Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Kabobs

We took a short drive down to St. Petersburg yesterday to visit the Saturday Market in the parking lot of Al Lang Stadium.

We purchased some fresh organic green peppers, oinions, and tomatoes and taste tested food from several of the vendors.  Fresh is always better, so we added some chicken to the mix and I fired up the grill.

The fine folks at McCormick and Lawry's sent me some Lawry's Szechwan Sweet & Sour bbq marinade and Tuscan Sun Dried Tomato marinade last week. I decided to try the Szechwan on the kabobs. 

I marinated the chicken in the Lawry's bbq sauce for about 4 hours and grilled everything using lump charcoal.  The marinade added a slight Szechwan heat to go along with the sweet and sour flavor.  I don't know the chemistry behind it, but the chicken breasts were very moist and tender. 

If I do this again I will sear the kabobs over direct heat and then move them into an aluminum foil pan or wrap. I think this will prevent the charring that occurs when the marinade begins to burn over the direct flame.

I can't wait to try out Lawry's Tuscan Sun Dried Tomato marinade on some pork chops next.

Simple Grilled Chicken Wings and Drums

--Marinade in Newman's Own "Olive Oil and Vinegar" for 5 - 6 hours (in the refrigerator)

--Start your charcoal and let it grey over a little, before adding chicken to grill
--Cook chicken slowly (around the edges of the grate) to reduce flare ups
--When it's done, brush with your favorite bbq sauce to finish
--Enjoy

 

The marinade will add moisture and internal flavor, while the bbq sauce adds a little kick.  No matter how you grill your chicken, I would not eat chicken that is not marinated in Newman's Own "Olive Oil and Vinegar". It really makes a difference.

Jimbo's Pit Bar B Q - Tampa Florida

I've lived in Tampa for three years. During that time I've been searching for "real" bbq ribs with little luck. Linda and I finally found them Saturday at Jimbo's Pit Bar B Q.

Lots of restaurants serve bbq pork ribs, but many are overcooked, over tender, and candied.  Jimbo's ribs are just the way I like them.  They still taste like pork and the meat doesn't fall off the bone. It tears off  and leaves bite marks.

Located in Tampa on West Kennedy near the Fox 13 studios, Jimbo's is a barbecue location. It's not some fancy upscale foo foo restaurant masquerading as a wannabe bbq joint. It's the real deal. After 33 years in Tampa, Jimbo's is still going strong.  The atmosphere is casual. The tables and chairs are rustic. Even the exterior is painted a plain, flat, brown color.  There's no stucco or fancy brick work at Jimbo's.  It's a "bbq joint" - plain and simple.  

The smoker is located out back and they cook with real wood.  I think it's an Oyler, but I haven't been able to verify that for sure.  I know Jimbo's in Lakeland definitely uses an Oyler Pit manufactured by J & R Manufacturing.  If you're not familar with an Oyler Pit here's a quick run down.  The pit is wood fired, NSF and UL listed.

Linda had the chopped pork sandwich and I had the combo platter with pork ribs and sliced beef.  The sauce is served warm. I hadn't seen that before, but I liked it. 

Both pork entrees were very good. The sliced beef, made from Beef Round according to the menu, wasn't the brisket I had expected and it needed a little more sauce than I usually like, but I enjoyed trying something different.

Bubba Ques - Brandon Florida

We made a second trip to Bubba Que's in the Brandon-Valrico area this weekend. The restaurant is located on Hwy 60 near Wal-Mart. The tables provide a choice of 6 different bbq sauces for your bbq entree or sandwich.

The bbq was pretty good, but we especially liked the restaurant's atmosphere and decor. As you might expect, with a name like Bubba's, there's not a lot of fancy fixin's or fancy furniture. They even use Igloo coolers for seating at some tables.

Their website is also uniquely different, although I had trouble accessing the online menu. I also enjoyed the banana pudding for desert.

This is a nice restaurant concept. I think they'll be successful.

Grilled Steak

I don't grill steaks a lot, but when I do I follow the "simple is usually better" philosophy.  I simply brush with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt, onion salt, and black pepper.  I marinate them overnight in the refrigerator and grill them over medium heat on my kettle grill.  They always turn out well.

Great Steak Challenge

NAPA, Calif., March 24 -- Wine simply makes a good steak taste better. That's why Beringer Vineyards, the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley, is hosting the "Great Steak Challenge," daring everyone from gourmet chefs to backyard grillers to pair their most creative steak recipe with their favorite Beringer wine for a chance to win a trip to Napa, cash prizes and a lifetime of bragging rights.

As part of the Great Steak Challenge, celebrity cooks Jamie and Bobby Deen, stars of the Food Network and sons of southern cooking queen Paula Deen, are hitting the road this summer to prove two of America's timeless and tastiest obsessions – steak and wine – really are the perfect combination. The brothers will be hosting select regional grill-offs across the U.S. and will be creating a virtual cookbook of their road tested recipes.

"Nothing says summer like tossing a steak on the grill during a backyard BBQ with family and friends. But believe it or not, something so easy also takes a special skill," said Jamie Deen. "Bobby and I are looking for the ultimate gourmet griller who can bring the best out in a steak simply by making use of what they consider to be the tastiest ingredients and the right wine."

The challenge consists of three culinary parts:

Online Recipe Contest: Everyone and anyone can participate, no matter your skill level in the kitchen or behind the grill. Simply submit your most creative steak recipes at www.greatsteakchallenge.com. Your recipe will be judged on three major factors: taste appeal, wine pairing and simplicity. Then, Beringer will select 100 best steak recipes per region to compete in regional grill-offs in ten U.S. cities during the summer of 2010, leading up to the ultimate finale in Napa Valley.

Regional Grill-Offs: The regional grill-offs will be hosted by Beringer, and will be judged by local celebrities from each market.

Great Steak Challenge regional prizes include:

•Winners receive up to $1,000 for airfare and hotel accommodations for 2 nights at the regional grill-off

•Runner-up (also the alternate): $100 Gift Card to Local Grocery Chain; Beringer Gift Bag

•Second Runner-up (2nd alternate): $50 Gift Card to Local Grocery Chain; Beringer Gift Bag

National Grill-Off: Beringer will host the ten regional finalists at a national championship in Napa Valley on October 8, where the Deen Brothers will judge the competition. The grand prize winner will win $15,000 and an all expense paid trip for two to Napa Valley for four days and three nights and an opportunity to compete on the Fine Living Network for a share of $25,000 in prize money.

"At Beringer, we believe in indulgences big and small. Pairing a glass of wine with a delicious steak can be an everyday celebration or something more extravagant," said Francesca Schuler, Chief Marketing Officer, Beringer Vineyards. "This nationwide contest will be an inspiring demonstration of how Beringer fans throughout the country are pairing their original recipes with our wines. We look forward to a mouth-watering competition!"

About Beringer Vineyards

No winery more thoroughly embodies the timeless appeal and seductive flavor of Napa Valley than Beringer Vineyards, Napa's benchmark producer since its establishment in 1876. Now in its third century of crafting classic wines from Napa's finest appellations and vineyards, Beringer today is guided by the inspired partnership of celebrated Winemaster Emeritus Ed Sbragia and Winemaker Laurie Hook. Together, they craft Napa Valley wines that speak eloquently of Beringer's rich heritage while offering cutting-edge quality and contemporary elegance. www.Beringer.com

For more information on the first annual Great Steak Challenge, visit http://greatsteakchallenge.com/.
For more information about Beringer Vineyards, please visit: http://www.beringer.com/.

Morgan O'Leary

Ruder Finn/West
W: 415-541-0750
C: 415-310-3366
www.ruderfinn.com

Travel Channel - Food Wars

I received a promo e-mail today from the Travel Channel.  They are introducing a new series to the airways - "Food Wars". It airs on Tuesdays at 10:30 E/P and this week the episode is centered in Lockhart, Texas for the ultimate BBQ showdown between Kreuz Market and Smitty's Market! 
Here's a clip about the show:

Smoke Barbeque & Grill - Tampa

What do you do in Florida when it's cold and rainy on a Saturday morning?  This morning we decided to make the drive from Riverview to Hyde Park near downtown Tampa and eat at Smoke Barbeque and Grill.

On the trip over we listened to tunes by B.B. King and R.J. Spangler to get in the appropriate mood for some 'que. After circling the block three or four times we abandoned the idea of parking in actual restaurant parking lot, but we did find a "spill over" lot down the street.

We settled into a booth and were presented with breakfast menus.  Since it was nearing 11:00 a.m., we asked for lunch menus, but the waitress explained that the bbq lunch we were hoping for wouldn't be available until noon.

I'm not a breakfast eater.  When I do eat breakfast it's usually a bowl of organic oatmeal, but after making the 30 minute drive and paying $2.50 in tolls (and $2.00 going back), we decided to give breakfast a try. 

But, I was thinking brisket and pork shoulder - not sausage and eggs.  If I eat sausage and eggs it's usually at Waffle House, IHOP, or Denny's - not at a bbq joint.

Linda ordered an everything omlette with home fries.

I settled for brisket hash.

It was a nice breakfast - truth be told - but I hope to make the trip again when they are offering more traditional barbecue items. I won't say I disliked the experience, but as you can probably tell from the tone of this post - I left dissapointed.

What does CRAB-BQ mean to you?

Hi, this is The BBQ Guy’s wife and I am honored to be asked to write a blurb about our recent trip to a new restaurant. Last week in the Tampa Bay Times I saw an ad for “Crab-bq” a restaurant in St. Petersburg. I loved the name and envisioned a varied menu of smoked seafood and traditional barbecue fare. The BBQ Guy said he took the name to be seafood and bbq. Off we went Saturday to see who was correct. My mouth was watering at the thought of eating some new smoked seafood delicacy and The BBQ Guy skeptically went along for the ride.

The trusty GPS got us to the restaurant. We arrived around 11:30 a.m. to an empty restaurant and were greeted by a very personable hostess/waitress. Although there was no BBQ feel to the restaurant, it was clean and neat and did have a nice outdoor seating area (we didn’t use this because it was 55 degrees here in Florida).

The server brought us our menus and took our drink orders. Well, our BBQ Blogger was correct. The menu was low on BBQ and heavy on traditional seafood fare. So away went my dreams of new exotic smoked seafood. Brian did like the idea of the Pulled Pork Sliders and I decided on half rack of ribs.

Boy did my eyes pop when I saw 4 untrimmed pork spare ribs arrive in front of me. I was reminded of our first BBQ contest when The BBQ Guy didn’t know any better and had not trimmed his spares. I ordered them dry with the sauce on the side. They were tender, but a bit awkward because of their size and bones. (They looked nothing like the rib picture on the restaurant’s website.) I was not all that fond of the flavor without some bbq sauce. I would definitely recommend having the sauce served heavy on them. My baked beans side item was not very warm, but it tasted fine. The bbq sandwich slider idea is still a really good idea, but they were served with cold meat on a toasted bun and The BBQ Guy didn’t really like that. His steak fries were delicious though!! He had to slap my hands away from them on several occasions.

Neither of us tried seafood, but I did hear 2 couples that came in after us comment on the chowder and I believe the waitress said it was made fresh there in the restaurant.

As a BBQ restaurant I have to give this a C-. Cleanliness of the dining area and bathrooms A+. Service an A- (our waitress was very sweet, but she never offered to refill our drink). I don’t think we will make a special trip over to St. Pete again for this restaurant, but would probably give it one more try if we were in the area - but we would definitely order seafood and not bbq.

Thanks to my hubby for letting me have a voice!!

BBQ Ribs for the Superbowl

I cooked two racks of babybacks and a rack of spare ribs for the Superbowl.  The Hen and Hog rub from Spicewine Ironworks was very good.  If you live in Missouri, you can get that rub from Hy Vee grocery stores. You can also order some from their website.

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.