sides of the meat evenly.

Place a stainles-steel bowl, with a 12 inch diameter in the of the kettle. Fill the bowl 1/2 way with water, seasoning and fuit juice. Create a C shaped ring of charcoal around the bowl, light the charcoal and once started fill the gap. When the charcoal turns white close the lid and begin the cooking process. Keep the grill dampers wide open until the desired temp is reached, then close all dampers 1/4 in per opening

BBQ - Minion Method

The concept behind the Minion method is simple. Place a small number of lit coals on top of a pile of unlit briquettes and control your temperature by adjusting your vent(s). The lit coals will ignite the unlit coals slowly, allowing you to cook for long periods of time without having to add new coals as well as controlling your temperature since it is easier to bring a fire up to a certain temperature rather than try to bring it down. You really only want to use this method for slow and low cooking (225-300 degrees), not for 325-350 degree cooks.

BBQ - When purchasing a gas or charcoal grill .....

Gas Grills

Gas grills come in many flavors, big, small, stainless, ones with side burners for pots, and many more. They are very easy to light, usually by the push of a button, and controlling heat on them is not a problem at all. With the simple turn of a dial, and you can cook food anywhere from 200 to 500 degrees. They use propane to fuel them, and a typical, full propane tank will supply enough fuel to cook many meals. The prices of gas grills typically range from $150.00 to $500.00, and even well up into the $1,000.00 dollar range.

When purchasing a gas grill, make sure that it has at least two burners so you can cook with indirect heat on one side of the grill if you choose to do so. Many seafood items, such as fish, require a low and slow method of cooking for certain recipes, and being able to light one side of the grill and cook on the other side will make it much easier on you to achieve the desired cooking temperature you are looking for.

Tips for Purchasing a Gas Grill

1. Make sure it has 2 burners

2. Sturdy Construction- When you lift the lid, the pit seems sturdy and not shaky

3. Know your price range, and know what you want to accomplish with the grill. Will you be cooking for lots of people, or will you be cooking for a few?

4. Top brands do produce very good pits, but shop around. Many cheaper brands produce very good quality grills too.

5. What kind of warranty does the pit have? Does the company pay for shipping if something breaks on the pit and you have to send it off to get it repaired, or even receive a new part?

Charcoal Grills

Charcoal grills are fueled by lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes. They grills are usually in the shape of a round kettle, but many other shapes of pits, such as squares and rectangles exist. Many people will only use charcoal grills because they believe a better taste is produced by using charcoal instead of gas. I will talk more about this later.

Charcoal grills can be priced anywhere from the small, $20 dollar Hibachi, to a typical $50.00 Weber, to an expensive, $450.00 kettle, which is usually pretty large. Normally, the $50.00 Weber grill is the best way to go because it has the surface area to cook lots of food, and Weber's usually last a very long time. I have used one for 4 years now, cooking 4-5 times a month on it, and it has not let me down yet.

When using a charcoal grill, the best and easiest way to light the grill is to use a charcoal starter. This will cut your pit heating time down by 15 minutes or so because the coals will be already be lit when you put them into the pit. I don't use lighter fluid anymore.

Adjusting the heat on a charcoal grill can be a bit of a challenge until you get used to your pit. After a while, you will understand the exact combination of closing dampers and adjusting the lid to produce the heat you want from your grill.

Tips for Purchasing a Charcoal Grill

1. What are your intentions for the grill? Are you cooking for many people, or a few?

2. Is the pit easy to move around?

3. How easy is it to clean?

4. What is your price range? Do some research on the internet to find out what grills are priced at now

What I've found is most store bought grills need adjustments or modifications.

Like I bought a water smoker and the charcoal pan didn't have holes in it so the charcoal would eventually smother. So I drilled some holes in the charcoal pan and it does a lot better

BBQ - Steaks and The Four-Finger Thermometer

Form the "okay" sign, touching the tip of your thumb to the tip of your forefinger. The pad of flesh at the base of your thumb will feel soft and squishy — exactly the same way a rare steak feels when you poke the top with your forefinger. Now move the tip of your thumb to the tip of your middle finger: That's medium-rare. Thumb to the tip of your ring finger: medium. Thumb to pinkie: well-done.

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BBQ - Steaks

When grilling steaks, ensure the meat is at room temperature before you put it on the grill. If you grill a cold steak it won't cook evenly and you could end up burning the outside and having no-heat in the center of your meat.

When grilling steaks you should, only turn the steak once. Over turning meat will lead to meat that is tough and chewy

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Women and BBQ

Calling all women that not only love to eat barbecue but calling all women that want to learn how to BBQ.   BBQ and Women is the site for you!

Check out the Archive on the right and some of the products shown it don't cost you nothing!
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