A Spring BBQ Contest

A Spring BBQ Contest and a Pig Pickin

It is springtime in the south and nothing says spring has arrived better than the number of outdoor fun-filled, food events in March.  We started the month by attending Jimbo’s Annual BBQ competition. It is held just up the road from me at Stonewall Farm. The proceeds from the event in 2018 went to Operation HomeFront helping local military veterans. This year 2019 it will go to Carolina Calvary who was formed to help the NC hurricane victims.

We thought we would pop in for a quick pulled-pork sandwich since we had reservations for dinner later that night. Ha, lol, let me tell you that for a mere $20.00 donation we sampled over 20 types of bbq goodness. Sample sizes were large enough to plate a full sandwich. We decided as soon as we tasted the first sample that canceling dinner reservations that evening would be a wise decision.

It wasn’t just lots of food, it was really good quality BBQ. This is a pitmaster competition to outdo the other contestants for the accolades and small cash awards that come along with them for the best smoked pork, chickens, ribs, and brisket. These people were serious and it showed. Many had to arrive up to 30 hours ahead of time to set up and start their cook.

They had all kinds of camping trailers, fire pits, music, lights and outdoor kitchen set ups. We saw blenders, food processors, cleavers and some serious chopping blocks. They came as families with their kids, spouses and even some four legged friends. At one of the set-ups called Pappy’s Legacy BBQ out of Four Oaks, NC we realized it was two young teen boys who smoked the delicious pulled pork. They do this to honor their grandpa and apparently, they are not novices to this circuit. Their mom was present, but in the background to supervise from afar. Their BBQ was very good and there is no doubt in my mind that these boys will have their own cooking show one day.

The smell that was wafting through the entire event was incredible. If you have ever smoked anything you know the aroma that one grill produces. Now multiply that by 36. What they were using to smoke was very different from each other while some mixed the woods, others used no wood at all – just charcoal. Some were smoked on more traditional smoker grills and we even saw contestants that had 50-gallon drums turned upright with cool paint on them.

We had the opportunity to chat with the pitmasters about their techniques and equipment they use to learn why they selected it. We got to hear how vested they are in this competition. One man told us that it cost him $1000.00 to be there. A few were being sponsored by charcoal companies and some by the companies that make the sauce and rubs. It was fascinating for me to learn about this subculture.

Aside from all the amazing pulled pork we also had chicken wings, brisket, slaw, and some greens. We drank craft beer from a local brewery and listened to some great live music. We made our way around the event and stopped at some vendors selling their handmade wares. I bought a welcome sign for the front of my house. We were so full when we got home, we did not move from the couch. Looks like the big winners, were Fat-Heads BBQ, Smoke ‘n’ Barrels and North Meets South.

All in all, it was a great time and we will be going back next year for sure!

Two weeks later it was time to attend another outdoor event. This time the weather was milder and the sun was bright. This was tailgate/pig-pickin to celebrate with our friends for the 4th-year business anniversary of D’s Bottle Shop. The guest of honor (the pig) arrived already smoking on the grill being pulled by a pickup. I love the south! (sorry I was not there early enough to get the picture of it before it was hacked up.)

Dee and Allison were busy chopping Q all afternoon while Susan and Russ poured beer with a smile for all the guests. The live music was played by Lake Chamberlain. Our friend, John, is in the band. I got some video of them and they were fun to watch and listen to.
People danced and relaxed in the sun, filled their bellies with pulled pork sandwiches with slaw (I made an Eastern NC vinegar based BBQ sauce to share) and my friend Aaron made his amazing fermented BBQ sauce (I hope one day he will share the recipe with us).  

All in all, it was a great way to start the spring season with full tummies, good memories, daylight savings, warmer days, blooming flowers and outdoor fun food events.

Reverse Seared Tomahawk Steaks

Tomahawk Steaks are basically a fancy ribeye. The bone that the steak is normally cut from, is left attached and frenched out.  They are usually sold in a thick cut as you see here.

We got these for a Father’s Day celebration.  My husband was quite pleased with the result. First, we smoked them, and then we did a reverse sear on our second grill. I made an herbed butter that we brushed over the top when they were being seared. 

  • 2 Tomahawk Steaks (special cut at the butcher)
  • Salt 
  1. Salt the steaks well
  2. Smoke with hickory wood for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees F or until the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees F (for medium rare). This is all based on thickness and how cold the meat was when you put it on the smoker. You may have to modify a bit, but don’t overcook these lovely prehistoric looking steaks. 
  3. Drop on to a preheated, clean grill on medium-high heat and sear both sides by brushing on the herb butter as you sear each side. Watch for flare-ups, some are okay. 

Serve with your favorite salad and potato it’s a meal fit for a king! 

Cowboy Ribeye Steaks on the Smoker

Yippee Ki yay we are having some good-old, melt-in-your-mouth Texas cowboy rib-eye steaks on the smoker today. This is a huge piece of meat and needs to be salted and smoked on indirect heat. We used hickory and it was wonderful. Once it was done we brushed some garlic-herb butter on top and yes, it was as good as it looked! 

  • 1 Tablespoons of Salt 
  • The Cowboy Rib-eye Steak (one steak was more than enough for two) 
  • 3- 4 Tablespoons of Butter 
  • 1 -2 Cloves of Garlic 
  • 2 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary and or Parsley
  1. Salt the steak and let it sit out for an hour before smoking.
  2. Set your smoker to an indirect heat but only cover half or your grill with the heat reflector. (If you do not have this option be prepared to grill it on another grill). 
  3. Smoke until temp reaches 130 degrees
  4. Melt the butter garlic and herbs and brush the steak and grill it on either side at a high heat to produce a slight char on the outside. 
  5. Enjoy! 

Smoked Buffalo Wings at Home

We love chicken wings and we go out to restaurants for them often. We are fortunate that we live in the south, where people understand the proper way to prepare fried-food is crispy and not greasy.

Truth be told, I smoke my wings first for 20 minutes before frying them. Smoked or not I crave that buffalo flavor and prefer a medium hot sauce. If you like yours hotter, simply adjust the recipe with more sauce and some sriracha, and/or you can add some cayenne pepper.  

  • 1 Dozen Chicken Wings (tips cut off and separate the drum from the flat)
  • 32 Ounces of Vegetable Oil 
  • 1 Half Cup of Hot Sauce ( I used Frank’s Red Hot) 
  • 1 Stick of Butter
  1. Using a deep pot for frying and a thermometer for the oil are a must!
  2. Pat all the wings very dry with paper towels.
  3. Heat your oil to 375 degrees F.
  4. Bring the hot sauce to a boil and add the butter in small amounts and stir until it melts in.  Keep the sauce warm. 
  5. When wings are done they will start to float this is when I take the temperature to make sure it is at 165 degrees F internal. 
  6. Add the cooked wings into a big bowl, add the sauce and toss to coat evenly. 
  7. Serve with celery and carrots, along with blue cheese or ranch dressing.
Butts Flo

Smoked Pulled Pork

We smoke a lot of pork. The Boston Butt meat itself would be very tough cooked most ways, however, cooked slow smoked on the Kamado Joe for a few hours and finished in the oven low and slow, makes these Boston Butts break up and fall apart without having to pull them apart. The trick is to rub them in advance (24 hours is ideal).  Some people finish them after they come out of the oven wrapped in moist towels and place them in a warm cooler before pulling the meat apart. This method is perfect for a tailgate!  

  • Boston Butt
    Boneless is best, Costco usually has them, however, they do go on sale at the local supermarkets also. 

Rub

  • 1 Cup of Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup of Salt
  • 3-4 Tablespoons of Chili Powder
  • 2 Teaspoons of Garlic Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Flake
  • 1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)
  1. 24 hours before cooking, rub the meat all over with your mix. Place in the refrigerator.
  2. Get your smoker started and as always make sure to wait until the smoke has turned grey, as the white smoke will ruin your food. 
  3. Bring your smoker to temperature. Optimal smoking heat is 225 degrees F. 
  4. Add your hickory wood and let that burn for a few minutes also. 
  5. Place the meat on the grates over direct heat and leave it for 2 hours minimum. 
  6. At the 2 hour mark or just before, set your kitchen oven to 225 degrees F . Remove the butt from the smoker, wrap in aluminum foil completely.
  7. Set on a cookie sheet and put back in the oven for 3  to 3 and a half hours until the internal temperature of the meat has reached 190-195 degrees F. 
  8. Wrap it up again in foil (here is where you can use the towel and cooler method if tailgating). Regardless, let the meat rest for at least an hour to ensure a tender result. 

Serve with traditional BBQ sauce or try our Vinegar BBQ Sauce. 

Smoked Dry Rubbed Chicken Wings

  • 3 Pounds of Chicken Wings (separated flat from drum and tip removed) 
  • 1/2 Cup of Sugar
  • 1/2 Tablespoon of Molasses 
  • 1 Tablespoon of Salt
  • 2 Teaspoons of Chili Powder
  • 2 Tablespoons of Additional Spices or Pre-Packaged Rub ( I used Sweet Money Rub) 
  1. Start your smoker, add in your desired wood to the charcoal. (Pecan wood will make the wings darker).  Do not add any food until the smoke has turned from white to blue or your food will have an unpleasant taste.
  2. Bring the heat up on your smoker to 350 F and stabilize it.
  3. Mix up your rub starting with the molasses brown sugar and salt. 
  4. Then add in the rest of your ingredients. 
  5. Reserve a cup of dry rub for tossing the wings after they are cooked.
  6. Pat each of the wings dry with a paper towel.
  7. Add wings to the dry rub and mix well to ensure each wing is coated with flavor.
  8. Place on direct heat (remove any ceramic plates before heating up your smoker).
  9. Cook for approximately 20-25 minutes until the internal temperature of your wing is 165 f 
  10. Toss the cooked wings in the reserved dry rub and serve.

Smoked Pork Ribs

Ribs are a fabulous summer meal. Pair them up with a green vegetable, and a sweet potato or maybe some watermelon, and grilled corn and you have a meal that will sure to please everyone. 

We like to use the St Louis Style Ribs verses the Baby Back Ribs. Why is that? What is the difference?

They come from two different areas of the animal. The baby backs are cut from the area that is higher so they have less fat and are more tender which would be a good choice if you are preparing them by just grilling or baking.

We are cooking our ribs low and slow for 4 hours today, therefore the St. Louis style ribs will tenderize nicely during the cooking process.  Since the St. Louis Style ribs have higher fat content, so they will not dry out as easily as the Baby Backs. 

1 Rack of Ribs will feed 2-3 people 

Rub for Ribs

  • 1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons of Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon of Garlic powder
  • 1 Tablespoon of Chili powder
  • 1 Teaspoon of Paprika
  • 1/2 Teaspoon of Black Pepper
  • Optional -Can add a little store bought rub into the mixture if it has something unique and compliments pork. 

Finishing/Mop Sauce 

  • 1 Can of Tomato Paste
  • 3 Tablespoons Vinegar
  • 1/2 Cup of White Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons of Molasses
  • 1 Tablespoon of Ketchup 
  • 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder 
  • 1 Teaspoon of Chili Powder
  • Optional – Chipotle Powder 
  1. Remove the ribs from the refrigerator and let them sit out for an hour before working with them. 
  2. Place ribs on a cookie sheet and pat them dry with paper towels.
  3. Almost every recipe I have ever seen tells you to remove the skin from the back. I can never do this and seems like so much more bother than its worth. I skip that step but if you prefer to so, go right ahead. 
  4. Prepare the rub by mixing all of your ingredients together.
  5. Rub the ribs all over making sure to coat all sides. 
  6. Start your smoker and when the smoke turns blue add a piece of hickory and or applewood.  The hickory is a bolder taste and the apple is sweeter, so I mix them.
  7. Adjust your heat to 225 degrees F
  8. Add the ribs to an indirect area of the grill if you have that option. 
  9. While the ribs are smoking, prepare your finishing sauce (or mop sauce as it is sometimes referred to).
  10. Before the 2 hour mark, preheat your indor oven to 225 F
  11. After two hours, line a baking sheet with long pieces of aluminum foil twice as long as your ribs. 
  12. Place the hot smokey ribs on it. 
  13. Add your sauce and wrap completely. 
  14. Cook for two hours in the oven. 
  15. Remove and slice at an angle

Enjoy! 

Fixed Pics in LOF 1023 (2)

Herb Smoked and Roasted Whole Turkey

The star of the Thanksgiving meal is the turkey. I used a 14.5 lb. frozen turkey. I removed it from the freezer to the refrigerator on Saturday to be ready on Thursday.  It is important to brine the bird for moisture, so we will start with those ingredients. I made my brine more of a marinade than a traditional brine. (A traditional brine calls for more salt and you have to rinse it down before cooking).  I planned to smoke my turkey using a steam pot in my smoker to hold in even more moisture and infuse additional flavor. I will share that also below. Lastly, I rubbed the turkey. This was by far the best turkey I have ever made! 

Brine

  • 2 Gallons of Water
  • 18 Ounces of Vegetable Stock
  • 1/3 Cup of Sea Salt
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1 Apple (sliced)
  • 1 Onion (rough cut)
  • 1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary 
  • 1 Sprig of Fresh Thyme
  • 1 Sprig of Sage

 Steam Pot
(I used my blue dutch oven to put in the smoker under the bird) I used mostly all the same ingredients as above. 

  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1 Apple (sliced)
  • 1 Onion (rough cut)
  • 1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary 
  • 1 Sprig of Fresh Thyme
  • 1 Sprig of Sage
  • 18 Ounces of Vegetable Stock
  • 1-2 Carrots (cut into quarters)
  • 1-2 Celery Stalks (cut into quarters)

For the Turkey Rub 

3/4 of a Stick of Butter

1/4 Cup of Fresh Thyme (removed from stem)

1/2 Cup of Minced Rosemary (no stems)

1/2 Cup to 3/4 Cup of Minced Sage (no stems)

 

For the Brine

  1. Add all brine/marinade ingredients to a large pot or oversized bowl. 
    (remember I made a quasi brine that was more like a marinade so no need to boil and cool or to rinse the next day).
  2. Soak overnight. 
  3. Pull the turkey from the brine after 12 hours and pat completely dry with paper towels. (This is an important step for the skin to cook properly in the smoker).

For the Rub

  1. Mix all the ingredients with a food processor or immersion blender
  2. Apply the rub with your hands all over the dry turkey before smoking it.
  3. Reserve some for basting in a small pot on the stove. 

For the Steam Pot

  1. Add in all the ingredients and once your smoker has been lit and the smoke is the right color, set the steam pot down into the grill, right on the reflector plates and then place your grill racks over it. 

For the Grill

  1. I made a little foil packet of the fresh herbs, sealed it well and poked 3 tiny holes in it and set it down right on the coals (optional) 
  2. I placed a small piece of applewood in the smoker for a mild smoke flavor. 

For the Turkey

  1. Place the turkey on the racks in the grill for 2 hours at 350 degrees F.  
  2. At 1 hour and 40 minutes, preheat your indoor oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. Remove the turkey and place it in a roasting pan. Baste it with the extra mixture of butter and herbs.
  4. Transfer it to your oven. Baste one more time over the next hour.
  5. Tent it with a piece of aluminum foil if the skin appears to be getting too dark before the temperature reaches 160 degrees F. 
  6. When the temp is 160 degrees F pull the turkey from the oven and wrap it in aluminum foil completely and let it sit for 45 mins to an hour before carving.

Smoked Turkey Anytime

  • 14 Lb.Turkey (innards removed) 
  • 1 Cup of Brown Sugar 
  • 1/2 Cup of Prepared Rub (I used a rub called Sweet Money)
  • 1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon 
  • 1 Tablespoon of Salt
  1. Pat the turkey dry.
  2. (optional) I cut a large part of the backbone out of the turkey with a pair of sturdy kitchen shears made for cutting through shellfish. This is an advanced technique called spatchcocking. If you opt not to do this total cook time may be extended.
  3. Place all the dry ingredients in a very large bowl and mix. 
  4. Place the turkey in the bowl and rub it down on all sides.
  5. Smoke for 2 hours using pecan, peach or applewood ( I used pecan).
  6. Remove from smoker and completely cover it with tin foil.
  7. Place in a roasting pan and roast at 350 degrees F for 2- and a half more hours until the internal temp reads 160-165 degrees F

Smoked Vegetable Meat Chili

  • 1-1.5 lbs. of Meatloaf Mix  (ground beef, ground pork and ground veal.) Next time I would leave out the pork, as it added a lot of oil to remove.
  • 4-5 Dried Guajillo Peppers 
  • 3 Poblano Peppers
  • 3 Jalapeno Peppers
  • 1 Bell Pepper
  • 1 Large Onion
  • 4 Cloves of Garlic
  • 6 Roma Tomatoes
  • 2 28 Oz. Cans of Whole Tomatoes 
  • 1 Can of Tomato Paste
  • 1 Tbls. Olive Oil
  • 1/4 Teaspoon of Onion Powder
  • 1/4 Teaspoon of Cumin 
  • 1/4 Teaspoon of Chili Powder 
  • 1/4 Teaspoon of Chipotle Powder
  • 1/4 Teaspoon of Dried Cilantro
  • 1/4 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
  • 1 Bottle of Beer
  • 1-2 Cans of Kidney Beans
  • Salt to Taste
  1. Soak the Guajillo peppers several hours until they plump a bit.
  2. Smoke the peppers, the Roma tomatoes, and the garlic at a low temperature.
  3. Chop (roughly) and sweat out the onions in a bit of olive oil.
  4. Process the garlic, Guajillo peppers, onion and tomato paste together in a food processor or with an immersion blender. 
  5. Chop up all the smoked veggies.
  6. Brown the meat.
  7. Mix all the ingredients together including the spices, except for the beer and the beans. 
  8. Simmer on low stirring and paying attention you do not want it to burn or stick to the bottom of the pot.
  9. Once it has been cooking for about 1 hour add the beer.
  10. Taste the chili in the next 30 minutes to see how your spices are doing, if you think you need to add more you can do so at this time. 
  11. If it is too spicy (it should not be) you can simply add more canned tomatoes
  12. Once you have the spices where you like them go ahead and add the beans and cook for 30 minutes more.