buzandneds

Always nice to speak with a fellow BBQ freak. Thanks for asking. We start with only fresh Boston butts produced largely by Iowa Beef Processors The prices for fresh fluctuate dramatically throughout the year but to buy anything frozen starts you off with a product that has already lost 10% of its weight in moisture before you cook it, mloisture that is sorely needed when you cook something for 11-14 hours. I use 100% just cut green wet hickory. Whole logs. Only a few pits are designed to keep wet hickory burning. Green wood provides that 'blue' sweet smoke so often referred to in the BBQ world. We never boil or pre-cook anything as most Richmond restaurants do. The negative affects are obvious. Also, this can never be called BBQ. The USDA has the best definition for BBQ. Anything cooked with wood or coals derived from wood as the only heat and smoke source. It must loose at least 30% of its raw weight in the cooking process. Time and Temperature: slow and low. 205 degrees for as long as it takes. As I told Tom, we consistenly achieve a smoke ring penetration of a minimum of 3/8" and very often 1/2". Smoke penetration is infuenced by the 'carriers' used in your rub or marinade, the condition of the meat you're cooking, the cooking temperature, the relative humidity and the barometric pressure. Buz

Thanks for the response. We started out selling our BBQ from a sidewalk vending cart in downtown Richmond and then at GreenTop Sporting Goods on Rt.1 in Hanover County. In order for us to maintain the moistness of the meat, we added sauce for holding purposes. We were in business 11 years before we had a real restaurant. Our customers wanted us not to change the recipe even though I (as a foodie) would rather offer it sans sauce. So that you know exactly how good we really are, I invite you for a back-of-the- house visit (chef's table of sorts) for a meal of our BBQ right off the pit and before it is hit with sauce. You had better be wearing your garters mister. (Call me for our cook schedule.) All I ask from you is that you leave all of your expectations, biases and preconceptions at home. Sometimes we can experience whats in our minds, true or not. And by the way we use simple syrup to make our lemonade. Can' t for the life of me figure out where the grit came from. Regards Buz

Wow! I don't know where to begin. Maybe at the top is best. I have hand crafted each batch of our pork BBQ sauce for the last 12 years. Never has any ingredient, remotely close to the flavor of green peppers, ever been incorporated. And unless you can show me how hickory smoke, sugar, molasses, garlic, black pepper, Lea and Perrins and Spanish paprika can inpart that flavor, with all due respect, maybe you confused the BBQ with our baked beans which do have a fair amount of the stuff. You write that the meat was "chunky" (i.e. hand pulled), that it contained "darkened crispy bits (i.e. slow cooking with smoke allows the heavy hickory smoke from fresh cut hickory logs, our exclusive heat and smoke source, to combine with our pre-cook paste rub to create a crusty/smoky exterior). And the "pink meat" you refer to is an indication that smoke has penetrated the meat. (we are proud to boast an exterior red smoke ring of from 3/8" to 1/2" , with secondary (pink)penetration clear to the bone.) These are all indicators of serious BBQ. Thanks for noticing. On lines 28 - 29 you write, "understand, the meat tasted good". On line 34 you write, the meat had "no taste at all". Whats up with that. And as for being "dry, almost like chewing compressed cotton thread". Well, thats the 1st complaint of that kind in 12 years. With all due respect, maybe you forgot to remove the dental floss used at the conclusion of your last meal. Our cabbage is shredded, sauced and consumed daily. Certainly not enough time to "pickle". Maybe you associate the presence of a fair amount of vinegar with the pickling process. Not necessarily so. Lastly, call Orchid Island Fresh Juice Company of Fort Pierce, FL 772-465-1122 and ask them if they have been supplying me with Country Time Lemonade for the last 12 years. 24 oz freshly squeezed lemonade. Not so bad for $2.00 eh. Me thinks you better come back again. Respectfully, Buz Chief, Cook, Pitmaster and Bottlewasher @ Buz and Ned's Real Barbecue