The Ten Commandments of Barbecue: A Guide to Mastering the Art of Smoking Meat

Barbecue is a method, not a sauce. It's the technique that you cook your meat with, and sauce is just an addition to it. This understanding is crucial to mastering the art of barbecue. The method makes barbecue.

To start, you need to use wood that is properly aged and dry. Green wood and wet wood are a recipe for bad barbecue. When cooking, everyone always thinks about time, but temperature is what matters most. A nice temperature to cook brisket would be around 203 degrees. This is a far cry from the "hot and fast" approach some people take.

Smoke in your smoker needs to run clear and thick, not thin or weak. Big plumes of white smoke rolling out of your smoker are what create accurate barbecue that everyone wants to eat. If you're smoking meat but it tastes like an ashtray, something's gone wrong. On the other hand, a well-executed smoke ring is a beautiful thing. To achieve this, start with chilled meats and add a little charcoal to your hot box. This will help bring out the flavor of your meat.

After about 140 to 150 degrees, it's all about maintaining your heat and getting your meat tender. At this point, you need to focus on cooking rather than letting the smoke do all the work for you. One common mistake is assuming that if you're not actively monitoring your meat, it must be cooked already. This couldn't be further from the truth. Check your meat every 30 minutes or so to see how things are going.

When saucing is involved, do it at the end of the cook, rather than at the beginning. Some sauces, particularly those found in Kansas City and other regions, contain a lot of sugar that can overpower the flavor of your meat. By waiting until the end, you allow the flavors to meld together naturally. This approach will result in better-tasting barbecue.

Another essential tip is to go lighter on your rub than you think. People often overdo it with their rubs, thinking that more is better. However, this can lead to a messy situation where the flavor of the meat gets lost under a layer of seasoning. A good rule of thumb is to sprinkle your rub evenly across the meat rather than rubbing it in deeply.

Finally, when serving your barbecue, aim to have it done minimally an hour before the guests arrive. This allows the meat to relax and for its juices to redistribute. You can achieve this by wrapping the meat tightly and placing it in an insulated cooler with a hot towel to keep everything at a consistent temperature.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enall right guys here we go the ten commandments of a barbecue barbecue is a method not a sauce it is the technique that you cook the meat in sauce is in addition to barbecue but does not make barbecue method makes barbecue number two you need to use wood that is properly aged and dry no green wood no wet wood that makes bad barbecue number three you need to cook to a temperature not a time everybody always goes how long do i keep the brisket on you keep the brisket on till it's done 203 degrees would be a nice temperature to cook it too next the smoke in your smoker needs to run clear people get confused sometimes they feel like they're smoking meat there should be big plumes of white smoke rolling out of their smoker that will create accurate barbecue that no one wants to eat it will taste like an ashtray number five if a smoke ring is your thing if you start with the meats chilled and put a little bit of charcoal in your hot box your ring will be more pronounced number six meat takes on smoke to 140 to 150 degrees after that it is all about maintaining your heat and getting your meat tender number seven if saucing is your thing do it at the end of the cook not at the beginning especially with sauces that you see throughout kansas city and some other regions where there is some sugar in the sauce number eight people always say if you're looking you ain't cooking not true check your meat occasionally not every five minutes but every 30 minutes or 40 minutes check your meat see how things are going if you need to move your meat around the smoker that is completely okay you need to look to cook number nine go lighter on your rub than you think people think they made this rub they're gonna pour so much on the meat and it is gonna make it better it just overpowers everything and turns into a mess also you don't need to rub in your rub go high from above sprinkle it across the meat everything will be okay and last but certainly not least number 10 i like to have my barbecue done minimally an hour before serving it it lets the meat kind of relax again the juices go back in you could wrap it and put it in an insulated cooler with a hot towel so it holds temp so those are the ten commandments follow them and you will make delicious barbecue youall right guys here we go the ten commandments of a barbecue barbecue is a method not a sauce it is the technique that you cook the meat in sauce is in addition to barbecue but does not make barbecue method makes barbecue number two you need to use wood that is properly aged and dry no green wood no wet wood that makes bad barbecue number three you need to cook to a temperature not a time everybody always goes how long do i keep the brisket on you keep the brisket on till it's done 203 degrees would be a nice temperature to cook it too next the smoke in your smoker needs to run clear people get confused sometimes they feel like they're smoking meat there should be big plumes of white smoke rolling out of their smoker that will create accurate barbecue that no one wants to eat it will taste like an ashtray number five if a smoke ring is your thing if you start with the meats chilled and put a little bit of charcoal in your hot box your ring will be more pronounced number six meat takes on smoke to 140 to 150 degrees after that it is all about maintaining your heat and getting your meat tender number seven if saucing is your thing do it at the end of the cook not at the beginning especially with sauces that you see throughout kansas city and some other regions where there is some sugar in the sauce number eight people always say if you're looking you ain't cooking not true check your meat occasionally not every five minutes but every 30 minutes or 40 minutes check your meat see how things are going if you need to move your meat around the smoker that is completely okay you need to look to cook number nine go lighter on your rub than you think people think they made this rub they're gonna pour so much on the meat and it is gonna make it better it just overpowers everything and turns into a mess also you don't need to rub in your rub go high from above sprinkle it across the meat everything will be okay and last but certainly not least number 10 i like to have my barbecue done minimally an hour before serving it it lets the meat kind of relax again the juices go back in you could wrap it and put it in an insulated cooler with a hot towel so it holds temp so those are the ten commandments follow them and you will make delicious barbecue you\n"