An Alabama BBQ master shared some crucial grilling tips, and weâre all ears
There are still a few warm months left before it gets too cold to grill outside in Alabama.
Barbecue pitmaster Rodney Scott, whose restaurant Rodney Scott Whole Hog BBQ has three locations in Alabama, (with fellow South Carolinian Bryan Furman) recently spoke with Garden & Gun at the Family Reunion, an annual celebration of Black chefs and pitmasters in Virginia, about the best ways to get the best barbecue possible from your grill at home.
Before teaching a “BBQ 101″ class at the event, the two renowned chefs put their skills on display at a welcome cookout, sharing some useful pointers with the magazine.
The full list of tips tells the whole story, but a few highlights from Scott’s expert advice are below. Take notes, grill-masters.
Scott said you should use an natural alternatives to lighter fluid to prevent chemicals from getting in the food, like leftover bacon fat or braided pieces of wood called stick burners.
If you cook over wood, Scott and Furman also recommended using something sweet like oak, cherry, apple, pecan, or hickory hard wood that doesn’t have a lot of sap.
They said you should steam your vegetables. Scott, specifically, suggested placing bell peppers on the grill until they have char marks before putting them in a paper or plastic bag to keep them soft and sweet.
And Scott told G&G that “people try to hurry the process and overthink ingredients” when it comes to perfecting their sauce. “You have to experiment with sauce before it’s time to serve,” he said. “I take it slow.”
Read the full Garden & Gun piece.
Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ cracked AL.com’s recent ranking of the top five best barbecue joints in Birmingham, with Bob Carlton writing, “The pit-smoked pork served with Rodney’s vinegar-based sauce reminds me of the barbecue I grew up on in Marengo County, and those tender and meaty ribs offer just the right amount of resistance when you gnaw them off the bone. Add collard greens and mac and cheese on the side and some banana pudding for dessert, and you’re in barbecue heaven.”
If you visit Scott’s restaurant, Carlton said you must try the whole hog pork sandwich, which comes loaded with Carolina-style barbecue mopped with Rodney’s signature vinegar-pepper sauce and is served on a toasted bun.
Furman, a fellow South Carolinian, will open Bryan Furman BBQ in Atlanta in 2023, according to Garden & Gun.
More on Rodney Scott:
The story of Rodney and Nick, brothers in barbecue