Backyard Barbecue

Since leaving Texas a decade ago, I still miss some of the great local foods I'd enjoyed during my thirty years living in the Lone Star State. One of those things is good Texas barbecue. We have found barbecue in other places we've lived, but its not nearly as good. I decided a few years ago that the only way to get exactly what I wanted was to do it myself.

In North Carolina, they love that pulled pork. In Memphis, it’s all about the ribs bathed in a sticky, sweet sauce. Make no mistake - if you have not eaten slow smoked ribs, brisket or sausage in Texas, you have not eaten Texas barbecue. In Texas, beef  brisket is the cut of choice, it better be smoked for 12 hours and don't insult that meat by drowning it in sauce. In fact, at most respectable old-school barbecue spots in Texas, there is no sauce.

I've smoked fish, pork shoulder, chicken and ribs with very good results. But brisket is the most challenging because it requires such a long cook time. There are a number of variables that need to be controlled for the best slow smoked brisket. This cut is blanketed with a thick cap of fat that renders during its 10-12 hour cook, keeping the meat moist and flavorful. The fat is essential to insure that your brisket doesn't end up as beef jerky. Its not easy to find a whole brisket or even a piece with the fat cap intact. In other parts of the country, brisket is traditionally braised with root vegetables and most of the fat is mindfully trimmed off. However, a reputable butcher can usually procure the necessary fat covered brisket if you make friends. Step 1-if you want to make Texas barbecue, make friends with a local butcher.

Texas barbecue starts with a dry rub and while you can find lots of dry rub recipes, the only things you really need are salt and pepper. For pork ribs and pork shoulder, I find a little brown sugar aids in both flavor and color and a little cayenne pepper gives the meat just enough heat to make your lips tingle. I use the same rub on my beef, but you can fix it however you like. I had a party one summer and cooked barbecue for about 30 people. I cooked a 4 1/2 pound brisket and two slabs of pork spare ribs and I used about 1 1/2 cups of dry rub for everything.

Dry Rub
3/4 cup of kosher salt
1/4 cup of finely ground black pepper
1/4 cup of light brown sugar
2 tsp of cayenne pepper, or more if you want

The meat really needs to spend some time with the dry rub and get acquainted before it goes on the smoker. It's best to put your dry rub on the night before cooking and let the meat sit in the fridge overnight. Also, dry rub is best applied to a dry surface, so dry off the meat before application. Coat the meat liberally with the dry rub, give it all a nice massage and put it in the fridge for a night of culinary romance.

The  wood you use also makes a big difference. Hickory is great for pulled pork. Fish really needs a milder wood, like apple or cherry. The strong, distinctive aroma of mesquite is one of the unique features that sets Texas barbecue apart, but it also has a very assertive flavor that can be overpowering. For brisket, I like to add a little bit of mesquite to a bag of oak wood chunks. The oak is milder than mesquite, but imparts a good flavor. for the party, I started my coals at 6:00 am, put my wood chips on to soak and by 6:30 I was ready to put meat on the smoker. I have since invested in a smoke box for my grill, but this can be done in a large grill with strategic placement of the coals. I arranged the coals on one side of the grill. Since the long, slow method of barbecue requires a relatively low heat of about 225 degrees, I closed the dampers on my grill to allow very little airflow, keeping the temperature under control. When the grill was at about 200 degrees, I set the meat as far away from the fire as possible, dumped a big handful of wood chunks on the fire and closed the lid.

In addition to the locals we'd invited to the party, we were expecting my husband's childhood friend Jed and his wife Erica, who were visiting from California.  With lots of party prep to do, I got cracking. Every 30 minutes or so, I'd look out the window to see if there was still smoke rising from the grill. If there was no smoke rising, I'd put another big handful of wood on the coals. I had to refresh the charcoal a few times during the day, but all in all, I was able to keep the grill at the perfect 225 degrees. Throughout the day, I watched the meat slowly take on that mahogany color and the longer it was exposed to the wood smoke, the darker it got. After about 4 hours, I took the ribs off and let them rest. Normally a brisket would not be sitting as close to the heat source, so mine cooked more quickly than I'd anticipated. After 10 hours, I took the brisket off and let it rest. The meat was pretty much black on the outside but not burned. It looked right. I felt right. As my guests started to arrive, I sliced ribs and brisket. When I cut into the brisket, a beautiful slow trickle of juice glistened down the slice of meat and it had that telltale pink smoke ring under the surface. When I cut the ribs apart, the same pink smoke ring was present. 

My neighbors were all at this party. Lets be honest, they'd spent the whole day smelling the wood smoke and they would have all shown up even if I hadn't invited them. They all loved the barbecue and some said they'd never tasted anything like it. But the true test was my husband's friend Jed. They all grew up in Texas and had spent many years sampling the best Texas barbecue in the state. Many a time, Jason has regaled me with tales of he and Jed eating bar-b-que at the legendary Kreutz's Market in Lockhart, Texas. If Jed liked my brisket, I knew I'd hit gold. He did. In fact, he said it was the best barbecue he'd had outside of Texas. If you are so inclined to make your own barbecue, its worth the time and effort.