South Texas Barbecue- Barbecuing Made Easy

Here at barbecue 101 you will learn the basics of barbecuing. Barbecuing is not hard at all and is very fun. There is really nothing hard at all about barbecuing and grilling. The only setback for barbecuing is having the time to smoke that perfect piece of meat. To me barbecuing is never a setback. The only major obstacles you may have is figuring out what you want to cook and what rub or marinade you want to use.

Most people who are beginners to the barbecue world think that making the fire is the hardest part of the process. Making the fire is probably the easiest and fastest part of the barbecuing experience if you decide to follow my suggestions.

Take things one step at a time and barbecuing will not be so overwhelming for the beginners. Instead of worrying about making the fire, put a lot of time and effort into picking your barbecue pit, smoker, or gas grill. It will pay off in the long run.

If money is an issue, don't worry! I have cooked some of my best barbecue on small cheap barbecue pits. It's nothing to be ashamed about. Don't worry if you do not want to invest so much money into a barbecue pit because you're not sure this barbecuing thing is for you. Start out with an inexpensive barbeque pit until you are comfortable with what you are doing. You can easily find a descent barbeque pit for under $100.

I have no problem recommending any of the barbeque pits/grills on this page. I have used everyone of them. I still use the Old Smokey # 22 at least once a week. I have used the Old Smokey # 22 for at least 5 years now.

I have smoked and grilled anything from a full rack of pork ribs to pizza to steaks and anything else I could think of. The Old Smokey also lasts a long time with little or no maintenance. The Old Smokey is great if you have a small space or apartment.

The Weber Kettle Grill is also great. My brother had one a few years back and I cooked one of the best beer can chickens (pollo borracho). I left the bird in there for about three hours. I was very surprised by the Weber Kettle. The Weber Kettle grill is also great for compact places of living like apartments.

The Brinkmann Smoker/Grill is also another great pit. It's great for an apartment or a backyard. I have no complaints on it. I once killed a hog quartered it up and smoked it on the brinkmann. These pits can do it all if you are patient enough to understand how the pit works for you.

Pit Selection

One of the biggest decisions you will make will be choosing your pit. There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a barbecue pit/smoker. Things to think about are if you want a charcoal pit or if you want a gas grill. A gas grill is definitely a faster way to cook and is easier.

Gas Grills

Going with a gas grill is a good decision if you do not like dealing with having to start a fire and dealing with a lot of smoke. With a gas grill you get that great grilled taste without all of the hassle of having to start a fire and having to wait for the fire to die down in order to grill.

To me I do not think any part of barbecuing with hardwood is a hassle. I enjoy every step of barbecuing. I do not use gas grills much, but admit there are times I wish I had one. There are times when you get home from work and you want to grill something on the pit, but do not have the time to start the fire and do not want to wait for the temperature to get where you want it to be in order to barbecue or grill. The gas grill definitely beats the folding grills that plug into your outlet.

I have always barbequed with hardwood ever since I can remember. I have been to friends homes where they do have gas grills and they seem to be very convenient and seem to work just fine. I have used the different brands of gas grills from time to time and had no problems at all. The heat was really easy to control.

Gas grills are a lot like vehicles. There are cheap and efficient ones and then there are big expensive ones. You can get some gas grills right at $100 and then range all the way to thousands of dollars. It just depends what you want to spend.

Barbecue Pits/Barbecue Smokers

When choosing a barbecue pit and/or smoker you need to know how you will be cooking. Will you be grilling or will you be barbecuing. What's the difference? Barbecuing is cooking your meats for extended periods of time over hardwood on low temperatures. Grilling is cooking your meats in a short amount of time over medium to high heat settings. A barbecue pit in my opinion is just a grill to cook over direct heat. A barbecue smoker has a fire box, a single lid or more, and a smoker box. Smoking barbecue is done by cooking with indirect heat or direct heat and a low temperature setting.

Once you figure that out then you can move to the next step. That is how big you need you barbecue pit/ barbecue smoker to be. Pits and smokers can get very detailed and can get expensive fast. When looking for a barbecue pit and/or barbeque smoker always look at the metal. Most of the pits and smokers you fins in sport shops and grocery stores are made of low grade metals. When you get a low grade metal they usually do not insulate very well and do not last very long. Meaning a few years. If you live here in South Texas, these pits do not even last that long. Most low end barbecue pits and barbecue smokers do not last long in the corrosive salt water environment that we live in down here in South Texas.

When I look for a barbeque pit or barbeque smoker I look for a metal that is thick. I look for at least 1/4" thick or more. Always look at the welds as well to make sure they seal. If you know you are in the market for a good barbecue pit/ barbecue smoker shop around. Always look around first and compare. If you are going through a manufacture company do not be afraid to go and test the pit or smoker you are interested in. If the company wants to sell you there product, they will let you test it out. I'm not saying to go and barbecue or grill a piece of meat. I'm saying go start a good fire with some good smoke to see how well the barbecue pit or barbecue smoker will seal and insulate. If you are going to pay good money that you worked hard for, you might as well test it first.

Barbecue Smokers

There are a lot of choices when it comes to choosing your barbecue smoker. To make it easy, the most common back yard smoker will be easy to find. Most traditional backyard smokers are going to have a single lid with a firebox. If you want to spend a little more money you can add a smoker box to it. Most of these traditional backyard barbecue pits are very heavy. They usually sit on two wheels on the right side and two angle iron legs on the left side. These barbecue smokers are a great investment and can las a very long time if you maintain them.

Trailer Barbecue Smokers

If you like to barbecue for large amounts of people and/or you want to compete in barbecue competitions, then you need a barbecue trailer smoker. The most common barbecue trailer pit is going to have a double lid, firebox, and a smoker box. There are also a lot of bells and whistles. Most of the racks will be single, but they do make double stack racks. The upright smoker box will usually have 4-5 racks with two smoke stacks. It is also common for the trailer to have a front shelf in front of your smoker to put your untensils on. Some trailers also have extra storage areas. These barbecue trailer pits usually start out at $3500 new. I have seen some nice ones used for as low as $1500, which is a steal if it is in good condition.

Manufactured Trailer Pits Too Expensive?

If $3500 is too expensive, don't be embarrassed! I went the other route myself. If you have a friend that is a welder, you my want to ask him/her to help you out. The sad thing is a lot of the oil field jobs have dried out to a certain extent which left a lot of welders jobless. This could be a chance for you to be able to help each other out. Most of these welders are very experienced and have been welding for a long time. Most of them have also probably built a barbecue pit or two in their lifetime.

My buddy was a welder and made a trailer pit. It was the common model which had a smoke box, double lid with single racks, and a smoker box with 5 racks, and two smoke stacks. After about a year or two he sold it to me for $500. There was nothing wrong with it! Of course I got a discount for being a friend, but if he did not sell it to me, he said he was going to ask about $1200. Which was still a great deal.

Even if you do not know a welder and have seen one driving around with his rig on his truck, don't be afraid to ask them. More than likely they will not turn you down. You will be surprised how detailed some welders are. Even if you do not want a trailer barbecue pit that is fine. I have seen some welders make some nice back yard pits for $400. That is cheap if you compare some of the lower grade barbeque pits that the grocery stores and sporting goods store sell. Most of them charge at least $300 for a barbecue pit with a smoker box and a single lid. These barbeque pits usually have a thin lower grade metal. That is just a rip off.

These stores also sell higher end barbeque pits. Some have what I just mentioned above. Others have a fire box, single lid, and sometimes a small smoker box. I have seen these start out at around $900. They are good quality barbeque pits, but that is kind of high considering the alternative of hiring a welder. Whatever method you choose, just make sure you think it through. Also make sure it suits your barbecuing needs.

Start Your Fire!

Once you select the barbecue pit you want it's time to break it in before you start to cook. I have seen a lot of people immediately start cooking on there pits once they get them home. In my opinion it is good to fire that pit up with some good wood and smoke it out for a few hours.

I always do this when I get a new pit to make sure that nothing will peel off from the inside. It is also a good idea to do this process to see how well your pit seals in the heat and smoke. Every pit cooks different, so this will also show you how fast your pit heats up.

Sparking Up The Pit!

Starting the fire in your barbecue pit is easy. There is not much equipment you need. Make sure you have a chimney starter, long handled barbeque lighter, newspaper, lump hardwood charcoal (mesquite, oak, pecan, etc.), wood chunks, and fatwood (optional). Please NEVER use charcoal starter fluid. Starter fluid is very dangerous and contains chemicals that give your food a bad taste. I personally never use charcoal briquettes and I never use charcoal starter fluid. If you ever go to a barbecue cookoff you will see most of the cooks never use starter fluid or charcoal. At least not the barbecuers I encounter. Some charcoals contain compressed wood fibers or sawdust. Some charcoals also contain petroleum based additives that are not good for your health.

When I start my fires I always put my chimney starter inside my barbecue pit with the grill taken out. I put crumbled up newspaper under the chimney starter. I then put fresh chunks of mesquite in the chimney starter and then put the hardwood lump charcoal on top of the mesquite chunks.

Now it's time to start your fire! Get your barbecue lighter and start the newspaper on fire. The hardwood charcoal and wood chunks should catch fire within a few minutes. If there is not enough air flow through your chimney starter, you may need to add more newspaper and relight.

Once your wood catches fire let the flame reach to the top, but keep an eye on it. When the flame reaches this point I usually wait until the highest piece of wood catches fire. Then I carefully empty the hot wood into the pit to my desired location. The handle of the chimney starter usually is hot at this point. I use a hot dish holder to grab the hot handle and never have any problems.

Option # 2

If you do not want to use a chimney starter you can use "fatwood" to start your fire. Fatwood is a root that comes from pine trees that have a high concentration of resin. Fatwood is all natural and contains no chemicals. It is recommended that the fatwood burn totally out before you begin to cook your food. Fatwood will light whether it is dry or wet. Just put your fatwood under your wood in your barbecue pit and then light the fatwood. The fatwood will ignite immediately. Click on any of the fatwood pictures below to purchase.

When you get invited to a barbecue you never really know what you are going to get until you arrive. I have been invited to "barbecues" before. When I show up I see that hamburgers, hotdogs, and sausage are being "grilled". Yes, that is right, "Grilled".

Grilling involves cooking meat over high heat on direct heat. Plain and simple! Grilling is usually done within 20 minutes. There is nothing wrong with grilling food on the pit. In fact it is a proven fact that grilling is a healthier alternative to cooking on the stove and/or oven. Also with grilling you are going to get that great grilled taste if you prepared your fire correctly. If you have a gas grill you should not have that problem.

Barbecuing is a different animal! Barbecuing is cooking bigger and thicker cuts of meat over indirect heat at lower temperatures. Barbecuing is cooked using hardwood (i.e. Mesquite, oak, pecan, hickory, maple, etc) for long periods of time. When I say long periods of time, which can be from a few hours all the way to over a day.

The longer you barbecue (smoke) a piece of meat, the more flavors it will have. The meat will also get a lot tenderer. A lot of times the meat gets so tender it just falls apart. Meats that are barbecued for long periods of time are so flavorful. This is because the meat already has a rub or marinade on it. Then you get the smoke flavor from the wood you barbecued with.

When I smoke a piece of meat in the smoke box I try to maintain a constant temperature of 200 degrees. That is low and indirect heat. That is what you want. Try to keep from opening the lid so much too. The more you open the lid or door, the longer it takes to cook. The heat and smoke need to circulate in the meat chamber uninterrupted. Manning the fire and maintaining the temperature can sometimes be a chore, but it is worth it in the end.

So, when someone asks you if you are barbecuing or grilling you should now know what to say. Remember: Grilling is cooking over direct and high heat for a short period of time. Barbecuing is cooking on indirect low heat for long periods of time. Always remember to have fun while you grill or barbecue. It never hurts to have some Texas Country Music playing while you barbecue or grill.