Breaking In The Ole Hickory

Yesterday I decided to fire up the new cooker from Ole Hickory, not knowing that I would put it to the ultimate test: the weather.

The cooker took about an hour to get up to temp, which was 225. During that time I prepped two slabs of ribs and two chicken halves, since they both take about the same time to cook.

Once they were on for about an hour maybe, here comes a thunderstorm. 9 times out of 10 most BBQ competitors run around like chickens with their heads cut-off trying to prepare for what's coming: temps on the cooker drop like a rock because of wind and rain. But not so with this cooker. I was amazed. It never wavered one degree even with a brief, but heavy downpour fell directly on the cooker.

Another tidbit from my first run on this cooker is the way it's built. The only place smoke comes out of these things is the exhaust pipes on top so there is no wind getting into the cooking chamber and that makes a big difference.

The result? This photo was taken about 2 hours into the cook and you can see how things were turning out, but the finished product was amazing. For the first time in a long time, the ribs came off the cooker with a beautiful dark red color and the chickens were a dark-light brown color with crispy skin.

Next on the docket is a brisket and pork butt. But seriously, this Ole Hickory Pit is the best I've ever cooked on and I am looking forward to our first cook-off in Laurie, MO.

Wonder Boy and Savoy Special Rolled Into One

If you've ever seen "The Natural" then you know the backdrop that led to the title of this posting.

Like Roy Hobbs, I had been knocking around in the "minors" as a backyard BBQ warrior for over 20 years. Not until this year, at the tender age of 53, did my family and I decide to enter KCBS BBQ competitions, aka, the major league of barbecue. 

As Pop Fisher told Hobbs, "People don't start playing ball at your age fella, they retire."

Well maybe so, but not this Hobbs. Despite the fact that our team, Chaingang BBQ has only competed in four KCBS events and already received a "call" at competition, I knew there had to be more; we needed a way to break out. 

Like Hobbs, I can now finally show folks how good my 'cue can be with my version of a Wonder Boy slash Savoy Special baseball bat in the form of a BBQ cooker. Now, Chaingang BBQ can step to the plate and knock one out of the park with our new Ole Hickory Convecture Tri-Oven pit. 

No more sleepless nights at competition. I am really looking forward learning the in's and out's of this Ole Hickory Pit. It features over 19 1/2 square feet of cooking space with four large sliding racks and 46,000 BTU's to get the party started using either charcoal or wood chunks - your choice.

By the way, if you're in the market for an Ole Hickory Pit let me tell you the team there is top notch and wonderful to work with. Check out their cookers at www.olehickorypits.com

The Four Seasonings

Well, after much thinking, web browsing and limited marketing skills, I've decided to jump into marketing my barbecue seasonings locally.

Coming up with a catchy name, one that would identify the product with barbecuing was tough. There are countless names on the market like Bubba's this and Junior's that, but I wanted one that would stand out and be rememberable; in marketing that's not always easy.

Then the other night it hit me. Remember that old rock n' roll song "Goin' To Kansas City"? Well, there is a street corner in the song, 18th and Vine. "Bam!" That's it. Not only did Jazz and Blues get their start at 18th and Vine in Kansas City, so did Barbecue. 

I've posted a picture of the label here for you to see. There will be four rubs available for sale such as "Sweet Stevie's Rhythmic Rib Rub", "Big Ella's Yardbird BBQ Rub", "Boss Tom's Brisket Rub" and "Cool Pappa's Pork Butt Rub."

I have ordered UPC bar codes and plan on ordering containers this week. If all goes well, I plan on doing 25, 16 ounce bottles of each. Still working on the pricing, and heck, if all goes well, I'll add BBQ Sauce to the line. I also have an application to join AGRIMISSOURI this week, which designates your product as being Made In Missouri. They allow members to participate in trade shows for independent grocers and sponsor product fairs for the general public to buy your stuff; it also opens doors to the area farmer markets.

The main point of the rubs are the fact they're all natural ingredients. No chemicals or artificial flavors. 

Let me know what you think.