BBQ Tips for this 4th of July from Bottomless Pit BBQ & Catering

BBQ Tips for this 4th of July from Bottomless Pit BBQ & Catering

Pit Masters and Grill Masters alike will all agree that the best way to produce consistent, tender and juicy BBQ is trial and error. These day’s aspiring grill/pit masters have it easier than ever. The internet was not available at the time most of us old school pit masters were cutting teeth. It took months if not years to research, develop and perfect techniques that are so easily taken for granted by the internet BBQ community. Let’s not forget to mention what technology has brought to the table. Now we have an abundance of smoker’s , BBQ pits & grills to choose from. Not long ago acquiring a well built BBQ pit took “having to know somebody” or being a welder with (legal) access to large amounts of steel pipe. Even now most would argue that nothing can beat the tried and true custom made steel smoker. Well, take it from a professional who has spent the last 25 years grilling and smoking meats on just about every type of “BBQ Pit” . From holes in the ground to the most advanced commercial smokers money can buy, I can safely say that mass produced BBQ smokers and grills commercially available now have really come a long way.

So you want to host a BBQ for family and friends this coming Fourth of July? Hey why not? You have some burger flipping experience and hey! They have BBQ Pits at Walmart you can pick up for cheap! Before you go researching Youtube and searching forums on how best to sharpen your skills for the upcoming BBQ holiday let me first share a few basic fundamentals that will shorten your learning curve as well as increase the “fun factor” BBQ has to offer.

Kettle Type BBQ Pits like the Weber 18.5 or 22.5 have really come a long way in design to simplify the “Grill Masters” job when it comes to managing hot charcoal or wood. Although they may not be the least expensive option available they are worth their weight in gold when considering the reliability, simplicity & a vast array of optional upgrades / add on’s unique to Weber that make them at least in my opinion superior to other brands. For instance they offer grill grates that can be opened on the right and left sides to add fuel during cooking. Also available are expansion kits for just about every kettle grill they offer that can easily convert your kettle into an offset smoker. I can go on and on… My team and I are huge fans of Weber Grills and will be using a variety of them in upcoming BBQ competitions in 2016 – 2017.

The key to successful grilling & BBQ’n alike is of course fire / heat management. Too many times I have witnessed novice cooks use way too much fuel spread across the entire lower section of the BBQ pit. Once you get cooking, grease starts dripping and the all too famous flare up occurs. Avoid this by employing a technique called “indirect” cooking. Of course like anything else there are pros and cons when using indirect cooking. Depending on your cooker you may have to sacrifice a significant portion of your cooking area to build a suitable fire. When choosing your BBQ cooker it is important to take into account how much you would like to be able to produce at one time. I’m known by my family and friends to use a Weber Ranch Kettle which happens to be the largest kettle cooker offered on the market. With the Ranch Kettle I can build a good size fire on one side leaving me ample room at multiple temp ranges to get a large amount of cooking done.

However, you do not have to own an expensive monster kettle or a Weber grill to use the indirect cooking method successfully to churn out mouth watering BBQ. I am forever preaching to my staff the importance of adhering to the BASICS which I will share with you here.

1. Keep your grill grates and dripping areas grease free. Cleaning your cooker after a long day of grilling (and a full belly) has got to be the most tedious task for the back yard grill master. As tedious as it may be I can not stress enough how important it is not just for food safety but also to prolong the life of your cooker. Having old grease present anywhere in your cooker can taint the flavor of your food considerably. Use foil as “dripping pans” for areas not covered with charcoal. Have a small metal trash can (with a lid) and a garden shovel to dispose of spent fuel after the fire dies out.

2 . Avoid lighter fluid! Do a little research, there are so many ways to start a fire without having to use lighter fluid. Lighter fluid has to be burned off and puts a nasty smell in the air while doing so.. Even worse is when cooks put meat over charcoal that has yet to burn off the fuel completely. Weber makes lighter cubes that can be bought at just about any grocery store. These are made of a candle wax like substance and burn quickly and a lot cleaner than charcoal fluid. Another clean burning product I have found at Home Depot is “Insta Fire” charcoal starter. They are sold in packs of 3 (pouches). Each pouch is filled with naturally flammable granules which really gets the job done. Simply light the pouch and apply to your fuel source.

Charcoal starters – gets coals ready in a hurry ! They are also available just about anywhere and vary in size to accommodate your cooking style. Simply fill the charcoal starter with charcoal (We recommend Kingsford). Stuff loose, slightly crumbled news paper on the bottom. Set on a fire safe surface and light it up! Within about 15 minutes you should have lit charcoal ready to place in your cooker. Charcoal is good for cooking once the edges of the briquettes are white.

3. Stop peaking at your meat! Nothing makes meat tougher & dryer than unstable cooking temperatures. We can argue all day long about what temps are best to cook this and that BUT non of it matters more than the importance of maintaining a consistent cooking temperature throughout the entire cooking process. Master your cooker’s temp controls and perfect the art of building a proper cooking fire FIRST before going all “ Emerald Lagasse” on your recipes. Just because you season a goodyear tire well does not mean your guests are going to enjoy eating it. If I had a school where I taught basic BBQ techniques to aspiring Grill and Pit masters I would seriously spend the first week teaching them how to build a proper fire and how to maintain consistent cook temps inside their cookers.

4. The Texas Crutch – It’s considered a “cheat” by competitive Pit Masters all over world HOWEVER it is an indispensable method that I feel every weekend warrior BBQ chef should have in their BBQ arsenal. TIP : Once your meat has reached the desired color / look, chances are it is ready to be wrapped in foil. Foiling the meat (The Texas Crutch) is a perfect way to maximize convection of heat while keeping on the inside the moisture the meat releases towards the end of its cooking cycle. I recommend commercial foil wrap from Sam’s Club. Wont tear easily on your grill grates and comes in lengths and capacities not available at HEB or Walmart.

5. Rest Rest Rest! I am not going to get into the molecular exchanges that occur in meat during the cooking process but I have to stress the importance of resting your meat after cooking. Meat is one heck of an insulator especially if there is a bone in the middle. The first thing you should do when you decide that your meat is “done” is you should place it safely away from your cooker (and friends) covered by foil or towel and let it cool down a bit. Cooling times can vary from meat to meat however a good rule of thumb I employ at the restaurant is you can tell when the meat is rested once it starts to release its moisture. Its at this time you want to wrap the meat to retain its juices and place it in a warm oven at about 140 to 150 Degrees until serving time. The biggest mistake you can make with perfectly cooked BBQ is not letting it cool to proper internal temps before placing it in hot hold.

Bottomless Pit Thanks you for reading and hopes that some of these tips could help you pull off a stress free successful BBQ this coming Fourth of July. For more information on products I recommend or more tips and tricks to grilling and smoking meats feel free to email me directly @Mackdarod@bottomless-pit-bbq.com or visit our Facebook or Instagram accounts.