Nashville BBQ

I ate at Martin's BBQ in Nolensville, TN a couple of years ago and follow Pat on the restaurant's blog. When he found out who I was, he was very gracious and gave me the "behind the scenes grand tour". It's always nice to meet people in person that I read about on the Internet regularly. Pat has written extensively about his experiences of starting this popular bbq restaurant from scratch.

I ran across a video tonight that documents Martin's visit to the Big Apple Block Party. I hope you enjoy it.

BBQ Smoker Specialty Paint

This one of the best paint jobs I've ever seen on a bbq smoker. I absolutely love it. This picture definitely does not do it justice. Did you notice the reflection in the paint on the right hand side?

Yes We Que Team of the Year

You've heard of the KCBS Team of the Year, Memphis Barbecue Network TOTY, and are probably familar with the Florida BBQ Association TOTY, but.....what about the Yes We Que Team of the Year?  Wild Blue, 4 Men and a Pig, and The Slabs finished 1, 2, 3, in the standings finishing ahead of some other fantastic barbecue competitors.  This innovative marketing campaign appears to be the brain child of Jeff Stehney proprietor of The Kansas City BBQ Store and purveyor of some of the most popular bbq sauces and spices in the bbq business.

I think this type of marketing campaign has tremendous possibilities for the bbq industry. I hope some other bbq businesses will implement similar programs in the future.

Dr. BBQ's Bacon Brie Recipe

So I'm sitting here watching Dateline tonight and picked up my laptop to check my e-mail. I finished that and just couldn't resist checking out The BBQ Forum. I scrolled through some postings and learned that Johnny Trigg now owns a computer and even has an e-mail address. I also ran across an interesting recipe from Dr. BBQ. Check out the video below:


Bacon Brie Recipe from FireCooker on Vimeo.

BBQ Pitmasters Background from Tuffy Stone

Season Finale of BBQ Pitmasters

Don't forget to watch the season finale of BBQ Pitmasters on TLC tomorrow night at 10 p.m. eastern time.  I have a feeling you'll be seeing a second season of this show, but why chance it....get your bbq TV fix while you still can!

BBQ Question of the Day

Have you ever wondered how bbq competitors are able to cook 4 meats on one cooker and have it all finished in a 2 hour turn-in window?

The pork butt and brisket are the easy part. You can start them cooking about 10 p.m. on Friday, cook them to 165 degrees and wrap them in a double thickness of aluminum foil.  They'll be finished by 8 a.m. and you can store them in an Igloo cooler lined with several towels until it's time to turn them in. They'll still be very hot (170 degrees or so). The bigger cuts of meat are much more forgiving.

Chicken and ribs would go one in the morning and come off last - just prior to turn in time.  For me, the chicken and ribs are the key. If you can get them near perfect, you will have a big advantage.

Superbowl BBQ Brisket

This movie clip attempts to provide some insight for preparing an untrimmed packer brisket for seasoning and cooking. I use a Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM), but this prep method will work for Klose, Lang, Jambo, Backwoods, Stumps, Superior Smokers, etc. I freely admit that everyone outside of a true bbq afficianado will probably find it very boring (actually they might think it's boring too), but it is what it is - bbq. And if you don't already own a Jaccard go buy yourself one. Your brisket will thank you for it.

Limp Brisket

Too funny. I'm sorry I missed these guys last year.

Lotta Bull BBQ

You may recognize this RV from NASCAR events on Speed.  I took this picture at the Lakeland Pig Festival.

Tuffy Stone and Cool Smoke

If you watch BBQ Pitmasters on TLC, then you're probably already familar with this cooking team banner. Cool Smoke was set up next to Smokin Triggers at the Lakeland Pig Festival.

Swamp Boys BBQ

Here's a picture of the Swamp Boys cook site at the Lakeland Pig Festival. For those that don't already know, Rob Bagby aka Rub and his Swamp Boys BBQ Team are the reigning Florida Barbecue Association Team of the Year.

Lakeland Pig Festival Pictures

I made a bbq movie from the pictures I took this a.m. at the Lakeland Pig Festival at Tigertown.

Lakeland Pig Festival

Who's going to the Lakeland Pig Festival this weekend?  I have an appointment in Plant City in the a.m., but plan to stop by Tiger Town later on.  The weather today was almost perfect for a bbq contest. The forecast is calling for rain tomorrow, but with any luck maybe it'll skip over the bbq contest.  (Maybe I'll see you there.) Here's an event schedule: click here

I remember my last time cooking at Tiger Town - it poured rain right after the awards ceremony. We were standing in 6 inches of water trying to take down our King Canopy. On Tuesday the next week, we purchased a Caravan canopy!  It's much easier to take down a Caravan if you're going to be cooking more than a few bbq contests each year.

Myron Mixon on Late, Late Show

I've never considered placing a disclaimer or parental guidance notice on any of my bbq blog posts - UNTIL NOW. Watch this video at your own risk. I'm not responsible if you laugh so hard you fall out of your chair!

Three cheers for butter and Elvis English!

Bourbon, Beer, and BBQ

Restaurant Start-up for $10?

This news article details a rib joint in Hamilton, OH that was started with $10. Amazing story.

This seems to illustrate that 1) dreams really can come true and 2) I gave up too soon (lol).

Private Label BBQ Sauce

I have had experience with marketing bbq spice rubs for several years. My Southern Rub (our competition brisket rub) was pretty popular and even though it's no longer available for sale, I still get inquiries about it.  Today I was contacted by Ol Gringo Chile Company regarding their private label pepper sauce. It sounds like an interesting program. 

From the Ol Gringo's website:

Our private label program is designed to let every size and type of business easily and profitably promote it's own name on our outstanding products. It get's your name on the finest gourmet salsa, pepper sauces, and spice blends available. All of our products are shipped quickly from the date of the order.

Stumps Smokers Stretch Video

Stumps Smokers has added a S-T-R-E-T-C-H 'ed bbq smoker to their line of vertical smokers. This video shows the inside and rack system used for the smoker in more detail than you see on the Stumps website.

Kent Whitaker's Smoke in the Mountains Cookbook

Linda picked up the Smoke in the Mountains Cookbook by Kent Whitaker for me as a Christamas gift. I haven't cooked anything from it yet, but it looks interesting. Anyone else have one?

I like the format of the book. Some of the chapters have a feature write-up about a bbq restaurant on the left hand pages and the right hand pages provide a recipe. There are a lot of grilling recipes and tailgate items too.  Mr. Whitaker was also a winner of the Emeril Live Food Network barbecue contest a few years ago.
I'll try some the grilling recipes and share the results here, but I have to admit that I'm kind of set in my ways for some of the traditional big cuts better suited to low and slow.

One of the pork butt recipes in the book references cooking pork butts to 190 degree internal temperature. I've not had good luck with 190 degree pork butts. I'd recommend wrapping them in foil at 170 degrees or so and cooking them to 198 - 200 degrees. Then they will basically fall apart when you pick them up. It'll save you some chewing and work pulling apart the meat with your hands too. Closer to 190 is a little too "chewy" for me.