[How To] - Barbecue for the 4th of July

Food Photography for the weekend of the July 4, 2017.

Starting The Day

My mother asked me to barbecue this morning. So I started my ritual:

1. Get the bucket and make some cleaning solution
   • dish washing liquid
   • Comet Cleaner
   • Brillo Pad
2. Take the grill grates off the grill
3. Clean the grates with the solution and Brillo pad
4. Start the fire
   • Place charcoal in grille, not too many
   • Spray the charcoal with lighter fluid and light the fire
   • Wait until coals are white and ashy look (30 minutes or more)
5. Rinse the grill grates and place on grille
6. Make a basting solution with salt, pepper, and white vinegar
7. Place meat on the grille
8. Be careful of fire flare ups, use the basting solution to put out the flare ups when they occur. If you don't, your meat will burn (be mindful of this)
9. I set the timer on my phone for 10 minutes, once it sounds, I baste the meat before turning
10. I'm careful to watch for portions of the grille that cooks faster than others,
    I move the meat around constantly
11. Keep repeating steps 9 - 10

How do you know the meat is fully cooked?

1. Chicken - one thing about chicken wings is when they are done, the wings will shrink. The color of the wings will darken. However, tasting is best way to determine if the meat is done.
2. Ribs will shrink as well when done. They can vary in sizes and thickness. Usually one end is thicker than the other, this may cause the thinner end to cook faster than the thicker end. Therefore, I cut the thicker ends off, as they may require longer time to cook. I taste the ribs to see if the meat is fully cooked.

Time

It took me about 2.5 hours to cook 3 slabs of pork ribs, 12 chicken wings, and 6 chicken thighs. The grill temperature fluctuated between 150 - 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

I usually listen to podcasts while I grille

Today, I listened to over 2 hours of BeyondBitcoin. Fuzzy and the participants were sharing details of several projects. These guys are great in building community and they are an asset to Steemit and Bitshares.

For me, grilling and podcasts go hand in hand.

Here's the finished work

Mom, how does this look?

Thanks, Pairmike

P.S. I'm a proud member of @the50

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