Texas BBQ Rub's Rules for Barbecue Preparation

Here is a great article from my friends at Texas BBQ Rub.

Preparing for your next BBQ takes some time and planning to make
sure that all goes according to your plans as far as cooking
times, getting the meats ready on schedule, and to have your BBQ
the best for your family and friends to enjoy.

This will be a series of 5 or 6 articles that will detail many of
the things that I go through in planning a barbecue cook for the
family or for large groups of friends or for a BBQ competition
that I might be getting ready for.

In this first article you will learn the basics of what you will
need to make this the perfect BBQ and time lines that will help
you execute the BBQ to perfection.

A brief outline of what you will find in this article is as
follows:

1. The weather is a big factor. What to do?
2. What to do in cold and windy conditions?
3. How you can plan the meats you are going to cook?
4. How many people are showing up?
5. Estimate the amount of meat you need to cook?
6. How much meat can your pit really hold?
7. How to plan arranging the meat on your pit?



Look at the Weather Forecast

About a week or ten days before you want to cook BBQ the first
thing that you should be looking at is the weather conditions as
they are forecast for that particular day or two to see if there
is any bad weather coming in that could change your dates for
cooking.

I know that weather forecast are kind of questionable that far out
but they will usually give you some idea of what might be coming
for the next week. So watch the TV forecast as well as look on the
computer at forecast to see what might be coming in your
direction.

Weather does play a role in the cooking of BBQ whether it is rain,
snow, cold, or wind speeds that can all change the way your BBQ
pit cooks and it can help you decide if you want to brave the
weather for a long cook or a shorter cook.

Based on the forecast you might decide that you will need some
kind of protective awning for your pit. You can get one of the
simple easy ups at most Wal-Mart stores or outdoor stores near you
and they are nice to have when the weather could get bad while you
are cooking.

If rain or snow is in the forecast, decide if you need to protect
the fuel you will be cooking with. If you are using wood then make
sure you get it to some protected area so that it will be dry and
not soaked by a few days of rain. If you are using charcoal then
you should have it stored in a dry area so you should be fine. If
you need to buy some wood or charcoal then you will know where to
keep it when you get it home. If you do need to buy some wood then
make sure you get it early enough to let it dry out if has been in
the wet for some time. You can put it in the garage or shed and
turn a fan on it to help it dry out. Dry fuel is a key to having a
great outside BBQ and it can change the cooking times and flavor
of the meat you are going to be preparing. Wet wood does not burn
as clean as dry woods so you will use more fuel and have to fight
the fire more with the wet wood. So keep it dry and you will have
a better experience. If you are going to get a few days of nice
sunshine with some wind blowing move the wood to where it can take
on the sun and also the wind. Actually wind will dry out wood
faster than just the sun so try to get the wood in both the sun
and the wind if possible.

Blowing winds in the 15 to 20 mile an hour plus ranges can play
with your cooking times. If you add wind speed to air temperatures
you can have a much longer cook than you first thought you would
so plan on that accordingly.

If you have the luxury of having a pit that is mobile and easy to
move with some space to move the pit in then you can move your pit
to an area where you can cut down on the wind hitting you
directly. Different times of the year and different weather
conditions can cause the wind to come from a direction that is not
the normal wind directions that you are used to.

An example of this for me is that in the Houston, Texas area we
usually have a southeast wind. This is created from the tropical
flows that we get from the Gulf of Mexico. But cold fronts or
thunderstorms can cause the winds to change and stay in say a
north wind position for a few days at a time. So I watch the
weather to not only look at the temperature forecast but also the
wind direction and wind speeds so I can adjust to those
conditions.

Cold and/or windy conditions

Cold weather can change the cooking times that you may be used to
in the nice summer months when you have warm weather. So adjust
the cooking times for this factor.

Cold weather with windy conditions adds even more problems to the
cook planning so best to plan on that if it is in the forecast. If
you are using a thin metal pit then the wind and cold will affect
you more than a thicker pit.

In the cold you can also help keeping the heat in the pit by using
a blanket. I like to use a moving blanket if I am going to need to
cover my pit but an old blanket will work fine. Just throw the
blanket over the cooking chamber of the pit and keep it clear of
the fire source. This will aid in both keeping the wind and the
cold off of your pit and will keep the pit temperatures more
steady. Just be careful using the blanket and make sure you keep
it well away from any of the open flames of the pit.

Plan what you are going to be Cooking

You know that different meats have different cooking times so the
next step in your planning process will to plan what meats you are
going to be cooking. You could be cooking all long cooking time
meats (briskets, pork butts) or you could just be cooking shorter
cooking time meats (ribs, pork loins, pork chops, etc).

You need to break the basic meats down into three categories so
that it is easier to plan your outdoor barbecue.

The long cooking meats
1. brisket
2. pork butts
3. beef shoulder
4. large wild game cuts (6 pounds and above)

The mid range cooking meats
1. pork spare ribs
2. beef ribs
3. beef prime rib
4. venison (or wild game) roasts (smaller than 6 pounds)
5. Turkey
6. Chicken

The short range cooking meats
1. Fish
2. pork tenderloins
3. pork baby back ribs
4. Casseroles
5. Chicken wings and chicken quarters
6. Sausages


You can look for current sales at the grocery stores as one way to
decide what might be good to cook for the weekend. The time of
year will determine what meats are the best buys for the season.

If you have a large freezer you can pick up meats that are on sale
now and save them until you are ready to cook. Best to freeze
meats that are in a cryovac package from the store if they are
available. These will last for months in the freezer. You can find
ribs, brisket, pork butts, beef tenderloins, pork loins, pork
tenderloins, beef rib roast in factory cryovac all of the time and
these will all freeze well in the package you get them in. If you
pick up other meats that are not cryovac packaged it would be best
to get them in a food saver type of sealed bag where you can
remove most of the air in the package and then freeze them. If you
are using frozen meats remove them from the freezer and place them
in the refrigerator at least 4 days prior to you needing to cook
them for the larger meats such as brisket and pork butts. For
larger meats you may need more time than the 4 days in the
refrigerator so plan that.


Once you decide on the meats you would like to cook it will be
necessary to decide how much meat you want to cook. You are going
to be firing up your BBQ pit and it is a great time to cook, not
only what you plan on eating in the next few days, but also take
advantage of the pit being fired up and cooking more meat than you
will need. You can then freeze that meat (again I would recommend
a Food Saver type of packaging) and you will then have this meat
in the freezer and it can be warmed up in a day so it is always
available to you.

How many people are you cooking for?

You need to determine the number of people that you are going to
be preparing food for so that you can begin to think of the
positioning of the food on the pit and when each of the meats will
need to be placed on the pit so that you can have all of the meat
ready at the time you need to serve.

How do you estimate the amount of food needed

This really only comes into play if you are cooking for a larger
crowd. For the family it is easy but when the number start to
climb due to a party or family gathering it is a little harder to
estimate the amount of food for. I will give you the rules that I
go by for cooking for large crowds.

1-12 pound brisket cooked should serve 15 to 20 people
1 - 6 pound pork butt should serve 12 to 15 people
1 - whole rack of ribs (not St Louis cut) figure 2 bones per
person so a full rack of 13 bones will feed 6 people
1 - St Luis cut rack of ribs figure 2 to 3 bones per person so it
will feed 5 to 6 people
1 - whole rack of pork baby back ribs figure 3 bones per person so
4 to 5 people
1 - whole smoked chicken will serve 2 to 4 people
1 - smoked ½ chicken will serve 1 to 2 people
1- smoked chicken quarter will serve 1 to 2 people
1 - smoked chicken breast will serve 1 to 2 people
For smoked fish figure about 6 oz per person
For smoked chicken wings figure about 4 to 5 wings per person
For a whole prime rib roast - 12 pounds figure 15 to 20 servings
1 pork tenderloin (weighs approx 1 ½ pounds) serves 3 to 4 people
1 pork loin (weighs approx 10 to 12 pounds) will serve 20 to 30
people

Note: these are approximate and will change depending on the sides
that you are going to be serving with the meats. These numbers
assume you will have 2 sides of potatoes and beans. You should
also have some kind of bread that you will be serving with this.

Once you have your idea of food that you will need to be smoked on
the pit it is time to see how all of the meat you are planning on
cooking will fit on the pit and at what times do you need to get
each of the meats on the pit so that they will all be ready at the
time you are going to be serving.

How much meat can Your Pit Hold?

You need to determine the cooking space on the pit and decide what
strategy you will be using to get all of the meat ready. If your
pit will not hold all of the meat that you need to cook at one
time on the pit then you will need to cook some of the meat in
advance and hold it for the party.



This may sound a bit difficult to estimate but here is the way I
start the process of figuring when I need to start the cooking
process.

1. First you need to know an approximate serving time (or if you
are going to be moving the cooked meat to another house when does
it need to be there).
2. Add one hour for variances in cooking times
3. Add one hour for cutting the meat and getting everything
ready on the table
4. Second take your longest cook time piece of meat (ex. Brisket
12 hours)
5. Figure 1 hour to get your pit up to temperature
6. Calculate the starting time

An example of this would be as follows:

Let's assume that we are going to be cooking for a Super Bowl
Party. The game starts at 5 pm (Central time) and we are going to
cook brisket, spare ribs, and chicken. So our estimated serving
time will be 4 pm when some of the people will start to show up
for some of the pregame activities and to start eating. So 4pm
will be the time we are going to be shooting for to have the meat
on the table.

So we will use 4 pm for the serving time

From that back up 1 hour for variances in cooking times (this is
just a time for problems that could pop up while you are cooking
and is good to have in the total time frame for anything that
could happen that we are not prepared for.

Another hour for food cutting, brisket sitting, and presentation
purposes.

And then 12 hours for the brisket that we will be cooking.

And then 1 hour to starting the pit and getting it to cooking
temperatures.

So 4 pm back up for all of the above times and we need to start
the pit 15 hours before our schedules serving time in this case.
So that means we need to start the pit at 1am in the morning. This
will allow for the cooking of all the meats that we will need
(assuming that our pit can hold all the meats on it at one time).

Next you need to figure out what times we need to add various
meats to the pit. In our example we are cooking brisket, spare
ribs, and chicken. So you need to figure the next longest cooking
time meat and figure when that piece of meat needs to be put on
the pit. In this case pork spare ribs cooking time is
approximately 6 hours and is the next longest cooking time piece
of meat you will be cooking. So back up the 1 hour for cutting and
presentation and 1 hour for variance in cooking time. So a total
of 8 hours we need for the pork spare ribs to be ready. So we back
up 8 hours from the 4pm time and the spare ribs need to go on the
pit at 8am.

Then we look at the last piece of meat in our example and we are
cooking ½ chickens and the estimated cooking times for those will
be 4 hours. 1 hour for cutting and presentation and 1 hour for a
buffer in the cooking times means the chickens should go on the
pit 6 hours before 4pm. So the ½ chickens will need to go on the
pit at 10 am.

So now we have the approximate times that each piece of meat that
we will be cooking needs to be put on the pit. For brisket 1am,
then for the spare ribs 8am, and then for the chicken 10am.

And I know what you are saying, if I start at 1am at 4 pm the next
day I will have cooked for 15 hours and have not had any sleep and
I would like to not be so tired when it all my friends show up for
the big game party. Can I would around this schedule and make it
fit so I can get some sleep and still get all of the meat cooked.

And I have a couple of answers for you.

My longest cooking piece of meat (the brisket) is the pain in the
butt that is creating my staying up all night to get that one
piece of meat cooked. What can I do to work this in and save the
wear and tear on my body?

Of course you could drop the brisket off the menu. That is one
choice that you could make. But there are some alternate methods
of cooking the brisket that will work fine for you. I use these
secrets so I can get some sleep in many cases that are similar to
this example.

Cook the brisket in advance (a week or two is good)

Start the brisket when you get home the day before.

Put the brisket the day before when you get home on the pit and
then remove around 12 am after about 6 hours on the pit the
brisket has taken on all the smoke flavor it is going to absorb so
shut down the pit and put the brisket in the oven at 200 degrees
and let it cook there until it is ready.

Cook at a hotter temperature than 210 degrees.

This shortens the time for the brisket to be ready. There are some
things that need to be done if you are going to use this method.
Injecting the brisket if you are going to cook at temperatures
above 225 degrees. Wrapping the brisket. And leave time for the
brisket to sit after it is finished cooking so that the juices are
redistributed in the meat.

Alternative cooking ideas like cooking the brisket in the oven
using liquid smoke to get the brisket cooked.

If you are having a crowd over for a Sunday party (such as the
Super Bowl) prepare and cook the brisket on Saturday and wrap it
and place in an igloo cooler to keep it warm until you are ready
for it. Simply wrap newspaper around the foil and place it in the
cooler. The reason for newspaper is that it is cheap and it is a
great insulator. Or you can wrap it in a towel and place it in the
cooler...

Cut the brisket up and freeze or refrigerate until you need it.
This will require that you need to re-hydrate the meat and allow
at least 4 hours for reheating a pan of cut brisket or pulled
pork.

Arrange the meat on the pit to keep all of it safe by thinking of
how the meat is going to be cooking and dripping to the lower
level of the pit. Let me explain-if you are going to add some
chicken to the pit you don't want the juices from that chicken
dripping down on the ribs that are almost done. Someone could get
sick if you take the ribs off and leave that uncooked chicken
juice on them. Things are happening fast as you are loading the
pit with more meat. Always look on top and underneath all meats
being added to the pit.

The pure arrangement of meat on the pit for a cook is very
important. In our example of a long cook when you begin to add the
other meats to the pit it is important not to create bacteria from
getting on meats that are already cooked. When you add meats to a
pit always add the new meats to the lowest level of the pit. If
you have two racks in your pit place the new meat under the other
meat that has been on the pit cooking cause juices dropping onto
the new meats will have time to cook and therefore not be harmful
to you or your guests.

If you are adding sausage to your cooking make sure there is
nothing that will drop any juices on the sausage unless the meat
above the sausage is completely cooked and therefore the juices
from it are already above the kill temperature for bacteria. Best
just to add sausage to a shelf that is clear of any juices being
dropped on them and make sure that any juices coming from the
sausage is not falling on some other meats.

Tools to Make Smoking Meat Easier

It is time to check your BBQ tools and supplies to make sure you
have everything you will need. This will make for a smoother
easier cooking and preparation of the meat you are going to cook.

The basic tools that you should have are:

1. Proper pans for cooking and storing
2. instant read thermometer or probe
3. paper towels
4. cloth towels
5. Rubs, spices
6. cutting board
7. cooking gloves for holding and moving hot meat
8. Latex gloves for handling and preparing cold meat
9. charcoal chimney
10. a can of
11. charcoal and/or wood ample enough for the entire cook
12. a water/Clorox mix for easy cleaning and sanitizing
13. a source of hot water for quick cleaning
14. a great knife set for cutting and trimming
15. If you are going to inject the meat your injection fluid
16. Needle and syringe for injecting the meat
17. small bowl to hold your injection fluid in
18. Aluminum foil for wrapping meat and covering meat
19. If you are going to marinade the meat your marinade
20. knife sharpener or sharpening stone
21. any specialized cooking grate for say fish or vegetables
22. a good pair of tongs (long handle is best)
23. a large spoon (best is it is metal)
24. if you are going to glaze your meat your glaze
25. proper clothes for the weather conditions
26. aluminum pans (a good supply of both ½ pans and full pans)
27. storage bags
28. garbage bags

This will give you a great list that you can add to or subtract
from depending on the meats and the circumstances of your cook. If
it is summer then bug spray could be added for personal comfort.

Our next article will begin the sections on preparing the specific
meats for your BBQ. We will get one of those out next week.

Texas BBQ Rub will make all of this easier and save you time and
money. So if you need some great and easy to use rub go to our
website at www.texasbbqrub.com/shopping.html and throw some in
your shopping cart and we will get it shipped out to you
immediately.

We will see you in about a week with the second article in the
series. So be looking for it.



To Your Best BBQ
Bill Cannon
President, Texas BBQ Rub
www.texasbbqrub.com

PS: Pass this along to some friends right now. They would love to
get this information.


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