National Barbeque Month

In order to maintain "cook an animal day" on CTCN, I give you National Barbeque Month (Bar-B-Q, barbecue, BBQ, or hickory licked dead animal).

Often, I've been puzzled by the lack of a barbeque establishment here in Coshocton.

Everyone thinks it's a great idea, but we have no aspiring pitmasters amongst our citizenry. Just what is barbeque?

First off, grillin' ain't barbeque. If you're doin the Q in a bag or in an oven, you're not even in the ballpark. True barbeque requires wood and fire for slow smoking (we're talking hours, not minutes) a deceased beast.

Unfortunately, I've not found an outstanding Q restaurant in this area. I lived in Kansas City for 15 years where barbeque is king. When I hear the term "Kansas City style" barbeque, I snicker. You'll never visit a city that has so many different types, tastes and styles of Q. Also, you'll be hard pressed to find a city that has as many outstanding barbeque restaurants.

Don't get me wrong, there's great Q throughout the south with Memphis, Texas and North Carolina being the most noted. Hell, I was attacked in Houston for daring to say that better Q existed outside the Lone Star state.

What should you look for in a good Q restaurant? You'll know as soon as you walk in the front door:

• Do the smells of smoking meat fill your nose?
  
• Are there stacks of wood outside the building?
  
• Do you see smoke rising from the smokestack (or at least a smoker out back). If not, you're wasting your time.

Next, look at how they prepare the food. Great barbeque can stand alone and doesn't need to be swimming in sauce. Order a sampler plate with ribs, brisket and pork. Many restaurants excel at one type of meat, but fail on others. Great places excel across the board.

Now, it's time to chow. Does the meat have a balanced, none-too-heavy taste? A place that smokes with hickory only can often end up with a bitter smoke taste.

Enough for now, I'll continue tomorrow.