Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons (12 page)

BOOK: Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons

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For the kettle, pour all the marinade into one zip-top bag.

Add two chicken halves to each bag and press the air out of the bags and seal. Place the bags in a large bowl or on a rimmed baking sheet to catch drips. Allow the chicken to marinate for 4 to 6 hours in the refrigerator, turning the bags once or twice to redistribute the marinade.

FRENCH MARINADE

Smoked chicken probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of French cuisine, but the classic flavors translate well in barbecue. The French also have a history with this style of cooking—thanks to Catherine de Médicis’s culinary influence—called de barbe et queue (“beard to tail”). Sound familiar? The WSM and offset recipe makes enough for four chicken halves and the kettle recipe for two chicken halves.

WSM AND OFFSET

MAKES ABOUT 3¼ CUPS

1¼ cups olive oil
¾ cup champagne vinegar
¼ cup chopped shallot
¼ cup Italian flat-leaf parsley,
stemmed and chopped
15 whole peppercorns or 2 teaspoons
freshly ground black pepper
1 shallot, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 bay leaves, crumbled
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

KETTLE

MAKES A GENEROUS 2 CUPS

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
2 tablespoons Italian flat-leaf parsley,
stemmed and chopped
7 whole peppercorns or 1 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
½ shallot, chopped
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped

In a medium bowl, whisk all of the ingredients together until the mixture is blended.

For the WSM or offset, divide the marinade between two one-gallon zip-top bags.

For the kettle, pour all the marinade into one zip-top bag.

BUILD- YOUR-OWN MARINADE TEMPLATE

WHAT IS A MARINADE? NOTHING MORE
than a seasoned, acidic liquid that lends flavor to and tenderizes the meat. This simple liquid is, at its most basic, a mixture of two parts oil to one part acid. Got that? 2:1. Oil is a straightforward ingredient. It’s oil. I recommend using canola because it has a neutral flavor and it’s inexpensive. Cheap olive oil works fine, too. Acid, on the other hand, comes in many forms. Vinegar. Lemon juice. Mustard. There are many possibilities in the realm of acidic flavoring. Extra dashes of herbs or spices are also added to a marinade to infuse the meat with deeper and more complex flavors.

So the real question is, how do you make marinade? Now that you’ve made a few of the marinade recipes (because you’re still practicing Lesson #1—let’s not forget why you’re here), it’s time to gently shove you out of the nest. Stick to an approximate 2:1 oil to acid ratio, and the rest is up to you. Use this template as a guide.

OIL: 2½ CUPS

Oil is a fat, which helps to transfer the flavors of the marinade seasoning to the meat. To make four cups of marinade, you need to use about two and a half cups of oil. Canola and inexpensive olive oil are the ones I use most, but you can experiment with other light, neutral oils like grapeseed, safflower, and sunflower oil if you have those lying around the kitchen. I don’t recommend using heavy, flavorful oils like corn or peanut oil in a marinade. The large amount required to make four cups of marinade will completely overwhelm the other flavors. Highly flavorful oils are best used as a seasoning. Sesame oil, for example, is very potent, but used sparingly—one or two tablespoons in one and a half cups canola oil—it imparts flavor without drowning out others. Remember to subtract the amount of seasoning oil you use from the amount of neutral oil in the marinade.

ACID: 1¼ CUPS

When balanced with oil, the acid in a marinade causes the tissue in meat to break down, which lets in more moisture and gives the meat a juicy, tender texture. Too much acid in a marinade, however, can toughen the proteins in meat. You can use a single acid, or mix them up—mustard and wine, for example—to get even more variety. Keep in mind that yogurt, papaya, pineapple, ginger, and kiwifruit contain protease enzymes that can turn your meat mushy if you marinate in these liquids too long. Use smaller amounts—one-quarter to one-half cup—mixed with other acids and cut your marinating time by half.

SUGGESTED OILS
AND
ACIDS

BASE

OILS
ACIDS
Canola
Vinegar
Grapeseed
Apple cider
Olive
Champagne
Safflower
Tarragon
Sunflower
Non-Vinegar
Buttermilk
FLAVORED OILS
Yogurt
Herb-infused
Wine
Pepper-infused
Red wine
Toasted sesame
Rice wine
White wine

SEASONING

CITRUS JUICE
FRUIT OR
Lemon juice
VEGETABLE
Orange juice
JUICE
Lime juice
Unsweetened cranberry juice
Sour orange juice
Grapefruit juice
Pineapple juice
Yuzu juice
Mango juice
Tomato juice
OTHER
Soy sauce
Hot pepper sauce

OILS	ACIDS
Canola	Vinegar
Grapeseed	Apple cider
Olive	Champagne
Safflower	Tarragon
Sunflower	Non-Vinegar
Buttermilk
FLAVORED OILS	Yogurt
Herb-infused	Wine
Pepper-infused	Red wine
Toasted sesame	Rice wine
White wine

CITRUS JUICE	FRUIT OR
Lemon juice	VEGETABLE
Orange juice	JUICE
Lime juice	Unsweetened cranberry juice
Sour orange juice
Grapefruit juice	Pineapple juice
Yuzu juice	Mango juice
Tomato juice
OTHER
Soy sauce
Hot pepper sauce

SEASONING:

1 TABLESPOON KOSHER SALT, PLUS ¼ TO ½ CUP HERBS OR SPICES

Oil and acid will contribute some flavor to a marinade, but they’re mostly conduits for transferring the flavor of the seasonings to the meat. Not to be hyperbolic, but the sky’s the limit with the type of herb, spice, aromatic, vegetable, or mineral you use in a marinade. This is where you get to start figuring out these things for yourself. If you like oregano, use oregano. Basil? Tamarind? Herbes de Provence? Whatever.

The quantity of any seasoning absolutely depends on the strength of the seasoning and the types and amounts of any other seasonings in the marinade.

TIME:
4 TO 6 HOURS

For an acidic marinade, 4 to 6 hours might seem like a long time. It’s true that too much acid can make for chewy meat, and certain types of acids—those that break down protein with enzymes—can lead to mush. This longer suggested marinating time is based on using a well-balanced marinade that isn’t too acidic. You’re also using skin-on chicken halves, which are bigger and require more marinating time than the smaller cuts of chicken used in other recipes.

MARINATING TIPS

• Emulsify the marinade in a blender if it does not contain whole aromatics, herbs, or spices.
• Always marinate in a non-reactive plastic, such as the one-gallon zip-top bags I suggest, or a glass or ceramic container. The acid in a marinade will react with aluminum and can cause off flavors in the marinated meat.
• Cover and refrigerate meat while it marinates.
• If you plan to baste with your marinade or use it as a condiment, set aside ¼ to ½ cup of the marinade before you pour it over the raw meat to prevent cross-contamination.

DEAR STUDENT,

YOU’VE LEARNED A FEW THINGS, GRASSHOPPER. AT THIS POINT, YOU SHOULD understand the fundamentals of building a clean-burning fire in your cooker and maintaining it for at least two to three hours. Hopefully you learned something about the chemistry of a marinade and how to make your own from scratch, too. You’ve laid a foundation of low and slow skills on which you will build with each lesson in the program.

Notice that I am not giving you a roster of sauces and condiments for your smoked chicken. You’ve learned enough already, and making barbecue sauce is a task you’ll take on in Lesson #2 (page 104)–when you fully understand when and how to use one. In the meantime, I figure you probably have a favorite go-to sauce. If you need to douse your beautifully smoked chicken in something, use that one. Or try the Alabama White Sauce (page 105)–it’s like an un-barbecue sauce.

Right now, I want you to practice more cooks and let what you’ve learned so far sink in slowly. Do it enough times so that it becomes second nature to you.

Congratulations,

Gary Wiviott

LOW & SLOW QUIZ: LESSON 1

There is no grade curve for this quiz. If you get more than two answers wrong, re-read chapters 1 through 3 and complete the first cook at least two more times before proceeding to Lesson #2.

1. Every time you open the cooker for no good reason, the stabilized temperature drops and the cook time is extended by . . .
a. 5 to 10 minutes
b. 15 to 20 minutes
c. 30 minutes
d. 1 hour

2. Why is it important to use three sheets of loosely rolled newspaper to light the chimney starter?

3. Charcoal briquettes burn faster and cleaner than any other type of charcoal. True or False?

4. Most barbecue “experts” recommend soaking wood in water to extend its burn time, but adding wet wood to a fire also . . .
a. causes the wood to smolder and produce tar
b. decreases the temperature in the cooker
c. smothers the fire
d. all of the above