Rush Colleen - Low & slow 2: the art of barbecue, smoke-roasting, and basic curing

2015 by Gary Wiviott and Colleen Rush

Photography 2015 by Andrew Purcell

Published by Running Press,

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015934685

E-book ISBN 978-0-7624-5606-2

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing

Designed by Frances J. Soo Ping Chow

Edited by Sophia Muthuraj

Illustrations by T. L. Bonaddio

Food Stylist: Carrie Purcell

Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth

Typography: Archive, Brandon, Downcome, Hawksmoor,

ITC Berkeley, and Trade Gothic Condensed

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

What a wonderful journey since Low & Slow came out in 2009, taking me from backyard to back of the house as pitmaster of a busy BBQ restaurant in Chicago, BBQ restaurant consultant, and cofounder of the Windy City BBQ Classic. Along the way Ive met incredible people, tried the patience of my lovely, and loving, bride, made friends, and developed an even greater understanding and appreciation of collaboration. Hugs to my mother and father, supportive through thick and thin. Tip of the hat to Chicago-based journalists John Kass and Mike Sula, and never-ending appreciation to my friend, the ever-patient, organized and linear Colleen Rush, rudder to my low-and-slow BBQ ship. And finally to Ellen Wiviott, my life would be so much less... less everything without you.

Gary Wiviott

Many thanks to the devoted students of Low & Slow. You followed Garys straight and narrow path, you embraced the unorthodox structure of the program, and you made the first book a steadfast success. We owe a debt of gratitude to you, and you shall be repaid in delicious, delicious brisket. Big thanks to Dave Weiner, Edith LeBlanc, Tonette Navarro, Alex Rodriguez, Tenney Flynn, and Doug Rushthe inner circle who offered encouragement, expertise, and sweetness. To the friends and family who enjoyed the rigorous trials of recipe testing and provided solid feedbackthank you. And, Im coming over to your house for dinner tonight. To my favorite barbecue guy Gary: Just when I thought I was out... you pulled me back in. You and Ellen are family. Thanks for opening your home and food brain vault to me.

Colleen Rush

DEAR STUDENT,

NEARLY 25 YEARS AGO, MY WIFE, ELLEN, AND I WALKED OUT OF THE TITLE OFFICE where we signed the papers for our first house, and we drove directly to an Ace Hardware store to buy a classic Weber kettle grill. That night, we grilled steaks in our new backyard and slept on the floor of our furniture-less new home. Home ownership was meaningful for many reasons, but getting back to charcoal cooking after years of living in an apartment where grills were banned was pretty close to the top of the list. Ive loved grilling since I was a kid growing up in Milwaukee, when my dad boiled chicken and pork ribs, then burned them beyond recognition on a grill and drowned everything in Open Pit barbecue sauce. I still give in to a hankering for charred chicken covered in Open Pit at least once a year. Im a sentimental guy like that. Likewise, I look back on the last twenty-five years in awe of what Ive achieved by pursuing this borderline obsessive interest in charcoal cooking.

When Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons was released in 2009, I was a backyard barbecue guy at the top of my game. After years of learning, proselytizing, and teaching the art of low-and-slow cooking, my 5 Easy Lessons program went from being a bare-bones online tutorial for Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) cookers seen by a curious few to a 250-page handbook for beginners, cooks with bad barbecue habits, and everyone in between. And it worked. Low & Slow has been a steady success because no other barbecue book tackles the step-by-step, detailed process of building and maintaining a clean-burning fire in different styles of charcoal cookers.

Since the first book, Ive achieved the backyard barbecue guys ultimate dream, turning a weekend hobby into a job as a full-time pitmaster in Chicago. Its been a wild ride. And while I stand by the first books rigid do-or-die style of teaching the basics, I will say the experience in a professional kitchen has mellowed and refined my approach to barbecue and charcoal cooking even more. I still preach following each cook to a tee at first, but if youve followed Lessons 1 through 5 in the first book, I know youve got the chops to read your cooker, the charcoal, and the meat. If your instincts kick in and tell you that your brisket needs another hour or you need to adjust a vent on your cooker to stabilize the temperature... then by all means, go for it. The step-by-step time and vent instructions in the cooks are designed to keep you on track and moving in the right direction, but in charcoal cookery, no two cooks are ever identical. You always have to leave wiggle room to compensate for the many variables that can and will affect a charcoal cook: the type of cooker and charcoal youre using, the vent openings that regulate the temperature, the weather, and even the marbling in the meat.

, well go over the basics of lighting and running the most common types of charcoal cookers: the 18.5-inch and 22.5-inch Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM), the offset cooker, the 22-inch and 26-inch kettle grill, andnew to the Low & Slow familythe ceramic kamado-style Big Green Egg (BGE). Great barbecue is part instinct, part skilltraits you learn gradually in this series of cooks designed to coax you into charcoal cooking mastery.

The cooks in this book follow the same tenets of the original program, and I only ask two things of you: One, dont incorporate a hodge-podge of other barbecue and charcoal cooking techniques you cobbled together from nineteen different websites, books, or cooking shows. If you stray from the method, I cant guarantee the results. And two, dont overthink it. Follow my step-by-step methodology, and not only will you master cooking more herds, flocks, and schools, you will also reach a point of blissful nonchalance and ease in charcoal cookery. Oh, that 15-pound smoked brisket? The Norman Rockwell, perfect Thanksgiving turkey? It was nothing.