Food and Drink Serious BBQ Questions

Saccopoo · 05-23-2009, 10:00 AM

As BBQ season is once again upon us, I thought I might get back into the real KC tradition of cooking and start smoking a lot more this year. Got a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker (along with a standard Weber kettle and a Genesis propane grill) that I plan on using as the primary implement of destruction. I was even thinking about entering some BBQ contests this year once I got my stuff together, which leads me to a couple of questions that I'd like to pose to you fine folk:

1. Anyone here do the BBQ competition thing? I was going to start small and enter as/in the "Backyard." Any pointers in terms of setup at the events such as items I might need/would want to bring outside of the obvious?

2. Based on my experiences of living in Kansas City for a number of years, I am partial to the longer smoking, lighter rub, heavy sweet sauce that typically defines KC style BBQ. However, I have always personally preferred beef ribs to the pork variety, and as such have usually made that my focus for BBQ in this manner doing very little pork. The competitions around here (Western mountain states) basically require pork and chicken for these competitions, with an obligatory "Wild Game" section. (Schools close in these here parts for the opening day of deer season.) Should I spend this next summer working on a dedicated pork only rub and sauce, or will my time tested, tried and true beef concoctions be sufficient?

3. In this homogenous global society we now live in, has anyone begun to incorporate the various regional styles of BBQ into their routines? (Memphis versus KC in particular.) I've always been a purist and do one or the other, making sure that people know that I've just prepared a mean to one specific style. Would it be considered sacrilege to consider using a mop sauce a la Memphis style then employ a molasses based KC sauce at the end, or other such things?

If you want to share any special methods or secrets to creating a great BBQ, please do so. Let's get the grills and smokers fired up and get it going! Heck, tailgating season is darn near upon us!

05-23-2009, 10:00 AM	Topic Starter
Saccopoo Kindness in words... Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Zion Casino cash: $10025483	Serious BBQ Questions As BBQ season is once again upon us, I thought I might get back into the real KC tradition of cooking and start smoking a lot more this year. Got a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker (along with a standard Weber kettle and a Genesis propane grill) that I plan on using as the primary implement of destruction. I was even thinking about entering some BBQ contests this year once I got my stuff together, which leads me to a couple of questions that I'd like to pose to you fine folk: 1. Anyone here do the BBQ competition thing? I was going to start small and enter as/in the "Backyard." Any pointers in terms of setup at the events such as items I might need/would want to bring outside of the obvious? 2. Based on my experiences of living in Kansas City for a number of years, I am partial to the longer smoking, lighter rub, heavy sweet sauce that typically defines KC style BBQ. However, I have always personally preferred beef ribs to the pork variety, and as such have usually made that my focus for BBQ in this manner doing very little pork. The competitions around here (Western mountain states) basically require pork and chicken for these competitions, with an obligatory "Wild Game" section. (Schools close in these here parts for the opening day of deer season.) Should I spend this next summer working on a dedicated pork only rub and sauce, or will my time tested, tried and true beef concoctions be sufficient? 3. In this homogenous global society we now live in, has anyone begun to incorporate the various regional styles of BBQ into their routines? (Memphis versus KC in particular.) I've always been a purist and do one or the other, making sure that people know that I've just prepared a mean to one specific style. Would it be considered sacrilege to consider using a mop sauce a la Memphis style then employ a molasses based KC sauce at the end, or other such things? If you want to share any special methods or secrets to creating a great BBQ, please do so. Let's get the grills and smokers fired up and get it going! Heck, tailgating season is darn near upon us!
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