The Bullet!

Welcome to my BBQ site:

Brand New Weber Smoky Mountain 22"

This blog has information based on my research and experience using the Weber Smoky Mountain BBQ. My model is the 22.5", which allows plenty of room for a mess of ribs or big hunks of pork shoulder or beef brisket. Also nicknamed 'The Bullet' in reference to its shape, this design works extremely well in cooking authentic BBQ. A lot of what I am posting here will apply to any smoker BBQ or even a gas grill where indirect heat is being used. I have successfully smoked ribs on a gas grill using smoke boxes or wood chips/chunks wrapped in foil with a few holes poked through. In the end, it's the meat that you're using and the slow and low technique that makes it all taste good.

I had looked at getting a decent smoker BBQ for a few years before deciding on this model. My only experience with real BBQ was on my Weber Genesis Natural Gas Grill, using cast iron wood chip boxes or having soaked wood chunks wrapped in foil and having the meat teetering in a pan over indirect heat. Temperature control and smoke loss were the big limitations. There's a big difference between barbecue and grilling, all to do with temperature. BBQ uses lower temperatures and way longer cooking times than grilling. Grilling is all about searing and sealing whereas BBQ counts on the flavour of the smoke to penetrate and permeate the meat. You can actually finish ribs on the grill once they've been given a good slap of sauce on them so that they caramelize a bit for true BBQ taste.

Another feature of low and slow cooking is that relatively inexpensive cuts of meat that are usually tough become as tender as the most pricy tenderloin. My first pork shoulder was so tender after 20 hours in the smoker that the blade bone was pulled out from the hunk of meat with no effort at all.

There are other BBQ setups available on the market, including bullet style smokers, offsets, the ceramic 'eggs', or just a large kettle BBQ where you simply pile the heat source to one side and the food on the other. Each will work well once you get to know how to use them.

Some smokers, like the Weber that I have, benefit from some sort of initial 'seasoning' before the first smoking session. There may be a factory residue left on the interior metal that needs to be burned off in order to avoid any nasty industrial flavours. Some folks, however, don't bother with seasoning. After a few sessions, the smoker will have accumulated a nice layer of smoke and grease which will not only give food some extra depth of flavour, but allow better control of internal temperature as the shiny, reflective interior no longer a factor.

	Pork Shoulder and Sausages