Thursday night, 11:30 PM... Well, I am out "practicing" this evening... I got home from a busy day/week at work, trimmed and rubbed 6 pork butts, got my smoker fired up, and got the butts on about 9:30 PM... For you "locals" who are following my blog - well, you better turn off the salivary glands... This Que will go towards feeding the 22 boys (and their families) who play football with our "middle" son this Saturday afternoon following their game with South Summit (their team is undefeated so far this season!)...
So - no public "tastings" as yet... Sorry :(
Tonight I am "tweaking" the combination of woods I use, along with monitoring my "fire management" just a little more closely... In competition BBQ, a cook not only needs a great rub and sauce - but it is also critical to figure out how to achieve the best smoke flavor/balance (just like wine, every wood has a certain "character" to it) - and how to get just that right amount of smoke in the different meats (too little and the food tastes rather "blah" - too much and the food will be "overwhelmed" or bitter)... In my opinion, the best BBQ not only has great flavors that are derived from the rub and/or sauce - but also has a distinctive "dash" of smoke that lends itself to being what I might call "fiery"... But that "fiery" flavor is not to be confused with being "spicy hot", either... It is a very distinctive component of good BBQ - and it totally comes from the woods used and the "flavor" of smoke they produce... So I am working on that via the combination of woods I use...
Fire management is also pretty crucial as well... It plays a big part in the "quality" of the smoke that is produced... If you read enough books on BBQ, you will often see the "best" smoke coming described as "blue smoke"... Now - over the years years, I don't know if I have ever truly seen any smoke coming out of a smoker that I might term "blue"... Maybe I need my eyes checked... Scary thought considering that by day I am a dentist, huh?... Anyway - what they are referring to is a light, "clean" smoke... Not a smoke that is "billowing" out of the exhaust - nor a smoke that is yellowish (I have seen "yellow smoke")... Typically, smoke that is "billowing" and/or that has a yellow tint is the result of a fire that is not burning cleanly (typically the fire is not hot enough and/or is starving for oxygen and/or the wood is not cured and/or you are trying to smoke with a wood that has a lot of "sap" such as pine)... Trying to achieve a light, clean veil of smoke without getting the temperature of the smoker too hot - well, that is one of the "tricks" that has to be "mastered"... And even though I have been doing this for a while, it is something I am always trying to get just a little better at...
I will let you know how things turn out when I pull this pork tomorrow... As of right now, it sure smells great!
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