Standards of Quality for Barbecued Items

Appears in
Professional Cooking: 10th Edition
Professional Cooking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2025

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  1. Foods should be cooked to the correct degree of doneness. For most barbecued items, this means well done and extremely tender. Barbecued meats and poultry easily pull away from bone.
  2. The interior of barbecued foods should have a moist texture and not be overcooked and dry.
  3. The exterior of barbecued items should have an attractive, browned or reddish-brown color created by long cooking with smoke and by the spice rub (if used).
  4. Meats and poultry cooked for extended periods with smoke have a detectable smoke ring, a red color that extends from to surface to about ¼ to ½ inch (6–12 mm) into the interior, depending on how long the item was smoked (Fig. 15.3).
  5. Barbecued foods should have a noticeably smoky flavor.