Bobi's Pit Recipes

Before You Light the Fire

Bobi's four rules.

1. Salt it the night before.

Put your salt (or a rub with salt in it) on 12 to 24 hours ahead. The salt works its way in overnight and helps the meat hang on to its juice when the heat hits it.

2. Let it sit out a spell.

Pull the meat from the fridge 30 to 45 minutes before it goes on. Ice-cold meat on a hot grate tightens right up and pushes its juice out. Give it a little time to warm up.

3. Peel the ribs.

Flip a rack over. See that thin, shiny skin across the bones? Work a butter knife under one corner, grab it with a paper towel, and pull. Leave it on and your rub can't get in, and it cooks up tough as a boot.

4. Go easy on the sour stuff.

Vinegar, lemon, lime and buttermilk are good for chicken and thin steaks. But 2 to 4 hours is plenty. Leave it overnight and the meat turns soft and mealy.

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Bobi's House Rub

Stir it together and keep it in a jar with a tight lid. Makes enough for a couple of cooks.

The sugar gives you that dark, sticky bark. The paprika gives you the color. Everything else is just good sense.

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Bobi's Brisket

The big one. Plan on a whole day and most of a night.

Trim it cold.

Keep the brisket in the fridge right up until you trim. Cold fat cuts clean; warm fat smears. Lay it fat side down first. Cut off the silvery skin and any big hunks of hard fat on the meat side. There's a thick half-moon of fat where the two muscles meet – shave it down until the point and the flat run smooth into each other. Square up the thin edges so they don't burn. Turn it over and trim the fat cap down to about a quarter inch all over.

Season it.

Mix the salt, pepper and garlic in a shaker or an old spice jar and shake it on every side, nice and even. That's it. A good brisket doesn't need much.

Smoke it.

Get your smoker steady at 225°, with the fire off to the side and hardwood making the smoke. Set the brisket on with the thick end (the point) toward the fire – it can take the extra heat. Shut the lid and leave it be until the thickest part reads 165°. Figure on about 8 hours.

Wrap it.

Roll out a big sheet of butcher paper, set the brisket in the middle, and fold it up tight on all sides so nothing leaks. Put it back on seam side down – its own weight holds the paper shut.

Finish it.

Keep the pit at 225° and cook until the thickest part hits 202°. That can take another 5 to 8 hours. Don't rush it.

Rest it, then slice.

Let it sit on the cutting board for a full hour. Then slice the flat and the point across the grain with your sharpest knife and serve it right away.

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Bobi's Pulled Pork

If you only ever smoke one thing, make it this. It forgives just about everything.

(Yes, Bobi is a hog. He's made his peace with it.)

1. If you've got an injector, shoot some apple juice into the shoulder in a few spots. Skip it if you don't.
2. Smear a thin coat of plain yellow mustard all over. You won't taste it – it's just glue to make the rub stick. Then pack on a good, heavy coat of rub.
3. Smoke it fat side up at 250° until the middle reads 165°. That's usually 5 to 6 hours.
4. Wrap it up tight in butcher paper or foil and put it back on.
5. Keep going until it reads 203°. That's the magic number – the tough stuff inside finally melts and the meat falls apart.
6. Wrap the whole bundle in a towel, set it in an empty cooler, and close the lid. Let it rest at least an hour. Then pull it apart with two forks (or your hands, if you've got gloves).

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Bobi's Baby Backs

Three hours, two hours, one hour. Easy to remember.

First 3 hours – smoke.

Heat the smoker to 225°. Rub the ribs all over and lay them on bone side down. Leave them alone for 3 hours.

Next 2 hours – wrap.

Tear off a big sheet of foil. Put down a few pats of butter, a squeeze of honey and a splash of apple juice, then lay the ribs meat side down on top. Wrap them up tight and back on the heat for 2 hours.

Last hour – sauce.

Open the foil carefully – it's full of hot steam. Paint the ribs with plenty of sauce and put them back on unwrapped for 1 hour, until the sauce sets up sticky and dark.

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Bobi's Crispy Chicken Quarters

Smoke for flavor, then blast it hot at the end. That's how you beat rubbery skin.

1. Dry the skin completely with paper towels. Wet skin never crisps.
2. Give it a light coat of oil or spray, then plenty of rub.
3. Get the pit going at 275° with apple, pecan or hickory.
4. Lay the quarters on skin side up and don't touch them for an hour. After that hour, a quick spray of cooking spray (or duck fat, if you're fancy) helps the skin along.
5. When they reach about 160° inside, turn the heat way up to 400–425°, or slide them over the hot coals, for the last 5 to 10 minutes.
6. Take them off at 175° to 185°. That sounds high, but dark meat loves it – it only gets juicier and more tender.

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