~What's your BBQ IQ~

Though you may have heard the terms grilling and barbecuing used interchangeably, there's a distinction between these two very different cooking techniques. We define grilling as very hot, fast cooking directly over and close to the heat, with little to no smoke. Barbecuing, on the other hand, refers to slow cooking with low, indirect heat and the addition of wood smoke. Here, we'll focus on the technique of barbecuing on a charcoal grill and how it produces tender, smoky brisket, pulled pork, ribs, and more.

How does barbecuing tenderize tough meats?Cuts of meat that come from the more exercised muscles of an animal are tougher primarily due to connective tissue, a transparent protein that provides structure around and between long, thin muscle fibers. As in all low, slow cooking methods, enzymes in the meat called calpains and cathepsinsactivate and begin to break down the tough connective tissue, making the meat tenderer. This effect continues until the meat reaches a temperature of about 125°F, at which point the enzymes are deactivated. At about 140°F, the connective tissue begins to shrink and squeeze moisture from the muscle fibers, but since the enzymes have partially broken down the connective tissue, its weaker contraction squeezes out less moisture, and the meat remains relatively juicy. At about 160°F, collagen, a component of the broken-down connective tissue, begins to bond with water in the meat, transforming into gelatin. This continues until the muscle fibers reach about 200°F, when they easily separate, becoming "fall-apart tender," and are coated with gelatin and fat, which increases flavorful and textural sensations of succulence and tenderness.

Why does meat sometimes seem to stop cooking?When meat's internal temperature reaches 150°F to 170°F, it can hover there, sometimes for hours. This "lag time" or "stall" seems to be caused primarily by evaporative cooling, in which the water in the meat gets driven to the surface, where it evaporates and cools the surface, much like evaporating sweat on your skin makes you feel cool on a hot summer day. This surface cooling continues until the meat starts to run out of moisture and the surface dries, forming a crust, or "bark." Then the meat's internal temperature begins to rise again.

What fuel is best for barbecuing?Seasoned hardwood logs or chunks, because they have the most potential to release flavorful smoke. In general, alder, apple, cherry, maple, oak, and pecan produce mild-tasting smoke, while hickory, mesquite, and walnut produce stronger-tasting smoke. (Avoid cooking with soft, resinous woods such as pine, which release smoke with harsher, sootier flavors.)After seasoned hardwood, charcoal is the next best fuel. Charcoal is wood burned in the absence of oxygen, a process called pyrolysis, in which most of the wood's organic materials are removed, leaving behind primarily carbon, known as char.When pyrolyzed hardwood is broken into small chunks, it is called "lump charcoal." This lightweight form of charcoal burns quickly, so it's generally not preferred for slow barbecuing. Charcoal briquettes, on the other hand, are made with compressed sawdust, mineral char from coal, and limestone bound together with starch; the mineral char prolongs the burn. When you need more than 45 minutes of steady heat for barbecuing, charcoal briquettes tend to provide a more consistent temperature than lump charcoal.

How does barbecuing create smoky-tasting food?Wood consists of three main components: cellulose and hemicellulose, which are large sugar molecules that form the structure of the wood's cell walls; and lignin, a polymer that strengthens these walls. As the wood burns, its cellulose and hemicellulose essentially caramelize, creating sweet, fruity, and flowery flavor components, as well as brown colors. The lignin transforms into smoky, pungent compounds and spicy compounds with aromas like clove and vanilla. These smoke flavors mix with water on the surface of food, and that's mostly where you taste them.

Why does my barbecue recipe call for soaking wood chips?Many people believe that wet wood chips produce more smoke than dry ones, but this isn't the case. Soaked wood chips produce the same amount of smoke flavor as dry chips; they just take longer to do it. As wet wood chips begin to dry out and ignite, any water remaining on their surface evaporates into steam, creating thick clouds that look great but add little smoke flavor to your food. Smoke flavor doesn't start to develop until the elements in the wood combust, which can't occur while there's water present. In fact, the really flavorful gases from combusted wood are barely visible but have a pale blue haze; this is why barbecue gurus talk about "blue smoke" as the Holy Grail. Rather than soaking wood chips, a better way to prolong the smoke is to place the wood chips on a cooler part of the fire and to limit airflow in the grill to delay combustion.