Cornish Game Hens:

I didn't have a barbecue contest this weekend and decided to take a week off from practicing traditional barbecue dishes.

I pulled out the Dutch Oven and decided to cook some Cornish hens for supper.

The hens were washed, salted and stuffed a sausage and bread stuffing.


I received a 10 inch Lodge oven for Christmas last year and really enjoy cooking with it.

The hens were steamed for 25 minutes in water with bottom heat and then basted every 10 minutes for 40 minutes after adding top heat.

The top heat added the crisp skin and golden look. Next time I will add some olive oil to give the skin a more uniform golden brown appearance.

I've cook Cornish hens in my smoker before and they turned out pretty well, but I think I prefer the Dutch Oven results.

Certified Angus Brisket:

Up until last winter I had been cooking brisket flats purchased at Sam's Club with mixed results. I've since switched over to whole briskets and have been pleased with the results.

There is a meat market near our house that is happy to order Certified Angus Briskets (CAB) for me as long as I allow a couple days notice. If you are using brisket flats, I would recommend you consider changing to whole briskets. I think you be happy with the results. I know I sure am and our contest results will bear that out.

Mr. Red and Mr. Black:

This picture was taken at the Bodacious Blues and Barbecue KCBS Crossroads Cook-off held in Carmel, IN earlier this year.

The black cooker is a Backwoods Party model that I purchased from Joby Stanaland from Ocala, FL and the red cooker was made for me by James McCullough from the New Smyrna, FL area.

I cook out of a 16 ft Doolittle trailer we purchased in Missouri that we are in the process of modifying for bbq competition and bbq catering purposes.

The Backwoods has six cooking racks and the McCullough has five. Both use a water pan to regulate the heat and both are well-insulated.

Fundraising Idea:

The picture on the right is a great funding raising idea for bbq contest organizers, civic organization, churches, etc.

At the Madison Ribberfest in Madison, IN organizers solicited businesses to sponsor the pig statues and to decorate them with some sort of theme.

The donations went to the local high school scholarship fund for graduating students interested in attending college. The sponsors got some great advertising in front of the thousands of spectators in attendence and the spectators were presented with an eye catching attraction that added to the atmosphere of the event.

At the end of the two day event sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS), a winning pig was chosen based on the amount of 'votes' received from spectators in the form of cash donations.

What a great idea!