Hey bro I got some of his sauce in the cabinet right now.

While some of my "friends" will swear by Jack Stack, I'd say it's only really worth the trip for the baked beans. Those beans are some of the best things I've ever eaten. But that's the only stand out about Jack Stack.

baked beans and mac & cheese are my fav sides

or tomatoes and cucumbers in a vinegar dressing

Yes Tom Cuke is awesome. I'll usually toss them with plain rice vinegar and whatever rub I feel like using. So good.

how'd this work out, mysterious stranger?

I for one would like to know.

Tomorrow I'll be doing beef ribs. Not sure if I want to make a vinegar/Worcestershire mop or a soy sauce type mop. I'll put up pictures.

Ended up going with pork loin and totally forgot to take pics

I used a jalepeno honey mustard on the meat and it worked out very well. I was worried the sauce was too sweet, but once it was on the meat and cooked and smoked (I used applewood chips), all turned out well.

Next time I'll try to remember the pics.

Oh, re: sides...Fried Okra is the tits. I love it so much. Other favorites include collard greens with hot sauce, and real deal corn bread (not the stuff that taste like sweet cake). Most of the time when I grill though, I don't mess with sides too much. The Mrs. and I like to hang out outside, and if sides are involved one of us is in the kitchen. We normally just have a salad with whatever I'm grilling.

Thats it, im grilling on saturday.

have to be honest, we usually just go to a bbq restaurant and get the food.

i feel it's mostly because i'm lazy, but something deep down tells me it's because i'm scared of failure and ruining a food that my wife absolutely loves.

haven't sifted through the whole thread yet...are there any good tips or recommendations as far as recipes/websites?

thanks guys. i'll try real hard to start being a man this summer.

Red, cooking BBQ is all about controlling the fire/temp in your grill. There are a million slightly different ways you can go about doing it but for the most part it's all variation on a theme. If you can control the temp in your grill its hard to fuck up.

I'd be willing to share my basic recipes/techniques for any food you want to try.

what kind of grill do you have? and what kind of wood do you prefer to use when/if you do?

well...those ribs and brisket look amazing. i want all your recipes.

I've got a Big Green Egg at home but I've owned other grill types. I'm also a certified chef and worked at a BBQ restaurant for 5 years.

As far as fuel, you want to go with a natural lump charcoal. It's basically charred wood. Don't go with kingsford or the like, to many fillers and chemicals, the flavor has a fake quality to it. If I choose to smoke a cut of meat I'll usually use pecan as it is mild but sometimes when I do a brisket I'll use mesquite which is probably the sharpest flavored smoking wood. Works well with beef. You only need to smoke for an hour or two btw.

Hmm, would not have expected the board to be so high on cornbread.
Not a big fan of it myself, though my mom's is great, and I know it should definitely not be sweet.

You're a good person.

I'll give you the simple version of cooking babyback or st. louis style pork ribs.

Before you do anything, you'll have to remove a thin white layer on the backside of the rib. This is a membrane lining and the ribs will have a tough, papery texture on the backside if you leave it on. I recommend doing this the day/night before you want to cook. Trim off any excess fat and apply your favorite rub. seal your ribs up in seran wrap and put back in the fridge for the next day. Some people like to use marinades but I'm going to keep it simple.

Get your grill lit. You don't want to cook your ribs directly over the burning wood, either start your fire off to one side (if your grill is big enough) or in your firebox (if your grill has one). This is called indirect cooking or heat. You also don't want a big fire, more like a patch of burning embers. Adjust your grill so it reaches 225 and sits there. Throw your woodchips on if you choose to use them.

Now, you can use a rib rack in your grill if you want which will stand your ribs on end, or lay them flat. The idea is to get your ribs browned up to a medium brown color, it's okay if you get areas that are darker. You'll also have to flip the rips a few times so they cook evenly. Also, you can use a baste ( I recommend this, apple juice works great or you can get fancier with oil and vinegar mixes) after the first hour. Apply baste every 20 mins or so. Your ribs should be browned after about 3 hours at 225.

Okay so your ribs are a nice even brown color. Keep your grill at 225 but wrap the ribs in tinfoil basting them one last time. When you wrap them in the foil you will want the shiny side of the foil facing out. Put them back on the grill until they pull apart without much resistance. You don't want them to be so tender that they fall apart when you try to pick the rack up but you want them tender. That's really about it man.

sorry, i did see that you had a Big Green Egg...i'm having a lot of ADD moments today. what size Egg is it?

natural lump, gotcha. do you make your own rubs? this thread is getting me excited. the fact that we might be moving into our own place this summer has me really excited for trying new things.

Eggs are expensive period. Might as well get the large (the xlarge is more space than most need and burns lots of fuel) so you can do things like briskets, turkeys other large cuts of meat. Barrel style grills are awesome too. Just make sure if you go that route that you get something with a decent gauge metal. Insulation is important for a grill and the cheap thin ones tend to frustrate.

You can make your own rub, there are plenty of recipes online to get you going with that. I've got a recipe I use but really I usually just get something at the store just to keep it simple.

*edit* It's a fun hobby, one with lots of room for trial and error. Plus your can get your friends to buy the beer when they come to chill on Sundays. It's a rule, the cook never pays for the beer.