Results of Carolina Style BBQ Sauce

After setting the fridge for a couple of days, I took out my three different versions of my Carolina-style BBQ sauce.  This is a vinegar-based sauce, with a spicy kick.

Version 1:

Considered the best; offered the smoothest flavor.  I think this is a function of the paprika, which helped to cover up the cayenne.

Version 2:

The least favorite.  "Cayenne is a very agressive flavor".

Version 3:

People thought this had an "Asian" flavor to it, similar to the hot sauces you'd see at Filipino restaurant.

What's behind jar #1?  Jar #2?  Jar #3?

Rob enjoying the meat.

Ultimately, I wasn't that pleased with any of the versions and want to go back to the drawing board on Carolina-style.  I'd like to use white vinegar as a base next time and need to find something that makes the sauce a colloidal suspension.  I heard garlic, ketchup or xantham gum and will report back.

Smoked Whole Chickens

I was so apprehensions to smoke whole chickens because others had scared me with things like, "The chicken is a different thickness all over, so it's difficult to get a consistent cook." Or, "You only ever get either the white meat or dark meat done well. The other doesn't come out."

Well, I tried two whole birds and was amazed at the results. Here's the story.

Meat:

2 whole chickens, one cut spatcock and one left whole

Rub (Spatcock chicken):

Sea salt

Pepper

Cayenne pepper

Paprika

Lemon salt

Rub (Whole chicken):

Sea salt

Pepper

Rosemary

Thyme

Wood:

Mesquite 75%, leftover Pecan 25%

Chickens were placed in smoker at 12:45pm and set at 225 F.  The bag of wood chips was opened and a little water poured in, then agitated to wet the wood.  The wood was completely charred by 2:15pm and more was added.  That wood was completely charred by 3:30pm and again by 4:15pm.  By 5:11pm the internal temperature was still 145 F and the temperature was raised on the smoker to 250 F.  Chickens were removed at 7:15pm with an internal temperature reading of 165 F.

Results:

When the whole chicken’s breast was pierced with a paring knife at 7pm, a gush of clear liquid ran out.  I felt like a Roman sentry on Calgary.  The chicken was extremely juicy, extremely moist and tender.  It rivaled the texture of sous vide chicken breasts.

The flavors were a toss up; each had its merits.

The spatcocking vs the whole chicken seemed to produce no different results.  Chicken stock was made with the remaining carcuses.  

I consider this an extremely good first attempt at chicken smoking.

The rosemary chicken on the left and the spatcock, spicy chicken on the right.  It was a whole lot more fun to do the spatcock bird.

Chickens were placed in the smoker at 225 F.  They took about 2 hours longer than I expected.

Laid out and ready to carve.

Delicious, tender, tender meat.  I didn't notice a difference in moisture between the whole chicken and the spatcock one.

Smoking Superbowl Weekend

My latest meat smoking / BBQ experiment was conducted on the Saturday before the Superbowl.  It was my largest meat selection so far and I was extremely pleased with the results.


Meat:
Duck, whole duck including head and feet
Pork Spare Ribs, 4 racks, 8.6lbs, two with spicy rub, one with wasabi and one plain
Beef Chuck Roast, 3.4lbs

Wood:
The chips had been soaking in a cooler and even developed a slime on the surface, which was cleaned off.  The water was drained Friday afternoon and the damp file was wood was allowed to set outside in the open cooler.

Brine (Duck):
- 7 cups of water
- Pinch of Thyme
- Sliced Orange
- ½ about of salt
- some sugar
- Ground black pepper
- 5 smashed garlic gloves
- 4 bay leaves

Preparing the duck brine on the stove.  The brine and whole duck were placed in a glass jar for 8 hours in the fridge.

Beef Prep:
The beef chuck roast was injected with melted butter using a syringe.  The butter did squirt out and it was a little weird.

Rub (spicy):
This rub included the same ingredients as previously, but with less cayenne pepper.  The rub was also mixed with the mustard in a bowl and applied to two sets of ribs as a slurry.  It did not adhere to the meat as well as applying the dry ingredients first and layering the mustard on top.  Butter and black pepper was added as well.

Don't do this!  I mixed the rub and mustard together into a "slurry".  It didn't adhere well to the meat and crumbled off when cooked.  I recommend spraying the meat with light oil, applying the dry rub like a boss and they then optionally applying a 1/4" thick spread of mustard to cover.

Rub (wasabi):
- 1.75 oz of wasabi power
- Water
- Soy sauce
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Sea salt
This rub was very runny and wasn’t like a rub at all.  It did stick surprisingly well to a single rack of ribs.


All the meats were placed in the smoker at 7am on Saturday 2/2.  Temperature was set at 225 deg F.  The duck was placed above the plain ribs so that the duck fat would drip down over it.

Chuck was removed at 6pm with an IT reading on the igrill of 217 deg F. Wasabi and plain ribs were removed at 630pm with an IT of 210 deg F. They had been on the lowest rack. Duck was removed at 230pm and allowed to cool to serve as deli meat. The best smoke occurred at 250 deg F. The side dampers were open. The top damper was 3/4 closed.  Beef and ribs were allowed to cool for an hour.

Results:
- The spicy ribs were good, but there was a problem.  I had mixed the rub and mustard into a slurry to apply to the ribs prior to smoking.  This was a mistake.  The slurry did not soak into the ribs and was too thick and goopy.  The ribs were best with this coating removed.
- The wasabi ribs imparted no wasabi flavor
- The ribs placed underneath the duck were the best, probably due to their exposure to the dripping duck fat.  This should absolutely be repeated.
- The beef chuck was excellent and pulled nicely using just two forks.
- The duck was served cold and was excellent.  The brine should be repeated.

Nice smoke ring.

The beef shredded nicely using two forks.

The beef didn't make it to plates; was consumed on the cutting board.