====== BB-Q RULES ======= 1st Rule of meat buying/cooking/handling is: FRESH ONLY. 2nd Rule of meat buying/cooking/handling is: FRESH ONLY. 3rd Rule: See Rule #1 Frozen meat will ALWAYS cook out dry and less flavorful. This is due to the freezing process forming ice crystals which rupture the cellular walls, allowing the natural juices to escape. You can verify this for yourself. Just buy a nice roast, cut it in half, and freeze one side for 2-3 days. The other half will keep fine in the 'fridge. Then, thoroughly thaw out the one and notice all the juice that escapes. Next put each half in its own pan and cook both in the same oven. When done, you'll notice still more liquid has escaped from the frozen half. Now compare flavor, texture etc. You'll be a believer. Don't buy and freeze meat "for later" just because it's on sale. If you look at all the grocery ads for a given week you'll notice that two stores rarely ever have the same meat cuts on sale. If one has steaks on sale, another will have roasts, another hamburger, another pork and so on. The next week, they'll all just rotate a notch or two. This is no accident. What if by chance every market decided to put steaks on sale one weekend? There just wouldn't be enough to go around. So the meat packers work with the store buyers and guide them as to what to advertise for a given week so the supplies stay balanced. Makes sense. In short, some store will always have on sale the meat you want - just look thru the ads until you find the one. Be mindful of "baby back ribs" sold in stores. These are generally in short supply and are often frozen to accumulate enough for a large store to put them on sale. Always ask the meat clerk if they have ever been frozen. SMOKING MEAT (not grilling): Firstly, here's a website with some real good information: http://bbq.netrelief.com/ Gas and charcoal grilles are unacceptable for smoking meats for many reasons. Among them: * Poor draft control, hence poor temp and no flame control. * Fat drips on fuel causing flare ups (cremation is not smoking). * Adding charcoal during cooking is impossible. * Meat tends to dry out and burn due to direct radiant energy. By comparason, a true meat-smoker design: * Has the heat source well away - separate - from the cooking area. * Draft control allows total flame suppression: smoke only * Meat cannot "see" the heat source - no radiation burns * Provides a moisture source (can of water) to prevent drying out * Only hot, moist smoke does the cooking. * An incomparable smoky bbq flavor is infused - delicious! Best fuel for a smoker is green wood: apple, cherry, pear, hickory, etc (but NEVER pine or other aromatic). Soak it first in a bucket of water. Charcoal imparts very little [good] flavor and often has chemicals mixed in to reduce dust, improve lighting, etc. Never use charcoal lighter fluid due to bad vapors that affect the taste of the meat. Instead, use a charcoal chimney ($15 Wal-Mart) to start it. Charcoal (one chimneyful) is good for a fire base over which a layer of soaked wood is placed for the smoke. Put the wood on the fire in small amounts. Be sure lots of smoke is coming out. No smoke, no flavor. Keep the smoke going. Rub the meat to be cooked with whatever spice mixture you prefer. There are may good ones on the market, or mix your own using sea salt, fresh ground pepper, fresh garlic, worcestershire sauce, etc. Rub it in well. Be sure the meat is at room temperature before putting it into the smoker to cook. A whole bone-in pork loin is an excellent choice if you own a good sized smoker (e.g., Brinkman Professional). Ask the meat cutter to leave all the fat on, and for a price break in return for doing so. This beautiful hunk of meat will weigh 12-18 pounds. For easier handling, ask the butcher to cut it in half. Cover the top with raw bacon strips and half garlic cloves after rubbing in well all the other spices you've selected. HINT: Try Good Season's dry Italian Salad Dressing as your dry-rub. It also makes an excellent marinade - add a teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoon of L&P worcestershire sauce for added zip. Be prepared to spend 5-8 hours to properly smoke a large cut such as a bone-in pork loin. This process can not be rushed! Additional cooking wisdom (be it oven or smoker): 1) The hotter and faster, the tougher and drier. 2) There are more tough cooks than tough meat. If you want to cheat, you can oven-roast the meat for two hours and finish it off in the smoker for 3-4 more. Keep in mind, especially for pork, that the smoking process turns the meat a pink color. The deeper the pink the deeper the smoke flavor goes. Do not mistake this color as being an indication of under-doneness. Keep the temp under 300 degrees F. - 275 degrees preferred. Be sure your smoke pit has a temp guage and don't forget the can of water (a large coffee can works well)! Finally: MANAGE the process carefully - you can't smoke meat from in front of the TV or from out in the garage. The fuel is in a constant state of flux, always moving between choking out or flaring up. The temp can change 100 degrees either way in just a muinute or so. The draft is just like your cars accelerator pedal: it must be continually modulated to stay within the temp limit. ...You have been warned! GRILLING STEAKS: Steaks are never smoked. Here's where the grille shines! Avoid stores where only pre-packged meats are sold. Ask the meat clerk to custom-cut your steaks 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick LEAVING ON ALL THE FAT AND BONE (that's where the flavor and tenderness comes from). At the same time ask for a price break because you are buying what they usually throw away. Of course, one does not eat the fat; it is simply cut away at the table and left behind on the plate. Sure, 1 1/2 inch thick porterhouse can cost $25, but so what? You can split it with your wife (ALWAYS give her the tenderloin portion). You'll have a way better steak than eating out, and you can drink you favorite beer for only $1 a bottle instead of $4. Add a baked potato and salad and you have a gourmet spread! The overall value of such a perfect meal at home is unapproachable at any restaurant, at any price. NEVER buy a thin (under 1") steak. NEVER buy a wedge-cut steak (i,e., thin on one side, thicker on the other). Such cuts are impossible to cook properly and a waste of money. One can almost never find suitable steaks already cut in the self-service case. You'll have to ask for service. For beef, buy only "porterhouse" (a T-Bone with the large tenderloin portion) or a bone-in ribeye. Avoid any kind of meat that comes from the "round" (thigh) area of the animal. It has no bone or fat and hence is too tough to grille. Try to find a custom meat shop that actually hang-ages their beef before selling it. Ask them... By the way, meat does NOT age in a vacuum-sealed cryovac bag (rot, yes; age no). Meat can only age by hanging, uncut (i.e., by 1/4 or full side), in a meat cooler, 3 weeks minimum. This process will make it cost much more, but the tenderness and flavor thus imparted will be worth it. Rub your steak well, both sides, with McCormic "Montreal Steak" seasoning before grilling. Let it warm to room temperaturature before grilling. It will not spoil. Cook it over a very hot grill for about 8 min per side. Allow the flame to kiss both sides to release the flavors locked within the fat. Be vigilant to not allow the flames to incinerate your work of art. This should produce a medium-rare (warm reddish center) center. Anyone who asks for "well done" should be asked to leave. "Medium" (hot pink center) is as done as a steak should ever be cooked. The thicker the steak, to more it tends to be rare in the center. Don't ruin the two 1/2 inch outside layers trying to get the center 1/2 inch "done". If any one whines that "mine's not done" (usually a female), just hand them the bottle of Lee & Perrins Worcestershire sauce. Encourage them to splash it on liberally as an aid to help it "finish cooking naturally" (darker is done-er, right?). Again, you CAN NOT grill a steak from in front of the boob tube. HAM FACTS: Most of the hams you can buy at the supermarket are WATER ADDED. These are always so-marked (by law) because they have been pressure-injected with a cocktail of various embalming fluids (e.g., sodium nitrate/nitrite) and salt water. To my knowledge there is only one brand of boneless ham that is not "water added" - the Hormel Cure 81. It is always about 50% more $$ than the rest... probably because meat costs more than water. The best ham is "bone-in" and naturally cured in a smokehouse. They are often marked "Southern" or "Virgina" style. They are usually sold in a cloth bag and are REALLY expensive - but the best! Beware of "half" hams that are on sale. These often have had the high priced center-slices removed. The honest stores call them ham "portions". Always buy the "butt" portion because the shank (hoof) end has more bone and tendons. The author - Dan Martin - worked in his fathers small family market for many years. Martin's Finer Foods in Leawood, KS was widely known for their excellent quality aged meats. Read more about "The Corner That Kindness Built" at: http://www.dansher.com/momdad/index.html Now go ye and eat well!