Our First Review From A Local Food Critic

Chain Gang BBQ opened just a few weeks ago, and already we're getting tons of great comments, repeat customers, new faces and now our first review. Gulp!

I was visited last week by Teresa Blondo, who blogs on The Springfield Foodie. She ordered a BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich, baked beans and our sweet n' spicy pickles. Of course all of our sandwiches also come with a drink and chips. But I wanted her to try one of our unique menu items, our Pit Potato. So, I gave her one to try. Now, these spuds are from Idaho and should be licensed by the NFL because they're about a pound in weight. Hey, you gotta be known for the unique, right?

A few days went by and Teresa posted a preliminary comment about the cue she'd taken home. Teresa said something to the effect, I'll have good things to say about Chain Gang soon. Well, she had more than just "good things" to say about Chain Gang BBQ: How about a little piece of Heaven!!! Oh, yeah.

The review appears on her blog at springfieldfoodie.net  and she was gracious enough to post her entire article at christiancountysun.com and once there, click on the Chain Gang headline.

We feel blessed that people in Nixa, Christian County and Springfield enjoy the 'cue from Chain Gang. As I told Teresa, we bust our pit to bring folks the best barbeque we can.

There's A Sign Post Up Ahead: Your Next Stop The 'Cue Zone

Hey, kids, we finally got our BBQ sign attached to the top of our trailer today. It was completed and ready for install when we opened, but the guy who built the sign and was to install it, broke his collar bone. So we had to wait a few weeks for him to get on the mend.

Well, today was the day. Finally, we can let folks know what we do in this trailer: serve the best BBQ in southwest Missouri. And I don't know if the sign brought us luck or not, but we had the busiest lunch we've ever had. I was like a one armed paper hanger in a windstorm. Yeah, I know that's old as dirt, but that's how busy it was.

Ladies & Gentlemen: Start Your Pits!

Can we finally say goodbye to Winter? Tomorrow marks the start of March, so it should only get more Spring like from here; everyone you talk to is sick of Winter.

And speaking of March, the 2010 KCBS Cook-Off circuit begins with 7 or 8 events. One of the biggies is the Smoke On The Water competition in North Little Rock. I attended that last year just to size up what competitions were like, so I didn't compete. If I'm not mistaken Myron Mixon won the 2009 title so I'd bet my chicken-stained muffin pan he'll be back to defend his title, honor and talk a little smack. More of the March competitions happen down South because the Midwest and Upper Midwest is still cold as kraut. Although I did notice a cook-off in North Kansas City in mid-March so pack your long johns if you're doing that KCBS event.

Where the number of cook-offs explode in number and really signaling the start of the season is April. I think there are 37 or 38 competitions scheduled for April. Now, I don't know this for a fact, but I have to think this economy, which stinks on ice, will cut in to the number of teams in the competitions. I mean it would almost have to considering a team will spend $800 to $1,000 per event when you count entry fees, meat, gas, wood, motel and so on. It will be interesting to watch the number of teams this year compared with the 2009 numbers.

Good luck to those who are competing this year; I won't be able to do so in 2010 because of my trailer being the anchor of our BBQ carry out business, which is growing steadily. I did the KCBS thing last year and I enjoyed it, but now I want to cross over into the BBQ joint world.

How Does BBQ & Improv Go Together?

Years and years ago I found myself engulfed in Improvisational Comedy, a lot like SNL; we had a troupe and entertained primarily in nightclubs. There were 7 or 8 of us and we all had an advertising background, so we knew one another through various projects such as radio voice over's or TV commercials. We were young and on many occasions we partied too hearty. I can remember a weekend trip to Chicago to visit the Mecca of Improv - Second City. The place where almost all the early SNL stars got their start.

We met a guy at 2nd City by the name of Del Close. If you've ever watched The Untouchables with Kevin Costner, you've seen Del. He's the City Alderman who attempts to bribe Costner and gets the money thrown back at him. Now, you're trying to connect the dots between this story and BBQ. Just give me a minute.

We invited Del Close to Springfield to teach us Improv and he accepted; not sure how much his trip cost us, but he came nevertheless. If you know anything about improv then you know the scene or story is made up from the start and you know not where it will end up; this is how many SNL skits came to be, they were improved first, scripted second. Del Close kept pounding this into our heads because I guess some of us kept trying to steer the scene where we wanted it to go. Then, in one of our group sessions, Close said that improv is just like looking out the rear window as the car your in goes speeding down the road. In other words, you have no idea where you're headed, just what's passed you by. Man, that was an eye opener. Simple yes, but easily overlooked because you are submerged in the gritty details.

OK, here we go; how this ties into BBQ. Everyone tries to discover the "right" way to BBQ. They search for the right answer, the perfect recipe or formula. Guess what it doesn't exist. I remember my first BBQ class with Paul Kirk in McKinney, Texas and I also remember how dumbfounded I was when he muttered the words, "BBQ is what works for you." What? What works for me? What the hell is that suppose to mean? A few hours later I took a sample of a Brisket rub up to Chef and asked him to try a taste. He asked me if I liked it and I said yes, hell, after all it was my rub. He tried it and said that he thought it was good.

Two months later, I attended Mike Mills class at the Ole Hickory Pits Test Kitchen in Cape. One of the first things Mike said was this: "BBQ is whatever works for you." Oh, man, again? Where is the magic answer, the Holy Grail or carved stone tablets? The answer is: there aren't any. BBQ and improv are first cousins in the fact there is no wrong way or right way to get from point A to point B. You will never find THE answer to barbeque because there is NO answer. If you like your St. Louis style ribs to taste a particular way, then that's the right way.

I talked with Mike Mills one night at his BBQ joint in Marion, Illinois. We had gathered for a meet 'n greet prior to our attending the Oncue Business of Barbecue class. I told Mike how I had discovered to inject my Pork Butts while the meat was still in the cryovac packaging; I'd told Mike it really helped to keep the injection juice in the meat and not run out as fast. I remember telling Mike, "You know, the good ideas you share with everyone, but the bad ideas you never mention."

If that isn't a classic example of "What works for you" I don't know what is. At least it just took two thumps up the side of my head with a tack hammer to learn that one.

In the immortal words of SNL's Chris Farley, "That'll leave a mark."

Knowledge Is Power

When I went to Murphysboro, Illinois to take the seminar "The Business of BBQ" at Mike Mills' 17th Street Bar & Grill I met a young man who serves as Mike's Pitmaster at his BBQ joint in Murphysboro.

Philip Heern is his name and I believe he told me he was in his late 20's or early 30's. We had met two months before at another Mike Mills class in Cape Girardeau, Missouri at the Ole Hickory Pits Test Kitchens. When we'd met in October, I did not know what he did for Mike at his BBQ joint, but I remember thinking he knew what he was doing.

Somewhere along the way during our first day, I had the chance to visit with Philip during a smoke break. We were talking about the various woods 17th Street used and just general BBQ "shootin'-the-bull" and then it dawned on me. Does this kid know how lucky he is? I mean this kid in his 20's, already a Pitmaster and working with one of the greats in BBQ? I've been BBQing for eons and I feel lucky to be able to turn out the quality of BBQ that I do; but this kid!

So, I came right out and asked him, "do you know how fortunate you are, at your age, to work for and train alongside Mike Mills every day?" I was happy to learn that he was well aware of being in such a position and loves what he does. By the time this guy is my age, all of his BBQ knowledge will pay off in a huge way. After all, anytime you can tell someone that you are a Pitmaster for Mike Mills, your ticket has been written.

This photo of Philip was taken by a photographer on hand those two days to document the class members and all that we did. As you can see he's basting half chickens right at the end of the cooking process. 17th Street has many Ole Hickory Pits BBQ units, but Philip's favorite pit has the name of "Black Betty" and he looks forward to cooking on that one anytime.

The Next Generation of Burnt Ends

If you've ever eaten that little bite of BBQ heaven, burnt ends, then you know why so many people crave these little guys so much. Triple smoked, and swimming in sauce, the cubed portion of the Brisket point can make for a fine dining experience. Trouble is, not many BBQ joints outside of Kansas City have them.

So when planning my menu for our BBQ joint on wheels, I knew immediately that we would feature these. Two reasons went into the decision. There are a lot of people who move from KC to southwest Missouri and secondly, not a single joint down here offered them. A great niche in the marketplace, at least for 'cueaholics.

In the short period of time Chain Gang BBQ has been open, these burnt ends are a terrific seller for us. But not long ago, a customer asked if we did anything with Tri-Tip? Tri-Tips are a cut from the sirloin and has very similar characteristics of brisket; they're marbled a lot a like and you slice them against the grain like Brisket. Slow cooked some and sliced for sandwiches, but I wasn't impressed. But then, BAM! it hit me. Turn tri-tip into upper end Burnt Ends; they cost a lot more than Brisket but much leaner than a point.

WOW, these things are awesome. They taste like Brisket, but literally melt in your mouth. My customers are going goo goo over these things and telling even more people about them. Swing by the Chain Gang BBQ serving trailer and try some, they'll make your tongue lick your brains out.

Month One: Toast Now, What Does February Have In Store?

January ended up being a good month for us, considering two snow storms, freezing fog and huge outbreak of arctic weather that froze everything. We ended up serving over 60 customers and many positive comments coming back via Facebook.

As we enter February we get even closer to Spring and I'm anticipating business increasing steadily. It's a fine line, I mean you want business but not so much and so fast that you can't handle the demand. Right now, everyone is getting their orders fairly quickly. After a month in, you begin to realize the system you need in order to get the orders out fast.

I guess one of my main competitors on Springfield's southside, had decided to close for the winter. Now he's decided to get out all together. I hate to see anyone abandon their dream of having a BBQ joint, but that does leave a void and hopefully the Chain Gang can capitalize on their decision to close. We'd love to see their old customers and convert them to our 'cue. Time will tell.

Another opportunity has surfaced, but I'm not sure how to handle this one. A friend of mine in Eureka Springs, Arkansas has purchased a building outside of town, near the Lake and he's wanting me to cater wedding receptions; Eureka Springs is the marriage capital of the Midwest because it's easier to get hitched there than it is to buy a handgun. But the problem is Eureka is 1 1/2 hours from Nixa. There is one advantage though, there's only one BBQ joint in Eureka and nothing between that place and my buddy's place. We'll see.

Keep the fire alive because we've got a Brisket to cook.