OT: Favorite BBQ food

Ribs are my favorite and I've just recently started making them myself.  Since I have a gas grill with a smoker box in a wierd orientation, I can't get the heat as low as I'd like it while keeping the wood smoking.  Therefore I cook the ribs for only 2-2.5 hours when I'd like to be able to do more.

Start with 1 or 2 racks of ribs, and apply your favorite rub.  Then let them sit in the fridge for a while to absorb the flavors, I'd say 4-8 hours.

Heat up your grill for indirect cooking, the smoke is optional but I prefer the taste.  If you're doing smoke you need to soak the woodchips for 30 mins before putting them in the grill.

Place the ribs on the grill, cover it and cook for 2 hours, liberally brushing it with apple cider every 30 minutes to keep it from drying out.  Rotating the ribs half way through is a good idea to ensure more even cooking if you have any hot/cool spots.

Apply your favorite barbeque sauce, and cook for another 30 minutes.  I like to use http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cherry-Cola-Barbecue-Sauce-... as it has great flavor and I like sweet and tangy bbq sauce.

Thats it, remove ribs from the grill, slice and serve.

One of the beauties of BBQ is you can do it with just about anything-meats, vegitables, or fruits.  One of my personal favorites is a pork shoulder with a dry rub, and you grill it on low heat for 4-6 hours.  Smoking chips add a bit more flavor if you like that kind of thing.  Then, you can either slice it and eat it as-is, or you can shred it and put it on buns.  In this case, sauce is optional: some like it with, some without.     

Remember to add your BBQ sauce at the VERY, VERY end. Otherwise, you'll end up burning the sugars in the sauce.

I'm southern, so BBQ is a noun...not a verb. Every southerner in the country has a story about the time some guy asked if he wanted some BBQ and then handed him a hot dog.

 are both hard to beat....

I like to cut a rack of ribs into sections and boil in Vernors gingerale for 1.5 hours, add your favorite sauce and throw them on the grill for a bit.

brisket

Up north bbq traditionally means things involving sauces and, typically, pork. Mid America (Tennessee) it means almost exclusively ribs or pulled pork. Down south it means anything on a pit or grill (burgers, dogs, etc) ... up north "cook out" or "grill" has replaced the south's catch-all of barbecue

There are any number of DIY guides for building your own smoker, if you want to branch out. I've even found them at goodwill for less than $10. If you've got an entire Saturday or Sunday to do litlte more than tend a fire and drink beer, it's not a bad way to spend your time.

If you ever feel like you've mastered your craft, feel free to come to NC sometime and my neighbor will show you hot cook an entire pig. (if you ever get invited to a pig-pickin', say YES. Even if you're muslim or jewish...just pretend you're not for a day)

Once you get over carving off a piece of meat that's still got its face attached to it, you're in for a treat. And if you think the ribs are good, wait 'till you eat the meat that's below the ribs...the part where bacon comes from.

but I would advise looking farther south than Michigan to learn the most about barbeque.  I have lived in Michigan for 6 years and have visited many supposedly great barbeque restaurants that would only pass for "okay" in the South.  That isn't to say there aren't individual great barbeque chefs or really good places I haven't eaten at yet, just that it isn't as big a part of the culinary tradition as it is in the American South.  They worship it and know how to make it like no one's business.

As far as what the geographical boundaries are, I trust most barbeque in the south, extending as far north as Missouri and Virgina, and as far south as the northern part of Florida. The most broad variations in barbeque within the south are as follows:

Carolinas- Vinegar-based barbeque sauces, sometimes with a significant amount of mustard

"Memphis style"- Dry rub of spices, little sauce used (if at all)

Kansas City- Sweet and spicy tomato-based sauces

Rest of the south- moderately spicy tomato-based sauces, though there are huge variations even within this group

Of course, places vary in what their favorite barbeque dish is.  Most of the time people love ribs, but in Texas it is the beef brisket that steals the show.  Believe it or not, it isn't that difficult to even make your own sauces with the right spices and base, though I don't know how deep to go on it in this comment...

I think BBQ sauce is frowned upon in Texas, or not considered "authentic". What I've mainly had in Texas is Beef Brisket and Ribs. Love the brisket.

Brisket. Brine it overnight. Then low and slow. 

Spending the first 23 years of my life in the Ann Arbor area, I had literally no idea what BBQ was other than a verb to describe what my dad did on our propane grill every summer.  Occassionally I'd see a restaurant offer a pulled-pork or pulled-beef sandwich (anyone remember Leitheiser's in Saline??), slathered in a bottle of Open Pit sauce.  Having lived in Northern Virginia for 5 years, I can confirm that BBQ is a complete unknown in the North.  North Carolina style (pulled pork with vinegar sauce) is my favorite, but there is something to be said for each of the different styles to be found in the South (all have been described above).  What I really can't believe is just how poorly the knowledge has passed from the South to the North.  Large heapings of meat that take hours to prepare while standing around open flames and smoke sounds perfect for the Midwest, but it just hasn't made its way up there yet.  Can't explain why.  I suggest the OP make a field trip to somewhere, anywhere in the rural south, find a hole-in-the-wall BBQ place, and enjoy the only two Southern traditions that I think are worthwhile:  BBQ and a Coke.  Then get the heck outta here and escape to the North again. 

I've ever had was at a place called Dirty Ernie's Rib Pit in WV.   We were on a rafting trip memorial weekend. 

I thought they were going to have to cart me out of that place.   Fantastic food.  It must be fairly well know as they had signed flags and shirts pinned to the ceiling from numerous college and pro teams etc..

You've got some pretty good advice here; there's nothing I can can add. I strongly suggest you invest in or either build a smoker. You will not be sorry. As far as different techniques, recipes, and styles, Google is your friend. To me, the most fun is the experimentation.

Remember, BBQ is low and slow with indirect heat.

Items you will need.

Charcoal Grill: Webber or Green egg. Not so much for the name, but look for something with a dome design that you can control the air flow from the bottom and top of your unit.

Charcoal: Hardwood lump charcoal. It is much more stable than briquettes for a heat source.  If you need them to, they also burn hotter. It is also easier to incorporate other hardwoods for flavor.

I can provide more info but it all depends on how serious you are about your BBQ.

Had a party yesterday where I did 2 pork shoulders, a 10 lb brisket and about 100 bacon wrapped meatballs, called MOINK balls.  I started with a cheap Brinkmann smoker from Lowes at about $60, and learned along the way.  Upgraded to a Big Green Egg on Fathers Day.  

There are so many great resources for BBQ on the internet-blogs, forums, videos.  You can really take your game up.  One I would recommend is http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/, more information than you will ever need.  And a ton of people who make their own smokers.  

Good eating!

with a BBQ sauce

Pork shoulder...that reminds me...you young whipper-snappers that are either still in college or maybe just out of college probably can't cook very well, right? Your idea of cooking a big feast is marinating some chicken breasts and grilling them. You THINK you know how to cook a steak (you don't).

At some point in your life, you're going to meet a girl that you want to know for more than a couple of hours. And at some point, you're going to want to show her that you're NOT a little boy who spends his entire day wearing a backwards baseball cap and playing some dumbass video game. And at some point, you're going to have to meet moms and pops and you're going to need to impress them.

Hopefully, you were not raised by wolves. You know to stand up straight, look them both in the eye when you meet them, firm handshake, and enunciate. Speak clearly, don't shuffle your feet, and act like a man, dammit.

OK, you REALLY want to impress them? Remember the stories we all loved about the Korean family that came to Ann Arbor and surprised the co-habitating Korean girl and the mgoblogger? Yeah, I can't help you there. BUT...if moms and pops come and you want to show that their darling little girl has met a man (<-- !!!!) worthy of their daughter's love -- learn how to cook. And learn how to cook Cuban food.

Everyone likes Italian food, right? And their second favorite ethnic food is either Chinese or Mexican. OK, baked ziti is so simple that a blind retarded monkey with no arms could do it. Learn how to make your own tortillas (which consist of flour, fat, water and a little leavening agents) and you're 90 percent of the way home.

But CUBAN FOOD is delicious. And it's easy. And it's cheap. And it makes your house or apartment smell like Jesus just finished playing backgammon. Or something really good anyway.

Pork shoulder or boston butt or a picnic roast. It will feed a lot of people. You end up making cuts all over it, slathering it with olive oil and then putting little wedges of fresh garlic in the cuts. You let it marinade in a combo of garlic, orange and lime juice and zest, and oregano overnight. Then you roast it at 425 for half an hour. Take it out, baste it, reduce your heat to 375 and throw it back in for a half an hour. Take it out, make sure it's done, let it rest and carve.

Get some plantains, slice them, sautee them, make a rum and brown sugar sauce and add it to the pan at the end. These go on the side with black beans and rice.

You cook the black beans by soaking them over night and then simmering them for about 90 minutes with a ham hock. Make some pesto (basil, toasted pine nuts, garlic, salt, pepper, and oilive oil) and some good long-grain rice. Combine...mix....boom.

Make it for a bunch of your buddies until you master it. Then make it for your parents. Then make it for hers. It will take maybe five or six times to really get the hang of it and then you can make it in your sleep.

And now back to barbecue talk....

Pulled pork, or ribs with dry rub

BBQ sauce.  Goes with anything on a grill.  Every cook-out should have a fondue fountain of BBQ sauce. 

After an entire weekend of eating delicious grilled food and willfully wreaking havoc on my digestive system, I came into work today looking forward to getting a nice fresh Subway sub for lunch and getting my diet back on track.

Thanks to this thread, I now pretty much have no choice but to head over to Bone Daddy's and grab a brisket sandwich or some pulled pork or something.  GODDAMN YOU PEOPLE

for people who have grown up in areas of this country that have their own way of bbq, like texas, the carolinas, memphis, and st. louis and kansas city, telling one another that yours is the best kind and theirs sucks isnt ever going to convert them.  that is why if you want to convert somebody to the kind you think is best you have to find a northerner who isnt well versed in bbq.  so for all of you who don't know much about bbq (or those from the missouri area who for some reason havent been here yet) this is the best bbq ever and if you find yourself around there you owe it to yourself to try it out.  get the rib and shrimp combo.

http://www.ropersribs.com/

I moved from Michigan to Alabama six years ago and have since been introduced to the smoker.  Let me tell you there is nothing better than hanging out on the back porch drinking beer, smoking some ribs, and watching college football, preferably Michigan.  I built my own last year but you can purchase them online.  The key is to marinade the meat for at least 24 hours in a vinegar based marinade(I like Wickers brand) and liberally apply a pork rub before throwing the meat in the smoker.  About 45 minutes per pound at 275 deg. for boston butt(pig shoulder) and about 1 hour per pound at 225 deg. for ribs.  I prefer to cover the boston butt for the last 2/3 of cooking time to keep the moisture in.  I use hickory and pecan wood but apple and cherry work great as well and they would be a lot easier to get up there.  I like to mix and match the type of wood sometimes, first half with a fruity would and second half with a true smoking wood like Oak or Hickory.  Chicken, fish, and brisket are also great things to throw in the smoker, but I am partial to the pig. 

A great website to reference is www.thesmokering.com.  It is the MGoblog of grilling/smoking/barbequeing.

Hope this helped....

Seconded the recommendation of apple-wood as a smoker. Never tried cherry, but apple works extremely well with pork.

I made this last year for the Fourth of July.  I added Blue cheese crumbles and green onions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/dining/28bacon.html