In his 25th year on the job, Bar-B-Q King Ken Fuller checks on his ribs and comments, ‘Look at that one, she’s ready!’
Huammnaio tmeraia
Sculpture, painting,
photography ... barbecue?
Experts say barbecuing is indeed an art
form that takes time and effort to excel at
By John Liebhardt
Oregon Daily Emerald
As the sun crawls its way back to
the Willamette Valley, barbecues
find their way from the cellars to
the porches of Eugene.
While most parts of the country
are shaking off the effects of winter,
northwesterners are known to bar
becue 12 months a year.
“We live in an area where the
outdoors is a very big part of our
lifestyle,” said Bruce Bjorkman, a
local barbecue and grilling expert.
“This is a continuation of that.”
Bjorkman hosts a radio show
called “Cooking Outdoors With
-> Mr. Barbecue,” an hourlong show
on 750 KXL in Portland. He also is
the author of “The Great Barbecue
* Companion,” (1996, The Crossing
Press) and is the founder of BBQ
U, a six-hour training course on
the ins and outs of the culture of
the grill.
Bjorkman said that the North
west adds three specialties to the
national barbecue palette. First is
the plenitude of fresh salmon, espe
cially steelhead. Second is the large
number of people who grow their
own food in vegetable gardens and
use those greens on the grill.
“Grilling tends to help bring out
natural sugars in some vegetables,”
he said, pointing out that this is es
pecially true for tart vegetables like
zucchini.
The third aspect of Northwestern
grilling is the abundance of Alder
and Madrone wood, both of which
add a smoky flavor to the meat or
vegetables on the grill. Ken Fuller,
owner of the Bar-B-Q King, a
portable barbecue stand, said that
the flavor of the smoke is what
f
gives food the true barbecue flavor.
“You don’t want to cook meat too
fast,” Fuller said. Fuller fills his 5
by-5 smoker with mesquite and
alder and cooks ribs and tri-tips for
at least three hours. Pointing to his
smoker full of the meat, he said “It’s
doing its thing, and I’m just sitting
back waiting.”
Both experts said smoke flavor is
the most important aspect of the
barbecue taste, which is why both
of them stay away from gas grills.
“Grilling tends to help bring
out natural sugars in some
vegatables.”
Bruce Bjorkman
barbecue and grilling expert
“It is very difficult to get a decent
amount of smoke penetration on a
gas grill,” Bjorkman. “The flavor of
smoked wood is why people pur
chase grills.”
However, Bjorkman understands
that gas grills provide convenience
for those who want to grill food
quickly.
Bjorkman instructed beginners to
start with Weber’s small Smokey
Joe grill. Found on porches across
the country, Smokey Joes provide a
outdoor classroom that gives
grillers great tutelage on the proper
amount of charcoal and correct
temperatures, Bjorkman said. Most
importantly, he said, is the Smokey
instruction manual, replete with
cooking time instructions and
recipes.
“Weber does an exceptionally
good job with how to teach the
griller,” he said.
However, Bjorkman said once
the griller becomes versed with the
small Weber, it is time to move to a
larger, more complicated grill.
“Grilling is not unlike a career;
you have a starting point,” Bjork
man said. “Get your feet wet, and
get used to what you are doing.”
Fuller agrees, pointing out that
barbecuing is an art form to con
stantly learn but never quite master.
“There are all different kind of
ways to barbecue,” he said.” After
25 years, I am still a student at it.”
Learning his trade in Denison,
Texas, Fuller said he learned to
judge meat with three qualities:
Tender, texture and taste.
“The sauce is like a treat,” he
said. “I don’t want it to interfere
with the taste.”
Bjorkman offers beginners two
pieces of advice: Use a thermome
ter, and write everything down.
“Almost every grill will have a
hot spot and a cold spot,” he said.
“A griller will know what is the
proper cooking temperature.” He
said that using a thermometer will
allow the early griller to learn how
to judge the proper temperature to
place the food on the grill, and
when to take it off. Another help,
he said, is a instant meat ther
mometer to guarantee that the
meat is done.
His second pointer is to write
everything down. “This will be an
instant reference for your failures
and allow you to recall your suc
cess.”
E-mail Pulse and features
editor John Liebhardt
atjohnliebhardt@dailyemerald.com.
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