photo 2 Mr. Caswell loves his smoker. He is a smoked meat fanatic.  He has tried every recipe under the sun, taken classes, and even become a barbecue judge for the Memphis Barbecue Network.  Everywhere he travels, he finds the local BBQ masters and picks their brains.  Well, this last trip to Athens, AL paid off big time.  Thank you, Hickory Barn Bar-B-Que.  After years of complicated recipes (marinades, foil wrap, unwrap, rewrap,…), Mrs. Davis has saved our sanity in  four words:

Cook. It. Upside. Down.  

Look at that top picture again.  All that juice in there Is From The Meat Itself.  Jeff shut the door and didn’t look back.  Not spritzing with apple juice, no re-saucing.  No six, seven, eight hours of cooking.  Here’s the whole recipe.  Ready? 1) Remove membrane. 2) Rub with seasoning; our fave is this one. 3) Smoke upside down at 250-260 degrees for 4 hours. 4) Serve. The upside down trick works on chicken too.  See below. photo 2 (1) JUICY chicken from a smoker! Here’s that super-complicated recipe: 1) Spatchcock the chicken. 2) Marinade for a hour or so in cheap Italian dressing, balsamic for color and some sugar, and hot sauce to taste. 3) Smoke upside down at 250-260 degrees until internal temp is 164.(~4hrs) 4) Let it rest for 15 minutes so the juices can get back into the meat. 5) Serve. 6) Next day, make the leftovers into the best chicken salad you ever had.