Hacienda Brothers, Cudighi and Drummond Island

I’m getting ready for my family’s annual trek to Drummond Island (in the eastern U.P. of Michigan) and was fortunate enough to be given a new CD to review; Hacienda Brothers, Arizona Motel.

I am one lucky dog.  Great road music.

Back in the day, there was a legendary, west Michigan band named, Four Wheel Drive, who played in various honky tonks in the area.  Their motto was: Strictly Country Music. From the first to last song on this CD, I was reminded of: strictly country music. Terrific steel guitar, strong vocals and a lot of heart.  Researching this band turned up a great story.  Based out of Arizona, this group has a cult-like following.  Unfortunately the lead singer, song-writer and vocalist just passed away, and this became his last CD.

I wish I would of discovered this band sooner.  If you are fans of Waylon Jennings and Los Super Seven (Freddy Fender, Flaco Jiminez, Joe Ely, etc.), you will absolutely love this CD.

Now to Drummond Island, as I have stated before, Michigan does not have a great BBQ tradition.  The Upper Peninsula has even less.  Michigan’s U.P. is known for many things (whitefish dinners, pasties), barbecue is not one of them.  However, a very interesting food fact about the U.P….there is a strong Italian tradition in Iron Mountain and a specialty sausage call cudighi.  Here is a recipe from Kevin Taylor (Stogie).  If my memory serves me right, Kevin went by the nickname of Stogie, and was a regular in the BBQ circuit for a few years…a terrific and generous guy.  I lost contact with Kevin, but remember him telling me about this fantastic U.P. Italian Sausage, and with a little searching, here is his post and recipe: (Kevin,,,,if you read this, drop me a note…your buddy at The Outdoor Cook in Rockford)

Cudighi
Recipe by: Kevin Taylor

This is a sausage that is indigenous to a very small geographic location. The Iron Mountain, Michigan area is populated by many Italians that settled here. These
Italians came from the Northern regions of Italy, around the Austrian border, and their cooking was greatly influenced by Austria and France. Northern Italian cooking is quite different than the more popular Sicilian (Southern) cooking. It has sweeter sauces and most of the recipes do not use fennel. This is a sausage that I grew up with and upon leaving found that it is nowhere to be found. So, I had to learn to make it myself. It is rather unique and I am sure you probably never tasted anything quite like it. Hope you enjoy it!

6 lb. pork butt
2 T. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 to 1 C. dry red wine
6 garlic cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 clove

Have the pork coarse ground and DO NOT have fat trimmed (you want about 25% fat). Put through the meat grinder TWICE.

Mix the following ingredients together: salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Work into ground pork with your hands.

Combine wine, cinnamon sticks, garlic and cloves. Boil this mixture for 5 minutes and let completely cool.

Strain this mixture, reserving the liquid and work the liquid into the meat.

Let meat season in refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Some serving suggestions
You can make this into links or leave in bulk. We use it in all of our Italian cooking…lasagna, pizza, etc. You can also serve this as a sandwich, either grilled or pan fried. Many people ate these sandwiches with mustard and onions…..but the most popular way was to top with mozzarella cheese and some spaghetti sauce….you could add some green peppers and mushrooms too.

Another way to serve this was as an appetizer with cheese and crackers. To do this, roll the sausage into a summer sausage-like log. Wrap this in foil (doesn’t have to be airtight) and boil in water for 45 minutes. Let cool and serve slices.

Secrets of the Brisket King Revealed!

Al Capone’s vault, King Tut’s tomb, and the unraveling of DNA’s genetic code take a back seat to the secret of a perfect barbecued beef brisket.

How do you make a shoe-leather tough piece of beef fork tender? How do you manage the smoke and heat of an open fire for the amount of time it takes to accomplish this amazing feat?

Mark this date: Brisket and Pork Butt Clinic, Thursday, July 17, 6:00 pm, Herman’s Boy, Rockford, MI. $25.00/person. Part humanitarian and part selfishness, as I prepare for the State of Michigan BBQ Championship, I will share with those in the class, the secrets of my award winning beef brisket. Also discussed will be how to barbecue pork shoulder. The grill of choice will be the Big Green Egg, however all techniques will be  applicable to any grill. This is an event not to be missed by those who seek the state of mind best described as “grilladelic”.

Pure Midwestern BBQ Music

John Cougar was a staple at many of the parties during my misspent youth in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Twenty five plus years later,  John Mellencamp will now be rocking at your nearest coffee shop thanks to his new CD, Life, Death, Love and Freedom, which is scheduled for release on July 15 by Hear Music at Starbucks Company operated locations.  (Hear Music is licensed trademark of Starbucks)

With T-Bone Burnett as his producer, there should be no surprise with the “O’ Brother Where for Art Thou” vibe throughout the recording.  Mellencamp himself described the recording as  “modern electric folk songs”.

As a reviewer for a local radio station, WYCE, I had the opportunity to check out this CD prior to it’s release. I liked the CD the first time I heard it, but grew to really appreciate it on every subsequent listen.  Although definitely in the folk/blues genre, the tracks range from the 1950ish, upbeat sound of track #2 , My Sweet Love, to the bluesy track #6, Joe Cockers.  My favorites tunes were #3 If I Die Sudden, #4 Troubled Love and #8 A Ride Back Home.

The midwest usually is only a footnote in the annals of BBQ tradition.  But we certainly hold our own with great ingredients and a blue collar approach to the grill.  First, the midwest is steeped in beer and sausage making traditions. Two very important ingredients to a barbecue party. Of course, the highly influential manufacturer of grills, Weber, is a Chicago native.  Combine that with a strong urban grill scene and hundreds of back-forty pig roasts, and you have some worthy smoke.

So this summer, fire up your grill, and listen to Mellencamp’s new CD.  There is enough familiarity to take you back to the all-night summer keg parties at the sand dunes with Jack and Diane, Little Pink Houses and Cherry Bomb.

10th Annual State of Michigan BBQ Competition

July 25 and 26th, John Ball Park Zoo, Grand Rapids, MI

The link above will take you to the web site that has more details (including the application)

Team Grilladelic’s goal is a top 15 finish, with at least two top ten call outs. We would be very disappointed with anything less.

If you are around, stop by and say hi.

New Music for a “Barbecue” (as in “party”)

As important as dry rubs, cold beer and hardwood charcoal are to a good barbecue experience the right music is critical. Great tunes makes everything taste better. Great music makes the party hop.

Like barbecuing (verb) one of life’s simple pleasures is when you discover and introduce new music to family and friends. It’s kind of like stumbling upon a terrific recipe or technique. As a music reviewer for our local, independent radio station, WYCE, I have the opportunity to listen to a lot of “out-of-the-mainstream” music. Frequently, these new releases are “OK” (working under the philosophy that all music is good….to the right audience). This week however, I hit the jackpot. Two CD’s that were absolutely terrific.

Both are from the singer/songwriter schools of John Prine, Townes Van Zant, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Guy Clark, Butch Hancock and many other similar troubadors.

Adam Carroll’s. Old Town Rock n’ Roll has all of John Prine’s humor, phrasing, vocal nuances and story telling, but with a Texas perspective. I think I would pair this CD with a spicy brisket, beans, corn bread and a cold wheat beer.

Peter Cooper’s Mission Door is terrific in it’s Nashville/steel guitar way. Peter is an interesting cat. He is a country music professor at Vanderbilt University, and a columnist for the Nashville daily newspaper and a contributor to Esquire. Mission Door would be good with barbecued or grilled chicken breasts (skin on…please), corn-on-the-cob, homemade coleslaw (the rough cut variety….not any mass produced slop) and a cold lager….maybe Dos Equis…

I guess it doesn’t really matter what you eat with it, but please turn the music up loud, enjoy a few beers or cocktails, have the the grill smoking and I think you will be approaching the state of mind, best described as grilladelic.