no-12-how-to-make-great-backyard-southern-barbeque

Northerners like us are becoming increasingly interested in southern barbecue, which is very, very different from outdoor grilling. Southern barbecue is smoking very tough cuts of meat such as beef brisket and pork shoulder for several hours, until the meat is extremely tender and smoky. Thankfully, you can smoke meat in this manner on a typical backyard barbecue - it's easy and very hands-off, leaving you free to enjoy the day with your guests.

Once you've decided what cut of meat you want to smoke, put it on a wire rack and keep it in your fridge, uncovered, overnight. This will slightly dry out the surface of the meat, forming a tacky exterior called a "pellicle." This process increases smoke adherence and makes a big difference in the final appearance and flavour of the dish.

Smoking meat on a conventional barbecue is simple. The goal is to use one of the barbecue burners to smoulder wood chips and create smoke while maintaining a temperature of 225 to 250 F in the chamber of the barbecue. I remove the grate from the left side of my barbecue to expose the heat source and distribution panels.

You can buy apple, maple and hickory wood chips from butcher supply shops or a local hardware store like Canadian Tire. Of course, if you have your own apple or maple tree, you can use the twigs and cuttings from pruning.

I soak some of my wood chips in water overnight, then combine two-thirds soaked chips and one-third dry chips in little envelopes made from aluminum foil. Use a fork to perforate both sides of the envelopes. This will let air flow through the packet and help the wood burn. Place one or two wood-chip packets directly onto the exposed distribution panels and light the burner underneath. After a few minutes, the wood chips inside the aluminum foil will ignite and start to generate smoke. Leave the burner on the right-hand side of the barbecue turned off. Place the meat on the right-hand grate so it is not over direct heat. You will have to play with the burner setting on the left-hand side so the wood chips continue to smoke and the barbecue stays between 225 and 250 F. Once the chips have burned out, replace the envelopes. Continue the process until the meat is fork tender. This will take several hours, depending on the type of meat and the size of the roast.

Smoking meat takes time, but it's a laid-back process and worth it when you haul an entire brisket out of the barbecue and carve it for your guests.

Or … stay northern

If you'd rather stick with a more traditional barbecue, here are some tips on how to make it memorable (in a good way).

If you're after the classic, fatty, tender steak that you would get at a steakhouse, pick up some rib steaks cut as thick as you can find them. Good steaks like this should be rubbed with salt and pepper and finished with butter. Possibly garlic, too, but nothing else. There are some cheaper, tough-but-flavourful steaks, such as flank, hangar and skirt, that benefit from extensive marinating. The meat needs to be marinated at least three days, but preferably five, for the marinade to have any tenderizing effect. Because they are a bit tougher, these steaks need to be cooked medium-rare, then sliced against the grain.

For pork chops, avoid the lean, bland centre-cut chops. Rib chops are the way to go.

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