We Are Spartans!

Grilladelic finished up it’s 2009 BBQ campaign on Saturday in the heroic fields of Sparta, MI.

It was an epic battle..

Three Weber Kettles vs. an army of the midwest’s greatest barbecuers:

• Extreme Roaster, featuring Troy, a BBQ god.
• Smokin’ Scotsmen: Fear the Kilt!
• Pork of the North
• Great Lakes BBQ Feed Company
• and many more….

After the smoke had cleared, Team Grilladelic stood alone in 7th place…separated from glory by only the fickle brisket judges!

JR

JR Jr. A Barbecue Apprentice

11th Place Brisket. Very costly. I thought it was top three.

Third place pork! Team Grilladelic: Nora, Dad and Jack

Pit boss in training. My 8 month old nephew. Like training puppies, only give them a taste at this age. Next year, he can start with dishes.

Harvest on the Ridge BBQ

Sparta, MI
09/25/2009 – 09/26/2009

Grand Champion: Extreme Roasters Reserve Champion: Great Lakes BBQ & Feed Co Overall: 1 Extreme Roasters 2 Great Lakes BBQ & Feed C 3 Pork of the North 4 Ole Ken-Chuckie BBQ 5 Smokin Scotsmen 6 Ancor City Smoke 7 Grilladelic 8 Just Blowin Smoke 9 Rub Me Tender 10 Donnie’s BBQ 11 Squirels 2 BBQ 12 Pigs n’ Digs BBQ Team 13 Boogie BBQ 14 Hot,Smokey and Righteous 15 Potts’ Pitt 16 Smokey Rhodes BBQ
Chicken: 1 Great Lakes BBQ & Feed C 2 Ole Ken-Chuckie BBQ 3 Just Blowin Smoke 4 Extreme Roasters 5 Smokin Scotsmen 6 Grilladelic 7 Pigs n’ Digs BBQ Team 8 Rub Me Tender 9 Boogie BBQ 10 Ancor City Smoke 11 Pork of the North 12 Donnie’s BBQ 13 Squirels 2 BBQ 14 Potts’ Pitt 15 Smokey Rhodes BBQ 16 Hot,Smokey and Righteous	Ribs: 1 Extreme Roasters 2 Great Lakes BBQ & Feed C 3 Ancor City Smoke 4 Rub Me Tender 5 Pork of the North 6 Donnie’s BBQ 7 Grilladelic 8 Boogie BBQ 9 Smokin Scotsmen 10 Just Blowin Smoke 11 Ole Ken-Chuckie BBQ 12 Squirels 2 BBQ 13 Potts’ Pitt 14 Pigs n’ Digs BBQ Team 15 Hot,Smokey and Righteous 16 Smokey Rhodes BBQ
Pork: 1 Ole Ken-Chuckie BBQ 2 Extreme Roasters 3 Grilladelic 4 Pork of the North 5 Hot,Smokey and Righteous 6 Smokey Rhodes BBQ 7 Smokin Scotsmen 8 Squirels 2 BBQ 9 Great Lakes BBQ & Feed C 10 Ancor City Smoke 11 Donnie’s BBQ 12 Just Blowin Smoke 13 Rub Me Tender 14 Potts’ Pitt 15 Pigs n’ Digs BBQ Team 16 Boogie BBQ	Brisket: 1 Pork of the North 2 Smokin Scotsmen 3 Just Blowin Smoke 4 Extreme Roasters 5 Ancor City Smoke 6 Pigs n’ Digs BBQ Team 7 Hot,Smokey and Righteous 8 Rub Me Tender 9 Great Lakes BBQ & Feed C 10 Ole Ken-Chuckie BBQ 11 Grilladelic 12 Squirels 2 BBQ 13 Boogie BBQ 14 Potts’ Pitt 15 Donnie’s BBQ 16 Smokey Rhodes BBQ

Fu-Fu on the Grill

Grilling grapes and cheese seems a bit pretentious…but I’m OK with it…as long as Barry Manilow isn’t the musical side dish. (I’d recommend a little Willie Nile)

From Bon Appetit’s website:

7 Foods You Never Knew You Could Grill

Grilladelic commentary is in red. Enjoy

9:26 AM / August 26, 2009

/ Posted by Andrew Knowlton

This summer, think outside the ‘cue. Grill these items for remarkably easy, wholly unexpected, and thoroughly delicious appetizers, garnishes, and side dishes.

GRAPES
Small clusters won’t fall through the grate and will get even juicier and sweeter over the heat. Serve as a garnish with pork or sausage.
Try this: Beer-Brined Grilled Pork Chops
I can buy into this.  Grilled grapes next to some sizzling sausage should be tasty.

CHEESE
Briefly grill small wheels of soft cheese (such as Brie) uncut, in their rind, until just melting. Haloumi or queso fresco cheese work as well. Serve with other cheeses and fruit as an appetizer or simple dessert course.
Try this: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Stacks
Cheese is a grill classic.  Try Brie on a cedar plank.  Just soak the plank in water for several hours, place over the coals or burners and get it smoking (but not igniting). Set the Brie on the plank, close the cover and damp down the heat.  It doesn’t take long, 5 minutes +/-..but it is nice!  Hey, throw those grapes on top of the Brie!

ROOT VEGETABLES
Steam or parboil root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, turnips, potatoes, or sweet potatoes until slightly tender. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and your choice of herbs. Grill over medium heat until charred.
Try this: Grilled Smashed Potatoes
No brainer. Yukon Golds, partially cooked then rubbed with EVO, kosher salt, black pepper and a little rosemary on the grill  is one of the seven wonders of the world.

FRISEE
Toss lightly in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and cook over medium-hot grill just to wilt.
Add to: salads for smoky flavor and textural contrast.
Try this: Lobster Salad with Fresh Mint and Lime
Don’t buy into this. Not in my wheelhouse.

SHELLFISH
Shrimp and lobsters are excellent grill foods–so too are clams and oysters. Place the freshest clams or oysters you can buy directly on the grill over high heat. Cover and cook until shellfish opens, 4 to 5 minutes. Eat straight from the grill with simply a squeeze of lemon and hot sauce.
Try this: Grill-Roasted Clam Linguine

Shellfish has been grilled for eons.   Not to unusual.
MELONS
A few seconds on a hot grill does wonders for watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew and other melons. Not only do the grill marks look appetizing, they taste good too–the heat caramelizes the sugars of the fruit resulting in a mildly smokey and nutty flavor.
Try this: Brochette of Melon, Prosciutto, and Fresh Mozzarella
This might be worth trying…but not sure.
CITRUS
Halved and charred, cut side down, limes, lemons, and oranges are a beautiful garnish for fish and chicken. The sugars caramelize and make a smoky-sweet sauce to squeeze over the food.
Try this: Grilled Halibut with Grilled Red Pepper Harissa

I like the garnish angle.   Plus, I like squeezing fresh lemons and limes on my meats during grilling.  Keeps it moist and adds a nice little flavor kick.  Now just squeeze then toss the citrus half on the grill afterwards.  Recycling!

Silver Lake BBQ 2009

Harlan and John= Grilladelic Brazen Que

Silver Lake BBQ Championship is in the books.  A nice event, made even better by absolutely perfect weather.

Team Grilladelic joined up with team Brazen Que for the first time and we are fairly happy with the results:

• 10th place overall (out of 35 teams)
• 3rd Place Chicken
• 9th Place Pork
• 14th Place Brisket (but should of been higher)
• 25th Place Ribs (but should of been lower.  Absolutely terrible)

Overall a great time.  Harlan is a great guy and a real student of barbecue.  A slip up with the ribs probably cost us a top five finish but that is life on the competition BBQ circuit.  Next up:  Sparta! Harvest on the Ridge.

Click here for the detailed results.

3rd Place Chicken Turn-In

Chicken 3rd Place.

Ribs = Disaster. Overcooked the spares.

Fantastic Pork. Sliced and Chunked

Our BBQ site. Eggs and Kettles. Beautiful day

M-22 BBQ. The famous Mrs. Dog the Applegate Team

Competitor's rig. BBQ vendor too.

Nora liked the ribs. Judges did not.

Harlan's turn-in for pork. This was 9th place. It was tasty.

Murderer’s Row!

The names alone are enough to give experienced, competitive barbecuers nightmares!

• Smokin’ Scotsmen
• Dr. Porkenstein
• Straight Meat BBQ Boys
• Motley Que
• Big Moe
• Dr. Chucky
• Skin ‘n Bones
• Hog Wild
• Hot, Smoky and Righteous
• Burnt End Boys
• Mrs. Dog and M-22 BBQ
• Great Lakes BBQ and Feed Company

We won’t know until we get set up on Friday, but I can guarantee you the Silver Lake / Apple Fest Barbecue Championship will be full of drama, pork, smoke and beef.  Don’t miss it.

If you stop by on either Friday night or Saturday, make sure you say to John and Harlan: Team Grilladelic Brazen Que.

Competition Categories (Must Compete in all Categories)

Chicken

Ribs

Pork

Beef Brisket

Total of $6,000 In Prizes

• Grand Champion — $1,200 + Trophy (Also invited to the American Royal Invitational and entered in pool for Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue Championship)
• Reserve Grand Champion — $600 + Trophy

Ten Ways to Pimp Your Tailgate Party

What you need to know to create the ultimate tailgate experience. the following represents a guide to the “creme de la creme” of tailgating accessories.   This list can be taken as a whole or it can act as a smorgasbord of tailgating options.  All of the items are certified grilladelic.

EZ UP

Nothing says a party like a large canopy in a parking lot. Practical and cool.  I have used the  EZ UP brand for over ten years and it is a stud.  Sturdy and dependable.  You can also splurge and customize the tops with the name of your favorite team.

Grill

The toughest category for a grilladelic recommendation due to the shear number of choices.  However, since grilling is not a spectator sport and  it is more impressive to tow a grill then to pull one from your trunk, my recommendation goes to this Santa Maria-style unit. This grill provides you with a charcoal experience for the best of tailgating food: brats, sausages, hot dogs, burgers, fajitas, veggies, etc.   Plus it requires actual grill skills.  In other words, you are the  starting QB, front and center,  in the biggest game of the year.  Work the coals, flip the burgers, sizzle those sausages.

Gas Powered Blender

Who needs extension cords and a generator? Let ‘er rip.  Game day smoothies, margaritas, daiquiris, and even fresh salsa.  Plus it is an attention getter.  Why else tailgate if you don’t want to show off your spread?

Table and Chairs

Not too sexy, but reliable.  Lifetime makes good, affordable tables and chairs.  Easy to set up, takes a pounding and quick to clean.

Music

A very subjective recommendation, but I think you should go with your own tunes.  It’s your party.  Create your play list and then set up you MP-3 player for the duration of the party.  Bose has always served me well.

Coolers

Mission critical.  Any cooler will actual do, but the cooler the cooler, the cooler the event.  Recommend at least two coolers.  One for beverages and one for food that needs to be cooled.

Vehicle

I love GM and Chevy trucks.  200,000 miles is not a problem.  I realize big trucks  might not be the most “green” choice today, but you are tailgating for crying out loud!  How else will you tow the grill, store the canopy, chairs, tables, and coolers?  You just need to replace the gun rack with a spice rack.

Utensils

Made in the USA.  Lamson Sharpe.  Look good, feel good, flip good.  Stainless and redwood.

Table Settings

I chose these products a bit randomly.  You need to find a middle-ground.  Cheap paper plates are a downer.  Expensive china is pretentious.  Check out treehugger.com for more reviews and ideas.

Food and Beverages

The nitty gritty.  My first choice is to always support your local butcher, baker and salsa maker.  An early morning stop at the farmer’s market and bakery is ideal.  However these commercial products are fine too.

Bruce Aidell Sausages.  Unique and tasty.

Garden Fresh Gourmet products: salsa, guacamole, chips, hummus.  Nice!

Root Beer: Your choice

Founder’s Beer: A bunch of crazy and deranged fools making good a product.

Boxed Water is Better: Great guys with a great idea!

Getting Ready to Rumble…Silver Lake BBQ 2009. Part #1

Folks, it is almost here.  Silver Lake State of Michigan BBQ Championship.

Team Grilladelic is joining Brazen Que to create a “super team”; Grilladelic Brazen Que..sort of like the Crooked Vultures. Except instead of guitars and drums we have Eggs, Hasty Bakes and Webers!

For those new to KCBS competitions, we cook the four BBQ food groups (categories):

• Chicken (Grilladelic specialty)
• Ribs (Grilladelic specialty)
• Brisket (Brazen Que specialty)
• Pork Butt (Brazen Que specialty)

All meat has to be inspected on Friday night; it must be raw (no pre-seasoning, brining or marinading) and it must be the right cut (don’t even think about beef ribs, turkey or a beef clod).   The meats are typically trimmed and seasoned that night.  Teams cook under their own canopies and must bring their own tables, cutting boards, knives, three-compartment cleaning/disinfecting system, etc.  It’s not unusual to see teams prepping throughout the night.  Some teams even begin cooking on Friday and go through the night..typically big briskets and butts.

Competitors Team

No gas or electric grills or smokers allowed.  However, for the life of me, pellet grills are allowed (strong lobbying group…)

Each category has an assigned time to be turned in.  This begins at 11:00, 11:30, 12:00 and 12:30 (or something close to that).

You are given a styrofoam container to use.  This is numbered.  A double-blind system is used to keep everything even.  The judges do not know which container belongs to which team. Only a number.  You place a minimum of six servings in a container.  You have a 10-minute window; five minutes before and five minutes after the hour

My Family Team

Judges then taste.  Six judges with a head table judge then score it; taste, tenderness and appearance.  Appearance is an art.  You can use lettuce or other greens in your container.  Very subjective.  Always grumbling later.  There is a convoluted scoring system that weights certain categories, drops hi/low, etc.  Don’t ask me.

These are then tallied.  At approximately 3:00 pm, winners are announced.  Typically top ten in each category and then the Grand Champion and runner up. Cash and trophies.  Cheers, tears and beers follow.  I’ve had my share of them all.

Tear down the cook site.  Tired, dirty.

If you do well…you are a happy dude (or dudette).

If you did terrible, you swear never again.  You change your mind a few months later and start practicing again.

Here is the official info:

SILVER LAKE SAND DUNES
APPLE & BBQ COOK-OFF FESTIVAL
Features a Sanctioned Kansas City BBQ Society Cook-Off

KCBS sanctions and judges BBQ competitions across the U.S. and promotes barbeque as America’s cuisine. It is the largest society of barbeque enthusiasts in the world.

By providing the most respected form of judging and scoring in the world of BBQ. KCBS provides a representative for each contest and an appropriate number of certified BBQ judges who have been trained in how to judge world-class barbeque, all while using a blind judging process that is fair and void of personal knowledge of teams being judged.

Outlined below are numerous opportunites for amateurs & professionals to participate in this family friendly event.

• Amateur BBQ Competition
• Grand Championship BBQ Cook-Off Competition
• Rib Eating Contest
• Vendor Space
• KCBS Certified Judges
• 2008 KCBS Cook-Off Winners