The Bark  is the most flavorful layer on the outer surface of the meat that is formed from the sugars in the rub caramelizing.

Other enhancers to forming a good crust come from spraying or misting a liquid containing sugar like apple juice onto the meat periodically during the cook.

Your choice of a glue can also affect the formation of the bark, such as CYM, molasses, honey, etc.

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The holy grail for BBQ competition cooks is to have bite through chicken skin for their turn ins.

Crispy chicken skin (like fried) is not typically associated with competition BBQ.  The goal is for the person eating the chicken to be able to take a bite right through the skin.

You never want the judges to bite into a piece of chicken and have the whole skin come off and slap him in the chin.

There are many techniques for producing bite thru chicken skin.  Some BBQ cooks scrape off the layer of fat on the skin prior to cooking.  Others smoke the chicken at lower temps then raise the temperature at the end to crisp up the skin.  While other cooks swear by putting ingredients like butter, olive oil, or mayonnaise on the skin prior to cooking.

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This cut comes from the upper part of the front leg of the pig.  Boston Butt is cut from the top part of the shoulder and may contain part of the shoulder blade.

People that smoke or barbeque the Boston Butt will debate whether bone-in or boneless is better. We think bone-in makes tastier pork but of course when buying by the pound you are paying for the bone.

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This is used in the preparation of smoking meats, not as a flavor enhancer, but as a glue or binder to hold the dry rub seasonings to the meat.  Most people will say there is no mustard flavor left behind on the finished smoked meat, hence go with the the “cheap” variety for this.

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Think fine grind for shorter cooks like grilling steaks and hamburgers and a coarse grind when smoking cuts like beef brisket.

Also check out the Dirty Dalmatian Rub, easy to make and adjust to taste.

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The ingredients and quantities are certainly subjective and up to each user’s preference but this is the base for a good Dirty Dalmatian rub.  Note: if you can’t find salt free lemon pepper just reduce the amount of kosher salt some to balance the saltiness.

A few versions to try and adjust to your taste:

• 1 part black pepper
• 1 part kosher salt
• 1 part lemon pepper (salt free)

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• 1 part black pepper
• 1 part kosher salt
• 1/2 part lemon pepper (salt free)
• 1/2 part garlic powder

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• 1 part black pepper
• 1 part kosher salt
• 1/2 part lemon pepper (salt free)
• 1/2 part cayenne pepper

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The added rest time is often considered critical to a good product for pork butt or shoulder and brisket but with all things BBQ it is subjective to your own personal theories and preferences.  A 30 minute rest would be a minimum goal and a 2 hour rest would be a good mark to shoot for if you have time, but use the FTC to your advantage – if your meat is done earlier than planned all will be cool (or coolered) and it makes traveling with your cooked Q easy and it will be ready when you get there.

A tip for using FTC in cold weather is to add a couple gallons of hot tap water to your cooler prior to using it to hold the meat.  Let the water rest in the cooler for a half hour or so to get the cooler temperature up and then drain the water and wipe dry; it is now ready to hold your cooked meat and will hold it for a longer period of time.

Towels or blankets are often placed in the bottom of the cooler and then again on top of the meat to fill the empty space adding an additional insulating effect.

The FTC technique is not to be confused with the Texas Crutch which is a technique using foil during the cooking process.

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Some common choices for glues are:

• cheap yellow mustard (CYM)
• worcestershire sauce
• olive oil (EVOO, spray on, flavor infused … lot’s of choices)
• mayonnaise (yes, mayo on chicken skin helps tenderize it during the cook)
• molasses (creates a nice bark on pulled pork)
• honey
• agave nectar

Of course, a glue isn’t necessary it’s a preference.  Many will just let the meat set out of the refrigerator for a bit and when the meat starts to sweat put the rub on and its stays put.  Again, it’s all personal preference.

If you have a favorite glue ‘Leave a Comment’ below and let us know what it is and what you use it on.

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Pellet grills and pellet smokers operate on the same principle: a digital controller regulates pellet delivery through an auger feed and forced air via fan to the fire pot which produces both heat and smoke at the temperature you have selected.  Electricity is required to run these units but it is very minimal; about 50 amps or so for the igniter to start the pellets on fire which only takes a few minutes and then 3-5 amps to run the fan and auger motor for the remainder of the cook.  It couldn’t get any easier than that.

The higher end pellet grills seem to be the ones made in the USA by MAK Grills, Haerthland’s Memphis Grills, and even Cookshack has a grill in their Fast Eddy’s product line.  At the lower end you’ll find grills being made elsewhere in the world; Traeger and Green Mountain Grills (made in China), Danson’s Louisina Grills and Country Smokers (Canada), and some other manufacturers have parts fabricated overseas and do the final assembly in the US.  This is not to say you can’t get a great functioning grill from outside the US but there is definitely a higher quality aspect in materials and workmanship and more frills that come with the pellet grills that are made in America; of course higher quality brings higher prices as well!

Note:  Only BBQ grade pellets should be used when cooking food.  NO heating pellets should be used at any time for smoking or grilling food. Why? Although there is no official “BBQ Grade” or “Food Grade” certification wood pellet manufacturers will mark their packaging as such – please research your pellet source before cooking with it.  BBQ pellets are made from raw hardwood materials that have never been used in any product previously, have no fillers or binders in them and if a lubricant is used in the manufacturing process it is a food grade oil such as vegetable oil.  Heating pellets are manufactured from any mix of  raw and waste material and can have any number of harmful ingredients included such as chemical binders and petroleum lubricants.  You wouldn’t throw an old piece of your pressure treated deck or particle board furniture in your smoker would you? So don’t cook with heating pellets!

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Post Oak

Most people outside of Texas may think of mesquite, hickory, or pecan when they think of the standard BBQ smoking woods but if you leave out post oak wood, you’re leaving out Central Texas barbecue.

Texas BBQ brisket properly smoked over post oak is one of the finest indulgences known to man, Texan or not!

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