cooking/smoking strategies

I have a BBQ competition this weekend. Any 5 star suggestions on how you prepare/smoke a brisket, chicken and spare ribs? We have to use wood burning pits, no gas grills.

i tried these recipes at christmas and they turned out great.

ribs:

http://arcadianexperience.com/2010/07/19/big-red-ribs/

brisket:

http://arcadianexperience.com/category/cooking/how-to-smoke-a-brisket/

i did use a different spice. Williams BBQ for the brisket and Williams Rib tickler for the ribs.

i have been using spicy V8 juice instead of beer to make beer can chicken.

Try brining, Google it and it explains it better than I can. I didn't really care for the brisket I did, but the pork and birds I've done are excellent. You brine then you can put a dry rub on and smoke the way you normally do.

thanks guys. Arcadian experience sounds pretty good

any ideas on smoking a chicken?

This is the way I do it. Get some of this Pink curing salt. Put the brisket in a tub and put just enough water in it to cover the top. Add in the salt and follow instructions. (I think one teaspoon does 5 pounds of meat) and DO NOT USE REGULAR TABLE SALT.

Let it sit in the brine for 24 hours, take it out and rub it up with brisket rub, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Fire up the smoker with charcoal, add wood chunks later for fuel. When the temp reaches 225 put the brisket in.

For years I cooked by time, however the last time I cooked by internal temperature, which turned out a lot better. Stick the probe in the middle of the biggest part of the brisket and cook until internal temperature reaches 190. Also, I started putting the brisket in an oven cooking bag when the color on the outside looks right. Now all the juices are locked in the bag.

I almost forgot, get an untrimmed brisket, cook fat side up. After cooking trim off the fat. Some folks like to trim it ahead of time, but why the the fat juices go to waste. There are also several pieces on a brisket that need to be cut differently, just Google it.

Chicken

Cut chicken in half, inject with something like jalapeno and butter or whatever you like and place in smoker. When the chicken is that golden brown color, place in cooking bag and finish up. You can tell when the chicken is done by twisting the leg, if it starts to break off it is done, otherwise keep cooking a little longer.

Ribs

Rub the ribs up with rib rub, garlic powder, brown sugar, salt and pepper about 4 hours ahead of time. Cook at 225 using hickory for 4 hours and check for tenderness. Ideally, the ribs should be tender, but not so tender the meat falls off the bone. Again, you can twist the ribs to test how done they are. Depending on the ribs, it will take anywhere from 4 to 7 hours.

Also, when cutting the ribs, I like to first cut off the big bone that runs horizontally along the ribs and then slice between the ribs

My best suggestion to offer is don't rush it. Brisket takes time to break down. If it's a sanctioned event your judges won't be happy with sloppy wet falling apart bbq so watch the time and temp.

I just brine mine for several hours, then either inject with marinade or put a good rub on it and underneath the skin, then put it on the smoker for 3.5 to 4 hrs around 250 give or take; this is for a 6lbs chicken.

I cooked my first cookoff about 6 months ago.

Things I learned.

Make sure you get the right kind of ribs, our only accepted spare ribs, no baby backs and no st. louis style, had to be spare ribs.

Also the chicken had to be in complete halfs, including wing tips... several slaughtering plants sell chicken without wingtips so out of the 4 chicken halfs we bought there was only 1 that was even eligable because its the only one that had a wing tip.

On the ribs some people are sticklers about the lining on the inside of the ribs. For my personal cooking I have never removed it, but did one with and one without for the cookoff.

When you cut your brisket cut cross grain. Dont forget its not all about winning, have a good time!

matt

Why no regular table salt? I have brined all kinds of stuff with regular old mortons that came out great. In all Ive ever read about it thats the first time ive heard no table salt.

matt

I think he wants you to use curing salt b/c it creates a "fake" smoke ring. Maybe??

I'm with you redchevy, I've used both table salt and kosher salt on separate occasions with no difference taste-wise. Haven't ever heard of pink curing salt, my smoke ring is just that a ring from exposure to indirect heated smoke.

Low and slow is the key. Use offset wood smoker and get good bed if coals first. Add wood as needed in small portions. Too much smoke is overbearing if u smother fire with too much wood. Less is more in terms of seasoning. Franklins in Austin only uses salt n pepper. Tastes great.

Don't wrap the meat in foil at any time during the cooking process unless you want the meat to be steamed

Is it a sanctioned competition and by who?


Brine your chicken, grill it, don't smoke it. You're looking for a deep brown color to finish it.

Inject your brisket, remember the judges generally only get 1 bite with a plastic fork and knife, so you're looking for very tender meat.

The flavor profile you are trying to achieve in competition is much different than what you'd normally serve people. That is why I didn't like doing them. I cook bbq because I enjoy it and I want others to enjoy it. Not to serve some super salty brisket to a judge who eats one bite and says I win. If possible, sample the winning brisket and ribs at the end of the competition. I was very surprised at the flavor profiles that win competitions, especially LSBS sanctioned events.

redchevy has the right idea, good suggestions

Red Chevy are you the carpet guy