What is your favorite aspect of  Texan Barbecue? Let us know in the comment section below!  

Famous Dave Anderson and Grilling with Rich at the 2013 National BBQ Association Conference

I have even had the chance to read and share with you the story behind how the Famous Dave business started, so I was really excited to get the opportunity to visit my local Famous Dave Restaurant two weekends ago to try out their new burnt ends.

I must say that I have become addicted to having brisket burnt ends since I have returned from my epic Texas adventure, so when I saw that Famous Dave’s was now offering burnt ends, I knew that I wanted to try them for myself and see how they stand up to other burnt ends.

Overall, I was a bit curious what the burnt ends were going to taste like. Would they be what other’s described burnt ends as: “Black Gold,” or would they be an epic flop. In my opinion, I must say that Famous Dave’s burnt ends were somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. Before I went to Famous Dave’s I knew how they were prepared via an infographic that they provided me a while back that I shared with you, so I knew what I was getting into.

After reading the infographic, I knew that they took ends of the brisket and place them in a skillet to finish them off, and it wasn’t until I tried them that I realized how of a great idea that was.  By placing the already sauced brisket cubs and placing them into a skillet the burnt ends were caramelized from the sugars on the barbecue sauce, and they were just a flavor explosion. I was a bit disappointed however that the brisket burnt ends weren’t a bit thicker, but I will just leave that the people who cut the actual brisket in the kitchen. Another issue that I think that Famous Dave’s should look to correct is that burnt ends should have a lot more bark then what I received. I must say minus those two minor issues that I think that can be changed, the flavor profiles of the actual brisket meat  and also the addition of Famous Dave’s BBQ sauce surely provides a high quality “canvas” to work with.

Overall, I think that these are a great idea for Famous Dave to offer. I must say that my friend Charlie did an amazing job of coming up this must have addition to the Famous Dave Menu. If you are ever in a Famous Dave restaurant I would suggest getting these burnt ends, as they are a must have!

Don’t forget to tag all your great burnt end photos on twitter with #bbqgold and #gwradventures! 

Disclosure:  I want to thank the Famous Dave Crew for providing me with a complementary taste of the Burnt ends. I wasn’t paid for the review and this review is only of my own opinion and no one influenced me when writing this review.

Happy and most importantly safe grilling and bbq’ing this Memorial Day Weekend!

BBQ  Food Safety Infographic

To start off the crazy recipe week, I am going to share with you this great recipe re-produced with permission by Weber Grills:

Hickory Smoked Beer Can Chicken Grilling Recipe.

Hickory Smoked Beer Can Chicken Grilling Recipe

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour 30 mins

Total time

1 hour 45 mins

 

Author: Jamie Purviance

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken – 4-5 pounds, neck, giblets, and any other fat removed
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

Rub

• 2 teaspoons granulated onion
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon packed golden brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive-oil
• 1 can (12 ounce) beer, at room temperature

Instructions

1. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the meaty parts of the chicken and inside the cavity. The chicken will be coated with a visible layer of salt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Combine the rub ingredients.
3. Soak the wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes.
4. Prepare the grill for indirect cooking over medium heat (350 to 450). Keep the temperature as close to 400F as possible throughout the cooking times.
5. Rinse the chicken with cold water, inside and outside, to remove the salt, and then pat dry with paper towels. Brush the chicken with oil and season all over, including inside the cavity, with the rub. Fold the wing tips behind the chickens neck back.
6. Open the can of beer and pour out about two-thirds. Using a church key-style can opener, make two more holes in the top of the can. Place the can on a solid surface and then lower the chicken cavity over the can.
7. Drain and add two handfuls of wood chips to the charcoal or to the smoker box of of the gas grill, following the manufacturer’s instructions, and close the lid. When the wood begins to smoke, transfer the chicken on-a-can to the grill, balancing it on its two legs and the can like a tripod. Cook the chicken over indirect medium heat, with the lid closed, until the juices run clear and an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (not touching the bone) registers 160 to 165f, 1¼ to 1½ hours.
8. Carefully remove the chicken-on-a-can from the grill (do not spill the contents of the beer can, which will be very hot.) Let the chicken rest for 10 to 15 minutes (the internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees during this time) before lifiting it from the beer can and carving it into serving pieces. Serve warm

3.1.09

The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue: Barbecue Book Review

Today, I am going to share with you my thoughts on Daniel Vaughn’s 1st book: The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue.

Daniel Vaughn is the author of the very popular BBQ website: Full Custom Gospel BBQ and is the brand new Barbecue editor of the Texas Monthly. A native of Ohio, Daniel moved down to Dallas after graduating from Tulane University in New Orleans. Daniel trekked across more than 10,000 miles to sample the wood-traditions of the Lone Star State’s four distinct barbecue styles: East Texas; Central Texas, Hill Country aka “Cowboy Style”, and Southern Texas style.

After taking my first ever trip to Texas and visiting three places that Daniel wrote about, I wish that I had this book at my disposal before I went, so that I would have found some other great barbecue places to try. After going through the book, I know that for my next trip to Texas, I will be taking Daniel’s advice on visiting some the places that the either gave really bad reviews of or great reviews of. With over 300 pages of barbecue restaurant reviews, Daniel takes you along with him on his epic barbecue texas journey and you feel like you are sitting next to him at each barbecue restaurant and also on the road as you approach the next stop on your epic barbecue tour.

By taking the time to really go in-depth with some interesting barbecue knowledge not only of the places that the is visiting but also of the history and culture of the region of Texan barbecue that he is about to experience. This was the strongest aspect of the book and something that all barbecue books in the future that focus on the barbecue culture that it is being written about should have. I would like to see if Daniel goes to and writes about other barbecue hotspots around the country such as Memphis, Kansas City and the Carolina’s. I feel that barbecue and barbecue experiences are extremely personal, and Daniel does a great job of sharing his personal thoughts and experiences throughout the book.

I did however have trouble figuring out the “identity” of this book, the two different thoughts that came to mind was the book supposed to be a travel guide or a coffee table book or even both? If the book was supposed to be a travel guide making it a bit more portable and with a soft cover to the book would be a great idea to make it easy for readers to take with them. If the book was supposed to be a coffee table book, then having some better pictures of the barbecue places and even the foods that Daniel ate would have been a great addition to the book. I did however like the descriptions of the all the food that he ate, from the good food to the best barbecue that he had on his trip.

While I highly disagree with Daniel’s assessment about how he thinks that chicken is not really barbecue, sure barbecue chicken might not be a must eat meat at each barbecue joint, but it is really hard to properly smoke, but when done correctly it is really amazing, and I would love to see barbecue chicken on more barbecue menus across the country.

I really didn’t like Daniel’s thoughts on Northeastern barbecue culture and community, which he implied it while he was talking about the Salt Lick Barbecue.  As a Northeaster I believe that there are many great barbecue joints that one can enjoy in that region of the United States. I know and I have to appreciate the Texas barbecue culture, but I think that anyone should also appreciate other barbecue cultures around the world and that those cultures might even help raise the profile of your favorite barbecue culture.

After reading and reviewing a lot of great and and not so great barbecue books on the market, I would have to place The Prophet’s of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue in the middle of the road of barbecue books. There is a lot of improvements that can be made in an upcoming barbecue book focused on another barbecue hotspots around the country. But don’t get me wrong, if you enjoy great Texas barbecue while you are either visiting or live in Texas, this book is a must have for your next upcoming trip. From finding some great barbecue gems to the great descriptions of barbecue smoked meats, this is a great book to have on your book shelve.

The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue was published by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, under the recently announced Anthony Bourdain line of books. This is book is one of the tree new books that will be published. 

I received product to review and no other way compensated for my honest reviews. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Do you leave your Big Green Egg (BGE) out in the elements? Ever try to adjust the cast iron vent cap on your BGE during a long cook and found that it was stuck?  You then take your tong and release the slider to adjust the air flow.

Ever leave your BGE out in the rain with the cover off and the cast iron vent cap in closed position?  You then check on it later on or the next day to find water and\or damp coal in it.

Eggware provides a great new product to improve your BGE and would make a great gift for Father’s Day.  The story begins in 2006 when Matthew Merritt mother-in-law gave him a large Big Green Egg and what a great mother-in-law I say.  After using his BGE for some time and storing it outside like I do as well that the cast iron cap was inadequate.  It offers no protection from rain or snow if left open to have air flow and if you keep it closed you risk mold and mildew build up. So after trying different designs, he landed with a two piece Stainless Steel (SS) design that solved his issues and offers many advantages.

Eggware first product out is a replacement Stainless Steel (SS) vent cap for $37.95 plus shipping, it is made out of quality material and construction.  The SS is made out of the same 304 grade that BGE uses on the lower vent. The fit is perfect and enhances the look of the BGE as well. The cap is made of two pieces with a sleeve around the neck of the BGE and then a cap that goes on top of that. The cap comes with a felt gasket that gets installed around the smoke stack and then the cap slides over it, which seals and keep’s the cap in place. The whole installation along with removing the old one and cleaning the BGE stack only took a few minutes.  There are 3 vents on the cap with an adjustment tab to make adjustments with that simply slides.  Love the tab as it stayed cool for me cooking at 300-325 degrees and also when I cooked at 700 for some pizza.  Sure the tab was a bit warmer but still able to adjust with my bare fingers.  Here you can see the new cap installed and a picture of the cap itself

What about the elements?  Well I can now cook in the rain or snow without worries that water will get in.  During this past Mother’s day I started some pork butt’s Saturday night and woke up to good rain coming down.  Went out to the BGE and checked the temp was good.  Right there this new cap give me a great advantage.

What is next from Eggware? Look for a stacked smoking pan to incorporate more cooking surface and turning the BGE into a traditional smoker with a built-in flavor pan and drip pan. Matthew also has a unique vegetable basket that will allow small vegetable to be cooked on the grill without having to turn them.

What a great product and now my old cap will sit with the ceramic one that came with my BGE in a box.

Want one yourself or give on Father’s  use the promotional code  GWR and it will be good for 15% off Eggware’s Vented Chimney Cap to June 10.

The EggWare Cap fits these cookers:  Kamado Joe (Classic & Big Joe) and Primo Grill (Oval XL, Oval Jr. & Kamado).  Big Green Egg (XL, Large & Med).

Eggware will be onsite at the Georgia Mountain Eggfest this weekend (May 16-18) in Atlanta, Georgia. Be sure to stop by the tent for the chance to win a FREE Vented Chimney Cap and snatch up some official Eggware coozies!

I received a sample of this product to review and no other way compensated for my honest reviews. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

With that being said, I fired up my Weber Kettle Grill earlier this week and threw a piece of steak on the grill. The flavors of the charcoal was a perfect addition to the flavor profiles of the steak, it was a piece of heaven in your mouth!

For my barbecue picture of the week, I present to you: Grilling Old School in Black and White. I hope that you enjoy!

In the comment section below, let me know what is your favorite meat to grill on a charcoal grill!

Don’t forget to check out my picture portfolio online: http://richardwachtel.500px.com

With that being said, it is time to Meet the BBQ Pro and Legend Ardie Davis. Ardie is the co-author of the new barbecue cookbook: America’s Best BBQ – Homestyle: What the Champions Cook in Their Own Backyards which is just one of the many barbecue cookbooks that he has written. I hope that you enjoy the interview as much as I did with Ardie Davis.

Tell us a little about your cooking and personal background.

Ardie Davis (AD): Born and raised in Oklahoma City, I learned bbq from my dad, a car painter & backyard pitmaster. He designed & built his own brick bbq pit with adjustable fire bed rigged with a car jack & a custom-made galvanized steel hood. Good memories of backyard barbecues with relatives and neighbors. Since leaving Oklahoma I’ve lived in Iowa, New York, & Kansas City—my home for the past 30+ years.

No formal culinary training except for Paul Kirk’s pitmasters class and community college classes in Greek and Chinese cooking. I’ve worked in restaurants & have been a Go-For with Team Kansas City, the KC Rib Doctor, The King of KC BBQ, & Bad Byron’s Butt Rub.com—going for this & that, tending fires all night, & running entries to the turn-in table. I figured out that judging is less work & expense. I love being a backyard cook. Team Remus doesn’t compete. Why spoil an undefeated record?

Why do you think that a lot of people love to barbecue and more importantly why do you like to barbecue?

AD: The aroma and taste of barbecue resonates with our deep-down primal instincts. We love to barbecue because there’s nothing better than barbecued meat fresh from the pit. We love socializing outdoors with friends, neighbors and family.

Barbecue is good therapy for me. I feel good when I’m smoking meat in the backyard, and neighbors feel good when I give them some ribs, brisket, pork butt, chicken or whatever else I’ve cooked.

What was it like compiling all those great recipes from Championship pitmasters for your latest book: America’s Best BBQ – Homestyle: What the Champions Cook in Their Own Backyards

AD: It was fun and a labor of love. Admittedly it was a lot of work contacting a few hundred pitmasters and getting them to followup with recipes, stories and tips, then organizing it, writing chapter introductions, testing recipes & writing recipe headers & pitmaster profiles—plus taking photos, mining photos from our archives, & getting photos from contributors. The end result was worth it, and working with so many good and talented barbecue cooks and the Andrews McMeel team was truly an honor for Chef Paul and me.

What is the biggest challenge for you when you are writing a book, and also what tips would you give for aspiring barbecue book writers?

AD: Fulfilling promised contractual deadlines is always a bit scary for me, but without deadlines I’d never finish a book. I write and re-write at least five drafts before sending it to the editor.

Tips for aspiring barbecue book writers: find a niche or topic that hasn’t been thoroughly covered; write in your own voice; never stop learning; fine-tune your curiosity; write, re-write, write, re-write, even when you don’t feel like writing; be positive; find a good agent. One of my favorite practical and inspirational books about writing is Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird.

How many barbecue books/cookbooks have you written? and what is your favorite book?

AD: Thus far I’ve authored four barbecue books and have co-authored five. All nine are dear to me, but my current favorite is the most recent, America’s Best BBQ – Homestyle.

What inspired you to create the Judges Oath for the KCBS? and what  was the reasoning behind it?

AD: Ceremonies, rituals and symbols make up the glue that binds us together as an interdependent community. Knowing the importance of ritual, I wrote and administered the Judges Oath in 1984 when I started the Diddy-Wa-Diddy National Barbecue Sauce Contest in my backyard patio. The contest evolved into the American Royal International Barbecue Sauce, Rub & Baste Contest, where judges still take the oath. In 1989 or thereabouts I adapted the oath for meat judges and donated it to KCBS. Something magic, fun, validating & official happens when judges take the oath. Compare it with contests where judges don’t take an oath. You’ll see & feel a difference.

What is the biggest mistake that competitors make during a barbecue competition?

AD: That’s a tough one. For some it’s making partying a higher priority than winning. For others it’s misjudging the timing from cooking to turn-in, resulting in under-done or over-done entries. Not doing your homework on what the majority of judges like in the contest locale is a big mistake. Serving meat seasoned with vinegar or mustard sauce to native Kansas City judges, for example, is a big mistake. Likewise, serving sugary sweet ribs to native South Carolina or North Carolina judges is a big mistake.

What was it like to be a judge at the First Annual Kingsford Invitational? Would you ever do it again?

AD: It was Barbecue Heaven and truly an honor. I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

In your mind what made this competition so different or even similar to other Barbecue competitions.

AD: The usual upbeat spirit & camaraderie was there. What made it extra special was the competition team roster, seasoned judges, location, size, superb event coordination & hospitality. Chris Lilly did an outstanding job as emcee & facilitator, as did Tuffy Stone as Head Judge. The judging system adapted by Meathead fit this type of contest perfectly.

SEE RELATED: GRILLING WITH RICH COVERS THE 1ST ANNUAL KINGSFORD INVITATIONAL 

What is your favorite protein to make and why?

AD: Meat-wise it’s a toss-up between barbecue pulled pork & Texas-style thick-sliced barbecue beef brisket. Otherwise I could live on bean soup, rice & beans, baked beans & other bean dishes forever. Several years ago on a two-week adventure in the cloud forests and rain forests of Costa Rica, our group was served beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. They called it “gallo pinto,” or “painted rooster.” There was never a boring dish. There are so many types of beans–& limitless ways to paint the rooster!

 If I say BBQ what is the first word that comes right into your mind?

AD: “Hungry!”

What is one thing that your fans don’t know about and you would like to share?

AD: Were it not for barbecue I could easily be a vegetarian.

Not only does this week’s grilling recipe have detailed instructions on how to make it, the great people at Weber have put together a video – how-to do this great recipe also!

What is the craziest dessert that you have made on the Grill? Tell us in the Comment section below. 

Grilled Pineapple Upside Down Cake

 

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Author: Jamie Purviance

Ingredients

TOPPING

• 6 rings fresh (not canned) pineapple, each ½ inch thick, peeled and cored
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

BATTER

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ⅔ cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Prepare the grill for direct and indirect cooking over medium heat (350° to 450°F).
2. Brush the pineapple rings with the melted butter. Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the pineapple over direct medium heat, with the lid open, until nicely marked, 4 to 6 minutes, turning once. Remove from the grill and let cool. Leave one pineapple ring whole and cut the others into halves.
3. In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over direct medium heat, combine the brown sugar, cream, cinnamon, and any melted butter remaining from brushing the pineapple slices. Cook until the sugar has melted and the liquid starts to bubble around the outer edge, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and place on a sheet pan. Place the whole pineapple ring in the center of the skillet, and then arrange the pineapple halves around it. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a small bowl whisk the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.
5. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the buttermilk mixture and then gradually add the flour mixture. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Using a rubber spatula, spread the batter evenly over the pineapple slices in the skillet.
6. Bake the cake over indirect medium heat, keeping the temperature of the grill as close to 350°F as possible, with the lid closed, until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Wearing barbecue mitts, remove the cake from the grill and let cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes.
7. Before removing the cake from the skillet, run a paring knife around the edge to loosen it. Place a serving platter, large enough to hold the cake, over the top of the skillet. Wearing barbecue mitts, carefully invert the skillet and platter at the same time, and then slowly remove the skillet. Replace any pineapple that has stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Let the cake cool briefly before slicing into wedges and serving. The cake is best served warm or at room temperature the day it is made.

3.1.09

Do you have a circler charcoal grill? Don’t you hate when you have no room for other food items when you make a Kabob? Well for this week’s barbecue product review I am going to be reviewing a product that I think will change the way that we grill Kabob’s: Fire Wire Stainless Steel Flexible Grilling Skewer.

Barbecue and Grilling Accessory and Tool review Fire Wire Kabob’s: 

Fire Wire® Flexible Grilling Skewer is an ingenious cable-style grilling skewer that makes grilling easier than ever before. Made of 100% food grade stainless steel, Fire Wire® offers flexibility like no other skewer on the market. Fire Wire® is twice as long as a traditional skewer and comes with a lifetime guarantee. With Fire Wire® you do not have to touch the food twice; simply marinate in a bag on Fire Wire® and place the food on your grill.

I personally hate making kabobs, I am not 100% sure why that it is, but I think that the reasoning behind it is because I rather cook a whole piece of meat rather than just little chunks of meat at a time, so I rarely grill any sort of kabobs. I was contacted and offered to try out these product, and before I accepted the product, I thought to myself, let me try to enjoy grilling a kabob one more time, if I don’t like it after this I will never make another kabob again. One of the other reason why I hate grilling kabob’s is because when I place a kabob stick on my grill, that is it, there is no other room for any other meat, veggies, the whole grill grate has been taken up.

With the Fire Wire Stainless Steel Flexible Grilling Skewer all these problems that I mentioned above aren’t a problem. When I used my set of them for my deconstructed sausage and pepper kabob‘s they brought the fun back to me when grilling the kabob. I know that it might sound a bit geeky but having not to worry about the food falling off the kabob and just really focus on presentation and flavor profiles really brought me back to my kabob loving days. Another great aspect of the these kabob sticks is the fact that since they are flexible and that you are able to arrange the skewer into a circle shape and not just a straight line you can fit many different kabobs and also other great meats on your grill which is a huge plus!

With the summer and barbecue season heating up, the Fire Wire Stainless Steel Flexible Grilling Skewer are a great barbecue and grilling accessory and tool for anyone who really wants to spice up your grilling and barbecue adventure and also just want to have fun grilling some great kabobs!

Malcom Reed: Master of the Pit

Master of the Pit: Malcom Reed: Killer Hogs BBQ

Full Name: Malcom Reed
BBQ Competition Team Name: Killer Hogs BBQ
Twitter handle: @killer_hogs_bbq
Website: http://www.howtobbqright.com

After doing some thinking about what I wanted to make, it has been a long time since I have made some sort of Kabob, so it was easy for me to include some of my favorite type of Johnsonville Sausage: Italian Cooking Sausages. I also am a big fan of Sausages and Peppers the actual dish and every time that I get a chance to eat this dish, I get excited.

I hope that you enjoy my latest grilling adventure and stay tuned for many more this summer!

Deconstructed Johnsonville Sausage & Pepper Kabob: Grilling Recipe & Adventure

 

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Ingredients

• 1 package of Johnsonville Cooking Italian Sausages
• 1 Bell Pepper
• 1 Onion
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Fire up your charcoal grill for direct cooking.
2. While you are heating up your charcoal grill slice the Johnsonville Sausage into pieces that can fit onto a Kabob.
3. Slice up the green pepper and onion.
4. Place the cuts of sausages, green peppers and onion, in a every other pattern on the Kabob.
5. Using the olive oil, brush lightly the kabob, and then place the kabob on the grill.
6. Grill until you hit your desired temperature. Remove from the heat and serve.

3.1.09

We are proud to have Kingsford as a sponsor of this Years 2013 BBQ Person of the Year!

In the comment section below tell us what you LOVE to use Kingsford Charcoal for??

Kingsford Charcoal Blue Bag by Richard Wachtel

We all know that one of the many aspects of barbecue is that we like to spend time with our family and friends enjoying the foods that we have spent time creating. Whether we barbecue because it is a time honored tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation or it is annual event at your home to celebrate family milestones we know that Barbecue is a central part of our lives.

SEE RELATED: GRILLING WITH RICH’S SALT LICK TRIP VIA PHOTOS 

This couldn’t be more true for Scott Roberts and the family at the Salt Lick Barbecue located Driftwood Texas in the Hill Country of Central Texas. Recently I had the rare opportunity to spend over 2 hours with Scott at the Salt Lick while I was on my epic barbecue Texas adventure, taking about barbecue and also talking about how his family influenced him and the Salt Lick restaurant.

Salt Lick Owner Scott Roberston showing us around the Salt Lick and Driftwood, TX

The roots of The Salt Lick run back to Mississippi in the mid-1800s. Scott Roberts, the current owner of the Salt Lick, had a great-grandmother, Bettie Howard, who came to this land from Desoto, Miss. in 1867. James Howard was a surveyor passing through Desoto. Bettie was a 14-year-old orphan looking for a way to survive. She told James that she couldn’t promise she would ever love him. But she said that if he would marry her and take her to Texas, she would bear and raise all his children.

James took Bettie up on her offer. After crossing the gulf from Biloxi with their wagon in pieces on a boat, they landed in Indianola, Texas and reassembled their wagon.

SEE RELATED: GRILLING WITH RICH’S SALT LICK TRIP VIA PHOTOS

On the trip by wagon train to Driftwood, Bettie barbequed meat by searing it and then slow cooking it over coals – the same method the family uses today. When Bettie arrived in Central Texas, she proved to be a woman of her word. She populated her new hometown of Driftwood with nine Howard children.

Roxanna, one of Bettie’s daughters, raised Scott’s father, Thurman, in Driftwood. But Uncle Sam recruited him for service in the Navy. The Texas boy wound up stationed in Kauai. There he met his wife Hisako who was born on Kauai of Japanese descent.

For this week’s Barbecue and Grilling Sauce review, I am going to be reviewing Memphis BBQ Restaurant BBQ Sauce Review & Rating: Corky’s Sauce & Rub.

Like I always do with barbecue product reviews and also our barbecue sauce review and ratings I am going to give some background on this Memphis Barbecue institution:

Corky’s BBQ lives and breathes in the BBQ CAPITAL OF THE WORLD….MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE! Home to over 100 BBQ specific restaurants, Corky’s has been Voted the #1 BBQ in Memphis by Readers Polls over 22 times! Don Pelts made a decision almost 30 years ago to open Corky’s BBQ with the following requirements:

1. Buy the very best raw products

2. Cook the old fashioned way over hickory and charcoal

3. Hire the best team to support his ‘vision’ for Corky’s

4. ‘Do it right EVERY TIME!’

The success of Corky’s dining room business led to a booming drive-thru / take out business that had never been done before in Memphis BBQ. Within a year of opening, Corky’s started taking its great BBQ to peoples homes, businesses and picnic facilities with its full service Catering Team. They arrive, set up, serve and let the customer just have fun! Corky’s has catered events as large as 18,000 people and served them all in 2 hours! So many out of town customers would enjoy a ‘Taste of Memphis’ while at Corky’s in the early years that we opened a USDA inspected processing facility in 1991. That original 900 square foot space has been improved over the years to now 53,000 square feet! Our BBQ is shipped overnight to sports stars, Hollywood celebs, and folk just like you and I. This facility also cooks all the food that Corky’s ships to Supermarkets including Wal-mart, Kroger, Publix, Costco, and many others.

Now that we have gotten the history of this famous Memphis Barbecue institution it is time for the review of the barbecue sauce and also the review of their rub.

Corky’s Barbecue Sauce: As many of you know I am a big fan of tomato based barbecue sauces. After reviewing a lot of barbecue sauces I have realized that if I was stuck on a deserted island, I would only need and would like tomato based barbecue sauce as one of the items that I would want on the island. I knew that after visiting Memphis that they also like their barbecue sauce with tomato’s and a lot of it, so when I received Corky’s barbecue sauce I knew that I would like this sauce a lot and I was right. I really liked the barbecue sauce, actually I loved the sauce because not only did it have some great flavors but it also had a really nice hint of spice. After looking at the ingredients of the sauce I feel in love with the sauce even more and realized that even though it had some vinegar in the ingredients it worked perfectly with the sweetness of the brown sugar. The spice of the sauce was not at all overpowering but really enjoyable.

Corky’s Barbecue Rub: There are two characteristics of a barbecue rub that I look for is sweetness and also a very small hint of spice at the end of the rub, so that you get a layered flavor profiles. Corky’s barbecue rub was something that hit both of these requirements. I was wondering to myself what were the ingredients that helped make this perfect barbecue rub, and then I was disappointed.  I am huge believer in using natural and fresh ingredients for rubs and sauces, and I was completely disappointed to see that Corky’s didn’t use natural ingredients. If they used natural ingredients I think that I would loved the rub a lot more.

Overall Impression:  Overall, I really enjoyed the barbecue sauce and rub really disappointed me. I only wish that the rub used natural ingredients.

Hope that you are having a great National Hamburger Month and don’t forget to have fun grilling up your favorite hamburger!!

What are some of your favorite toppings to add to a hamburger? In the comment section below we want to know!! 

National Hamburger Month Recipe: Wild Mushroom Cheddar Burgers

Team Name: Holy Smokes BBQ
Location: Dublin, GA 
Twitter Handle: @HolySmokes_13
Team Website: http://holysmokesbbqteam.com

The following infographic titled: Girl v. Grill Infographic which was created by BBQ Guru to compare personal, intimate relationships to the relationship that people have with their grills. It’s a light-hearted take on the subject that shows that grilling really is an important part of many people’s lives.