Backyard BBQ

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Recipe: Foolproof smoked pork butt for beginners

In the beginning, I wanted to smoke and had no idea where to start. Just about every book on the subject suggested using a pork butt for a test flight. The reason is simple: it is almost impossible to overcook. The abundance of fat and the sheer mass of the cut gives the beginner a lot of room to hide any loss of focus. Everyone loves a pulled pork sandwich and it is a great start for the backyard BBQ. Because it is a massive muscle I find that with this much pork the meat next to the surface with…

How-to videos: Prepping pork ribs with Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper

Texas BBQ Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper puts pork ribs on the Jambo smoker at his north Dallas home. Welcome to our first batch of short videos featuring how-to BBQ techniques from Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper. Marshall has been cooking barbecue in his backyard for 30-plus years, after learning the craft from his late father. Now using his fourth custom Jambo pit, Marshall has cooked with such BBQ legends as Chris Lilly, Jamie Geer, John Mueller, and John Lewis. One of the missions of the Texas BBQ Posse is to share ideas and tips to help you become a great backyard pitmaster. We…

Cooking - 04/16/2017

Smoked pastrami recipe that is sure to impress your guests

By Bryan Gooding It was more than two years ago when the Posse heard a rumor that Cattleack Barbecue in Far North Dallas was going to be serving smoked pastrami for its Saturday special. I remember thinking “Wow! This is different!” Pitmaster Todd David would be cooking “outside the box.” Afterward I told Posse co-founder Gary Jacobson that Cattleack had thrown down the gauntlet with its smoked pastrami and that there would be a lot of pitmasters experimenting with recipes over the next year. The times were ripe for some new barbecue. In the fall of 2015 Gary and I…

Cooking - 04/05/2017

In praise of the Cornell Recipe and Bob Baker, the Aaron Franklin of chicken

Cooking Cornell Recipe chicken at the Rochester Canoe Club in the early 1980s. Photo: Gary Jacobson Within our great barbecue family, none of us stands alone. We're all influenced by someone or something else. Friends, relatives, pit masters, other cooks, experts, bloggers, books and all the joints we've ever visited, good and bad. One of my main influences occurred almost 40 years ago when I first encountered the Cornell Recipe. For fans of Texas barbecue who love dry rubs and post oak smoke, this may be a bit jarring. The Cornell Recipe is for a sauce -- a vinegar and…

Cooking - 08/27/2016

Cooking backyard BBQ with John Mueller & John Lewis

Last Sunday I hauled my Jambo pit to Austin. The first stop was John Lewis' house. Both Lewis and I had been invited to a backyard BBQ with John Mueller the next day. John Lewis is a pitmaster (I call him The BBQ Genius, food critics call him the BBQ savant) who works at Franklin BBQ in Austin for Aaron Franklin. Franklin's has been named the best BBQ joint in America. That also means best in the world, says John Mueller, because no place else cooks real BBQ except Texas. I help John Lewis on national KCBS BBQ competitions. John's…

Cooking - 03/09/2012

Marshall Cooper takes his new Jambo J-3 pit for a test ride

Texas BBQ Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper finally got his new Jambo J-3 pit on Thursday, after being delayed by the ice storms. In typical Marshall fashion, there was a fire going almost as soon as the J-3 was parked in the driveway. Marshall has been smoking meats for over 25 years and keeps intricate notes and meat maps from all his cooks. Here are some notes from the initial cook: Friday, 2/11 at 11:12 pm "I've staggered about 58 pounds of meat onto the pit since 1:30 pm today. Fire management is easier than you would believe. The desired pit…

Equipment - 02/12/2011

Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper talks butcher paper wrapped cooking with Mr. BBQ

Mr. BBQ Bruce Bjorkman has once again called on the Texas BBQ Posse to talk barbecue on his syndicated radio show. Texas BBQ Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper will join Bruce this Saturday to talk about his test cooks smoking brisket and ribs with butcher paper wrap, rather than foil, during the cooking process. Posse lead writer Gary Jacobson has visited the show three times over the past year to share stories from our Texas BBQ tours, but this is Marshall's first appearance. He's a master backyard pitmaster, with over 25 years of experience manning the smokers. We first saw the…

Cooking - 01/21/2011

The secret to a great brisket is in the wood

There's a really good article on the wood and barbeque on page one of The Dallas Morning News this morning. Writer Erinn Connor takes a look at Arnold Brothers Forest Products, who supplies wood to most of the barbeque joints around the region. Texas BBQ Posse member Marshall Cooper is quoted in the article. He's been a long-time customer of Arnold Brothers and sums up the importance of good wood in the story. "A lot of people who don't do this don't realize the wood is really important," Marshall said. "The smoke gives the meat the flavor." Click here to…

Cooking - 07/18/2010

The G Man comes up short again

Gary Barber, the Texas BBQ Posse's biggest eater, caught flak during the Marshall Cooper BBQ fest for once again coming up short in the end. Gary, aka G, started building his legend on our first BBQ tour to central Texas, as described by Dallas Morning News writer and posse founding member Gary Jacobson. "Think of the fullest you have ever been at a Thanksgiving meal, then multiply by two," Barber said, after eating five more-than-full meals in 24 hours. After a strong performance again on the East Texas BBQ tour, Gary B. faded during the Fort Worth BBW Tour, where…

People - 05/12/2010

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

Texas BBQ Posse members were treated to a special stop on the barbeque trail on Saturday afternoon. Expert backyard pitmaster Marshall Cooper invited us to join his family and friends for an incredible spread of smoked meats and sides. Marshall began following our BBQ tours through Gary Jacobson's stories in The Dallas Morning News. He wrote Gary, "I would like nothing more than to include you and your entourage at my next backyard BBQ. I will slow smoke beef brisket, pork ribs and pork shoulder and make sure there is enough for everybody to eat until they are stuffed! Just…

Cooking - 05/09/2010

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