Let's talk about grills, man.

[IslandRed]

I have an offset-firebox smoker similar to the New Braunfels Black Diamond. It's nice but it required some tuning to even out the temperatures across the grill rack. (I used aluminum flashing to reduce the size of the opening between firebox and smoking chamber -- the end near the firebox was exposed to the flame and got too hot -- and used more flashing to extend the chimney downward, which keeps the air draw below the grill rack instead of along the top of the smoking chamber. The flashing is non-galvanized, of course.) I burn a mix of charcoal and wood chunks; it proved too difficult to maintain the proper temp range burning wood only. A bigger smoker with thicker sheet metal would fix that.

With the smoker, I can do pretty much anything that can be smoked -- ribs, pork (usually a half Boston butt), chicken, brisket, whatever. I rely on a dog-eared copy of Smoke and Spice for guidance.

For everyday grilling, I'm temporary inactive. I wore out a gas grill two years ago, bought a cheap charcoal job a year ago and regretted it. I haven't decided if I'm going charcoal or gas, but it's going to be a quality model this time, whichever it is.

[Yachtzee]

How'd you do? I like to watch those things on FoodTV sometimes.

What did you BBQ?

Yeah, seriously Johnny, you can't just come in here and tell us that without details! I'd love to go to one of those sometime and help out on a BBQ team.

I don't have a smoker, yet. We've got a Big Green Egg seller around here that tempts me too. When I get one, I will probably go with something like that or the Weber model, just because I have a lack of space for one of the larger models.

[TeamCasey]

Dry rub or wet?

I prefer a dry rub with a little sauce right at the end.

[dabvu2498]

Dry rub or wet?

I prefer a dry rub with a little sauce right at the end.

Dry rub served with sauce on the side. Yo.

[Johnny Footstool]

Dry rub or wet?

I prefer a dry rub with a little sauce right at the end.

For grilling, I mix up a dry rub, then add something (olive oil, sesame oil, a bit of water) to help it stick to the meat. The oils also add a nice flavor and help sear the meat.

For smoking, I use mostly dry rubs.

[westofyou]

I have a gas grill, I do tons of vegi's and whatever my wife is eating... leeks grill great and work as a unique side item.

Every time I see the title of this thread I think of the song "Let's talk about girls" by the Chocolate Watchband.

[Roy Tucker]

For grilling, I mix up a dry rub, then add something (olive oil, sesame oil, a bit of water) to help it stick to the meat. The oils also add a nice flavor and help sear the meat.

For smoking, I use mostly dry rubs.

That's what I do too.

For grilling, I used to buy bottled sauces or use pre-made dipping oils for chicken, fish, and pork (steaks get salt and that's it). But after a while, I thought "I can do this better" and started making up my own stuff. I use olive oil to start and then go pick some herbs out of the garden, open up the spice cabinet, and go from there. Sometimes I use recipes and sometimes I just wing it.

Smoking is all dry rubs.

[Roy Tucker]

How'd you do? I like to watch those things on FoodTV sometimes.

What did you BBQ?

I like those shows and watch them too. In a crazier moment, I think about going to do something like that but then all those folk seem very serious and dedicated about their craft. I'm very much an amateur. Plus I don't have the time for all the travel and such.

When you've got time Johnny, I'd like to hear about it.

[Johnny Footstool]

How'd you do? I like to watch those things on FoodTV sometimes.

What did you BBQ?

Our scores were lousy. It was surprising, because our lead chef worked for most of his life in his family's BBQ restaurant, and all our stuff tasted and looked great. I talked to my wife's boss (who is a BBQ all-pro), and he said he heard that a lot of the "established" BBQ teams got low scores in this contest as well, and a lot of newbies ended up with high scores. The judging is very subjective, so you just do your best and hope the judges have the same tastes as you.

I thought our brisket was good-not-great, but it scored the highest for us. Our chicken actually caught fire in a grill mishap -- we were using a rented grill, and it had a hard time maintaining a consistent temperature -- but it was still pretty tasty (minus the burned skin). Our pork loin was fantastic, but unfortunately, it was disqualified because the contest was only allowing shoulder and butt (our head chef said he received approval from the contest organizers beforehand, but apparently they were wrong).

We had several recipes for spare ribs, and we had to vote on entering some traditional-tasting ribs or a crazy recipe we stumbled on at the last minute that ended up being fantastic. The traditional taste won out and ended up scoring fairly low (which I think exemplifies this particular contest). Hopefully, we'll go with creativity and innovation for next year's contest.

The best part is that we all got to fill up on BBQ and take home enough to feed us for weeks. I loaded up on the crazy ribs.

[Ltlabner]

Every time I see the title of this thread I think of the song "Let's talk about girls" by the Chocolate Watchband.

Actually, it's a tip of the hat to the "let's talk about chicks, man" segment on "The Soup".

Great stuff here guys. I'm fricken jonesing for all the BBQ anything I can get my hands on.

[Roy Tucker]

Is Boston Butt the same thing as pork shoulder?

I'm a little afraid to plug "boston butt" into Google.

[rdiersin]

Is Boston Butt the same thing as pork shoulder?

I'm a little afraid to plug "boston butt" into Google.

Yea. IIRC, Boston Butt is the upper part of the shoulder, with the picnic shoulder being the lower part.

[Johnny Footstool]

Is Boston Butt the same thing as pork shoulder?

I'm a little afraid to plug "boston butt" into Google.

According to wikipedia, yes.

[dabvu2498]

Mmmmm... shoulder....

[klw]

Sorry but when I saw the thread title I thought this was going to be about teeth.