Favorite BBQ spot???

[RadicalModerate]

Yeah . . . Giada is OK . . . (except for her head is maybe half a size to big for her tiny frame and she persists in launching into that annoying semi-phony "italian" pronunciation thing on ingredients =) have you tried Lydia/Lydia's Italy? On CREATE? Far more "authenically" Italian. =) Yet . . . this is about BBQ. Local BBQ.

(Did you ever read Joe Bob Briggs' discussion on the difference between BBQ and Bar-B-Que? It is a classic. =)
(But I digress . . . He is a Texan.)

Excellent Method for the Chicken.
Key Point on Chicken: 160, internal.
Trust me on this. (you really don't want to personally experience salmonella sickness. trust me. for real.)
(and so that whatever it is that hits the plate in Inuit Villages in Alaska (e.g. Whales) and Former Viking Settlements in Iceland (e.g. "preserved" rotten shark meat) can be disqualified =)

While Chicken has legs unlike a fish or a "seafood" . . . somehow i have some difficulty associating it with BBQ... yet I once ordered the Chicken at Oklahoma Station and it was real good. So who am I to judge?

Maybe Authentic BBQ should only include land-dwelling mammals without feathers?
(cooked low and slow over tree by-products with a fire started with a broken piece of glass and the sun =)

(i sure hope some PETArianVegans are reading this. not out of meanness, just for fun . . .
"diner": "Oh! I just love this garnish for my lentils . . . Is it Wasabi?
"server": No, ma'am . . . We call it Soylent . . . Soylent green. Would you like some Liquid Smoke? Can I bring you another tortilla? or would you prefer some PITA bread? perhaps a bit of Worchestershire sauce? . . . perhaps with the organic virtual anchovies made from discarded allergy preventing peanuts?)

[Roger S]

I don't post much but have to disagree with your one hour rule. Primarily when it comes to boneless skinless chicken breasts. They take about 45 minutes @225.

...

To me the key is to pull the breasts with a temp between 157-160, wrap them in foil, and let them sit for at least 10 minutes. So is a smoked chicken breast considered que?

Well I usually cook mine to an internal temp of 155 and it takes me longer than an hour. So..... yeah I consider it Q.

I also brine any poultry I smoke.

[Sooner_Fan]

Excellent Method for the Chicken.
Key Point on Chicken: 160, internal.
Trust me on this. (you really don't want to personally experience salmonella sickness. trust me. for real.)

While Chicken has legs unlike a fish or a "seafood" . . . somehow i have some difficulty associating it with BBQ... but I once ordered the Chicken at Oklahoma Station and it was real good. So who am I to judge?

I agree on the 160 internal and allowing it to rest wrapped in foil will take it above the 160 mark.

Also, isn't the 160 rule for the breast/white meat? I was always told that the thighs need to be cooked to 180ish? Is that not the rule anymore?

I really enjoy smoked chicken it is hard to find good smoked chicken. Bubba's (when it was on 39th/Portland) had a Thursday (I think) special of 1/2 smoked chicken and it was very consistent and good. Had to get there early as the chicken's would usually run out.

[Roger S]

OKBBQEA: I'll bet you can answer this question that I've wondered about for some time . . .

Did this place change ownership two or three years ago?

Don't quote me on this one but I believe I saw an article about that long ago that talked about the ownership changing there. Now the reason I'm saying don't quote me is because I believe Jack's BBQ on 39th Expressway changed hands about the same time and that may be what I'm remembering.

[RadicalModerate]

Brining is [g-ds] Gift to Modern Poultry and Pork.
(except, of course, to the Salt Intolerant)

And thanks to Swadley's BBQ for pointing out this simple reality to the dining public on their most recent TV ads.
(as well as to The Laborers in The Salt and Vinegar Mines--and sugar cane/beet fields--who help make Brining Possible. =)

Never had a bad meal at Swadley's either. =)
(mebbe a little more spendy that what i would ordinarily spend for a quick lunch . . . but a fair price for tasty Q)

Thank goodness, people are finally learning the truth supporting Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs. =)

I don't know how to cook . . . Yet I feel "Self-Actualized" . . . on account of I am polite to ALL of those involved in putting this BBQ on my plate . . . without bitching or being unreasonable. =)

"Jack's" on 39th was OK . . . (appropriately greasy walls, etc.)
but it went away a long time before the aforementioned changes at Oklahoma Station #1 . . .

P.S.: I once tried the Alton Brown Method of "BBQ"-Ribs in foil in the oven . . .
Fuggedabouit. =) I would much rather do the Ina Garten version of Short Ribs for Company. (not BBQ)
Dang . . . I've got a chicken breast in the fridge and at least three frozen Italian sausages in the freezer . . . Sounds like time to begin preparin' t' crank up the Weber Smoky Joe (NOT BBQ =) fer dinner t'night . . . Might even run up to the store for a Butternut Squash or sumpin' as a side dish . . . =)

[ctchandler]

OK BBQ Eater Anonymous and RadicalModerate,
Jack's started with (who else) Jack, who then sold it and due to a "do not compete" clause in the sale opened a diner on 50th close to Meridian or MacArthur. When the five year DNC restriction was over, he opened Oklahoma Station. I have heard that he sold it after the Oklahoma Station in Edmond folded. He was certainly old enough to retire, so I suspect the person that said he sold it is correct. Now, as for the Brinkman style smoker, I have been to a Kansas City BBQ cookoff and one contestant had some excellent food coming out of his.
C. T.

Don't quote me on this one but I believe I saw an article about that long ago that talked about the ownership changing there. Now the reason I'm saying don't quote me is because I believe Jack's BBQ on 39th Expressway changed hands about the same time and that may be what I'm remembering.

[ctchandler]

By the way, I watched an Alton Brown show where he made his smoker with a hot plate, water soaked wood and I believe an old refrigerator. Also, if BBQ is a preparation method, why can't you BBQ anything edible, meat, fruit, vegetables, et al?
C. T.

[RadicalModerate]

Thank You C.T.! (after George's on Kelly, Tom's at the Interstate, and Beasley's on 63rd all went away, there was/IS Oklahoma Station--why am I not surprised that it had a connection with another excellent place?)

Now . . . To the point: BBQ is shorthand for Bar-B-Q which is another version of Barbeque which is different from other spellings including, but not limited to, barbecoa (as if they spoke or typed english =) . . . and since it is actually a method rather than a product, there is no reason anything can't be BBQ'd . . . except for most produce won't stand up to the long cooking times (plantains/yams/coconuts?) without accidentally turning into sauce which we all know can detract from the quality of the primary ingredient which is usually a dense, protein-based substance. It would be possible to BBQ Spam, but it wouldn't be the same. =)

[Roger S]

It would be possible to BBQ Spam, but it wouldn't be the same. =)

LOL.... I do BBQ Spam.

[ctchandler]

RadicalModerate,
WOW, I don't know many folks that ate at Ray's Sewer Service! The current occupant of George's on Kelly. Did you ever try Johnson's on Britton road, just West of Penn, or Portland Avenue BBQ at 23rd and Portland? And of course, the Hickory House on 25th and South Western.
C. T.

(after George's on Kelly, Tom's at the Interstate, and Beasley's on 63rd all went away, there was/IS Oklahoma Station--why am I not surprised that it had a connection with another excellent place?)

[RadicalModerate]

I used to know a guy--a licensed plumber--who worked for Rays. Rays was always just south of the former location of Georges BBQ on Kelly.
Maybe Ray's expanded? Butt who knows? =)

Point is . . . My old plumber buddy said that the nastiest grease traps in town were at Sleepy Hollow (on 50th).
And Sleepy Hollow had nothing directly to do with BBQ.

[BlackmoreRulz]

Giada - nothing to add.

I'll see your Giada and raise you with a Nadia G

[RadicalModerate]

LOL.... I do BBQ Spam.

Well . . . There you have it: Cross-Cultural Culinary Awareness based on the favorite commodity of The Islanders (specifically The Hawaiians).
Prior to the Advent of The Cargo Cults, Hawaiians had to be content with pit roasted pigs/andor fish. Then . . . as if by a miracle . . . Spam came on the scene (via airplane) straight from the Austin, Minnesota Homeplace of Spam direct to the beach party/luau next door. Like Walt Disney said: It's a big wide, wonderful world. I draw the line at BBQd Tofurky. =)

[BlackmoreRulz]

I bought a Primo XL a year ago, after the electric smoker I had used for a couple of years died. Faced with replacing it and the gas grill that was on its final days, I took the plunge and spent the money...definitely the best investment I have ever made in the bbq/grill department. I'll never have to buy another one.

After years of experimentation I can make some dang good Q now.

[kevinpate]

I'll see your Giada and raise you with a Nadia G

You can have Nadia G. I couldn't make it through the episode I tried to watch.
Horrid voice and even worse camera presence. May be a good cook, but ick as to the presentation.

[boscorama]

Dayum! I've never had nor used a smoker but now I want one. Currently I cook chicken in the crockpot but I'm ready to toss that mf out!

Please, Christmas, don't be late.

[RadicalModerate]

I wonder if the definition of BBQue could be stretched to include this . . .

(man, i love rotissere chicken . . . no matter how it's spelled. =)

I've never had a Grille/Cooker with a rotating spit so I know what I've been missing.
(be sure to share that with Santa....=)

Steve Raichlen also sort of knows how to cook other things this way.
It's an interesting and informative program. =)
(one MORE reason to support Public Broadcasting!)

[kevinpate]

lol. reminded me of this old shirt image:

http://s.ecrater.com/stores/70443/49...b6a_70443n.jpg

[Larry OKC]

My grandmother had what had to have been a top of the line gas stove at the time, had a rotisserie attachment/separate section of the oven. In the 40 +/- years she had it, she never had used it. Parts were still in their original wrapping. She used the space for vertical storage of pizza pans and cookie sheets. She was an excellent cook and wad a large family. Not really sure why she never used it. When the rest of the stove gave up the ghost, we looked for a replacement that had one/same footprint but couldn't locate one> Suppose a commercial one might have been around but would have been way out of my parents price range.

Radical: I don't think it is much of a stretch as I have seen many a BBQ grill with rotisserie attachments.

[Dubya61]

OKCBBQEA: Liked your review (Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: YOU COULD SCORE A HOMERUN AT COACH'S) of Coach's in Bricktown (bet they did, too). I was looking around your blog for Van's, and only saw your review of the Moore location (Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT A GOOD TIMES VAN'S PIG STAND? -- which favorably mentioned the Shawnee location on Harrison). I've been to the four Van's locations and agree with you that each has their own personality. I like the food from the original location on Highland in Shawnee, myself. Have you been to that one? If distance didn't matter, I would always pick that Van's over the others. I couldn't find a review for Mr. Spriggs on your blog. Have you tried that one? It's another favorite for me. Their pulled pork sandwich is a real winner.

[RadicalModerate]

Mr. Spriggs (formerly of S. Air Depot down by 29th St./also on Lincoln Blvd.) and Mr. T's (of NE 23rd St. out around Post Rd.) could be ranked way up on The Pantheon of OKCBBQ except for they are taking aerial photographs of the roof of that pantheon. In fact, either of "the cousins" could probably coach Coachs. That's how good all of them are. =)

[Roger S]

OKCBBQEA: Liked your review (Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: YOU COULD SCORE A HOMERUN AT COACH'S) of Coach's in Bricktown (bet they did, too). I was looking around your blog for Van's, and only saw your review of the Moore location (Oklahoma BBQ Eaters Anonymous: WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT A GOOD TIMES VAN'S PIG STAND? -- which favorably mentioned the Shawnee location on Harrison). I've been to the four Van's locations and agree with you that each has their own personality. I like the food from the original location on Highland in Shawnee, myself. Have you been to that one? If distance didn't matter, I would always pick that Van's over the others. I couldn't find a review for Mr. Spriggs on your blog. Have you tried that one? It's another favorite for me. Their pulled pork sandwich is a real winner.

Thanks for the kudos!

I have not tried the location on Highland yet but I have a Shawnee run in the planning stages. I forget all the names but I think counting the two Van's locations there are 5 places I want to try there.

I have been a fan of Mr. Spriggs since they were located in the little white run down shack that was located near Air Depot and 29th prior to the Town Center being built. I am not a big fan of their pulled pork (unless it has changed in the last year it is the chopped, folded, spindled, mutilated pulled pork I rant about on my blog all the time) but I do love their ribs and chopped brisket and I never pass up the sweet potato pie. I also like the 911 sauce and I recommend using the macaroni salad to help temper the heat of it.

[Roger S]

Mr. Spriggs (formerly of S. Air Depot down by 29th St./also on Lincoln Blvd.) and Mr. T's (of NE 23rd St. out around Post Rd.) could be ranked way up on The Pantheon of OKCBBQ except for they are taking aerial photographs of the roof of that pantheon. In fact, either of "the cousins" could probably coach Coachs. That's how good all of them are. =)

Mr. Tee's will always have a fond spot in my heart. While my last visit wasn't as good as the past (new owners) I lived walking distance from them at a time in my life when eating BBQ was a luxury. I could afford to eat a chopped brisket sandwich with some macaroni salad from Mr. Tee's about once a week.

[Rom]

if you take a Shawnee run, make sure you go to Rob's Smokehouse. Great smoked chicken, good brisket except they only serve it chopped, and pretty good ribs
I like it much more than Vans