When my previous neighbor told me she was selling her house she announced “I hope some rich retired Texans who like to gamble and play golf buy it.” Fortunately for me that did not happen. Instead I got Cory Brown and Quita Ortiz as neighbors. Believe me they are a lot more interesting than “rich Texas who like to golf and gamble.” Cory is an elementary school teacher, and Quita works for the New Mexico Acequia Association.

The first time they had me over for dinner, Cory smoked some amazing brisket and it was an easy jump to talking to him for the blog. What follows is what came out of a sit down with Quita and Cory as we discuss smokers, food, and BBQ sauce recipes.

Aine: So how did you get into cooking?

Cory: When I was a kid I remember boiling pecans on the gas heater in the bathroom. That’s maybe a step up from making mud pies for a kid. And I have memories of my Dad cooking for us. Then at age 14, I started working in restaurants. First I bused tables, and then I started cooking. I really wanted to go to culinary school when I was young. When I met Quita, she convinced me to get out of the kitchen where I was working hard but not making much and go to college. But I worked in several types of restaurants from Italian fine dining to Pacific Rim cuisine to global cuisine.

Aine: What about the art of BBQ and smoking meat? How did you get into that? Have you traveled and tried different styles?

Cory: Well Quita’s parents gave me their smoker. Well the story goes that they got a smoker maybe as a present. They maybe used it once, and then it just sat unused.

Quita: For Cory’s graduation party from college, we got the smoker from my parents. It started from there. We “borrowed” the smoker for life so to say.

Cory: About a year ago, we got a new smoker. I try to do the same thing every time. I started using mesquite wood, but because it’s not available around here I now use apple wood. I came across using apple wood because some people had cut down an apple tree and were giving the wood away.

I am not a BBQ snob nor am I a connoisseur. I just read. And my sauce I do it differently all the time. I try to write down what I do afterwards but it’s hard to remember exactly because I’ll add a pinch of this and that. But I haven’t really travelled enough to know BBQ. I just do what tastes good to me.

Quita: He’s definitely an experimenter. I appreciate it now but it used to drive me crazy in college. I would just be hungry and want to just throw on a can of soup. But Cory has to make it better. It couldn’t just be a can of soup. He’d have to add this and that to make it better. He’s never satisfied and always trying new things.

Aine: Before we get to the recipe book, do you have any tips or any secrets for smoking meat or BBQing? I have had your brisket, and it was delicious. This is saying a lot coming from a Texas BBQ snob.

Cory:  When I do my dry rub, I prefer it salty. I usually take some brown sugar and mix it with chipotle or cayenne or even green chile. I also ‘inoculate’ the brisket the night before with amber ale. I drain that and then use the dry rub.  You have to get the fire going and keep it at a low heat around 250 degrees. I constantly check on the fire. The whole process usually takes me 8 hours. I usually do 4 hours of smoking the brisket and the last 2-3 hours in a crock pot on low heat..just until the brisket is tender and juicy. Then I make a sauce. I do it differently every time but the recipe I am going to give you is what I used last time and it turned out great.

Cory Brown’s BBQ SAUCE

Ingredients:

one onion

12 oz Amber ale

7-8 tbsp dark brown sugar

one orange

6 garlic cloves, diced

1 tbsp chipotle

1 tbsp mustard

salt, to taste

1. Dice one onion and carmelize in olive oil in skillet

2. De-glaze the pan with 12 oz amber ale. Let simmer.

3. Add 7-8 tbsp dark brown sugar. Let this reduce.

4. Add one orange, diced.

5. Add 6 cloves of garlic diced.

6. Add 1 tbsp chipotle powder.

7. Puree everything in food processor.

8. Add 1 tbsp mustard.

9. Add salt to taste.