Real BBQ

My BBQ integrity was recently called into question because of my love for the McRib. That sandwich is just a guilty pleasure. I do not consider it BBQ. It is just a sandwich that has BBQ sauce on it. BBQ is something I love and take very seriously. Unfortunately, I do not get to eat, make, or participate in real BBQ as regularly as I would like. Between living in the tundra for four months out of the year and working a second job that ties up the weekends there is just not as much spare time as I would need to do it right. So, now I will tell you what good BBQ is.

Good BBQ is not about the sauce. Good sauce does not make good BBQ. Good sauce makes good BBQ better. BBQ is about smoke. Pulled pork, brisket, ribs and chicken need to be cooked low and slow over coals with plenty of smoke flavoring the meat. If that is not happening it is not BBQ. In fact, if the meat is done correctly you may not even need BBQ sauce.

The basic elements of real BBQ are fire, smoke, and low temperatures for long periods of time. If you have those things you have BBQ. I came to understand what real BBQ is late in the game. Fortunately, I am still in the game with, hopefully, plenty of time to play. For me, BBQ is about more than eating good food, although, that is a good portion of what I like. I love tinkering with the fire and adjusting the settings to get the temperature right, watching the smoke rise, and smelling the smoke while it is cooking. Getting to pick at the meat when it first comes off the smoker is tops. If you are not the one cooking it you have to rely on the generosity of the cook to share this with you. Fortunately for Denise, I am a very generous guy. You can get good BBQ in restaurants, Hickory River Smokehouse in Champaign is a good example, but I would rather do it myself in my backyard. Anybody can do real BBQ and I don't understand why more people don't do it. I think if more people knew how easy it was, more people would do it.

This summer, when Emerson turns one, I plan on having pulled pork for her party. Hopefully, our guests will get to try some good BBQ. I am counting on myself not to mess it up. With a little luck there will be some people who have never tasted the real thing and they can see what it is all about. I better start fine tuning my skills a little because June will be here before you know it. And since I am raising my girls right, they will have a whole lifetime of enjoying real BBQ.