Inside Out

“What seasoning do you use?”  “What do you spray with?”  “What do you inject with?”  All valid questions with some lame answers. I know, everybody has a secret recipe, or knows something no one else knows. Well, I’m going to tell you things to think about and why we do what we do. Just know before we burn through all of these topics I believe the biggest secrets to superior smoked meats are as follows: If you don’t have time for barbecue, barbecue does not have time for you. The most important ingredient is the meat. I know just enough to know I don't know everything. So let’s smack it, flip it, and rub it down. 

Seasonings:

Keeping things simple is key when you start with a great quality meat. That is why S&P is the choice for me. Salt is a basic that needs to be front and center because it makes food taste better. There are different ways that happens,  but just know to leave the table salt on the table. You need kosher salt or something close to it. It sticks better and is easier to see when you shake it on a brisket of pork butt. Pepper has its place and needs to be treated with respect. Don’t go for the dust, get black pepper in a coarse grind. As you get to know what works best for you, you can switch it up a little and get peppercorns to grind yourself. Starting with a 50/50 blend  of salt and pepper (by volume) is great on brisket, beef ribs, and pork butt. Just cover evenly and it's hard to mess up. For pork ribs, steak and others I take that rub and make additions. Nothing crazy, but I do have a flavor profile I'm shooting for that needs a little something.  I do want to caution you on turkey. It doesn’t take much to overpower the mild flavor of the giant yardbird, so be careful. 

Syringes:

Sure, I’ve juiced before. It started with watching videos of barbecue competitors talking about their injections. I want to clear something up. You can needle your meat, but you should know why you are doing it. If it is to add moisture you need to put the injector down. Muscles hold water, sure, but what makes juicy meat is marbling. The fat is where it's at. If you are doing it to add flavor, then know that as the muscle cooks it tenses up and pushes out water out its pores. When you shoot your shot the shot may come right back out the way it came. This means you could lose a lot of what you were trying to accomplish. How much flavor is really left?

Spritz:

This one. This one right here I have a love-hate relationship with. When I started out I was taught to use where’syoursister(Worcestershire)  sauce and red wine vinegar. This was because it added flavor. Nope. Well not Nope, but not really true either. Technically some of the spritz will still be around by the time you're done cooking, but have you seen a brisket sweat in a smoker? If you are doing it right, it should be dripping and most of that flavor drips right on with it. This also means that if you are spraying to keep things moist, well, it may not be as effective as you think. Now don’t get me wrong, I spray. I spray for one reason. Temperature control. “What did you say?” I spray to help with temperature control. As liquid evaporates it cools, so I use water to help keep the surface area of the meat at a lower temperature longer. Why is this important?  Great question. 

This has been my longest post yet, and I could go on. Maybe I should, but I have other things cooking. Thank you so much for joining me. There is more to come about this and other topics. Feel free to email me at theseasonedsmoker@gmail.com and your question may be featured in my next post! 

To better barbecue,

The Seasoned Smoker