BBQ, to a traditionalist, means slow cooking. This usually includes using a smoker or a grill with a tight fitting lid and large surface. You need to position the food a short distance away from the heat. To achieve this, you could trying moving around some briquettes or lighting the fire on one side only. This will give you an area of lower heat that will allow you to get started on infusing, the first of three steps to the perfect BBQ.
The objective of infusing is to allow all the flavor of the meat to penetrate below the surface before it seals up through the cooking process. Sauces, rubs, fat and the meat’s juices intermingle with the heat and smoke to create a symphony of effects within the meat. The exterior and interior fats melt down and mingle on the surface layer. Now the conditions are right for the spread of flavor compounds throughout the meat. Some killer BBQ is right around the corner.
During the second step, the actuall cooking happens, and this usually takes a while. As the interior temperature of the meat climbs, proteins break down and become amino acids. As the sugars break down they lend a sweet flavor throughout. Salt gets ionized and enzymes speed up. The end result,...Read Full Article From BBQ
