Cheatin' Butt
It’s a brave stance in Tennessee to assert that good barbecue is perfectly possible without woodsmoke and slow fire. But Nashvillians Mindy Merrell and R.B. Quinn spent months developing “indoor” barbecue using liquid smoke flavoring and the oven, stovetop and slow cooker. Their results were compiled in a newly released book, Cheater BBQ: BBQ Anytime, Anywhere, in Any Weather.
Curious? You’re not alone: no less a barbecue aficionado than Mr. Pink was seen flipping the pages of the book.
Merrell says the book is about “barbecue diversity,” and promises that her flagship recipe, a pork barbecue made with dry rub and liquid smoke, “is the best smoked pork and no one can tell!”
Still skeptical? The proof will be in the eating, which you can do at their cooking stage appearance on the Southern Festival of Books' final day, 3 p.m. Sunday. A great time to visit the festival: parking is easier, crowds are smaller, and, most critically for the barbecue connoisseur, there’s less competition for samples.
Comments
Nothing new about this, I've been making fauxBQ in the crock pot for years. All you do is salt, pepper and liquid smoke your pork and throw it in the crockpot. Cook it until it falls apart. Then you drain off the grease, pick out any bones, fat & gristle and put it back in the crockpot. Add sauce and you're good to go. It won't make anyone forget about Martin's, but it beats the heck out of Whitt's and it's a lot less expensive...
Posted 10/10/2008 at 10:19:58 AMyou might want to improve on your dry rub - just saying... they have a few versions of rubs and sauces. trued and true.
also, there are a ton of great recipes in there. i'm cooking from the book on sunday - a 6 lb. boston butt. not my usual thing but i'll feed a crowd and finally use the crock pot i bought 6 months ago at costco and never touched...
Posted 10/10/2008 at 10:49:35 AMMindy uses a rub on her butt, then the liquid smoke. The rub seems to be key. So Claudia, a crockpot. What in the world is next: Velveeta? Should we worry?
Posted 10/10/2008 at 11:28:24 AMWhereas in my version the quality of the sauce at the end of the process is more important, particularly since a key is that you add just enough for the moist heat of the crock-pot to thicken and help it adhere to the meat. But I'm certainly open to improving the process!
Posted 10/10/2008 at 11:46:29 AMThis is not bbq it is shredded pork with bbq sauce. Just like Whitt's is a pork sandwich and not a bbq pork sandwich. If you like it that is fine, but call it what it is. Calling it bbq is a slap in the face to anyone who cooks the real deal. Especially when you try to pass it off as the real deal.
Posted 10/10/2008 at 02:45:37 PMfluff - no... you know better...
pogo - me too, always
ulika - no one is 'passing it off' as the real deal. its claim is that it tastes very close with 95% less work. i welcome this because i would never bother to deal with the authentic process. i think "indoor" kind of says it all...
Posted 10/10/2008 at 07:06:44 PM