Page 10 - NOV2019 Digital Barbecue News Magazine

President
Teresa Milano, tmilano@nebs.org
Treasurer
Chris Clegg, cclegg@nebs.org
Recording Secretary
Kim Stanfield, kstanfield@nebs.org
Vice President
Tom Ryan, tryan@nebs.org
NEBS Board of Directors Michael Strout
Peter Kelleher Jim Morey Craig Kimberley Mike Leger Anthony Mardenly Alex Burke
679 Washington St.; Unit #8-170; South Attleboro, MA 02703 www.nebs.org
GIVE ME ALL OF YOUR BBQ
TOOLS, EXCEPT ONE?
By: Craig Kimberley
I’ve asked just about every person I’ve interviewed or talked to in the past 3 years this very question: “What is the single most im- portant tool in the BBQ world that you cannot go without?” And I would say that just about 95% of all people say, “My instant-read thermometer!” And they say it quickly, and with extreme confi- dence. Some do say it’s their Flame-
boss, or BBQ Guru set-up, but you get it. And I couldn’t agree more. Knowing what temp your food is at, and how long it takes it to get there is every- thing in cooking, everything. It affects flavor, doneness, texture, and safety. Once I realized my backyard BBQ ob- session was turning from a little hobby into my lifestyle, I learned I needed to get serious about temps. Shooting from the hip while cooking is a blast, right? I can hear some of you now, “Dude, I know when my steak is ready, bro!” or “I use my instincts or my finger!” And I’m sure you do. At times, we all do. But, when it counts the most, over- shooting or undershooting a temp can result in several bad scenarios.
If you’re in a competition, say an SCA event, are you really going to be that “By-My-Gut-Only” person? Will you use all the finger, hand, nose-touching tricks to nail that perfect medium temp? Good luck with that my friend, I wish you the best! Now, serious cooks in the SCA all use instant-reads or some form of probe. All of them, or well, at least the ones that win. And of course, in big- ger competitions, like a NEBS or KCBS events, if your serious about your game and winning, you’ll use instant-read thermos or probes all the time, on almost any protein at least. Just ask any team that has placed in the top 5, in any category of any event, if they use probes and thermometers. You’ll see.
Now, we all have a little backyard-swag when it comes to our Que
in the hood, our backyard throw-downs, and parties. And, we’ve never messed up a dish ever. I’ll bet you never served a rare steak for that friend that wants it a little past medium? None of us have ever sliced open one of our world-class burgers to reveal it’s way past medium, and on it’s way to well-done, have we? Or I bet not
one of us has had a big fat ole’ BBQ chicken breast come back with a scowl because it’s not fully cooked, right? (I bet you said it was barbecued so per- fectly on the outside, right?) Well, if you said no to any or all of those, your either Myron Mixon or you flat out don’t need any magazines or articles on BBQ’n because you’re a cooking God already!
I’m not going to get into what brand is the best, because the demands, needs, and features vary so widely for differ- ent cooks and cookers. But, I will tell you what currently is in my box of probes & thermopens. I have 2 set’s of Maverick XR ’50s, 1 BBQGuru CyberQ, 2 Lavatools Javelin Pro 2 Instant reads, 1
Thermapen Mk4, and my latest that I just tested that you can see online at BBQiTshow.com or on Youtube.com/BBQiT is the Smartro ST54, which is the cheapest of them all, but it came with amazing probes and will serve as an easy go-to backyard-cook thermometer. They all have different purposes, features, advan- tages and disadvantages, and I need them all. Some of them come out for competitions, others I use every day. But if I had to choose, just one tool to keep, out of all my BBQ tools, it’s always going to be my instant-read thermometer, my Javelin.
NEBS Holiday party is on December 14. Location: 171 Jenckes Hill Rd Lincoln, RI 02865. Details to follow on our website!
CORRECTION TO 'Beyond the Normal Q' ARTICLE FROM LAST MONTH:
The Kora Shiner Kare for Kids Contest, SCA Grand Champion for steak was Fire Down Below with a 1st place score of 239.3. NEBS apologizes for any confusion in the announcement/ understanding of the 1st place winner.
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