Thanksgiving Leftovers

Fried turkey is faster, easier, and tastes better. After taking two turkeys to work for a department lunch, the third of the week was pretty easy.

I injected them with Shake's Honey Brine and fried them 3 1/2 minutes per pound at 325 degrees. I used cottonseed oil for the first two and peanut oil for ours. Cottonseed oil is about $15 cheaper (and I couldn't taste any difference).

Linda made rhubarb pie for desert.

What do I Like to do When I'm not BBQing?

(Click the pic for a larger size,)

Slow Food Rebellion

You probably guessed it already, but Slow Food Rebellion bbq blog features articles about food cooked low and slow. The website's publisher, Monty, is a regular on TheBBQForum.com and cooks on a an upright WSM and 24" trailer mounted Horizon offset smoker.

His whole hog article is a favorite. There's plenty of pictures.

Texas BBQ Pictures

This link was posted on TheBBQForum.com by Bryan Brown. Bryan recently took a trip to Texas and was kind enough to share a link to his picture album.

Someday I hope to take a similar trip to Texas and visit some of these towns and bbq places.

Texas BBQ pictures link

Tennessee Waltz - B. Raitt and N. Jones

If you're looking for some mellow blues-style music for your next bbq, I think I've found it for you.

Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational

Congratulations to 4 Legs Up BBQ for winning the 20th Annual Jack Daniel’s World Championship.

Here's a detailed listing of all the teams who competed this year. In this invitational event, just being invited is a victory.

Alabama
EJ’s Q.....Athens, Ala.

Arizona
Rhythm ‘n QUE.....Phoenix, Ariz.

Arkansas
Habitual Smokers.....Springdale, Ark.

California
BLQUE, CUTTIN EDGEQN.....Hanford, Calif.

Colorado
Carcass Cookers.....Pueblo, Colo.
Smoke “N” the Rockies.....Pueblo, Colo.

Florida
Buttrub.com.....Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.

Georgia
“Team Bobby-Q”.....Chamblee, Ga.
Bub-Ba-Q.....Jasper, Ga.
Jack’s Old South.....Vienna, Ga.

Idaho
“Team Ida Q”.....Boise, Idaho

Illinois
Smokey Joel/Cubby Bear.....Deerfield, Ill.
Ulcer Acres BBQ.....Jacksonville, Ill.

Indiana
Shigs –In-Pit .....Fort Wayne, Ind.
Show Me Your Bones.....Indianapolis, Ind.

Iowa
4 Mile Smokin’ Crew.....Pleasant Hill, Iowa

Kansas
Pellet Envy.....Leawood, Kan.
4 Legs Up BBQ.....Great Bend, Kan.
Smokers Wild.....Paola, Kan.
The Will Deal Catering & BBQ Co......Topeka, Kan.

Kentucky
Moonswiners.....Taylorsville, Ky.

Louisiana
Tee Wayne’s Cajun Cooking.....Saint Amant, La.

Maryland
Texas Ribs & BBQ.....Centreville, Md.
Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ.....Jessup, Md.

Massachusetts
I Smell Smoke!!!.....Malden, Mass.
I Que.....Hopkinton, Mass.
Lunchmeat.....Rockland, Mass.

Michigan
All Day Smoke.....Okemos, Mich.

Minnesota
Full Frontal BBQ.....Ham Lake, Minn.

Mississippi
Natural Born Grillers.....Olive Branch, Miss.
Ubon’s BBQ.....Yazoo, Miss.

Missouri
Charlotte’s Rib.....Ballwin, Mo.
Bubba & Jeff’s BBQ.....Lees Summit, Mo.

Nebraska
Rogue “Q” Smokers of the Sarengeti.....Omaha, Neb.

New MexicoQ.....Albuquerque, N.M.
Outlaw BBQ.....Albuquerque, N.M.

New York
BBQ-Brethren.com.....Nesconset, N.Y.

North Carolina
Mountain Magic Country BBQ.....Shelby, N.C.

North Dakota
Quiet Riot.....Minot, N.D.

Ohio
Eagle River Barbecue.....Dayton, Ohio

Oklahoma
Butcher BBQ.....Chandler, Okla.
Twin Oak Smokin’ Crew.....Stillwater, Okla.
Lotta Bull BBQ.....Marietta, Okla.

Oregon
Ella’s BBQ.....Portland, Ore.

Pennsylvania
PA Midnite Smoker.....Willow Street, Pa.

South Carolina
Divine Smoke.....Greenwood, S.C.

South Dakota
Parrothead Smokers.....Dakota Dunes, S.D.

Texas
Smokin’ in the Dark.....Silsbee, Texas
Blazen BBQ.....Hillsboro, Texas
Smokin’ Triggers.....Alvarado, Texas
Ritter’s BBQ Too.....Point, Texas
It Ain’t Prime.....Krum, Texas
Ritter’s BBQ.....Point, Texas

Tennessee
The Dead End BBQ Society.....Knoxville, Tenn.
Smoky Mountain Smokers.....Sevierville, Tenn.

Virginia
Checkered Pig.....Martinsville, Va.
Virginia BBQ Pirates.....Springfield, Va.
Cool Smoke.....Richmond, Va.
Stoddard and Brown.....Vienna, Va.
Dizzy Pig.....Fairfax, Va.

Washington
Smoking Ty’s BBQ.....Everett, Wash.
Dances With Smoke Barbeque.....Renton, Wash.

Wisconsin
2Fat Bikers BBQ.....Nekoosa, Wis.

BBQ Smoker

I think red is the perfect color for a bbq smoker. Black is nice too, but it I am continually amazed at how much attention my red cooker receives at bbq contests.

I was eating at a local bbq restaurant and saw one of these setting out on the patio next to the Old Hickory that cooks everything for the guests. When the owner walked by our table a few minutes later I inquired about the McCullough smoker. He said it's too much trouble for everyday use.

Mine is perfect for bbq contests, but if I had a restaurant I guess I'd have to pony up $20,000 or so for an Old Hickory.

La Caja China to Sponsor Mike Harmon at NASCAR’s O’Reilly Challenge in Texas

(Vocus) October 23, 2008 – La Caja China, whose roasting boxes have been used by countless celebrity chefs and featured on The Food Network, is proud to announce the sponsorship of Mike Harmon’s No. 84 car in the NASCAR O’Reilly Challenge at the Texas Motor Speedway on November 1.

The O’Reilly Challenge will attract drivers from all NASCAR divisions in search of a prestigious visit to Victory Lane following the 300 miles of NASCAR Nationwide Series action.

This is the first NASCAR sponsorship for La Caja China in its 20 years in business. Owner and President Robert Guerra will be on hand to see the race, as will Alfredo Agonizante, Director Motor Sport Marketing for La Caja China . They will be joined on race day with their partners, Track Side 1 and Tailgater Monthly.

“We are excited to be associated to NASCAR” Guerra said. “Not only are we huge fans, but we feel that NASCAR represents the essence of what La Caja China stands for in terms of quality and entertainment at affordable prices.”

It’s ironic that the O’Reilly Challenge is in Texas , as the Lone Star state is quickly becoming one of the most popular places to find a La Caja China grill.

For 20 years, La Caja China has been synonymous with the best tasting homemade grills and barbeques in the world. La Caja China offers three top-of-the-line roasting box grills at affordable prices, ranging from $249 to $349. They are perfect for parties and large gatherings, as box grills can perfectly cook a 100 pound pig or 6-8 turkeys. They are great for roasting chicken, cabrito and all other types of meats.

La Caja China boxes have been featured on The Food Network and have been used by celebrities like Bobby Flay, Al Roker and Tyler Florence. And now the best grill in the world has partnered with the greatest sport in the world.

“We encourage all NASCAR fans, whether at the race or at home, to cheer on Mike Harmon to victory, and then enjoy a perfect celebration dinner with a La Caja China box!” Guerra said.

For more information, please visit http://www.lacajachina.com/

Chicken Brine Recipe

Like many people, I usually marinade my chicken thighs in Newman's Own salad dressing. This weekend I experimented with a vinegar brine that tasted pretty good.

Chicken Brine

• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup sea salt
• Add enough water to cover chicken
• Refrigerate for 3 hours prior to barbecuing

It's simple. It's easy. It's good.

Low Country Boil Recipe

I spent some time vacationing with my parents this weekend and took the opportunity to work in some outdoor cooking along the way. Here's a picture of a Low Country Boil we prepared for supper Sunday night. I've included the recipe below.

Low Country Boil

1 bag frozen shrimp (peeled)

1 bag frozen sea scallops

6-8 medium sized potatoes (quartered)

1 bag baby carrots (peeled)

1 bunch of broccoli

9 half-ears of corn

Add 2 gallons of water to a large pot. Pre-heat water to a rolling boil and add potatoes. Add 4 -5 tablespoons of Old Bay Seafood Seasoning stir gently (more if you like it a little hotter). Once potatoes have cooked for 30 minutes check for doneness. Add carrots.

Wait 10 minutes and add ears of corn (halves).

Add sea scallops. Add broccoli. Add shrimp. Stir gently.

Check potatoes for doneness.

Serve with your favorite cold beverage and add additional seasoning to taste.

Competition BBQ Secrets

Silicone BBQ Basting Brush

I've got a couple silicone basting brushes in my collection of bbq utensils and wholeheartedly endorse them. If your tired of bristles in your bbq, this is the solution you've been waiting for.

This Grill Friends angled silicone basting brush is sweet. The silicone bristles will not melt or fall out, and the long handled brush is angled for ease, comfort and safety over your hot barbecue, designed to keep your hands away from the heat. The bristles are dishwasher safe as well.

New Weber Smokey Mountain

According to the folks over at VirtualWeberBullet.com the Weber Stephens Company is going to introduce a new, bigger, WSM this month. The current 18 1/2 inch WSM that is 41 inches tall is great. I have one in the garage, but a new 22 inch version would even better.

I haven't seen one yet, but the new model promises many additional features that bbq cooks are going to love.

The door is supposed to be bigger to offer better access from outside the cooker and there is a new mechanism that will help the door seal tighter.

Local Bar-B-Que Restaurant

We were in St. Petersburg this afternoon and stopped by Fred Fleming's bbq place for lunch. Linda had the brisket and I had pulled pork.

I preferred the brisket to the pulled pork sandwich. The brisket was moist and tender, but there was very little bark. My sandwich was a little on the dry side and needed quite a bit of bbq sauce to perk it up a little.

The baked beans were good.

It's kind of funny how your tastes change after you learn to make traditional style barbecue on your own.

Tampa Area BBQ Restaurant

Last fall Linda and I scouted out some of the bbq restaurants in the St. Petersburg/Brandon/Valrico Florida area and wound up eating at Jaymer-Que in Valrico.

The St. Petersburg Times featured Jaymer-Que in an article earlier this year. I found it informative and refreshing. Besides filling in some of the blanks I'd wondered about, the article confirmed what our visit revealed - the folks at Jaymer-Que are good people.

The restaurant is located on Lithia-Pinecrest Road in Valrico. It's a strip mall location, but it has a nice atmosphere. You can eat inside or outside on the side patio. I had brisket and Linda had the pulled pork. Both were pretty good and the staff was very friendly and attentive.

If you're in the area and looking for something to eat. Check it out.

Charcoal Maze

If you're having difficulty maintaining consistent and even burn times in your upright cooker, a simple charcoal maze will probably solve your problems.

The charcoal maze pictured is made from plain old sheet metal and the grate between the charcoal and the ash pan is constructed from expanded metal.

There is about a 2 inch gap between the grate and the ash pan.

This cooker also has 1 inch of insulation throughout the walls and doors, which makes it very efficient. In warm weather I can cook for 20+ hours on one load of charcoal.

Barbecue Pork

Here's an interesting graph that summarizes a pulled pork cooking session I did.

I did not record the cooker and meat temperature at strict intervals, which looks a little funny on the graph. I am sure that the meat temperature reached 140 degrees or more within the 4 hour health department guideline.

The temperature decline at the end of the session represents the "rest period" before pulling it apart for supper.

Cooking for Real with Sunny Anderson

I've been enjoying some vacation days at home this week. A little cleaning, a little cooking, and some yard work later I sat down and watched some TV yesterday.

I ran across a new Food Network program that is totally fresh and happening. It's called Cooking for Real and it's hosted by Sunny Anderson. She made some cider brined fried chicken and cabbage slaw that looked intersting. After cooking it myself, I'm a big fan of Sunny Anderson.

I made Sunny's fried chicken for supper last night. Linda loved it so much that she proclaimed it the best fried chicken she'd ever eaten. If you're looking for a crispy and crunchy fried chicken recipe look no further. Read the recipe.

I cut back on the cayenne and used 1 tablespoon each of black pepper, white pepper, and cayenne, which turned out well.

Note: The pepper goes in the egg wash instead of the flour/corn starch. Also, instead of rolling the chicken in the flour, you've got to try the brown paper bag shake method. It really works.

Sponsorship for BBQ Contests

I am pulling out my soap box this morning. I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now and need to get some things off my chest.

I am a member of two bbq sanctioning bodies -- the Kansas City Barbeque Society and Florida Barbecue Association. To get directly to the point...I believe both organizations need to focus more attention on helping cook teams find affordable ways to compete in their contests.

I've written about my own personal strategies to reduce costs and increase revenues from my contest efforts on this blog in the past, but it's not an isolated problem. Affordability issues affect all teams that compete.

To my knowledge neither sanctioning organization has ever held any training seminars that offered step-by-step guides to assist the individual cook teams in obtaining sponsorship for local, regional, or national contests. Doing so would have a three-fold benefit:

1) individual cook teams would have additional methods for offsetting competition expenses

2) sanctioning bodies would benefit by increased participation in bbq contests

3) contest organizers would receive more participation and increased revenues

I'd bet that I'm a pretty good cross-section of the barbecue population that competes in bbq contests on a semi-regular basis. I've competed in at least 25 sanctioned bbq contests during the past several years. I driven thousands of miles to get to them and spent more than $20,000 on bbq related events and equipment.

I've met some nice people. I've seen some nice areas of the country that I would have never visited if they hadn't sponsored a bbq contest. And, I've helped raise money for many, many charitable and municipal organizations. However, if something doesn't change, I'm going to have to stop doing it and I suspect that there are hundreds, if not thousands of teams like mine who have reached the same cross-roads.

The price of gasoline, meat, supplies, lodging, vehicles, contest entry fees, and cookers have continued to rise while the prize money awarded has remained stagnant on the whole. If you don't win first or second overall, you're in the hole at the end of the weekend.

I am not a professional marketer, but I am guessing that the membership of KCBS and FBA has many professional marketers in the ranks who would be willing to offer assistance. If not, I would think that a portion of the membership or sanctioning fees should be allocated to preparing downloadable materials that could be used by cook teams to solicit local and regional sponsorship. Who else other than the sanctioning bodies can provide the kind of economic data that would strengthen the sales pitch to potential sponsors?

If you agree that there is a disconnect, I'd enjoy hearing your thoughts and ideas. Or if you disagree with me and think that sponsorship for individual cook teams has nothing to do with the sanctioning body, I'd also enjoy hearing from you.

In the end, there is another alternative, although I know it's probably not practical or viable economically given the approach the contest organizers are currently taking -- reduce the entry fees to $0 and increase public participation in the contests to offset the lost revenue.

You'd be surprised how far that $250-$300 would go toward increasing cook team participation. In this manner even a top three or four in a category or two would have meaningful effects to help defray cook team expenses.

Marcia Ball - Peace Love & BBQ

Looking for some music to barbeque by? Look no farther than Marcia Ball's Peace Love & BBQ. Here's a couple of videos from You Tube featuring this Louisiana blues woman.

Lauderdale Slow Cookin' KCBS Event

The KCBS Barbeque State Championship presented by East Coast Eventz, Inc. is being held November 14 -16 . The bbq contest will award $4,000 to the grand champion and $2,000 to the reserve grand champion. Category winners receive $500 for first place.

The entry fee for the bbq contest is $245 for KCBS members who enter early. Early entrants who are non-KCBS members can register for $280. The event is being held at the War Memorial Auditorium located at 800 NE 8th Street in Fort Lauderdale, FL near Sunrise Boulevard.