Tuesday, October 27, 2009

We're Gettin' There

We're getting closer to getting our BBQ business off the ground. We've found an undisclosed location in Nixa with not only high traffic but a guaranteed draw to our spot. No one in Nixa is doing concession BBQ vending, so we should have a good opportunity ahead of us.

We've been trying to cut a new door in the back of our trailer, but it won't quit raining. Hopefully we can get a day or two precip free so we can get that done. We've installed everything required by the health people, so passing a final inspection shouldn't be a problem.

The menu and pricing is finalized and after months of creating rubs, we've finally nailed down the flavors for each of the meats we're going to feature. My sausage guy is hard at work (at least I hope he is) on stuffing my hot links into casings. It's weird that you can't give the packing plant your finished, seasoned sausage to stuff, but you can give them the seasonings and they'll do it. I should get the first batch of 25 pounds this Saturday. Any excuse to fire up the pit.


Keep you posted as we get closer.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

"The Legend"

If you're into BBQ like I am then you can imagine spending an entire day cooking on 4 Ole Hickory Pit cookers with "The Legend" Mike Mills, well I had that chance this past weekend in Cape Girardeau, MO at the Ole Hickory Pit test kitchen. Wow is all I can say.

If there's one thing I've learned this past year is that are a lot of really nice BBQ guys out there and Mike Mills was truly one of those. But aside from being a super nice guy he's also an incredible BBQ Pitmaster with a wealth of knowledge that few will ever know. To coin a phrase, he's from the old school and when it comes to BBQ that is an invaluable asset. Mills talked about how "old timers" used pork fat to render down for seasonings, or how he cuts his own ham hocks to smoke for green beans and so on. Now guys my age have heard about stuff like that and I'll use hocks from time to time, but Mills knows how to squeeze out the flavors and apply them to BBQ and a lot of guys these days either don't know or recognize their benefits.






Mike did a ton of BBQ on Saturday. He did two whole pork shoulders; one he injected a cure solution and the other he did not. He did three or four pork butts too. He injected one, the other he did not and another had no seasoning except kosher salt and pepper. He did chickens and brisket as we all discussed his techniques and each class member, 24 total did a slab of ribs each removing membranes, trimming fat and eventually seasoning them with his "Magic Dust."

David Knight and Margaret Wiggins were a delight to work with once again. I'd worked with Margaret earlier this year when buying my Convecture Ole Hickory Pit and met David, the "big guy" of Ole Hickory when we picked up the pit in July. But they helped play a big part in making the class truly wonderful.

If there is any BBQ cook out there that thinks someone will have "the answer" to impart to you that unlocks all the secrets thus turing you into a super cooker: Quit looking because there is no one with a magic wand a "pit dust" to sprinkle you with. The answer is inside you. Whatever you like in your BBQ will work for you. Mike Mills stressed a number of times that there is no right way or wrong way because it's based on what you like. And it's true. Yes, there are little tidbits or tricks you pick-up as you go along the way, but those are the little gems that will eventually turn your cooking into the best.

Now get out there and some em if you got em.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Do You Have BBQ Principles Or Are You A Sell Out?

Way back in March of this year on a weekend trip to Texas to take delivery of a new smoker, I was really charged up to begin competing in KCBS (Kansas City Barbeque Society) cook-offs; we'd picked some established events to enter that were close to home to reduce long road trips.

Before venturing off to our first competitive gig in Bixby, Oklahoma I'd read a little bit of Chris Lilly's new cookbook in which Chris made reference to someone who'd said you can't win contests with good eatin' cue. That comment caught my attention right off the bat. What do you mean you can't win with good cue?
That's the heart and soul of BBQ; when it's done right, there's nothing better on the planet you could ask for. Little did I know at the time, there's a whole lot of truth in that powerful statement. Good cue can't win at competitions because teams now cook for the judges and not themselves; teams know how to play the game and I refuse to sell out my BBQ principles for anyone. End of story.

So, let me pass on some advice to you, especially if you're new in this. When it comes to seasonings, sauces, marinades and injections MAKE YOUR OWN. Why? Because your BBQ will have it's own taste profiles that no other team can duplicate, unless you give them your recipe. For example, throughout 2009 I tinkered with rubs by using store bought ingredients but nothing jumped out, at least not right way. That's when I decided to make my own Chili Seasoning, Seasoned Salt, Garlic, Onion and Celery Salts; take it from me the homemade stuff is 10X better and 10X cheaper than going to the supermarket. I began growing my own peppers and bought a dehydrator and ground my own spicy powders that I could add to my recipes.


Most teams lay off in the winter months, so now is a great time (minus growing peppers) to experiment and learn all the things that will set your BBQ apart from the others. Not only that, it's fun to build a spice cabinet that is full of things you've made and not by some spice company.

Invest in some BBQ cookbooks, but in regular cookbooks too because they might have an idea or two you can apply to BBQing. In my mind, you can never have enough sources on how spices interact and work with others and what goes well with a particular type of meat. I'm not so much into the actual slow-smoking recipes themselves because I want to make the BBQ mine and not just duplicate someone else's dish. Now if I can take an idea from a recipe like this that enhances my dish, then I'm all about that, but your cooking will never grow and evolve if all you do is follow some other guy's footsteps; you have to make your own tracks.

Hopefully, in a month or so I will have our Chain Gang BBQ trailer set up in Nixa selling some good barbecue. I've decided my BBQ is well received by people who eat my product, but not so much by KCBS judges, so in 2010 I'll be dishing up good BBQ to people who can appreciate it for all the right reasons. Hey, look at the bright side, that'll leave a lot more lettuce and parsley for the teams that still follow the old BBQ trail.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Golden City's Cook-off

The Chain Gang completed it's 2009 KCBS Competition BBQ tour by going to a wonderful event in Golden City, Missouri.

The weather on Friday was terrible. Rain by the bucket fell which actually prevented three or four teams from making the cook-off; flood waters in southern Missouri literally kept them homebound. Once the rain, mist and drizzle left, the clouds remained and the cold air came in.

By early evening, temps were in the upper 30's as the northwest winds continued to howl. However, the show must go on.

Our team hardly ever participates in "Peoples Choice" contests at these cook-offs. Not sure why except for the added prep and work added on top of the KCBS aspect of things. But, this being our last for the year, hey, why not. So we entered the PC contest with our homemade BBQ sauce and I'll be darned if we didn't take 2nd place. Now I'm thinkin' we should've entered a few of these Peoples Choice things earlier. But it was nice to see what the folks liked versus BBQ judges.

We did good in Chicken. I gotta say that our half-chickens were as moist and juicy as they've been in a long time. One of the greatest things about Golden City was being located right next to the team Munchin' Hogs at the Hilton, based out of KC. Just like everyone on the circuit, I knew of these guys, but for me, I'd never met them before. These guys are wonderful people. Friendly would be an under statement and they made the cook-off special for me; not only because they thought my chicken would take first, but because they were true BBQ ambassadors. Our chicken came in in the top 15. That's good for chicken breast because everyone and I mean everyone turns in thighs for judging. I've covered that on previous posts though.

In the Anything Goes category, the Chain Gang finished in the top 10 with our homemade hot link sausage. It is good - a tad bit warm maybe, but hey, they are hot links.

One of the funniest things happened when my two daughters decided to pass the time using my iPhone and a window in our pick-up truck. Instead of posting a picture of an entry, a cooker or all the smoke in the air at the cook-off, I threw this in. My younger daughter doing a pressed pig impression under glass.

Well, at least kids can have fun at these cook-offs too.