The Perfect BBQ in Three Simple Steps

To a purist, BBQ is all about slow cooking. This generally means using either a smoker or a grill with a large surface and a snug lid. Your goal is to keep the food separated from the direct heat. You can do this by rearranging the briquettes, or by having a flame on only one side of the grill. This produces a section of low heat that lets you implement the first of three steps to a perfect BBQ: infusing.

The objective of infusing is to allow all the flavor of the meat to penetrate below the surface before it seals up through the cooking process. The rub, sauce, fat and juices mix with the smoke and heat to produce a complex interaction inside the meat. Both surface and interior fats melt away and the particles become part of the external layer. Now the conditions are right for the spread of flavor compounds throughout the meat. Some killer BBQ is right around the corner.

During the second step, the actuall cooking happens, and this usually takes a while. As the interior temperature of the meat climbs, proteins break down and become amino acids. Sugars convert into particles that add a sweet taste. Salt gets ionized and enzymes speed up. The end result of all these processes is a piece of meat that has been transformed into a mouthwatering delicacy.

The smoke from any wood elements in your fire will enhance the flavor of the meat throughout this step. The meat seals itself and internal juices are preserved, heated up and altered. During this phase, the meat will spend the most time cooking. You need to keep the temperature lower than what you'd cook with indoors.

After the interior temperature of the meat gets to 200F, it's ready to be taken off the smoker or BBQ grill.

During the third step, your meat finishes cooking. While it cools down, there is still sufficient internal heat to keep altering the structure of the meat slightly. Your meat can tenderize even further during this stage, resulting in a mouth watering piece of meat.

When the temperature drops below 165F, it's ready to serve. Make a cut to check the color. Beef should be dark red in color, while chicken should be white with clear juices. Pork should be a grayish white. The taste should be subtle and it should have an easy to chew consistency.

And voila, the perfect BBQ.