It’s cookout season! As you scrub your grill, light up the charcoal and start dreaming of delicious sides, you might ask, “What makes barbecue so dang good?”
Bill Glover, executive chef and CEO of Westerville’s Ray Ray’s Hog Pit, knows his way around a grill. One Ray Ray’s saying is, “Barbecue is easy to find. Real barbecue isn’t.” To Glover, real barbecue, first and foremost, takes patience.
“Good barbecue cannot be rushed – we allow our food to cook low and slow for hours,” Glover says. “The amount of time proper barbecue takes to cook can be a deterrent to some people cooking at home, though.”
“There are significant style differences and techniques,” he adds. “What a pit boss in Texas does with his or her brisket is entirely different than what they do in the Carolinas, but it’s still barbecue.”
Ray Ray’s takes inspiration from different regions and has created its own Ohio-style barbecue that differs from anywhere else.
But any kind of barbecue, whether it’s from Ohio or Texas, needs to have a good rub and sauce. Rubs are dry spice blends that can be used for seasoning before and/or after the food is cooked. Sauces, on the other hand, are often applied after the smoking process.
“Barbecue purists believe putting sauce on barbecue is to cover up poorly smoked meat,” Glover says.
Once you’ve settled on a rub and/or sauce, choose your heat: charcoal, propane or wood. Glover prefers the latter.
“Wood is the best answer,” he first asserts. “Charcoal is (also) my preference, as it adds flavor to the food and can get really hot if you want the stronger heat. The ease of use of propane is understandable, but to me, the time and effort using charcoal and wood is far superior to any gas grill.”
Plus, when it comes to controlling the smokiness of the meat, the wood variety can dramatically change the taste of your barbecue.
“Fruit woods are often used for poultry, where a richer white oak or mesquite is often used for beef brisket,” Glover says. “Hickory is fantastic for pork, where alder is ideal for fish as it is a lighter smoke for the delicate fish flavors.”
The amount of time meat is exposed to smoke can affect the final flavor as well. Glover says less time will have a less smokey outcome, but too much smoke can dry meat out.
“A common method is to smoke the food item for half the amount of the cooking time,” he says. “Then pull the item and wrap it in butcher paper for the remaining time left on the (grill) can help regulate how much smoke contact someone would want on their item.”
But, of course, barbecue could be grilled, smoked or cooked to perfection and it still wouldn’t be true barbecue without a classic side.
“When I think of barbecue sides, I also reflect on the many styles and regions,” Glover says. “Braised greens, baked beans, slaw, mac and cheese, and corn bread are going to be found everywhere, but again, style will shift based on the region. How each person finds the perfect side is a personal choice, so, when well-made, many items work really well.”
Glover encourages people at home to get to know their cooking equipment and have a go at barbecuing. He says that, like barbecue of every region, all tools are different. By getting to know yours, you take the first step to perfectly preparing your next barbecue.
Mallory Arnold is an editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
