Several renowned BBQ Pitmasters and Chefs have shared their BBQ techniques, regional traditions, and cooking secrets across many platforms, be that interviews, cooking schools and classes, and Social Media features. Dear www.bbqnews.com Readers, delve into this article to master some of the professionals’ secrets!!!
Pat Martin
Pat Martin is known for preserving and expanding West Tennessee-style whole hog barbecue at Martin’s Bar-B-Cue Joint. Pat shares insights on hickory-smoked pulled pork, whole hog craftsmanship, and specialty regional side dishes. Hint: when cooking a whole hog, only 1/3of the weight is edible. The other 2/3rds of the weight is skin, bones, and innards.
Despite Pat Martin’s strong grounding in West Tennessee-style BBQ, Martin is not constrained by old-fashioned ideas about “what BBQ should be”; he is a Pitmaster with “flair” and believes that BBQ belongs on ANY FINE DINING TASTING MENU! www.tastingtable.com interviewed Pat Martin, and the Pitmaster states: “There are a couple of us BBQ guys out there that aren’t typical. That don’t ‘stay in our box’ so to speak. Barbecue is my roots, but I approach cooking with just live fire in mind anyway. I’m a creative…so the creative just pops out! You always want to do something where you’re making the guests feel like they are happy, very happy! I always want to be authentic to who I am and what I do as far as cooking.”
Tuffy Stone
Tuffy Stone is a classically trained French chef and multiple Grand-Champion Pitmaster who runs the “Cool Smoke BBQ School,” where he teaches competitive BBQ techniques and shares his smoking and grilling secrets. Hint: Keeping things warm; YETI coolers have full-frame gaskets that seal outside air out and trap heat; just add warm water to the cooler to prime it, wrap your meat in a damp cloth, and occasionally “de-latch the lid” to let steam escape, in order to
keep your BBQ “fixin’s” right off the grill HOT. Tuffy Stone is currently “The Winning-est Pitmaster in BBQ, whose recently established the “COOL SMOKE BBQ SCHOOL,” is considered to be the Nation’s greatest.” At Cool Smoke BBQ School, Tuffy Stone reveals allllll his spectacular secrets! Tuffy Stone is celebrated for combining scientific precision with traditional live-fire craft. The BBQ industry has changed wildly over the past decades; there has been a shift to regional-style emigrations and a return to artisan ideals. Tuffy Stone’s nickname is “The Professor!” Tuffy is the author of: “Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue.” You may find Tuffy’s Original BBQ Sauces and Rubs, as well as signed copies of his cookbook at:
www.tuffystone.com, where you may also register for Tuffy Stone’s BBQ school classes and check out his “WAY COOL BBQ RECIPES!”
Chris Lilly
As anyone worth their salt in the BBQ Universe knows, Chris Lilly is the Head Pitmaster of Big Bob Gibson BBQ in Decatur, Alabama. Chris Lilly is a multi-time Grand Champion of a plethora of National BBQ contests. Chris Lilly regularly shares competition-winning rules and meat injection methods…And of course, he always shares the infamous Big Bob Gibson Alabama White BBQ Sauce Recipe! Hint: Most competition BBQ is not something that you’d want to buy in a restaurant! Competitors tailor their profile flavors to judges, not consumers.
They therefore cook the meat to be ultra-rich, and the sauces super syrupy. Chris Lilly and Big Bob Gibson BBQ are the “cathedral of BBQ!” Lilly is the only 4-time Grand Champion of the Memphis in May cook-off. He is the co-creator of the “Chef-esque” TV shows for BBQ: “The All-Star BBQ Showdown” and “BBQ Pitmasters.” Chris Lilly has an excellent SIX-TIME World Champion Pork Shoulder pork injection recipe, which he shares at: www.epicurious.com/recipes You may also find Big Bob Gibson history and recipes at: www.bigbobgibson.com
Johnny Trig
Johnny Trig is often called “The Godfather of BBQ,” and is a multi-time Jack Daniel’s World Championship winner. “The Godfather” is known for passing down classic low-and-slow rib and brisket strategies. Hint: The jowl holds a juicy bit of meat just within the cheekbone that is often referred to as THE PEARL. And the very end of the shoulder is called THE MONEY MUSCLE, because of its thick marbling and tenderloin-like appearance. That is an experienced Pitmaster’s Secret! Repetition is key; BBQ is steeped in tradition, and tradition means doing “the same things over and over”– it is the reason that a great Pitmaster’s flavor is consistent.
The Godfather says another 1 of his secrets is: “A basic all-purpose rub: mix together 1 or 2 tablespoons equal parts salt and black pepper, granulated garlic, grilled onions, and onion powder. That will give you a real good base for any kind of meat. Just increase the amounts of rub ingredients if you are grilling large quantities,” quotes www.parade.com “Add your rub about an hour before cooking. I leave my meat out so it gets to room temperature, then I rub it down. If you prefer not to make your own rub, McCormick and Weber have good basic ones,” says The Godfather. “I like to keep a spray bottle filled with apple juice to spray onto my meat. Whether it’s pork, chicken, or beef, it adds flavor. Also, it helps keep your meat a real golden-mahogany-looking color and prevents it from turning black,” suggests Johnny Trigg. The Godfather of BBQ may be found on Facebook: @smokintriggersbbq and Instagram. For further bio information about The Godfather of BBQ, you may peruse:
Johnny Trigg Shootout at https://www.kcbs.us
https://www.williamsfoodco.com Johnny Trigg Rib Rub Recipe at: https://www.bbqrubs.com
Lee Ann Whippen
Lee Ann Whippen is a World Champion Pitmaster, Food Network winner of “BBQ Brawl,” and a Kansas City Barbecue Society judge. She is also a celebrity chef and restaurateur, and she also took the title on “Throwdown with Bobby Flay!” Lee Ann frequently advises and shares BBQ tips such as brining and air-drying turkey for crisp skin. “I am a huge proponent of brining the turkey first! This secret locks the flavor into the meat! After brining, allow the turkey to dry out in the fridge for the crispiest skin!” www.turkeysmoke.org is the place to find Lee Ann’s “GO-TO Turkey Brine Recipe.” Lee Ann is particularly known for her “Poultry Secrets!”
The Black Family: Barrett Black and Kent Black
The Black Family are fourth- and third-generation Pitmasters at Texas’s historic “Black’s Barbecue.” Barrett and Kent share fundamental rules on clean-burning wood, trimming briskets, and their best tips and tricks for seasoning meats. Due to the insane amount of time that goes into creating each piece of meat at its most luscious, and the decidedly “Non-Infinite Capacity of Smoking Apparati,” the most beloved and favorite BBQ joints usually run out of meat just shortly after lunch; There are not enough hours in the day nor smoker space on the Pit to cook more! Barrett and Kent say, “Keep seasonings simple on beef.
Our Team at Black’s Barbecue relies almost entirely on coarse salt and black pepper so the natural beef and smoke flavors shine.” Black’s Barbecue is “The Pioneers of the Original Texas BBQ Experience. Since our humble beginnings in the little town of Lockhart, Texas, our family has pioneered and perfected true Texas BBQ. Today, five generations of Black’s have made it possible to serve over 50 million guests from around the world. We believe that once you’ve experienced what real Texas BBQ and caring hospitality are all about, you’ll never mess with the rest!” The word “Barbecue” has become synonymous with anything cooked over fire, but most Pitmasters think that there is a huge difference between grilling up a burger and spending 20 hours smoking a brisket! And the Pros are absolutely correct in that assertion!
BBQ Enlightenment
“Behind the shrouded curtain of smoke and steel, BBQ Pitmasters work tirelessly to supply hungry patrons with perfect bite after perfect bite…But if you’ve never walked 20 hours in a pair of brisket-making boots, it can be hard to understand just what goes into the art of barbecue,” declares www.thrilllist.com
- COOKING:
- To achieve consistency, remove variables: A smoker is a fragile ecosystem, and any changes that you make will affect every other variable. If you want to improve your BBQ skillset, try to keep constant as many variables as you can.
- Every smoker is different: If you put 2 identical smokers next to each other, odds are that they will cook meats dramatically differently.
- Smoke is an ingredient- not a cooking method: Pitmasters use smoke “like a chef uses spice”; they never use liquid smoke.
- Thermometers??? “Purists will tell you that it’s all in the feel…not in the numbers.” A brisket may be the right temperature inside, according to your thermometer reading, but you do not know that the brisket is really ready until you “can feel it jiggle just right!”
- Not all wood is created equal: “Chopping a fresh piece of wood off a tree is romantic, but you really want the wood you are cooking with to be seasoned, meaning that the wood has had some time to dry out. The flip side is: if the wood is dried too long, it will burn dark and hot—and your meat will taste like a telephone pole,” exclaims Thrilllist.
- The Smoke: you want a nice, light grey smoke in color; one that is nearly transparent. You want thin, blue or light grey smoke: Pitmasters avoid thick white smoke…and it is not a good sign if your smoke looks black! Thick white or black smoke makes your BBQ’d meats taste bitter.
BBQ Regions
- Regional BBQ flavors are often defined by the wood on hand; people in central Texas began using post oak because it was widely available. The same applies for the fruitwoods of Georgia. Proximity has helped define and develop regional styles.
- Climate affects cooking: In a regular kitchen, you are isolated from the elements of Mother Nature. In the wide world of BBQ, any shift in humidity, or especially rain, will have a big effect on your cooking.
- In the world of BBQ, there are Regions Within Regions: Texas BBQ has come to establish and present itself as “The IT Girl of BBQ,” across the country. The reality is: there are subtle and not-so-subtle differences and distinctions based on what part of the state you are located and eating in! …The same rule applies to other BBQ Regions, as well.
Straight From The Pits
A brisket may take 20 hours to cook…Some BBQ joints may have “set it and forget it” gas-assisted smokers. But most places “worth their salt and pepper” are fanning a fire all night. This means that your Pitmaster is most likely working at least 12 hours per day, every single day. They might sell out of BBQ at 2 PM, but that does not mean that your Pitmaster is finishing the day early!!! The best bite of BBQ oftentimes is NOT for sale. Usually the Pitmasters save spice covered-encrusted-heavily-rubbed burnt ends as samples to “whet their customer’s appetites!” This extraordinarily deliciousness is second only to the “magic bite of fat pulled right off the brisket or butt fresh off the smoker” before the meat is wrapped.
BBQ is a Lifetime Vocation
Hobbyists aside, there are no “part-time-Pitmasters.” BBQ isn’t a flip-switch style of cooking: you cannot make changes “on the fly,” therefore consistency is a key element to a Pitmaster’s success. Perfecting BBQ is something that Pitmasters dedicate their lives to. Pitmasters wake before the sun has risen and go to bed long after the last customer has been served the final BBQ bite for the day. The legendary Pitmasters have been working in that manner throughout their entire lives and careers. And the Pitmaster Legends wouldn’t have it any other way!
