Dr. BBQ

Living the American dream!!

A previous post detailed my first meeting with Ray, at one of the earliest State of Michigan’s BBQ Competitions.  I remember it well,and Ray was kind enough to leave a comment on my blog.

I was browsing the BBQ Forum today and read a few posts by Ray, and revisited his site and caught up on his success. Some terrific stuff going on. My take on it,  hard work and passion can get you places in life.

I hope to catch up with you sometime Ray!

Heresy! Chicken Fried Ribs

Chicken Fried Ribs (what is the world coming too?)

Gourmet Magazine, October 2008

Like the classic steak preparation for which they are named, these crisp panko-crusted ribs cook fast, but they’re surprisingly tender on the inside. View more of our favorite recipes from this issue.

For ribs

• About 6 cups vegetable oil
• 2 racks baby back ribs (about 1 lb each), cut into ribs
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

For mustard sauce

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 Kirby cucumber, coarsely grated
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• Equipment:

  a deep-fat thermometer

Make ribs:

• Preheat oven to 200°F.
• Heat 3/4 inch oil to 325°F in a deep 12-inch skillet over medium heat.
• Meanwhile, season ribs with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Put flour, eggs, and panko in 3 separate shallow bowls. Dredge ribs in flour, then coat with egg, letting excess drip off, and panko.
• Fry ribs in batches, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer first batch to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven. (Return oil to 325°F between batches.)

Make sauce while ribs fry:

• Stir together sauce ingredients. Serve ribs with sauce.

Serve with: boiled or mashed potatoes

Recipe by Maggie Ruggiero

Photograph by Romulo Yane

The Grillery

If I was the marketing director of the company who manufactures The Grillery, I would make the tag line: “who in their right mind wouldn’t want a grill like this?”

Check it out. Stainless steel construction, made in the USA, cooking grates that you raise or lower to adjust the grill temperature (how fun is that!), a large fire box designed to burn wood, an accessible and easy to clean firebox, and a grate system that collects the drippings for easy basting. Other features include a rotisserie set up that really creates a very authentic “cooking over an open fire experience”. Santa Maria barbecue anyone?

To good to be true? Of course no grill is perfect. The lack of a hood prevents the traditional “low-n-slow” cooking style that really infuses barbecue with a smoky flavor. Grilling with wood is terrific, but it is not as easy (or convenient) as charcoal or lump charcoal. Wood requires a longer lead time to prepare the red hot coals needed to be grilled with. And the price….well, having been in the grill business, the old axiom “you get what you pay for” fits this product to a “T”. (in other words, you want quality manufacturing, stainless steel, made in the U.S.A….be prepared to pay for it)

As a disclaimer, I have not cooked on The Grillery – but I have been aware of it for many years. I have grilled on many other similar grills and was in the industry for many years. I know grills…I know quality…I know the utility of great grilling. You can trust me on this,,,,to paraphrase the great Willie Nelson, “if you got the money honey, I got the grill!”.

(one other thing , and I think this speaks volumes about a business, I was on the Grillery’s website, and I sent the company a question about adding a hood to their grills, and within two hours, I had an answer back from a real person! When is the last time that has happenned to you? And by the way, the answer to my question is that the team at The Grillery is open to any ideas!!)

Dream Grill – Part 2

I am considering abandoning my multiple-Weber-grills-plus-an-old-Hasty-Bake strategy for competitions (and home).  I still like the old school feel to Webers and the artist in me enjoys the nuances of cooking with a kettle.  Every cook is an unique,  one-of-a-kind experience.

However, after lunch with my friend and fellow BBQ enthusiast,  Harlan, and lamenting my poor showing at Silver Lake, I began thinking that life would be a lot easier, with one big grill, preferable a mobile unit.  I do admit, one big portable pit would make my evening family barbecues an exercise in over kill, but over kill can be underrated.

Previously I posted my lust for a Weber Ranch Kettle.  Heavy duty, stainless grates, a tremendous cooking surface.  It still is number one on my chart, but I am trying to think this through with my head, not my heart.  Here is a partial list of the grills that over the next several months, I will do my due diligence on:

The Grillery

Lang Smokers

Hasty Bake

Cajun Grill

Big Green Egg

Tejas Pits

Klose Pits

My plan is to research these units and share my thoughts.  Trying to find the balance between home use and competition use, common sense and “grill-rational thinking”  and affordability and wretched excess…

Chili Results

The aforementioned chili….

Terrific.

Only suggestion would be to add more heat—perhaps a couple of jalepenos. The brisket was real tender and the butternut squash played the role of beans perfectly. I sopped it up with a flour tortilla.

Texas Beef Brisket Chili

Taking a break from the grill, but still working on some brisket.

Here is a recipe I am trying out from Bon Appetit.  I am very excited about this…serve time should be halftime of the N.D/MSU football game on Saturday.   I report on the results…sometimes recipes look better than they taste!

Texas Beef Brisket Chili

A cold-weather favorite, this all-beef, no-bean chili gets added appeal from a seasonal ingredient: butternut squash. For best results, make the chili at least one day ahead so that the flavors have time to meld.

8 to 10 servings

Recipe by Bruce Aidells

Photograph by Hans Gissinger

October 2008

Ingredients

CHILI

• 6 large dried ancho chiles* (about 3 ounces), stemmed, seeded, coarsely torn
• 6 oz bacon, diced
• 1 1/4 pounds onions, chopped (about 4 cups)
• 1 5-pound flat-cut (also called first-cut) beef brisket, cut into 2 1/2- to 3-inch cubes
• Coarse kosher salt
• 6 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 1 1/2 10-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chiles (1 3/4 cups)
• 1 12-ounce bottle Mexican beer
• 1 7-ounce can diced roasted green chiles
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro stems
• 4 cups 1 1/2- to 2-inch chunks seeded peeled butternut squash (from 3 1/2-pound squash)

GARNISHES

• Fresh cilantro leaves
• Chopped red onion
• Diced avocado
• Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• Warm corn and/or flour tortillas

Preparation

CHILI

• Place chiles in medium bowl. Pour enough boiling water over to cover. Soak until chiles soften, at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Sauté bacon in heavy large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat until beginning to brown. Add onions. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle beef all over with coarse salt and pepper. Add to pot; stir to coat. Set aside.
• Drain chiles, reserving soaking liquid. Place chiles in blender. Add 1 cup soaking liquid, garlic, chili powder, cumin seeds, oregano, coriander, and 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt; blend to puree, adding more soaking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if very thick. Pour puree over brisket in pot. Add tomatoes with juices, beer, green chiles, and cilantro stems. Stir to coat evenly.
• Bring chili to simmer. Cover and place in oven. Cook 2 hours. Uncover and cook until beef is almost tender, about 1 hour. Add squash; stir to coat. Roast uncovered until beef and squash are tender, adding more soaking liquid if needed to keep meat covered, about 45 minutes longer. Season chili to taste with salt and pepper. Tilt pot and spoon off any fat from surface of sauce. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool 1 hour. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled.

GARNISHES

• Set out garnishes in separate dishes. Rewarm chili over low heat. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.
• *Available at many supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Latin markets

Music to Sooth the Savage Soul

As I lick my wounds from the beating I took at the Silver Lake BBQ Competition, I used a little a music to bring back a healthier perspective on life.  No matter how dry a brisket might turn out, there is still good music to be discovered and enjoyed. Life remains good.

Here is a new CD I reviewed from the WYCE collection.

The John Henrys
Sweet as the Grain

This summer I was turned on to Fred Eaglesmith with his sensational Tinderbox CD.  Then I discovered the Duhks.  Now I have added The John Henrys’ new CD, Sweet as the Grain,  to my playlist.  The common denominator; Canadian roots music.

Sweet as a Grain, has been highly praised by a wide variety of mainstream and new media music critics. It is a blend of country, rockabilly and rock and roll.  Although their sound is unique, I was reminded of The Flying Burrito Brothers and New Riders of the Purple Sage, especially in track #1- Sweet as the Grain.  In tracks #3 and #6, there is certainly a sound much like Tom Petty’s new band; Mudcrutch.  Another musical memory was when I listened to tracks #5 and #10- and The Rolling Stones “country” sounds were called to mind.  A little rockabilly (with a touch of surf music) rounds out the CD– especially on tracks #8 and #9…(anyone remember the The Lost Planet Airmen?)

So there you go- The John Henrys; A little Burrito, some Petty, a couple of stones,  a touch of a surfing Commander Cody and a fresh Canadian breeze.

Silver Lake + Grilladelic = Titanic

This was basically the only highlight, in a long, wet weekend.  Grilling with the kids….

But first things first.   This was, without a doubt, an almost fatal blow to my competitive BBQ aspirations.  I don’t know if it was the Gaelic Storm t-shirts my wife and I wore on Saturday, but Team Grilladelic resembled the USS Titanic.  The only difference being instead of an iceberg, we ran into tough ribs, dry brisket and baffling pork (baffling because it tasted terrific…)

I am not going into any detail on how bad we did in three of the four categories (and overall).  A third place in chicken was the only bright spot on Saturday.

Besides having my family with me, I did get a chance to see many old friends…most from The Outdoor Cook days; the Applegates, Eric and his wife,  Harlan, Chuckie, Ford, Ted, Hot Smoky and Righteous, Big Moe, and several other folks so it wasn’t a total disaster.

I did make it to a life boat and worked my way home  (in pouring rain), unloaded the trailer, (in pouring rain) and spent a couple of hours of cleaning before I was able to enjoy a cold one and hit the hay.

Here are the top 10 results (out of 38 teams)

Chicken:
1- Quau
2- Extreme Roasters
3- Grilladelic (the only bright spot in a dismal display of BBQ)
4- Red Wagon BBQ
5- Brazen Q (good going Harlan…)
6- Coyote Cafe
7- M22 BBQ (the return of Steve and Julie Applegate to the BBQ elite)
8- Donnies BBQ
9- Hot Smokey And Righteous (customer from The Outdoor Cook)
10- Pork of the North

Ribs:
1-Motley Que Crew
2-All Day Smoke
3-Extreme Roasters
4-Red Wagon BBQ
5-Bavarian Smoke
6-Cancer Sucks
7-M22 BBQ (the Applegates again…is this a trend?)
8-Home Smokin
9-Straight Meat (Dr. Chuckie was a guest this weekend, helping out another customer from The Outdoor Cook)
10-Aww Hell

Pork :
1-All Day Smoke
2-Big Moe’s (Paul is one of the areas best barbecuers—hardest working too)
3-Great Lakes BBQ/Feed (Ford is a classic BBQ technician…good guy and serious Q’er)
4-Smokin Scottsmen
5-Cancer Sucks
6-Hickory Bbq and Grill
7-Quau
8-Red Wagon Bbq
9-Roadmaster Bbq
10-Motley Que Crew

Brisket:
1-Extreme Roasters
2-Quau
3-Pork of the North
4-All Day Smoke
5-Rubbed Smoked Sauced
6-Straight Meat Bbq (very good day Ted)
7-Smokin Scottsmen
8-M22 Bbq (Hmmm…Eric and is wife helped too!)
9-Red Wagon Bbq
10-Down Home Bbq

Top Ten
Grand-All Day Smoke (652.5714)
Reserve-Extreme Roasters
3-Quau
4-Red Wagon Bbq
5-Smokin Scottsmen
6-Cancer Sucks
7-M22 Bbq  (aka Mrs. Dog)
8-Great Lakes Bbq/Feed (Ford- great seeing you again)
9-Pork of the North
10-Straight Meat Bbq

Where did Grilladelic end overall? Let me put it this way, we added another “B” (Brutal) to BBQ.

Here some pics:

M-22. (The Applegates) Pouring rain. Perfect Egg weather.  The best foul weather grill/bbq made.

Third place chicken. I do admit, this was good chicken.

Last place ribs.  Looked great, tasted good, tough as leather.  They needed another 30-45 minutes in foil to really get tender.  And to think, I was worried they were going to be overcooked!

Grilling in the Rain. Just Grilling in the Rain.

Rain is in the forecast for the Silver Lake BBQ Competition.  I will need to do my best Fred Astaire impression I’m afraid.

It makes me yearn for The Big Green Egg.  The finest foul-weather grill/bbq in the world.  I just have to make due with my Webers and Hasty Bake….adjust for longer cooking times.  The interesting thing about bad weather at  a cookoff, is that it can throw off some teams with less experience.

My next post will be after the event.  Goals:  1) Top 5 finish.  2) Three top ten call outs.

We’ll see.

Tassier’s Maple Rub

A new product on the shelf caught my attention the other day.  Tassier’s Maple Products. Specifically, their Maple Rub and their Maple Brew Barbecue Sauce.

After reading the ingredients, I knew I had to try it; sweet and locally made in Cedarville, MI (Michigan’s UP). I am always looking for locally crafted sauces and rubs- not just private label stuff, but honest-to-God-made by the producers.  Not easy to find. [I am hoping that I still know how to read labels, and that the FDA has not made any changes to their: 'manufactured by" vs. "manufactured for"regulations]”

Besides liking new products, I do have the Silver Lake BBQ Competition on the horizon (in about 10 days) and I am wanting to do something with my pulled pork.  It’s good.  Not great.  I need great to have a chance for a top 5 finish.

To make a long story short, I tried both the rub and sauce with a 6lb. pork loin that I had my Weber kettle rotisserie.  Thumbs up.  I need to tweak the sauce a bit (add some heat….) but the sweetness was there…and it was a maple sugar sweetness…something a little different.

So I am all set:

Chicken and Ribs:  Rockford Rib Rub and Big Ricks BBQ

Brisket: Homemade rub and Orgasmic Slabs BBQ Sauce

Pork: Tassiers Maple Rub and Barbecue Brew