Dammit. I bought some baby backs and chicken breast to barbecue while watching the Cowboys game today. I did the baby backs in my Weber Grill on low indirect heat. I made a baste mixture and basted them every 30 mins for three hours. The last 30 mins or so I started applying Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce. When I cut the ribs, they had a nice red smoke penetration layer.
I tried them and they tasted like . Same thing with the chicken. The chicken was moist and otherwise fine, it just didn't taste good. The problem was that I cooked the ribs for three hours (chicken 1 hour) using real mesquite wood, instead of my usual charcoal briquettes. The damn mesquite smoke flavor really overpowered the pork and chicken. It was pretty much inedible.
I used real mesquite last week on some fajitas and beef ribs and they came out phenomenal. I really like cooking with real wood as opposed to briquettes. I guess I need to use a different wood for lighter meats. Any suggestions? Also, where can I purchase some good wood for barbecuing here in San Antonio?
Try drowning your meat in lime juice maybe you can save it. If you let the wood get real hot where its white? it won't smoke as much.
I use pecan when I cook out. there is a large pecan tree with many dead branches lying around. It doesn't over power the meat and gives the food a good taste.
Maybe you can wrap your ribs in foil so they don't get over smoked. Where do you live I would like to see first hand if the food is inedible or not.
Pecan's a good idea. I just need to find a place to buy some. I get the mesquite from Culebra Meat Market. They sell it by the bundle.I use pecan when I cook out. there is a large pecan tree with many dead branches lying around. It doesn't over power the meat and gives the food a good taste.
Maybe you can wrap your ribs in foil so they don't get over smoked. Where do you live I would like to see first hand if the food is inedible or not.
ty. It sucks going from anticipation of delicious ribs to the prospect of canned raviolios.
Types of Barbecue Woods
Apple: Produces a sweet, fruity taste.Good mild wood which works well on poultry and ham.
Alder: What can I say about this barbecue wood... it is the wood that is greatly preferred for most any fish especially salmon.
Cherry: Similar to apple... sweet and usually very fruity depending on the age of the wood. Tends to be mild making it a good choice for poultry, fish, and ham.
Hickory: Probably the most well known woods and while lots of folk may disagree, it tends to be a bit to pungent for my own taste therefore great care must be taken so that it is not overused. Most feel it is excellent on ribs and most red meats. Can also be used very sparingly on cuts of poultry. (should be able to get this at the local hardware/department store)
Maple: Gives a light and sweet taste which best compliments poultry and ham.
Mesquite: My personal favorite barbecue wood however, great care must be taken or it can become overpowering. Best not used for larger cuts which require longer smoking times but I have been known to be quite successful at it by using it in tandem with another type of wood. (should be able to get this at the local hardware/department store)
Oak: Good choice for larger cuts which require longer smoking times. Produces a strong smoke flavor but usually not overpowering. Good wood for Brisket.
Pecan: Gives somewhat of a fruity flavor and burns cooler than most other barbecue woods. It is similar to Hickory and is best used on large cuts like brisket and pork roast but can also be used to compliment chops, fish and poultry.
dude, just come down to the west side and pick any pecan tree you want.... just tell the people who live there you gonna trim their tree for them at NO CHARGE and haul off the wood........lol
That wood is meant to be used in small amounts. Like you can used charcoal and stick just one of those logs in and still get the mesquite taste. You can find pecan anywhere you look if you live inside 410. Many residence would love someone to pick up some dead branches off the lawn. If you live by the culebra meat market your in one of my old stomping grounds.
Give me a call and we can go on a wood hunt you be surprised how many alleys and dump sites have good wood for cooking. Did you have the lid closed? Sometimes your meat can get over smoked.
What you need to do is cook the meat in the oven then stick in on the grill for 15 minutes.
Yeah, I always keep the lid closed unless I'm cooking burgers, dogs, or sausage.
I thought you were supposed to keep the lid closed.
you guys must be white. mexicans will cook with nothing but mesquite.. and we like the taste!
Ha.
Yeah, like I said, it worked for the fajitas and beef ribs, but wasn't good for pork and chicken.
mesquite you find in the woods or on the ground is different than the wood you get in those bundles. The wood from the ground or off the tree is mild its from the branches, The wood from the stacks is mainly from the trunk of the tree its thick and very hard and you can make furniture out of it and it some times smells like 2x4s when you burn it.
So true...I smell like smoke for 5 days everytime my brother in law barbeques.
Is that from the grill or his Bong?
I'm guessing you used green mesquite.
And whatever you do, don't cook with nothing but hickory. THAT was a whole bunch of completely inedible meat...dog loved it, though.
Also, try removing the bark. That's where wood gets a lot of it's strong flavor from.
I've never had a problem with mesquite overpowering the meat. Hickory, yes...you have to be careful with that stuff.
I let my girlfriend smoke my meat.
She used to work for Bill Millers her job was to make sure your cup of ice had at least 25% tea.
I use oak on ribs and like using pecan on poultry.
It can all be cooked with mesquite too but I like to build the fire outside the pit and then shovel the hot coals into the firebox. As someone else mentioned, it sounds like you were burning bark/green wood in the firebox...
Let me break it down for you. I smoke and grill regularly.
A couple of rules of thumb to start with.
1. Mesquite is ok with pork but Hickory with pork and mesquite with chicken.
2. I would not smoke those two items together unless you have an up right offset smoker with the pork first and the chicken further down.
Furthermore 2-3 hours for baby backs is way way too short of a cook time. Don't use wood for the entire cook time either. Both hickory and mesquite are strong woods so if you don't like a really strong smoke flavor you need to cut the dose with some oak. I however don't mind a strong smoke taste. With that said you only use wood for the first 2 hours of the cook time and you need to make sure its not too much wood. A thick yellow smoke will actually make the food taste bitter. You need a low rolling light whitish blue smoke.
Learn to use your flues. Get a cheap dial temp gauge from HEB. If you're not using a real true smoker you need to make sure and close the flues some and keep the temps under 300. Desired smoking temps with a traditional smoker sit around 200-235 degrees.
Baby backs should and will cook past 165 degrees interal temperature and at low temps this could take 4-6 hours to achieve. You need to cook low and slow because thats what breaks up the fatty tissue and collagen giving porks ribs that juicy fall off the bone effect. To test doneness grab the end of the rib with the tongs and lift it up. You want them to bend but not break.
Using lots of rub is fine even good at times but if you use a lot of sugars with a rub (brown sugar with pork) you need to really shake off the excess rub because sugar will burn and crisp up. It actually taste really good and thats why you see some briskets or pork butts that look like meteorites but if you use too much of it on ribs its going to taste like .
Slow cookin' is the key gentlemen.
Like mentioned above you may have had young wood. You need old growth woods and they need to be real dry.
Chunks and not chips either. Chips are fine for grilling fajitas or steaks...even fish. Use chunks on low smokes because they don't burn up real fast and ignite under low temps.
Make a bed of coals first. Then spread out four of five chunks of wood. I use a chimney starter and poor a load of hot coals over the dry bed of wood and charcoal. Make sure to put the temp gauge between the fire and meat on top of the grill so you know the temp closest to that side of the pit. This won't work if you don't have a pit big enough to smoke with an offset fire. Nothing kills pork quicker than being right on top of a fire unless its pork chops.
Regular charcoal kinda sucks too. I've officially converted over to lump charcoal. Less charcoal - hotter temps - a third of the ash to clean up.
Don't baste a sauce either. It can be done but has to be done in the last 20 minutes of the cook time unless its a vinegar based sauce with low sugars. I would only baste chicken that way not ribs. Sweet Baby Rays is really bad about burning at low temps. Sticky fingers is pretty good for a store bought baste but I like ribs to be ribs then dip them in the sauce.
I agree with not basting with sauce while you are cooking. I will smoke my ribs with just a dry rub till they are done...then pull them off and stack them and cover with foil to rest for about 10 minutes.
I serve my ribs both ways...half the ribs get served with just the dry rub and the other half get cut into 3 rib chunks and basted with 2/3 y red mop sauce and 1/3 honey and then go on the grill for a quick caramelizing, pulling each piece off the grill right before the sugar burns. It's all good, but the basted ribs always run out first.
Wow B2B are you related to hank Hill? I am expecting you to sell me some propane on your next post.
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