I'm sure some of you have been wondering why I have been referring to our outdoor cooking activities as cook-outs rather than barbecues.
It was during our first spring here that I noticed that the term barbecue was not so widely used here as in the UK. It was probably the next summer that I became aware of 'barbecue' as a cooking style that had nothing to do with backyard grilling and everything to do with smoke - but it was only recently that I read a good summary of the whole situation courtesy of FUSSYlittleBLOG.
So today was the day for me to break out the hickory chips, the indirect heat and a whole lot of smoke in my charcoal grill and see what could be made of it.
This being a work day there was no way I had time to make pulled pork, brisket or even ribs, but I had a recipe for smoked Italian sausage with a 45 minute cooking time, so that was what I did.
It was fun, easy and tasty. Bring on a longer cooking opportunity and a big hunk of meat and we will barbecue!
This may go without saying, but when you decide to barbecue a big hunk of fatty meat... make sure to put the fatty side up.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see a nice plume of sweet smoke. And even better to hear that something I wrote had an impact.
Thinking about bbq sausages makes me remember my favorite ones from Everett & Jones in Berkeley.
"Thinking about bbq sausages makes me remember my favorite ones from Everett & Jones in Berkeley."
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that something I wrote had an impact ;-)
But seriously, thank you - you have made sense of a lot of half-understood culture-specific food issues for me!
My first big hunk of meat was smoked on Sunday - it was pulled pork (the recipe I used called for dry-rub then left overnight, three hours smoking, two hours in the oven, one hour to rest).
My nearly-vegetarian daughter described it as 'not too bad' which was praise indeed! The rest of the family showed their appreciation in more traditional ways.
Should you attempt pulled pork again, I can't speak highly enough about Elder Ward.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nakedwhiz.com/elder.htm
Glad to be of help. Let me know if there is anything else I can do.