Are you thinking about adding a barbecue dish to your menu? Don’t just coat the meat in bottled sauce and call it a day. With just a little more effort and time, you can smoke your own meats and create a dish that could even become one of your signature items.
Barbecue typically uses inexpensive cuts of meat that yield a lot of portions from relatively little effort. You can use the meat several different ways, whether you are a fine dining restaurant or a more fast-casual kind of place.
It’s versatility is another reason to consider adding a barbecued dish to your menu. It’s good in sandwiches but can also be an inexpensive way to substitute barbecue meats for the protein in any number of dishes already on your menu, including pastas, nachos, mac ‘n cheese and salads. Discover your region’s barbecue specialties and create something unique that keeps your guests coming back for more.
But first, you need to decide what kind of barbecue – or, here in the south, barbeque – you want to make. Barbecuing is one of the most popular cooking styles in America, with each region having their own style. The top five barbecue regions are Texas, Memphis, Kansas City, and North and South Carolina. There is an ongoing argument on which style is the best, but it really comes down to personal preference, so you’ll have to decide for yourself.
What Makes Each Region’s Barbecue Unique
Famous for smoked beef brisket, Texas-style barbecue believes in letting the meat speak for itself. That means the meat is usually seasoned with a simple salt and pepper rub. The sauce is a light tomato sauce, served as an accent and not the main event.
Memphis-style barbecue, on the other hand, is seasoned with a rub made of savory spices like garlic and onion powder – and lots of paprika. This style is known for the ribs and their sauce, a blend of bright vinegar, ripe tomatoes and spices.
If you enjoy sweet and smoky barbecue, then you’ll enjoy Kansas City style barbecue. Both the rub and tomato-based sauce are sweet and spicy. Their claim to BBQ fame is the burnt ends, pieces of smoked beef brisket coated in caramelized tomato sauce.
North Carolina specializes in whole hog barbecue, coated in a sweet and spicy dry rub before hitting the grill. Like their South Carolina neighbor, this barbecue doesn’t use tomatoes in the sauce. Instead, it’s a thin vinegar-based sauce, heavily seasoned with red and black pepper. That is basted on the meat during its entire time on the grill.
South Carolina’s unique spin on barbecue is definitely its rub and sauce. Made up of savory spices and dry mustard, this dry rub is liberally applied to pork shoulder and then served hot off the grill with a creamy, sweet yellow mustard-based sauce.
Wood Types
When looking at your bottom line, chefs and food service managers know that it’s cheaper to order local ingredients that having them shipped in. The same holds true with the wood you use to barbecue. Chances are, you’re going to use the wood from the trees that grow in your area. This also speaks to the regional barbecue taste that your guests are use to.
With that in mind, you can also play around with other wood types or even a blend of several in order to create a flavor profile that sets your menu apart.
Although this article is focusing on barbecuing over a wood fire, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention charcoal. When grilling smaller cuts of meat, like steaks or chicken breasts, charcoal works. But your fire won’t last as long as the coals from hardwoods and you will not get the flavor profiles that different wood smoke adds to your meat.
Now that you have an idea of what region of barbecue you like, it’s time to decide on what wood to use in your grill or smoker.
The 5 most popular wood types used for barbecue and what food they complement are hickory, oak, apple, maple and mesquite.
Hickory is known for its savory, sweet flavor and is the most popular wood used in both American barbecue restaurants and with home cooks. It’s commonly used when cooking spareribs, pork, red meat, and chicken, turkey or goose.
Oak is a versatile mild wood and is a good choice for those who don’t like a strong smoky flavor, which makes it perfect for seafood or fish. It’s also ideal for preserving the natural taste of meats like lamb, brisket, sausages, pork and fish.
Apple wood offers a more fruity and sweet taste than other woods used to barbecue. Because it’s a weaker-tasting wood, it requires a longer cook time for the wood’s flavor to really seep into foods. It’s best for cuts requiring low and slow cooking, like pork butt, ribs, chicken and wildfowl.
Maple wood provide a sweet, smoky flavor to your barbecue that’s subtle and mild. This wood type is versatile because you can use it with all types of meat, pork, poultry and even vegetables.
Mesquite is one of the trickier woods to use and what Texas-style barbecue is based on. It brings with it a strong, intense flavor and a unique smoky note to foods and works well with red meats, ribs, wild game like duck and quail or any other strong-flavored meats.
A bonus: Pecan wood. I was surprised to learn that pecan belongs to the hickory tree family. And like hickory wood, it offers a strong flavor characteristic, so meats taste best when it’s mixed with other woods. It also burns very slowly, so it’s best suited for cuts of meats needing a longer cook time, like pork, beef and poultry.
A good rule of thumb when choosing barbecue wood is to pick the trees that you would harvest the fruit and nuts from. Avoid any chemically treated wood and wood that is moldy or has an off smell, since that will transfer to your food.
You should avoid the following woods, which could be toxic and at the very least will make your barbecue taste terrible.
- Fir
- Spruce
- Redwood
- Cedar, other than planking small amounts of food
- Elm
- Eucalyptus
- Sycamore
- Elderberry
- Liquid amber
- Cypress
5 Must-have Barbecue Tools
Now that you’ve researched what type of barbecue you want to make and selected the type of wood you want to use, you’ll want to invest in a few tools to make barbecuing easier and your finished dish delicious.
- Tongs. Using a fork to turn your meat on the barbecue grill runs the risk of piercing your food and letting those precious juices run out. Tongs are perfect for turning food while it cooks and then holding the meat as you carve it.
- Basting Brushes and Mops. These tools are must-haves that you’ll be able to use again and again. Use brushes to add thick sauces to your barbecue and the mop to get into every nook and cranny of your meat.
- Meat Thermometer. It’s difficult to know when your barbecue is done cooking – even when you have a thermometer attached to your grill or smoker. Take the guesswork out of the equation by using a digital probe meat thermometer.
- Charcoal Chimney. Made for charcoal grill users, this barbecuing tool will make your life easier. Add your favorite brand of charcoal briquettes to the chimney, light them and let them burn in the cylinder until they reach the right cooking temperature. Then release them into your grill, where you can add your favorite wood or get right down to cooking. No lighter fluid necessary.
- Seasoning and Rubs. Making your own spice rubs can be time consuming and intimidating, but there are lots of good premade seasonings you can try out and have on hand.
There are old standards when it comes to seasoning blends, like Montreal Steak Seasoning and McCormick’s Grill Mates, and newer ones like Duck Duck Chicken Poultry Seasoning & Rub, which is a blend of herbs and spices including onion, garlic and thyme that can be paired with anything from poultry to beef, seafood and vegetables. Developing a new menu item can also be an opportunity for your cooks to create their own signature barbecue rubs and seasoning blends.
Adding barbecued meats to your menu can be a smart investment and, depending on your grill, one that can be a part of your menu all year round. Once you do a little research and select your barbecue style, wood type and equipment, you’ll be well on your way to creating a star dish of your own.
Atlanta-based Chef Jennifer Hill Booker has taken her Southern culinary heritage, her belief in healthy, seasonal foods and her classic French training to create Modern Southern Healthy Cuisine with a French Accent. She has been featured on shows like Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen and Magnolia Network’s Family Dinner and in publications like Southern Living, Essence and Garden & Gun. She is co-owner of the German-inspired restaurant Bauhaus Biergarten in Springdale, Ark., and is the author of several cookbooks and illustrated children’s books. She is also the creator of the Your Resident Gourmet spice line, which includes Duck Duck Chicken Poultry Seasoning & Rub, available at The Cooks Warehouse–Ansley mall, at her restaurant and at ChefJenniferHillBooker.com.
