Originally Posted by Analise
Can "real" barbeque be found in Manhattan? I think I read someplace that the City Council banned restaurants in Manhattan from building their own barbeque pits because of the "health issues related to smoke". But they are allowed in Queens. I just watched the Travel Channel's episode about where to find the best bbq in the US. One thing I learned is that real bbq is slowly cooked in a pit for hours and hours. Faster cooking they refer to as "grilling". So can Dinosaur or even Virgil's be considered authentic barbeque?
Actually, there are some places that have started using high heat as the way to do their barbecue. For example, a couple of the legendary places in Texas (the one in Lockhart, darnit, whose name escapes me at the moment) smokes their brisket at 500 degrees for only four or five hours. They say there's no discernable drop-off in quality. I, however, tend not to agree. When barbecuing, you've really got to go for a lower temperature, otherwise you run a strong risk of drying out the meat and not allowing the connective tissue to break down and the fat to dissolve.
I always get a great chuckle when talking about "authentic" BBQ in NYC. I've never seen it. The places I've tried -- and are recommended by friends as "so great!" -- just don't cut it. And so many of the places that are around the country are chains, and they don't do it for me. The quality level isn't maintained in the same way. So in this one case, I'm willing to defer to the South and say, go to it, fellers, this is what you're best at. And they're mighty good at it.
But, yes, in the purest sense, grilling is high heat. Barbecuing is low heat. There are some notable exceptions to the rule, but why mess with what works so well? Keep your fire at 250 degrees, use a water pan to collect drippings and keep the air moist, and forget gas in any form. It's got to be charcoal.
My question for other folks is, what wood do you prefer as your source of smoke? I appreciate hickory a lot, but I have to say, I really like the sweetness that comes from mesquite the best.