What type of BBQ sauce is the right one for you?
All sauces have their own unique twang and can come in many different varieties. Often times it is also a god choice to do some sauce mixing of your own every once in a while. Barbecue sauce can have any number of different things in it, here is generally ketchup, worcestershire sauce, vinegar, onion, and mustard or mustard powder as a base. Some barbecue sauce creators smoke their sauces or cook them in large covered barbecues for a specific amount of time. Also the type of coals, burquettes, or propane used can be unique to the bbq sauce. This is a minute detail, but those who are loyal to one method swear by it and say that the other ways make a difference in the flavor of the meat. Some barbecue sauces are made specially for one method or another. Another aspect to keep in mind is the type of cooking methods you will be using for your sauce. Some people prefer to use their sauce as a marinade while other prefer to use it as a sauce they put on after they cook the meat. There are specific sauces for either method, and good ones in that! If you choose to marinade the meat try not to get a sauce with too much sugar because this can caramelize or burn easily on the grill. Assuming you will be grilling the meat. Some people use barbecue sauce in their everyday cooking methods, if this is so a gourmet sauce would be most adequate. There are many different types of unique BBQ sauces, the most important aspect is of choosing the correct type is to decide what flavor suits you personally best. After this is done you can determine what you will be using the sauce for and what kind of this specific flavor will best suit your cooking trends. BBQ sauces can be purchased at grocery stores, but some of the best sauces can be found online, where they are shipped from a unique little factory, in which all they do is make that specific sauce. This is an advantage because it is a specialty, where as grocery store sauce producers also make many other products.
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Which Wood Chips For Your BBQ Smoker?
I’ve seen many lists about wood chips and what meats best accompany them and it’s always struck me that this is approaching the problem for the wrong side. The wood chip is choosing the food and in my book it should be the food choosing the wood chip! So when you scroll down to view my list it’s written in a way that hopefully will allow you to decide on your barbecue recipes first and let the flavouring follow. To be honest, hickory takes a lot of beating (especially on ribs) but there’s an incredible variety of wood chips to choose from these days so it’s worth experimenting a little.
The idea behind smoking is that wood burns when heated but by reducing the oxygen available to the fire, the wood smokes rather than burns so by adding wood chips to your barbecue smoker, a beautiful range of flavours can be imparted to meat or fish. The best wood to use is “green wood” ie. wood that’s not fully dried out because green wood burns at a higher temperature, it makes more smoke than aged wood and it lasts a long time. When buying wood chips in a bag it’s important to soak the wood for 30 minutes to get moisture into it before popping it on the coals.
One last tip from me before the list:-
If you have a BBQ grill rather than a smoker, try wrapping some wood chips in aluminum foil and then puncture the foil a few times with a fork or the point of a skewer. Pop the foil pack in hot coals and see what you think but do try with one of the stronger smokes otherwise you’re unlikely to notice any difference.
The following chips are good with all kinds of meat so it’s good have some in stock:-
Acacia – a strong smoke
Almond – sweet and nutty (as you’d expect)
Apricot – mild and sweet and an interesting alternative to Hickory (just a little milder)
Cherry – sweet & fruity
Cottonwood – a very subtle flavour, worth a try but not my favorite
Grape Vine – beautifully aromatic and sweet if you can get hold of it
Nectarine – again similar to hickory but sweeter and quite mild just like the Apricot
Peach – slightly sweet flavour
Pecan – strong smoke similar to oak but just a little more gentle
Plum – similar to hickory but milder and sweeter
For red meat try the following:-
Grapefruit – a good medium smoke with a fruity note
Lemon – again medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
Mesquite – strong and earthy so try it with beef
Mulberry – beautifully sweet apple flavour
Oak – really heavy smoke so definitely one for beef
Orange – another fruity one with medium smoke
Lamb of course is a red meat so any all in the above category can be used but I’ve got one recommendation dedicated to lamb:-
Lilac – it’s light and subtle with a floral hint
Pork:-
Alder – supremely sweet
Apple – sweet with dense fruity smoke
Birch – strong and earthy
Grapefruit – medium smoke with a fruity hint
Hickory – the original pungent smoky bacon flavour ready for your ribs
Lemon – medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
Maple – strong and earthy
Mulberry – beautifully sweet apple flavour, pork and apple goes so well together
Nectarine – similar to hickory but sweeter and quite mild and still good for ribs
Oak – a really heavy smoke so go easy
Orange – medium smoke with a light fruit hint
Pear – Another one with a slightly sweet flavour
Plum – similar to hickory but milder and sweeter, compare it with Nectarine
Most wood chips have now already had a mention further up but that doesn’t mean they don’t go well with Poultry:-
Alder – sweet
Birch – strong and earthy
Grapefruit – medium smoke & lightly fruity
Lemon – again medium smoke with a light fruit aroma
Mulberry – sweet apple flavour
Orange – more medium smoke with a light fruit hint
Pear – another one with a slightly sweet flavour
Game, generally strong smokes for strong flavoured meats, but there are some exceptions:-
Alder – sweet
Apple – sweet with dense fruity smoke
Maple – strong and earthy
Mulberry – beautifully sweet apple flavour
Oak – really heavy smoke
Pear – sweet flavour compare it with Alder
Walnut – very heavy smoke and can be bitter so put it with a strong well hung meat
Fish sometimes works well lightly smoked and sometimes it’s good to go for a really heavy smoke
Alder – sweet
Apple – sweet with dense fruity smoke
Ash – light and distinctive flavour, it burns fast so ideal for fish
Lilac – light and subtle with a floral hint, fantastic on seafood
Oak – really heavy smoke
I’ve got two recommendations for Vegetables both of which are strong and earthy:-
Maple
Mesquite
Hopefully that’s given you a few ideas to try at your next barbecue, just don’t forget to soak them before putting them on the coals. Happy smoking!
The Differences Between Different Styles of BBQ Food by Region
Every region of the United States has its barbecue specialty: pulled pork sandwiches in North Carolina, racks of ribs in Memphis, “burnt ends” in Kansas City and chopped brisket in Texas. The roots of American barbecue run deep in the South, where even neighboring counties can have different approaches to barbecue, not to mention different states.
Consider North Carolina, a state with a long barbecue tradition .. In eastern North Carolina, you would probably find shredded meat from an entire pig, doused with a peppery vinegar sauce, and if you chose to drive West a few hours from the coast, and you will most likely be served meat from just the shoulder of the hog, with a tomato based sauce. Throughout Carolina, there is a clear preference for barbecue pork and thin vinegary sauces, which is a distinguishing style echoed throughout the state.
Memphis, Tennessee is another superb barbecue location, home to “Memphis in May,” which is the largest barbecue competition and festival in the world. The city boasts over 100 barbecue restaurants and several different barbecue styles. Like North Carolina and much of the South, pork is the barbecue meat of choice in Tennessee and pork ribs are the most common cut, but the city is divided between “dry-rubbed” and “wet rib” versions. Dry-rubbed ribs are generously rubbed with a mixture of spices, smoked and then served with sauce on the side. Wet ribs are lacquered with tangybarbecue sauce before, during and after cooking. Another Memphis favorite is the pulled-pork sandwich – smoked pork shoulder stuffed inside a hamburger bun and topped with coleslaw.
Kansas City is the barbecue capital of the Midwest. Like Memphis, it’s also home to over 100 barbecue restaurants and hosts an annual barbecue competition an an event called American Royal. In Kansas City, both pork and beef are barbecued and it is best known for its BBQ sauce, which is traditionally heavy on tomato and uses molasses as a distinctive sweetener. The traditional thickbarbecue sauce you buy in supermarkets is based on Kansas City style sauce. The bottled varieties are much different from the small batches of sweet zesty sauce cooked up by Kansas City pitmasters. For those that aren’t familiar with the term, “Burnt ends,” are the crunchy, charred ends of brisket slabs, are a Kansas City specialty not to be missed.
Texas is famous for its cattle, and beef brisket is the barbecue meat of choice. But chopped beef and beef ribs are also state favorites. Texas barbecue isn’t only about the beef, it is also about spicy pork sausages, called “hot links,” and pork ribs are also common barbecue fare. Almost all Texas barbecue is cooked without sauce. The meat is rubbed with spices, known as BBQ rub, smoked and, sometimes, a sauce is served on the side. Barbecue in other states is most often smoked over hickory, oak or a handful of other similar hardwoods. But Texas barbecue usually uses mesquite, which gives the meat a distinct and unique flavor.
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