May is National BBQ month

May is National Barbecue Month, but before you head out to the deck or patio to fire up the grill, you may want to follow the advice of two of the area’s top pitmasters.
Both Alyson Lupinetti of Butch’s Smack Your Lips BBQ in Mount Laurel, and Scott Reid of Texas Smoke BBQ in Jefferson Township, know their way around a smoker.
Alyson is the two-time defending “Best Ribs” champion at the annual Rock, Ribs & Ridges music and food festival, having won in 2017 and 2018, while Scott took first place in 2014 and 2015.
Lupinetti became the first female pitmaster in history to win the juried rib cook-off; at age 24 she was also the youngest. She’ll be defending both her “Best Ribs” and “Best Sauce” titles at this year’s 10th annual summer bash presented by Franklin Sussex AutoMall at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ, from June 29-30.
“We love Rock, Ribs & Ridges, it’s so nice to be able to compete close to home,” said Alyson, who carries on the traditions of her father, legendary pitmaster Butch Lupinetti. She cooks North Carolina-style smoked roadhouse barbecue with New Jersey hickory grown on their property and flavored with their own rub recipe.
Reid developed his love for Texas barbecue after years of business travel to the Lone Star state. He trained under some of the top pitmasters there before taking his smoker on the road and eventually he and his wife Maria opened their own restaurant in Jefferson Township. The popular eatery seats 150 people and they have developed a bustling catering operation as well.
As Lupinetti and Reid prepare for next month’s festival, which features nine bands headed by Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes and 38 Special plus mouthwatering barbecue served up by five of the top pitmasters in the country, here are some easy-to-follow tips to maximize your summer grilling:
Whether you prefer charcoal, wood, or gas, barbecuing is fundamentally a slow cooking method over indirect heat. Slow cook the meat by cooking it away from the flame, but yet capturing the heat with a cover. This pertains to ribs, pork shoulder or beef brisket. They should be cooked at about 225-250 degrees whether you’re using a grill or cooking in the oven.
The pros suggest starting with a good cut of meat, preferably trimmed from the butcher. Use a good rub and apply to the meat side of the ribs an hour before it is put onto the grill. That is where much of the flavor will come from.