In bbqing, if it is going well, you will see Blue Smoke coming out of the top of your Smoker Grill. Blue Smoke is a sign that tasty meat is on the way. Seeing and experiencing Blue Smoke brings you satisfaction and inner peace, the BBQ Gods have blessed you. Thus the Quest for Blue Smoke...
To bbq you need smoke and heat. And the ability to balance smoke, heat, chunk of meat, and a pan of apple juice or wine. Equipment to do this undertaking for the backyard bbqer can range from a $20 Grocery Grill to $2000 plus Barrel Offset Smoker. And the Smoker Grill you use needs to be vented at the charcoal pan and have a lid with a vent.
Let me say up front, that you do not need an expensive Smoker Grill to bbq. My $20 (modified) Grocery Grill works great! And on any given weekend of bbqing, I get a 4 to 5 pound hunk a chuck beef (one of the least expensive beef pot roasts), a bag of Kingsford Charcoal, a jug of apple juice or a bottle of red wine (grocery cabernet or merlot - $3).
Of the methods of bbqing, I like the combination of Indirect Grilling and Smoking. Basically, on one half of your grill is charcoal and a lump of hickory (or mesquite, or apple wood) and on the other half is a pan of apple juice (or wine, or water). On the grill above the pan of apple juice you place your chunk of meat. You close the grill lid with the GRILL LID VENT ALWAYS WIDE OPEN and close or slightly open the bottom vents according to the temperature of the charcoal.
I use an Oven Thermometer for checking the Smoker Grill temperature. You want your Smoker Grill to be at a bbq temperature of 225 F. Over the time of bbqing your Smoker Grill temperature will swing from 200 F to 250 F. The type and thickness of meat, outside weather temperature, and Smoker Grill temperature swing, affects the length of bbq time. Use a meat thermometer to determine when meat is done.
This is a humble over view of what I call BBQing. I am still learning, I think you always are in BBQing. And I must confess, I often use a technique of a couple hours smoking, then a couple hours in the Crock Pot (with apple juice or wine) for great moist meat. True Master BBQers would frown at this, but it saves time and gives great results. For Master BBQer information and techniques, check out these 2 sites: Blue Smoke BBQ and The Virtual Weber Bullet.
More in the future on bbqing with a Water Smoker (Bullet Smoker) and more BBQ Dave techniques, I'll get into the specifics.
