Labor Day BBQ Extravaganza

BBQ season is coming to a close (at least up here in Mass) - as is usually my habit, I go a little crazy with the smoker on Labor Day weekend. In my previous post, you saw that I smoked up the bacon - we also had some kickass ribs, pork shoulder, and my first attempt at a (half) bone-in leg of lamb.

I'm self-taught when it comes to BBQ - New England isn't exactly known for it's great BBQ, but I'd like to think that I do this time-honored tradition of cooking some justice, even if it is coming from a "Yankee".

First, the rub - for a while, I've been using a rub from Steven Raichlen, which has about 20 different ingredients in it. I wanted to make my own recipe, so this is what I came up with:

1/2 cup smoked kosher salt
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. (packed) light brown sugar
3 Tbsp. Paprika
2 Tbsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. habanero powder

I watched a special on the Food Network about the famous Kreuz market in Texas, and they only use salt and pepper on their meats. I'll experiment with this by only using salt and pepper on one rack of ribs.

First, let me introduce our supporting cast:

The smoker (complete with rusted exterior and broken car next to it to add to the white trash ambiance)
The fuel - hardwood lump charcoal and oak logs for our main fuel source; hickory chunks and applewood chips (soaked in beer) for flavoring smoke. Not pictured are drip pans inside the smoker, filled with a mixture of beer, water, and little apple juice.
Now, onto the featured players:

The Lamb

We have half of a bone-in leg of lamb, weighing approximately 6 pounds - you'll notice that slits have been cut throughout it, with whole cloves of garlic inserted. There are about 15 of these all together. I've also rubbed the outside with half a lemon - this gets rid of the funky odor lamb can sometimes have.
This isn't traditional BBQ, so pay attention kids - we're going to take some fresh thyme and rosemary...
...and chop the hell out of it.
Rub it all over the meat along with a little canola oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Work it in real good, so it sticks to the meat.
We're actually going to sear the outside of this bad boy before we smoke it at 225 degrees. The grate I had to go over the firebox was all rusted, so I covered it in foil.
The Butt

Boston Butt, aka pork shoulder. I prefer this cut to the picnic roast, since it doesn't have a rind, and has less bone. Here it is with our rub applied. Pork shoulder is the best cut for the beginner, since it is almost impossible to fuck up. It has lots of fat and connective tissue, that leaves the meat super moist and tender. You can basically toss it in the smoker and leave it as long as you like. You'll know when it's done when you can twist the bone around and pull it out without any resistance - the meat will be falling apart at this point.

The Ribs

I only cook with baby back ribs. I cleaned out the freezer, and had 10 racks in total, which was way too much, but it was thawed, so I had to cook them. I made extra space by using rib racks and stacking them on top of one another. To prepare the ribs, I remove the membrane from the back of the ribs using a wooden skewer to loosen the membrane, and a paper towel to get a grip on it while I'm ripping. This is a major pain in the ass.

The Details

Here's the deal - put all the meat in there, and keep the heat between 200-225 degrees, adding coal and/or logs as needed. Add a chunk or two of hickory and a handful of applewood chips every hour or so. I've messed around with all sorts of mops, squirts, and other things to keep the meat moist, but the best thing I've found is - DON'T OPEN THE GODDAMN COOKING CHAMBER! Ever time you open that to spray your shit down, you're losing between 50-100 degrees. By filling my drip pans with plenty of liquid, I'm keeping the chamber moist, without opening it up, losing heat and flavorful smoke.

How long does it take? Long enough to drink most of these:You're waiting until the ribs are tender and the bone can be pulled out with relative ease, which is in the neighborhood of 5-6 hours. I like my ribs dry, but feel free to apply your favorite sauce or glaze. BTW, the salt and pepper ribs were a little too salty, so I'll stick with my rub for now.

The lamb isn't going to fall apart like a pork shoulder, so we only need to cook that until around 145 degrees (for med. rare). This only took about 3 hours. This tasted awesome, but I paid for a lot of bone in this bitch - next time I'll go with a boneless leg of lamb.

The pork shoulder can go for a long ass time. It's safe to eat at 160 degrees, but you need to get it in the 190-200 degree area if you want this to fall apart (you can see where the meat actually fell apart when I picked it up with my tongs). Some people like to wrap it in foil and sit it in a cooler for another 12 hours, but I don't have that type of patience. You can shred it with your hands or with a couple of forks, but I like to whack the shit out of it with and chop it up with a cleaver. Mix it with a little cider vinegar (or BBQ sauce - I actually prefer a mustard-based BBQ sauce with my pulled pork), and serve.



There you have it, some Bay State BBQ