I Believe In...............................BBQ !

pearl · 06-13-2006, 03:00 PM

In my on going effort to bring a little more culture to the ifish community I have recently posted some of my own penmanship, shared some poetry and tried to provide links to a better world.

Today I share with you a short essay by Jason Sheehan who is the restaurant critic for Denver's Westward Newspaper.

This was originally heard on NPR radio ( I can't believe I like anything that comes from NPR :whazzup

. It actually mirrors my thoughts and beliefs.

So I present you with "I Believe In BBQ"

I believe in barbecue. As soul food and comfort food and health food, as a cuisine of both solace and celebration. When I'm feeling good, I want barbecue. And when I'm feeling bad, I just want barbecue more. I believe in barbecue in all its regional derivations, in its ethnic translations, in forms that range from white-tablecloth presentations of cunningly sauced costillas, to Chinese take-out spareribs that stain your fingers red, to the most authentic product of the tarpaper rib shacks of the Deep South. I believe that like sunshine and great sex, no day is bad that has barbecue in it.

I believe in the art of generations of pit men working in relative obscurity to keep alive the craft of slow smoking as it's been practiced for as long as there's been fire. A barbecue cook must have an intimate understanding of his work: the physics of fire and convection, the hard science of meat and heat and smoke -- and then forget it all to achieve a sort of gut-level, Zen instinct for the process.

I believe that barbecue drives culture, not the other way around. Some of the first blows struck for equality and civil rights in the Deep South were made not in the courtrooms or schools or on buses, but in the barbecue shacks. There were dining rooms, backyards and roadhouse juke joints in the South that were integrated long before any other public places.

I believe that good barbecue requires no decor, and that the best barbecue exists despite its trappings. Paper plates are okay in a barbecue joint. And paper napkins. And plastic silverware. And I believe that any place with a menu longer than can fit on a single page -- or better yet, just a chalkboard -- is coming dangerously close to putting on airs.

I believe that good barbecue needs sides the way good blues need rhythm, and that there is only one rule: Serve whatever you like, but whatever you serve, make it fresh. Have someone's mama in the back doing the "taters" and hush puppies and sweet tea, because Mama will know what she's doing -- or at least know better than some assembly-line worker bagging up powdered mashed potatoes by the ton.

I believe that proper barbecue ought to come in significant portions. Skinny people can eat barbecue, and do, but the kitchen should cook for a fat man who hasn't eaten since breakfast. My leftovers should last for days.

I believe that if you don't get sauce under your nails when you're eating, you're doing it wrong. I believe that if you don't ruin your shirt, you're not trying hard enough.

I believe -- I know -- there is no such thing as too much barbecue. Good, bad or in-between, old-fashioned pit-smoked or high-tech and modern; it doesn't matter. Existing without gimmickry, without the infernal swindles and capering of so much of contemporary cuisine, barbecue is truth; it is history and home, and the only thing I don't believe is that I'll ever get enough.

yankemnbankem · 06-13-2006, 03:08 PM

I believe I am now hungry and the clock on the wall says....."Thats All" time to go home and ....Barbeque (actually I have some kokanee in brine which are going into the smoker tonight...even better)

Woody · 06-13-2006, 03:28 PM

All I can say is "AMEN BRUTHA"

3riversBob · 06-13-2006, 03:40 PM

"I Believe In BBQ".......and BEER!

Bob

Snakebite · 06-13-2006, 03:43 PM

Oh just shut up and pass the ribs and another cold one! :grin:

pearl · 06-13-2006, 04:04 PM

And a hallelujah from the chorus

Quote:

Skinny people can eat barbecue, and do, but the kitchen should cook for a fat man who hasn't eaten since breakfast.

I might just have that quote inscribed on my tombstone

For you guys that really want to emerge your self in to some deep thinking click on this link The meaning of BBQ

You will be better for it

Two Ducks · 06-13-2006, 04:29 PM

The best place to eat in Oregon that smacks like this IMHO is the Cowboy Tree in Silver Lake, Oregon. Real country 30 0z Sirloin, beans, bisquits. soup and real atmosphere. No two plates are the same but the folks are great. I make it down there at least once a year and leave with food for a week.

RODACTION · 06-13-2006, 05:22 PM

Nice !! BBQ is a big thing, and thanks for the "I Believe in" what about making a national holiday ? :grin:

I was thinking this last Sunday as I was pulling my tri-tips out of the cooker....I wonder if pearl will do another virtual BBQ contest this year ? This would be a good thing pearl......

brisket, butt, ribs, ..........beans......corn......slaw.....cool beverages....maybe some strawberry short cake ?

Only in the USA

(oh, and Ifish too)

scottishsetter · 06-13-2006, 05:24 PM

Sounds like Camp 18 Sunday brunch...

pearl · 06-13-2006, 05:37 PM

This is what i'm talkin about

Pork Butt

And yes i'll get the virual BBQ competition set up for the 4th of July....Details to come

ajfishfinder · 06-13-2006, 06:55 PM

After just polishing off about a 2lb slab of fresh springer, I think I like BBQ also. :grin: Boy oh boy fresh springer with Yoshida's on the BBQ is really tough to beat. :tongue:

RODACTION · 06-13-2006, 07:17 PM

Quote:

And yes i'll get the virual BBQ competition set up for the 4th of July....Details to come

Good on you pearl

I missed last year, but (no pun intended, butt) look out this year competitors

Thanks pearl, looking forward to it

happybrew · 06-13-2006, 08:32 PM

I think I've found religion!

CATCH AND EAT · 06-14-2006, 07:12 AM

You must have been watching OLN this week.

Pescadote · 06-14-2006, 07:51 AM

Well Steve, I believe in the barbecues on your boat

As I said before, you are lucky to get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on my boat. Not with Pearl though, we are talking a sausage jambalaya.

Acuta · 06-14-2006, 08:55 AM

My vote for the best BBQ in town, is my back porch. Ribs or Butt in the pit for MANY MANY hours.....followed by friends, fun, and plenty of brew. But I'm a snob, I am quick to point out the difference between a BBQ and a grill.

Eric

pearl · 06-14-2006, 07:19 PM

Quote:

I am quick to point out the difference between a BBQ and a grill.

First of all, grilling is not the same as barbecuing. Think of grilling as fast good; barbecue as slow food. To grill means to cook quickly over a fire that's close to the product being cooked, as in grilling hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, and fish. It's what takes place when your neighbor's backyard burgers nuke themselves to cinders in a burst of flame. It's quick cooking over hot coals, designed to sear the meat to hold in juices that otherwise would be boiled out by the hot coals. It's fine for burgers and dogs, but it's not barbecuing.

On the other hand, smoking is a process by which a product is slow-cooked with the fire being away from the product. There is liquid (which can be anything including but limited to water, beer, wine, or even Dr Pepper in between the heat source and the product being smoked. The meat is cooked in hot, moist air, and therefore tends to retain more of its original water content.

Now, barbecue is a combination of grilling and smoking, but closer to smoking. Barbecuing is a different position from grilling, gentle by comparison, that uses lower temperatures and no direct flames. Hot smoke does the cooking, gradually adding its own flavor to the meat, which remains naturally moist.

Jennie@ifish · 06-15-2006, 08:44 AM

I did ribs the other days. I mean that. It took me two days to complete the process. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh wuzzitevergood!

freespool · 06-15-2006, 01:39 PM

I believe in BBQ sooooooo much, I just bought a Weber Performer, now bring on the small barn yard animals.

salmon hugger

Dinikin · 01-27-2009, 06:29 AM

low and slow

River Ranger · 01-27-2009, 07:15 AM

BBQ....mmmmmmmmmm.

I am missing my smoker right now, it was crushed in the "artic blast" we had.

RR.

steves · 01-27-2009, 08:05 AM

I love barbecuing. Unlike grilling it gives me the time to talk with my friends, maybe do a little fishing. It also builds up anticipation. First you smell the smoke, then you smell the rub and the meat. Open the cover and it looks like it's ready. But no, a couple more hours. "Is it ready?". Nope, a couple more hours. "Is it ready?!". Nope...Menwhile drink another beer and lie about the size/number of all the fish that got away.
Sauce or no sauce? Red sauce, vinegar sauce, or mustard sauce. Should baby back ribs fall off the bone or should they be chewy? Purists will say chewy. It doesn't matter. It's what you like.
In theory barbecuing is simple. Meat, rub, maybe sauce, (both always homemade) and heat, low and slow. In reality it is an acquired skill that takes years to perfect. I have been 'cuing for seven, eight years but I am not ready to call myself good. My friends will tell you I'm great but I am my worst critic.
Experimentation is important. Like a chemist looking for a cure or an economist looking for a better way I am looking for a better sauce, rub or combination of wood smoke. The ingredients are few and simple but in the right combination can taste sublime and exotic. Ever marinate in cola and orange juice?
Barbecuing is not just a meal, it is an event.