Smokehouse Style BBQ Tips & Tricks

BBQ from a handmade, custom smoker is perfect any time of the year. Fall off the bone ribs, tender brisket, and smoky pulled pork sliders – with a cold beer and a side of perfection. What more could one ask for?

Enter Las Vegas’ new hit BBQ restaurant, Pot Liquor CAS (Contemporary American Smokehouse) they’ve got a smoker from Ole Hickory Pits in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

 
Nicknamed “Big Bank Hank” after Henry Perry, the father of modern BBQ, the behemoth is capable of smoking 90 spares, 120 baby backs, 40 briskets, 40 butts, 20 turkeys or 2 entire hogs at one time. Wow!

But if your means are a little more modest, check out these tasty tips to get your backyard barbecue going – outdoors or in – during your favorite sports seasons.

Real Smoke Flavor

Soak some wood chips (you can buy them at many specialty cooking and food stores) for 15 minutes and then wrap them in aluminum foil. Poke a couple of holes in the foil and toss the packet directly on your coals when grilling. Make sure the fire isn’t too hot underneath whatever you are cooking and leave the lid on the grill whenever possible to get good smoke flavor.

Good Dry Rub

The basis for a great rub is salt and sugar. At Pot Liquor CAS, they use three different kinds of sugar in our rub to give it a great taste and develop a nice crust on the meat. Other ingredients to throw in there are black pepper, onion and/or garlic powder, a variety of dried chili peppers and dried herbs. Make variety of mixes and keep experimenting until you get one you really like.

Keep it Nice and Saucy

Making your own BBQ sauce is the best but the one we developed at Pot Liquor CAS has over 17 ingredients. That might be a bit much for your average home cook meal. A quick easy fix is to doctor up your personal favorite store bought sauce. You would be surprised what kind of an effect adding one or two ingredients will have on just about any BBQ sauce. Spice it up by adding chipotle or Sriracha. If you’re not a fan of spice, add a shot of your favorite bourbon or whiskey. Adding a little bit of maple syrup, apple juice, honey, soy sauce or hoisin will all add some unique flavors to your usual bottled barbeque sauce.

Fake It (in the Kitchen) ‘Till You Can make It

If you are stuck inside a kitchen and aren’t smoking or grilling, the best bang for your buck is braising. It’s one of their favorite cooking methods and it is a great way to prepare food for a large group along with the fact that it will hold for a while. One of their more popular dishes at Pot Liquor CAS is the Worcestershire Braised Short Rib. Anytime you are cooking low and slow (like smoking and braising) you are developing great flavor and also have the opportunity to use some less expensive cuts of meat that might not be great for the grill but once they have cooked for a few hours will be tender and delicious!

With home grilling tips like this, you’ll keep friends and family coming back for more and if you happen to be in the Las Vegas area come checkout how the pros do it at Pot Liquor CAS!