What makes great BBQ?


 
D

Darin Hearn

TVWBB Fan
I thought this would be a good topic for discussion. What is it that you think makes BBQ taste great?

For me I think it is the layers of flavor in BBQ. You have the meat, the rub, the wood smoke, and of course the glaze or sauce or whatever else you want to add. I think when all of these flavors come together it makes for a wonderful taste experience.

I also love the fact that everyone cooks BBQ there own way and to there own tastes. That way there are so many chances to taste different BBQ! And that is a good thing!
 
A few years back I went to a steam railroad
museum in Wisconsin. The BBQ smells from their snack stands were too much to resist,
so I ordered the BBQ beef sandwich. It was wrapped in foil, and as I unwrapped it, it
looked just like a "Sloppy Joe" made with ground beef. But it smelled like real BBQ,
and it tasted like real good BBQ. Good enough that I ordered another. It turned out that they smoked it at home and served
them warm from Nesco roasters. It was different for sure, but it was also very
good BBQ. It seems that in different regions of the country, folks have different ideas about what makes great BBQ.
I think that it would be interesting to try them all.
 
What makes BBQ taste so good?
Where do you begin.
It's the anticipation you get as you pass by a beaten down BBQ shack with white smoke bellowing out of the top and the smell of the smoke wood burning in the air.
It's the memories of your dad in the silly chef's apron standing around the Weber kettle on a hot summer evening.
The first time you dip any thing in barbeque sauce.
When you then realize that there are thousands of different sauces to try and play with.
It's the wet naps, paper towel roll and sticky menus on a cheap Formica checker board table top.
It's the lack of knife spoon or fork.
It's the piece of white bread sucking up all the sauce of that luscious piece of meat underneath.
It's getting the last string of meat off that rib bone.
It's the point of enlightenment you get when you realize how primitive the activity is.
When you see something pink on the inside and realize that oh yeah it's done, and it is good.
The sound of a slop mop smacking a slab of ribs.
The sound of the smoker door creaking open, and close with a clang.
Adding brisket, and pork shoulder to your grocery list.
It's the sound of slapping the meat on the grocery conveyer belt.
When you stop giggling when you seriously say: "I'm going to inject a butt over the weekend"
It's seeing the brown cardboard box from the UPS man sitting on you front porch.
It's the charcoal under you finger nails, the sweat on your brow, the smoke burning your eyes, the constant perfecting of the vents, the smoke smell on your pillow and your pajamas, and knowing which goes on first the transmitter or the receiver on you ET-73
Sitting outside at 5:00 on a peaceful morning in a comfortable chair with your dog asleep at your feet watching the sun come up and taking a deep breath and smelling your own barbeque.
Watching the one you love shred a pork shoulder with their bare hands.
The look people give you when you put the slaw on the top of their sandwich.
What makes BBQ taste so good? It is when you make it yourself and see the look on the faces of those you love.
Ben
 
Ben--dude--that was frickin poetry. Well done.

I would add a couple of things:

The look on people's faces when they see a big, black, hunk of pork coming off your smoker; and the later look when they finally taste it. Especially for those of us who live north of the Mason-Dixon line, people just don't know how to react, until they have their first bite. Some of the expressions are absolutely priceless.

Bill
 
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