That’s exactly what celebrity chef Roger Mooking
proclaims on each episode of “Man, Fire, Food” as he’s about to ignite the
coals. Of course, now that nature’s thermostat has moved several degrees higher
over the past couple of weeks, that’s the only proclamation I need to ignite a
fire a get back to mankind’s earliest cooking method. And though I usually tell
readers residing in the upper 49 that the 50th usually only experiences
two seasons; a very hot summer lasting from September through May and an
unbearable, stifling summer from June through August, it’s those dog days of
summer where it’s time to light up those grills and smokers. I mean if you
can’t beat the heat, join ‘um by creating even more heat!
Is it Barbecue?
To barbecue or barbacoa
from the Caribbean Taino culture refers to meat, often as whole animals slow
cooked over an open fire, sometimes in a pit in the ground with the meat
covered with maguey leaves which is part of the agave family (members of the
agave family produce tequila and mescal) and provides moisture during the long
cooking period. The original barbacoa process
is not unlike the Hawaiian tradition of cooking a whole pig in an imu with the pig covered in banana
leaves and stalks. The end result is the same whether Taino or Hawaiian with
moist, slightly smoky meat that literally falls off of the bone.
As this style of cooking moved Stateside, the fire pits
turned into cooking chambers with a heat source that was either placed right
below or offset to the side of your protein of choice. But the cooking
philosophy was still the same employing lower temperatures usually no more than
275 degrees and long cooking periods to essentially dissolve tough connective
tissue and still resulting in succulent tender and smoky meat. So if you’re in
a rush to create a meal on the fly, barbecuing isn’t for you… unless you’re
doing take-out.
Once the barbacoa tradition
spread Stateside, each region created their own cooking styles. In Texas, beef
is king especially beef brisket and barbecue sauce is always forbidden – it’s
at the same level of culinary sin as asking for ketchup on a Chicago hot dog. In
South Carolina, whole hog rules and sauce is a requirement with their mustard
based sauces the favored condiment. North Carolina is known for both whole hog
and pork shoulder with the Eastern part of the state favoring whole hog with a
vinegar and red pepper based sauce while the Western side favors pork shoulder
or Boston butt in a tomato and vinegar based sauce. Kansas City features both
beef and pork and their barbecue probably places the most emphasis on a
superlative sauce usually thicker, tomato based not unlike those found at your
local supermarket. Finally Tennessee features both wet-rubbed and dry-rubbed
ribs as well as various cuts of pork served both sliced and pulled. In fact,
arguably the most prestigious barbecue competition is held annually at Memphis
in May.
Or is it Grillin’?
The cooking that most residents of the 50th
engage in would be classified as grilling whether it’s on an old school
hibachi, Weber kettle grill or multi-burner propane grill. While you can still
get some of those smoky flavors as fat drips on the coals and flares, grilling
is meant to be fast. A quick sear right over very hot coals or stainless steel
heat grids. Not that there’s anything wrong with grilling as a quick meal can
be prepared for a lot of diners in short order especially if you purchase
pre-marinated proteins. Plus there’s that flavor produced when any shoyu based marinated protein hits a hot
fire that adds a touch of smokiness that makes you anticipate that next grillin’
session.
In fact, cooking directly over hot coals is exactly what
Santa Maria BBQ is all about with their famous tri-tip cooked over indigenous
red oak for those Central California paniolos
known as vaqueros. Served with
the traditional side of long simmered pinquitos
or small, indigenous pink beans, the Santa Maria style is almost a hybrid of
Southern barbecue and Hawaii style grillin’. And though the Salt Lick in
Driftwood is considered classic Texas style barbecue by barbecue connoisseurs
worldwide, because their meats are cooked over an open pit in the oxidative
style of cooking versus most pitmasters who smoke their meats in closed cooking
vessels or the reductive style of cooking, I think that 2nd
generation matriarch Kauai ex-pat Hisako Tsuchiyama Roberts (who just passed on
earlier this year at 104 years old) epitomized the best of both cooking
traditions.
Ryan’s Smokin’ and
Grillin’ Table
I’ll admit that I have more smoking and grilling
contraptions than any amateur chef needs. From my Weber propane grill and Char
Griller charcoal grill to the Meco stainless steel upright bullet smoker, the
horizontal Char Griller offset smoker and Dyna-Glo offset upright smoker. And I
don’t think I’ve perfected either my smoked beef brisket or smoked pork
shoulder at this point. Of course, my multiple cooking contraptions have to do
with trial and error and realizing the first device isn’t large enough for
certain cuts of meat or that a horizontal smoker requires a fan to circulate
both the smoke and the heat evenly over what’s being cooked. Though I still
have my eye on that electric Pit Boss pellet grill/smoker offered at the big
box home improvement stores. But a guy can always dream… and accumulate…
But you can create this standard kitchen staple is a
slightly unconventional manner with any standard smoking vessel. Though it does
take long to cook (smoke), the flavors are several leagues above your standard
Stove-Top stuffing and ground beef meatloaf…
Ryan’s Smoked
Meatloaf
4 lb ground beef (80/20)
2 pkg Lipton onion soup mix
1 & ½ cups milk
1 cup bread crumbs
½ cup BBQ sauce
4 eggs
Fresh ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Mix Lipton onion soup mix with milk. Add to ground beef
then add the rest of the ingredients and thoroughly mix. Place on an aluminum
roasting pan and shape like a traditional meatloaf. Place in the smoker with the
temperature maintained around 225 degrees and smoke for 2 to 3 hours or when
internal temperature registers 155-160 degrees.
So even if the temperature for the next several months
will be just a little south of the sun’s surface, like the sayin’ goes, “if you
can’t beat ‘um, join ‘um”. By firing up your smoker and your grill…
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