OK...to say I made "lots" of mistakes along the way is like sayin' the Elephant Man had a little bit of puffieness around the eyes. I made TONS of mistakes. (Still do, sometimes...but at least I get to eat them.)
For the first decade, I was not even aware there WAS such a thing called a "meat thermometer".
What would REALLY be nice is (with the thread starter's approval) we got together on this thread and threw out our own five star recipies and tips so everybody can improve. It's all about impressing the family & friends anyway, right?One day last tour knights from all over swore up & down that their local area had the best BBQ. Guys from 'Carolina got dissed for having such a thin, watery sauce. Guys from KC got dissed for having too sweet a sauce. Guys from Georgia got dissed for putting mustard in the sauce. Serious word is...that they are all liked by the locals there because that's what they are USED to.
The REAL treat is to sample BBQ, recipies, and ways to make it from all over, and then slant your own to your own personal tastes.
My dad took me to Hillery's Ribs in North Chicago, IL in 1977. From that day on, I was hooked. It was a little hole-in-the-wall place with burglar bars on the window and 5 deadbolts on both the front and back door. They have 4 nice locations now. Hillery's is world famous. Chicago Bears & Chicago Bulls players since the 80's (including Michael Jordan, "The Refridgerator" Perry, and Jim Mc Mahon, to name a few) had it flown in for away games. A friend of mine was a local VP for a major cable company--they took the owner of the company (he had flown in for a big regional meeting) there for lunch...he asked them to call Mr. Hillery personally and offer $1 Million for the restraunt on the spot. Mr. Hillary declined.
Hillerys REFUSES to let go on any of the secrets, however, I have decoded three of the secrets that make theirs the best.
They smoke the meat (at LEAST) overnight at a very low temperature in pans (to retain the moisture) Their smoker is 14' by 4' and is enclosed in glass with glass sliding doors (see photo). The charcoal bins are underneath in sheet metal construction, vented out through the ceiling. They do use charcoal briquettes. They also leave a 5 gallon open pan of sauce in with the meat to smoke inside the smoker at all times. This makes the sauce just as smoky as the meat. Their sauce is vinegar based, there is one secret ingredient in their sauce :TEA. They regulate the "heat" of the sauce with simple cayenne powder, which is added at the very end of the sauce making process.
I fly in a gallon or two of the sauce a year down here to Arkansas.
ROX
