Bill Gillespie - Hot and Fast BBQ on Your Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker: Master the Quickest Method to Smoking Mouthwatering Meats

BESTSELLING AUTHOR and AWARD-WINNING PITMASTER

WITH TIM OKEEFE

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I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED ME FROM THE BEGINNING

Ever since the dawn of time when man first began cooking meat over an open fire, weve been constantly trying to improve on this concept.

Next to chili, barbecue is the most proprietary food on planet Earth. Everyone has at least one secret ingredient from generations gone by that supposedly gives that extra edge.

You know the drill.

How can we all take essentially the same spice ingredients in preparing a rub, apply it to the protein of choice, labor over the fire and have some turn out so badly youre ashamed of it and some turn out so incredibly slap-your-mama-on-Christmas-Day-Sunday-melt-in-your-mouth delicious?

Ask Bill Gillespie.

Bill is the award-winning pitmaster of Smokin Hoggz BBQ, and hes been doing it low and slow for well over 25 years.

When I say, Hes been doing it well, I mean hes been doing it extremely well.

As a Master of Ceremonies, Ive personally handed Bill over $25,000 in first-place prize winnings at The Jack, plus thousands upon thousands of dollars in lower place winnings and ancillary prizes.

Seriously, his truck and wallet are always heavier when leaving Lynchburg, Tennessee, not to mention other locations where Bill and his team are firing up their grills.

Bill and his Smokin Hoggz team have competed in more than 200 contests covering 20 states and Canada.

Since forming the Smokin Hoggz team in 2008, hes cooked his way into a whopping 35 Grand Championships and 22 Reserve Grand Championships, not to mention more than 140 overall top-ten finishes. Plus, well over 400 individual category wins in chicken, ribs, pork and brisket.

Oh yeah, hes also won numerous dessert awards, including a first place, perfect-perfect score of 180!

I could go on to tell you Bill and Smokin Hoggz have been named team of the year multiple times by the Northeast BBQ Society.

I could also tell you theyve repeatedly been honored by the Kansas City Barbecue Society as a top-ten Team of the Year, or theyve cooked a number of times at the American Royal Invitational World Series of Barbecue in Kansas City, Missouri. The list of accolades goes on, but you get the picture.

Bill and his team have an impressive barbecue rsum, no doubt. But to me, one of the truly striking things about Bill Gillespie is this: His love and knowledge of barbecue is so wide-ranging, hes forgotten more about this art form than most of us will ever know, and he is willing and able to share it with future and current generations. In fact, he knows sharing that knowledge is one of the fundamental keys to furthering this food form we all love.

And make no mistake, creating great barbecue is a combination of hard work, science, art and love.

Bill Gillespie works a crowd the same way he works a pitwith total ease and confidenceand he does it simultaneously.

Hes always happy to dispense cooking tips to friends and competitors alike, and his words of advice are highly treasured among those less skilled and gifted. Bill knowsinstinctively knowsthat cooking with a live fire is a craft unto itself, built on tradition and truly mastered by few.

For many folks, barbecue is anything cooked over a flame of any sort, or even worse, the actual piece of equipment used to cook on.

Think back to the movie Crocodile Dundee, where actor Paul Hogan says, Ill slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you.

Please.

That obviously isnt barbecue. Not even close.

In the heart of barbecue country, and especially on the circuit itself, barbecue is not just food; its a staple of life. Its a necessity. Its a social event and a reason to gather with family and friendsmaybe even some friends we havent yet met!

Barbecue is a love language all its own, and seeing a personal creation going from the grill to the palate is a pleasure for all. It lifts the spirits and brings a gleam to the eye and a smile to the heart. It is truly food for the soul.

Barbecue as a whole wouldnt be where it is today without the dreams, visions and accomplishments of Bill Gillespie.

CHIP CHAPMAN

Master of Ceremonies
Jack Daniels World Invitational Barbecue

The Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker remains one of the best outdoor cookers on the market today. Im not endorsed by Weber, but Ive been active on the competition barbecue circuit for about fifteen years. When I first started competing, I used a WSM, and numerous competition cooks still use them today. The price point and quality of this product makes it accessible to most backyard cooking enthusiasts, and its ability to produce consistent results makes it a worthwhile expense.

The WSM is comprised of three primary sections: the base, the middle and the lid. Each section is porcelain enameled, which means the smoker is easy to clean, highly resistant to corrosion and retains heat fairly well.

The base of the WSM contains a metal ring that houses lit charcoal. The base of each model has three vents, the 14-inch (36-cm) and 18-inch (46-cm) model have three holes per vent, and the 22-inch (56-cm) model has four holes per vent that control airflow. The amount of oxygen that reaches the hot coals directly influences the overall cooking temperature of the smoker. For the hot-and-fast cooking method, you want to keep the bottom vents open about three-quarters of the way during the cooking process.

The middle section contains two cooking grates and a water pan. While the water pan can help create a moist cooking environment, its main purpose is to act as a heat sink that helps stabilize and maintain the smokers internal cooking temperature. For the hot-and-fast cooking method, you cook with a dry and more direct heat. Do not fill the water pan with water. Its also a good idea to cook on the top cooking grate because the top grate runs about 15 to 20F (8 to 12C) hotter than the lower cooking grate, when using the empty water pan.

The lid contains one air vent. This vent usually remains fully open and is crucial for sustaining the hot charcoal and channeling smoke through the cooker. As smoke flows through the cooker, it imparts flavor to food.

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