What is the best barbecue?

[Puck]

Ive never been to The Mother Land, but Ive lived in Gods Country (Texas) all my years.
It was always my understanding that a Barbie was a doll that had a cool Corvette! Wasnt something you cooked with.
Gas was always something that was passed while among male friends after eating of the "Q", a large helping of Pintos and several beers. Never cooked with.
Propain is the only way to go {insert Hank Hill Remark here}! But should only be used for fryin fish, turkeys, squash, tomatos and what not.
When it comes to grill coals....I use Kingsford Match Light on the lil aluminum grill for burgers and weinnies. I started using it when camping for ease of packing stuff before heading out (someone would ALWAYS forget the lighter fluid). It also works good for starting a dandy little camp fire if the wood is wet.
For Smoking, I use Marlboros in the box (5.03 a pack).
Slowwwwww Cooking, I use a mixture of Royal Oak coals & Gulf Light lighter fluid, Hickory Chunks, Mesquite Chips.... and a little aged Pecan (bark removed) to take the bite out.

But thats just me....

[Stan41]

My barbecue definitions:
Barbecue = what you eat. Beef
BBQ = Sign painted by a lazy sign painter.
Bar-B-Q = Another sign painted by a lazy sign painter, but not quite as lazy as the one above.
Barbecue pit = Any contraption to cook Barbecue in. Preferable a pit dug in the ground.
Barbecue sauce = Disgusting concoction sold in bottles that consists of mostly ketchup and liquid smoke.
Arkansas Barbecue = Cut up pork pieces boiled in ketchup and water until tender and kept in a steam table until eaten.
Carolina Barbecue = Pork roast cooked with plenty of bottled barbecue sauce, shredded, and then drenched with more barbecue sauce. Served on hamburger buns to soak up some of the sauce.
Barbeque joint = Place where you eat inside and are served on styrofoam plates and plastic forks and knives. Sauce is usually optional, but sometimes forced on you.
Barbecue Stand = Place where they cook the barbecue outside and it is eaten outside on picnic tables. Meat is served on butcher paper, but they have metal knives and forks.

Anybody else have any more definitions to add to my dictionary?
Stan41

[Paulr]

Good Lawdy Stan...you has messed around and hit the nail squarely on the head here. Best bbq in the world comes from mesquite shoveled coals used in the the direct method. Now If it boiled down to Kingsford briquettes or even lump..I can't tell it adds much to the flavor profile. Might as well be using gas in my book. At least it a heckuva lot less trouble. Whut you got to remember about Limeys and Aussies is they use the word bbq as a noun where we use it as a noun..verb...adjective..adverb and pregnant participle. Thats why they dont uderstand the difference twixt offset pits and weber kettles. As you see them are both nouns sure Mrs. Stan would know if you want to axe her about it just to double check the math etc.
bigwheel

Maaaate, not sure if I agree with you here (or if I misunderstood) I reckon you can tell the difference between cooking with briquettes and basically any charcoal (lump or otherwise).
Anything cooked on a gasser...no contest! Charcoal wins....

Although low and slow is not very popular here down under it is getting to get some renown (and they finally started stocking the BGE's here in Barbeques Galore. Having said that I own a ceramic cooker (Komodo Kamado) and the overnight cooks on it are great... take about smokey flavour..

my 2 cts (almost worth 2 US cts on the current exchange rate)

[JaCK2U2]

What's "lighter fluid"?

[Stan41]

Lighter fluid: Something that used to be used in Zippo Cigarette lighters before they came out with the Bic throw away lighters.
Stan

[ikiru]

I used to use gas exclusively until I got my offset smoker. Even then, I would use the gas grill for 'hot and fast' and the smoker for 'low and slow'. Then, I discovered wood chunk. Wood chunks burn hot and they seem to be ready in 10 minutes (less if I use a hair dryer), compared to charcoal, which took sometimes 20-30 in the chimney. Plus, I love the flavor the chunks impart to the food.

So now, I only use the gasser if I don't have enough space in the offset or if I don't have any wood chunk and its getting late. I suppose I use my gas grill side burner for Wok cooking (haven't tried that over wood yet).

I chuckle inside every time someone suggests that a foil packet of wood chips in the gasser is the same as cooked over wood. Probably the best thing that Charbroil ever came up with when they introduced the gas grill.

-ikiru

*enjoy the sauce*

[honu41]

Aloha ikiru,

I too used mostly gassers but I owned a hibachi or two when I lived in CA. When I moved to the Northwest and found lots of hardwood here I slowly switched over to wood.

My son helped a neighbor cut up a fallen maple and ended up with over a cord of maple that I need to haul to my home and chunk. Right now I use chunks (apple, alder and some maple) for the same reasons as you.

I also huli-huli (rotisserie) whole hogs and use wood and chunks as the heat source. As a young boy my grandfather and mom taught me how to cook on a wok over a wood fire. I even learned how to cook rice in a 24" diameter wok! Still do since I have two 30" dia. woks and a wood fire in a burner made from a 55 gallon drum works best.

So wood/chunk gets my vote....

a hui hou,