how do you slow cook/bbq meat WITHOUT smoking it?

[laurac260]

I love a good, slow cooked rib, or brisket. I don't however like a smoke taste. I have put ribs or brisket in a crockpot with my favorite home made bbq sauce and it's good, but it doesn't have the grilled taste.

So, how does one go about getting that slow cooked, on the grill taste without smoking?

 

[vacationdoc]

My DH seasons the brisket with salt and pepper, wraps in foil, and bakes at 225 degrees for 4 or 5 hours.

 

[SmithOp]

I love a good, slow cooked rib, or brisket. I don't however like a smoke taste. I have put ribs or brisket in a crockpot with my favorite home made bbq sauce and it's good, but it doesn't have the grilled taste.

So, how does one go about getting that slow cooked, on the grill taste without smoking?

I put a dry rub on ribs and cook them on the grill. I put the coals on one side, set the grillwork on the highest elevation, then put the ribs on the side away from the coals and close the lid. It doesn't take long to cook them and you don't need many coals to get it hot with the lid closed (recommended to cook at 300 for 60-90min). If you don't put on wood chips they cook without smoke taste.

I have the Aussie walkabout grill, think I got it from Home Depot about $50.
http://www.aussiegrills.com/products_walkabout.php

 

[ricoba]

This is BBQ blasphemy, but for ribs you could par boil them until tender and finish them off on the grill where you would sauce them etc.

But like I said, in true BBQ circles par boiling would be blasphemous, though I did here Bobby Flay once say he par boils. So I guess you would be in good company if you did.

I just did a pulled pork BBQ last Saturday. I can't think of hardly any greater pleasure than sitting by a smoking grill for the day, waiting for the meat to be melt in your mouth tender. I love smoking and eating smoked meats.

 

[laurac260]

I guess I should mention what I have to cook with. Jenn-Air gas grill, and a convention/convection oven. Hopefully this helps. Also, I use bbq sauce. I think that BBQ'ing doesn't really mean, "lathering meat with tasty sauce" does it??

 

[Passepartout]

So, how does one go about getting that slow cooked, on the grill taste without smoking?

The smoked taste comes from the meat being exposed to either the smoke from burning wood or charcoal, or the fumes from meat juice dripping and 'burning' or vaporizing on 'flavor bars' or rocks/ceramic briquets that are above the flames on a gas grill. SO if you don't want the flavor- or if you want to introduce your own flavor- just isolate the meat from the environment you are heating it in. Like using a slow cooker, tightly wrap in foil or use a roasting bag.

My question is: what is 'grill taste' if not a certain amount of smoking? You might as well use a microwave.

Jim Ricks

 

[SmithOp]

I guess I should mention what I have to cook with. Jenn-Air gas grill, and a convention/convection oven. Hopefully this helps. Also, I use bbq sauce. I think that BBQ'ing doesn't really mean, "lathering meat with tasty sauce" does it??

I gave up on gas grilling, too hard to control temp and dries out the meat. See if you can turn on the flame on one side and put the meat on the other, cook on the lowest flame setting. I prefer to serve warm BBQ sauce on the side, never put it on the meat.

 

[ricoba]

My question is: what is 'grill taste' if not a certain amount of smoking? You might as well use a microwave.

Jim Ricks

Amen! You have spoken like a true backyard aficionado!

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I gave up on gas grilling, too hard to control temp and dries out the meat. See if you can turn on the flame on one side and put the meat on the other, cook on the lowest flame setting. I prefer to serve warm BBQ sauce on the side, never put it on the meat.

The last time I needed a new grill, I bought a four burner gas model, just so that I could control the temperature adequately for slow cooking.

I generally grill my ribs for 12 to 18 hours.

I typically wrap them in heavy duty foil, along with a marinade such as Stubbs, with the bone side up. I put the foil on a cookie sheet (that's to contain the juice if the foil leaks), and cook about five hours at about 160 - 170 deg. To get maintain a temp that low on a warm summer day is when you need the four burners - you only turn on one burner, and you adjust the flame to maintain that temperature. At this time the meat should be starting to fall off the bones.

Then I open the foil, turn the ribs over and finish them off with the foil open. I baste with the juice inside the foil, and add start adding bbq sauce if I'm going that route. I have a smoker box that I put some wood chips in and I place the over the flame to generate some smoke. I also put a large pan of water inside the grill to keep up the moisture.

To get a nice thick layer of sticky bbq sauce you need to be adding bbq sauce for about two hours. You put brush it on, then as it stiffens you brush on more, and keep doing that until you get the coating that you want. Temperature control is critical to do this right. If you get it too hot (more than than about 170 degrees), the sugar in the bbq sauce will caramelize and form a hard coating on the ribs. Too cool and the bbq sauce doesn't stiffen. Again, in my experience you can't get that degree of temperature control with anything less than a four-burner grill.

Did I mention that being able to control temperature is critical?????

The other thing is that you learn what works by trial and error. "What works" means the techniques that are easiest, which sauces give you the best combination of flavor and the grilling characteristics that you want.

 

[MichaelColey]

If you don't like the "smoke" flavor, maybe you've never had good smoked meat.

You have to have the right wood for the kind of meat and the right amount of smoke. I typically only "smoke" my meat for 2-3 hours. The rest of the time (up to 24 hours for some cuts) is just slow cooking without the smoke.

Ribs are the one thing I've found that actually cook better fast rather than slow. Here's my three step process for cooking ribs:

1) SMOKE. I'll season and smoke my ribs (usually with hickory and maple woods) for 2-3 hours. (You could skip this step and just season and add liquid smoke on the next step if you don't have a smoker, but it won't be quite as flavorful.)

2) BAKE. Then I'll put them on a rack in a big pan with a little water at the bottom, cover them in aluminum foil, and bake them at 400 for about an hour, until the meat is pulling away from the bone. (You can refrigerate them for later use at this point.)

3) GRILL. Then, I'll finish them for about 15 minutes on the grill, basting them in BBQ sauce.

 

[laurac260]

The last time I needed a new grill, I bought a four burner gas model, just so that I could control the temperature adequately for slow cooking.

I generally grill my ribs for 12 to 18 hours.

I typically wrap them in heavy duty foil, along with a marinade such as Stubbs, with the bone side up. I put the foil on a cookie sheet (that's to contain the juice if the foil leaks), and cook about five hours at about 160 - 170 deg. To get maintain a temp that low on a warm summer day is when you need the four burners - you only turn on one burner, and you adjust the flame to maintain that temperature. At this time the meat should be starting to fall off the bones.

Then I open the foil, turn the ribs over and finish them off with the foil open. I baste with the juice inside the foil, and add start adding bbq sauce if I'm going that route. I have a smoker box that I put some wood chips in and I place the over the flame to generate some smoke. I also put a large pan of water inside the grill to keep up the moisture.

To get a nice thick layer of sticky bbq sauce you need to be adding bbq sauce for about two hours. You put brush it on, then as it stiffens you brush on more, and keep doing that until you get the coating that you want. Temperature control is critical to do this right. If you get it too hot (more than than about 170 degrees), the sugar in the bbq sauce will caramelize and form a hard coating on the ribs. Too cool and the bbq sauce doesn't stiffen. Again, in my experience you can't get that degree of temperature control with anything less than a four-burner grill.

Did I mention that being able to control temperature is critical?????

The other thing is that you learn what works by trial and error. "What works" means the techniques that are easiest, which sauces give you the best combination of flavor and the grilling characteristics that you want.

ahhh, thank you so much! This was very helpful. I know some people love to smoke their meat. Me, I don't. I don't like the taste at all. I've had smoked meat that was too smokey, less smokey, and the best I've ever had I'd call it "not bad, but still tastes smokey".

I make my own bbq sauce, and have been using the same recipe since I was 12. It is a family favorite...and it is not smokey. My husband thinks my bbq sauce is the best he's ever had. I don't need a better critic than that.

I do have a 4 burner grill. It is gas. We prefer it over charcoal hands down (yes, to each his own). So then I assume I would just put the meat on the opposite side of the grill from the heating element, and let the meat cook by radiating heat, rather than direct heat?

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks! But one question, if you cook your meat on the grill for 12-18 hours, do you set up a tent in the backyard and cook it all night??

 

[RonB]

This is the best place to learn about cooking ribs period. It was voted one of the 10 top food sites in the world by a panel of 50 professional cooks.

http://www.amazingribs.com/

I use a Weber Kettle with a Smokenator 1000 for perfect ribs.

Ron

 

[ricoba]

This is the best place to learn about cooking ribs period. It was voted one of the 10 top food sites in the world by a panel of 50 professional cooks.

http://www.amazingribs.com/

I use a Weber Kettle with a Smokenator 1000 for perfect ribs.

Ron

I keep thinking about getting a Smokenator, but I seem to do fine just putting the coals on either side of the Weber in the baskets

As far as I can tell the best thing about the Smokenator is that you can control the temp better.

BTW, thanks for the link.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Yeah - that looks like a good resource. I'm always tweaking, looking for something a bit better and there's some good ideas there.

 

[easyrider]

I finnaly replace my old smoker with a Brinkman Gormet Smoker. It seems a little small for some of the big fillets of salmon but works great. The smoker has a recipe book that includes all kinds of meat. I think you could slow cook anything in it and just not use smoke chips if you don't like smoker flavor. So, Im planning on doing a roast or turkey soon. Salmon turns out great.

 

[Passepartout]

When you guys ('n gals) get tired of disposable grills and tough, dry chicken and hockey puck burgers. Looky here: http://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/default.php There' s no shame in replacing the ol' Weber, and you will need a grill to sear and put some marks on a steak, but for serious outdoor cookin', like wood fired pizza, whole hog, turkeys, pork butt, and LOTS of ribs, here's the deal.

Jim Ricks

 

[RonB]

I keep thinking about getting a Smokenator, but I seem to do fine just putting the coals on either side of the Weber in the baskets

As far as I can tell the best thing about the Smokenator is that you can control the temp better.

BTW, thanks for the link.

The baskets work well, but the Smokenator works better. In combination with the vents on the Weber, you can really keep the temps in the proper range. One caveat though: If the top of the grill does not fit well, too much air may leak in. There is a way around that, but a tight fitting lid is better. The 15 + yr old Weber that I just replaced taught me that... And as stated earlier, temp control is critical...

Ron

 

[Courts]

This is BBQ blasphemy, but for ribs you could par boil them until tender and finish them off on the grill where you would sauce them etc.

After trying different methods I like this best.

My question is: what is 'grill taste' if not a certain amount of smoking? You might as well use a microwave.

Jim Ricks

.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

This is the best place to learn about cooking ribs period. It was voted one of the 10 top food sites in the world by a panel of 50 professional cooks.

http://www.amazingribs.com/

I use a Weber Kettle with a Smokenator 1000 for perfect ribs.

Ron

I bought a Smokenator a couple of years agon and it works great.

I keep thinking about getting a Smokenator, but I seem to do fine just putting the coals on either side of the Weber in the baskets

As far as I can tell the best thing about the Smokenator is that you can control the temp better.

BTW, thanks for the link.

You can't cook "low & slow" with the charcoal dividers. Don't get me wrong, you can make killer ribs in around 1 1/2 hrs with the baskets, but you'll get better results with a long (6+hrs), smoke at 230 degrees with a Smokenator. You can't do a decent brisket with the charcoal dividers either.

The baskets work well, but the Smokenator works better. In combination with the vents on the Weber, you can really keep the temps in the proper range. One caveat though: If the top of the grill does not fit well, too much air may leak in. There is a way around that, but a tight fitting lid is better. The 15 + yr old Weber that I just replace taught me that...

Ron

Agreed....I can hold 230 for hours. I use a newer Performer with the Smokenator, but can't bring myself to get rid of the Weber kettle that we bought back in '86. She's rough around the edges, but works great!

 

[Dreamer2010]

4 Burner grills

I think the fastest/best way to utilize a 4 burner grill is to turn both outside burners on and grill the meat in the center (away from the heat element as others have posted).

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I think the fastest/best way to utilize a 4 burner grill is to turn both outside burners on and grill the meat in the center (away from the heat element as others have posted).

For indirect heating with two burners, i usually use two on side and put the meat to the other side. I also use the outside burner as primary heat, and trim the temperature with the inside burner - that provides more even heating.

The problem with using the two outside burners and putting the meat in the middle is that the edges of the cooking area will be hotter than the middle. And since the meat is often thinner on the edges that makes it difficult to keep the edges from overcooking and drying out.

 

[RonB]

I think the fastest/best way to utilize a 4 burner grill is to turn both outside burners on and grill the meat in the center (away from the heat element as others have posted).

When grilling tough cuts of meat like ribs or briskets, fast is the last thing you want to do. Tough cuts need a long cooking time at a low temp to make them tender...

Ron

 

[MichaelColey]

When grilling tough cuts of meat like ribs or briskets, fast is the last thing you want to do. Tough cuts need a long cooking time at a low temp to make them tender...

That's generally true, but ribs are one exception I've found. From my many attempts at cooking ribs slowly, they've always come out dry or chewy (or both). I finally found a way to make flawless ribs that are full of flavor, juicy, and falling off the bone. As I said before...

Ribs are the one thing I've found that actually cook better fast rather than slow. Here's my three step process for cooking ribs:

1) SMOKE. I'll season and smoke my ribs (usually with hickory and maple woods) for 2-3 hours. (You could skip this step and just season and add liquid smoke on the next step if you don't have a smoker, but it won't be quite as flavorful.)

2) BAKE. Then I'll put them on a rack in a big pan with a little water at the bottom, cover them in aluminum foil, and bake them at 400 for about an hour, until the meat is pulling away from the bone. (You can refrigerate them for later use at this point.)

3) GRILL. Then, I'll finish them for about 15 minutes on the grill, basting them in BBQ sauce.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

That's generally true, but ribs are one exception I've found. From my many attempts at cooking ribs slowly, they've always come out dry or chewy (or both).

Which is why I wrap the ribs in foil and for the first part of the cooking, meat side down, until the meat pulls away from bone.

Actually, I usually do a loose wrap so that the smoke can penetrate.

*******

I've done ribs similar to what you describe, and they're tasty, but I've found they don't acquire a deep grilling flavor. They come out like baked ribs that have had a touch of grilling.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

That's generally true, but ribs are one exception I've found. From my many attempts at cooking ribs slowly, they've always come out dry or chewy (or both). I finally found a way to make flawless ribs that are full of flavor, juicy, and falling off the bone. As I said before...

Agreed...to a point.


I make killer ribs on the Weber kettle, whether I cook them for 1 1/2 hrs or using the Smokenator for 6+ hrs. They pretty much turn out the same, either way, so I don't bother smoking ribs anymore.

Brisket, on the other hand, must be cooked low and slow. Even a small one, (5-7lbs), typically takes between 10 & 12 hrs with the Smokenator. Even when smoking a brisket, I wrap it tightly in foil when it hits the 165 degree mark until it's finished