Ohio BBQ No. 2

Any time I take a trip to Ohio, my brother, who is now hooked on Texas style BBQ, insists that we smoke some meat on his neighbor's smoker. We borrowed it early on this Saturday morning and it was soon belching cherry wood smoke. The night before we had brined a brisket, and it was first to go on along with an eight pound pork shoulder. After many High Life's and many games of cornhole later, we were ready to wrap the various meats for a controlled cool down in the igloo cooler. The natives were getting restless so we quickly got to picking and slicing once all the meat was complete.



The brisket had great smoke, and good flavor, but I oversalted the meat a bit. We had a hard time keeping a consistent temp on the thin walled smoker, so the meat was still a bit tough as well. Overall, it was an average home smoked brisket, but the Ohioans thought it was perfect.



The pork spareribs were better. A good amount of brown sugar in the rub helped create a perfect bark, and the rib meat was nicely done. The butchers around my hometown aren't too keen on leaving much meat over the bones, so there were a few shiners in the mix, but these were tasty ribs.





Though the ribs were very good, the pork shoulder was the best of the meats smoked on this day. A rub heavy in black pepper and brown sugar caused a deep crust to form, and while the fire wasn't quite right for the brisket, it was perfect for rendering the fat in the pork shoulder. The ratio of this silky smooth fat, deep black crust and tender smoky meat made for an incredible pulled pork.

My brother, sister and mom pulling pork


What a great way to spend a picture perfect Spring day in Ohio. While not all of the meats were perfect, the company along with real Texas style BBQ in Ohio was reward enough for a long day of breathing in wood smoke. I can't wait to do it again.

- BBQ Snob