Tips and Recipes

On January 20, my wife and I helped plan, decorate, and cook for couple’s night at our church. The barbecue (yes, ‘que of course! ) turned out well, except that I totally forgot to glaze the ham with sauce and honey before serving it. Oh, well, I got quite a few good comments and no bad, so apparently it wasn’t too serious.

Whether you’re trying to plan a sweetheart banquet or just love good barbecue, you will find some great inspiration in this post. It was a bit stressful getting everything ready and I didn’t get as many pictures of the food as I wish, so I will try to fill in the blanks with my story.

My wife and I love decorating for this kind of stuff.

I made smoked ham and smoked skinless turkey breasts on my SQ36 Offset Meadow Creek Smoker. My wife planned the rest of the menu: Creamy Potato Sticks, green beans, 7-layer salad, butterhorn rolls, and three different kinds of ice cream pies. (Keep reading this post for recipes.)

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It’s a dream come true to be able to post new recipes and tips in my recipe library and here on my blog. Last week I finally got around to writing down my tips for smoking split bone-in chicken breasts. We’ve been cooking them about as long as we’ve been into low and slow barbecue, and I’ve learned a few tips and tricks that can help you crank out amazing barbecue very quickly and get raving reviews from your friends and customers.

Cooking outrageous barbecue is very easy if you listen to people with experience or follow their advice. On the other hand, making dog food is also very easy. I’m here to help you cut through trial and error and get right down to awesomeness.

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I look at the date of my last post and realize with horror that it’s been three months since I poked my head out and wrote. I realize I have just spent 90 days training you to think my blog is dead and not worth coming back to. [Shudders!] Well, I am about to turn this blog around and retrain your thoughts so that you will love to return often and read the latest and greatest. That is how it should be, right?

Today, I want to kick it off by sharing my goals for the future here at Yoder’s Smoky Mountain Barbecue. There is no denying, I want to keep selling lots of Meadow Creek smokers and grills. Nothing new about that. Beyond that, I have a passion to teach barbecue—the real thing, the kind that flavors up your life, and gets people talking (and eating)! There is much to be taught and smelled and experienced. This year, Lord willing, we will be pushing out regular recipes, tips, and training, including HD videos showing how we cook around here.

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Believe it or not, I remember when I didn’t know what an offset smoker was. Maybe you’re new to barbecue smokers too and don’t know what all the terms mean. In this post, I’m going to explain what an offset smoker is, how reverse flow draft works, and why you might want to invest more up-front.

An offset smoker is simply a meat smoker with a firebox beside the cooking chamber. There are of course several other common types of barbecue smokers, such as vertical smokers or even regular grills modified for smoking. But offset smokers are my favorite when it comes to cranking out authentic, southern-style barbecue.

You can pick up a cheap thin-wall offset smoker at your local Lowe’s or Home Depot. I don’t know exactly what it would run, but I think a couple hundred bucks or so would put you in business. Or you can invest in more quality (and perhaps size), such as the Meadow Creek SQ36 Offset Smoker for around a thousand dollars. The cheaper ones might last a few years before they rust out. A higher quality smoker such as a Meadow Creek, is a long-term investment that you can hand down to future generations.

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How many times have you tried to grill chicken on that trusty old grill, only to dry it out every single time? If you’re wondering how to grill chicken that turns out juicy, rest assured, you are not alone. It’s a common dilemma.

However,  the good news is that it’s not your fault. And the better news is that I can show you how to grill perfect chicken. And the best news is that it’s easy as pie. (If you do it right.)

Grilled Chicken on Meadow Creek Chicken Cooker

By the way, when I refer to chicken in this post, I’m talking about chicken halves, quarters, thighs, or legs with the skin on.

Skip this: One way to correct this problem is to precook the chicken in water on the stove. Then before it’s done cooking, remove it from the water and finish it off on the grill. I’ve done this on my gas grill already and it works. But think of it, how degrading is it to cook the chicken in water. I mean hey, we’re talking barbecue.

There is a better way. Two, actually.

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So you’re interested in finding a grill smoker combo? A grill smoker combination is especially useful for a chef with a tight budget or not a lot of extra space to store their cooker.

Let me first explain the difference between a grill and a smoker:

A barbecue grill cooks food directly over the fire. Grilling is what many Americans refer to when they say “barbecue.” Most grill foods are cooked quickly over high heat. Grill foods include burgers, steaks, and hot dogs.

A barbecue smoker uses indirect heat to cook your food low and slow. “Low and slow” with smoke is absolutely the ultimate in barbecue. Usually we smoke around 225-250 degrees F. It can take anywhere from a couple hours to 14+ hours depending what you’re cooking. Common low and slow foods include pork ribs, whole chickens, Boston butts, and beef briskets.

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