I found someone whose barbecue is better than yours!


 
L

Lew

TVWBB All-Star
My wife came home from a covered dish birthday party at her office and said those words to me. She had brought some home and I was excited to try it. It seems a girl at work had a husband who was a gourmet cook and his barbecue was "to die for."

When I opened the container, I thought I was looking at barbecue from a Lloyd's tub. It was mushy and swimming in what looked and tasted like KC Masterpiece. I took some between my thumb and index finger and squeezed. It disintegrated. When I pointed this out to my wife, she said she hadn't noticed any of that and had been starving when they finally ate.

Hearing my wife praise this barbecue made me start to wonder. Maybe your average person thinks the stuff in the Lloyd's tub is the real thing and "to die for." I know one thing: I won't rely on her opinion when judging the success of my next cook. I'll have to trust my own judgement.
 
don't feel too bad.... most people don't even know what good barbecue is. My wife for example waits till I am out of town to boil ribs because thats what she grew up with and she knows I will yell at her for doing that....
 
I'm amazed at how many people have no clue how to start a charcoal grill, use it, understand indirect heat, or even understand what good BBQ should taste like.
But it sure is fun to cook for them.
 
i was at orchard supply the other day. guy was going to each gas unit saying "gas" at each one to his wife. then complains that they are all gas and there are no charcoal units. he said this several times like he's a master of grilling while repeatedly walking past a big display of webers. had me cracking up.
 
Matt Heebner said:
don't feel too bad.... most people don't even know what good barbecue is. My wife for example waits till I am out of town to boil ribs because thats what she grew up with and she knows I will yell at her for doing that....
Click to expand...

Barbecue is just like any other form of cooking, I suppose. There's a lot of mediocre 'que being served at restaurants, but it's the only 'que that most people have ever eaten so they don't know any better. And to be fair, if you have to cook everything ahead of time and control costs and waste so you can make a profit, you end up making some serious quality compromises. I'll take "home cooking" by a good pitmaster any day over almost any commercial barbecue, same as I would just about any other type of food.
 
I've heard the the term "real BBQ" many times. Often right before being served some great meals, other times, well let's just say that maybe the critter being cooked was substandard. I wonder if the big BBQ societies, cooking shows on TV, chain stores, and national brands have forever changed BBQ - for the good or for the worst. I dunno ...but I'll keep puttin my style of BBQ on the table and as long as it makes my family and friends smile and keep comin around then I think I'll keep doin it.
 
Lew said:
My wife came home from a covered dish birthday party at her office and said those words to me. She had brought some home and I was excited to try it. It seems a girl at work had a husband who was a gourmet cook and his barbecue was "to die for."

When I opened the container, I thought I was looking at barbecue from a Lloyd's tub. It was mushy and swimming in what looked and tasted like KC Masterpiece.
Click to expand...
So your wife likes KC-style sauce.

Cook the meat proper, make KC-style sauce, and I bet she thinks yours is best again.

Everybody has their own taste. I'm in TX, but I don't like TX-style Q. I prefer KC-style with a thick sweet tomato-based sauce, or South Carolina style with the sweet mustard sauce. I also strongly prefer pork over beef.
 
It is a tribute to your forgiving nature that you didn't immediately ask her to leave. ;). Lol

I recall once coming home after a long day at work and my ex (not my ex at the time, newly married in fact) was sitting on the couch and asked "what's for dinner?" Slightly miffed that he hadn't made any inroads on that himself, I nonetheless headed to the kitchen and cooked a simple skillet chicken in a chunky tomato sauce with rice. Kind of a Spanish style thing. He came in, sniffed at it, proclaimed "I don't have a taste for that" and promptly made himself some PBJ.

I subsequently went on strike and quit cooking for him until he apologized profusely (it went on for nearly a month). Hard to believe we stated married for 16 yrs!! Honeybun, my current beau, has been told of this cautionary tale and wisely has taken heed, proclaiming every dish a masterpiece! Lol
 
My wife knows better due thanks to this site. Potlucks at her company and sees mush she just passes.
 
I used to enjoy lloyd's bbq in the tubs until I made my own for the first time. Will NEVER go back to it.
 
My wife often "complains" that I've ruined eating meals like chicken, ribs, steak or burgers in a restaurant, since my home Q is so much better. :)
 
anders said:
My wife often "complains" that I've ruined eating meals like chicken, ribs, steak or burgers in a restaurant, since my home Q is so much better. :)
Click to expand...

My wife tells people I've ruined her too. She no longer can eat most chain restaurant or any fast food. Delivered pizza is out of the question. BBQ??? Only if it's a friend and she wants to be nice.
 
I tell everybody that there's probably 1000 ways to make BBQ and if you and/or you family/friends really like it, then it 's good BBQ. Even if it's boiled, cooked on gas, made in an oven, whatever. If it's enjoyed, then it's good. Just because we have turned into BBQ efficianados doesn't necessarily mean that all other BBQ can't be good. Who knows? Maybe sometime in the future boiling ribs will be all the rage and smoking will be passe'.

Just my $.02 and probably not even worth that much.
 
I tell everybody that there's probably 1000 ways to make BBQ and if you and/or you family/friends really like it, then it 's good BBQ. Even if it's boiled, cooked on gas, made in an oven, whatever. If it's enjoyed, then it's good. Just because we have turned into BBQ efficianados doesn't necessarily mean that all other BBQ can't be good.
Click to expand...

Well put Russ.
 
Russ Sylvester said:
I tell everybody that there's probably 1000 ways to make BBQ and if you and/or you family/friends really like it, then it 's good BBQ. Even if it's boiled, cooked on gas, made in an oven, whatever. If it's enjoyed, then it's good. Just because we have turned into BBQ … doesn't necessarily mean that all other BBQ can't be good. Who knows? Maybe sometime in the future boiling ribs will be all the rage and smoking will be passe'.

Just my $.02 and probably not even worth that much.
Click to expand...

Like Tony A said…"Well put Russ"! If you like what you're eating, it's all good...:D
 
I agree with Russ also. If you have fun making it and it tastes good, then knock yourself out. Half the experience is making something yourself and putting your own unique twist on it. Half the time we all use pretty generic ingredients, just time shared with friends or even enjoying a peaceful afternoon to yourself makes it nice. Sure, its a hobby and an art but I try not to put down anyone's methods. Within reason of course, if I go to a restaurant and they're trying to sell me some horrible food then I feel free to criticize.
 
Joe Grata said:
I agree with Russ also. If you have fun making it and it tastes good, then knock yourself out. Half the experience is making something yourself and putting your own unique twist on it. Half the time we all use pretty generic ingredients, just time shared with friends or even enjoying a peaceful afternoon to yourself makes it nice. Sure, its a hobby and an art but I try not to put down anyone's methods. Within reason of course, if I go to a restaurant and they're trying to sell me some horrible food then I feel free to criticize.
Click to expand...



Exactly.

I think we sometimes get so passionate about our hobbies that we fail to see the big picture. We argue over what "real bbq" is to the point where we question the use of foil or anything store bought or the type and brand of charcoal used. Think about it, bbq or whatever the earlier forms were called were cooked out on the range over an open fire. Or maybe in a hole wrapped in banana leaves. Or a miriad of other methods that dont include a shiny black Weber or a hermetically sealed cabinet or a $4,000 stick burner. So maybe what we make isnt "real".

I can tell you for sure people do not know the difference between these two pulled pork sandwiches. One the pork was cooked on a WSM for the full cook, pulled and put on a bun with some sauce. The other was cooked on the WSM for 4 hours then put in the oven for the rest of the time. When finished it was pulled, placed in vacuum bags and frozen. Thawed several days later and heated in boiling water, placed on a bun with sauce. Is one more real than the other?

The point is this. Season the meat well and cook it to the proper tempurature and if you are inclined, add a sauce you like. That's modern bbq. Some folks like it swimming in sauce. That's ok. We shouldnt get our feelings hurt over that whether it is someone else's food or maybe they drowned our meat in our sauce. We have to resiste the urge to become the bbq equivalent of a cork sniffer. It's bbq. It is meat cooked on fire. And if you really think about it, the difference between the best pulled pork and average pulled pork isnt that great, and if it is, it is solved with sauce.
 
Lew, that's why I don't compete in BBQ. It's all I can manage to make something I like and I'm proud of. I let my family and friends know that; they seem to enjoy my Q nonetheless. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top