How to make the perfect BBQ for Independence Day or just because

Many people celebrate Independence Day in the United States with barbecues. We offer to understand how a barbecue differs from a grill, a josper from a smoker, and Louisiana ribs from a Texas brisket. The main differences and explanations were collected by the publication Daily Poster.

Photo: Shutterstock

What is BBQ

The main question that arises among people who are just getting acquainted with barbecue is - what is it all about? There are two answers: on the one hand, this is the technique of cooking meat, and on the other, the American analogue of the tradition of going out into the countryside with barbecue.

In a gastronomic term, barbecue is a way of cooking food over charcoal at low temperatures. The main principle of this technique in English sounds like slow-n-low, that is, "slowly and at a low temperature."

The fact is that the meat should not be fried, but languish for several hours at a temperature of about 100–120 ° C. The meat cooked in this way remains as juicy and tender as possible.

It is important not to confuse a barbecue with a grill, that is, roasting on an open fire. Imagine how steaks or burger patties are prepared: they are thrown onto a hot surface and quickly fried on both sides.

It can take just a couple of minutes to cook one piece of meat. Barbecue doesn't work like that. If you want a juicy brisket, be prepared to spend all day on it. It was the meditativeness of the cooking process that made barbecue a family pastime in the United States: while you are waiting for the brisket, you can chat with your relatives.

Barbecue is often called grilled food. But these are different concepts. The fact is that in the United States there is a separate concept of "barbecue grill": this is the name for any food cooked on charcoal. Obviously, such dishes have nothing to do with the real canonical barbecue. However, this is how meat is most often cooked at barbecue parties, which are extremely common in America.

In particular, the barbecue cult is developed in southern states such as Texas, Louisiana, Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. These are where 70 of the top 100 BBQ restaurants are located (according to Johnny Fiugitt, who traveled 48 states a few years ago in search of the best barbecues and grills.

The most important championships among pitmasters - people who professionally cook barbecue - are also held there. For example, Jack Daniel's Invitational BBQ Championship, which takes place annually near the distillery in Tennessee. According to Pitmaster Evan Leroy, barbecues are not a fashion for people, but a lifestyle.

How it works

With a barbecue, everything is quite clear, but then difficulties begin. The main one: how to cook it? Barbecue cannot be cooked on the grill, because the meat should not be roasted on one side, but baked evenly. In order to achieve this effect, special devices are most often used - jospers or smokers. Jospers are ovens with adjustable draft, in which you can cook not only meat, but also vegetables and even baked goods. Smokers are a kind of smokehouse and wood-burning stoves at the same time. They are traditionally cylindrical in shape with several rows of meat racks.

Barbecues can also be grilled, the main thing is to cover the meat with a lid. The easiest way is to buy a metal grill or smoker, but professionals recommend not to skimp and take a ceramic one, because it will keep warm better. This will save both time (you will need to check the temperature less often) and money (ceramic jospers use less coal or gas).

Most pitmasters prefer to cook over charcoal because it produces a distinctive flavor. While meat cooked on a propane or electric grill cannot be “smoky” by definition. The most important thing is to remember to monitor the temperature: it should be between 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit (100-120°C) - to do this, let the coals burn out a little first and only then add the meat. And don’t forget to monitor your temperature for the next 5–10 hours. If you are not ready for this, then buy temperature control systems that will do all the work for you.

Photo: Shutterstock

What can you cook

Anything can be cooked in a smoker or on the grill. However, there is a gentleman's BBQ-four: pork ribs and a shoulder, which is stewed to a fibrous structure, sausages and beef brisket, it is also a brisket. In the United States, stewed pork ribs are the most popular: it was with them that the history of barbecue began. Brisket and sausages are predominantly made by Texas pit masters.

Evan Leroy attributes the popularity of beef to the influence of migrants from Germany and the Czech Republic, who began to actively raise cattle and use its meat for food.

The peculiarity of cooking meat in a smoker is that it is not pre-marinated. All you need to do is rub the piece with a mixture of spices, most often salt and pepper, and send it to the smoker. Pork ribs are most often simmered in a smoker for 6–8 hours at a temperature of about 80–95 ° С. Many people recommend dipping them in boiling water before cooking, so that the meat can then be easier to separate from the bones. This method of cooking meat allows it to lose less juice. However, if you do not have 8 free hours, then the process can be accelerated by increasing the cooking temperature to 135˚C: in this case, the ribs will be ready in four and a half hours.

There are also recipes in which the meat is sent to a smoker for only two hours, then it cools in a marinade and only then is brought to readiness in a hot oven. But they can hardly be called canonical.

Beef brisket takes much longer to cook. American grillers recommend simmering the brisket at 110 изC for 75 minutes per kilogram of meat, resulting in about 16 hours. The main secret for brisket is to put it right side up on the wire rack. For simmering in a smoker, choose fatty meat and put the piece with the meat side down. In this case, the fat will gradually melt during cooking, preventing the meat from becoming too dry.

Some cooks wrap the meat in craft paper or, a few hours after the start of cooking, put it on a foil substrate, actually frying it in their own fat.

If we talk about a barbecue grill, then it does not require such a time investment, because if you choose the right temperature, the meat will cook quickly.

Sauces and side dishes

In the USA, the home of barbecue, there are several gastronomic centers where dishes are prepared according to various recipes. Virtually every southern state has its own sauce, and sometimes a traditional side dish with which meat is served.

For example, in Memphis, sweet "dry ribs" are prepared. They are called so because the sweetness is not achieved through the sauce, but with the help of a complex set of spices that rub the meat with. In North Carolina, meat sauce is made with tomatoes, vinegar, several peppers, hot sauce, and salt. In South Carolina, by contrast, mustard-based dressings are most commonly used. In Texas, the sauce is made from beef broth, vinegar, salt, garlic and pepper. Kansas serves meat with a sweeter dressing, added sugar and soy sauce.

Some sauces are based on alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, or whiskey. For example, in Tennessee, a whiskey sauce made with bourbon, apple cider vinegar and canola oil is traditionally served with ribs.

There are hundreds of options, the main thing to understand is that BBQ sauce, which is most often served with meat, is one of many alternatives.

With traditional side dishes, everything is much easier to arrange. Most Texas restaurants will serve you beans or coleslaw with meat or sausages. Salads are also often served with barbecues, such as potato and dill salad or corn with chili and lime.

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