The BBQ Blog

New Server

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:45:00 +0000

We have moved servers from mediattemple to archinetonline. Hopefully no links have broken. There is much to report - including two new trophies for our BBQ team. Updates Soon!

Dry Bag Steak

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:30:00 +0000

"Drybags are a scientifically-proven and chef tested, unique European technology that allows anyone to create custom dry aged steak. The material forms a bond with the proteins on the surface of the beef allowing moisture to permeate out while blocking oxygen and off-flavors. With DrybagSteak technology you can successfully create the ultimate dry aged steak in any well-ventilated cooler or refrigerator without risk of spoilage."

Hope I can try out some Dry Bag aging soon!

Update: Found this great overview of the Dry Bag here.

And here.

Tech Tests for Tasty Meat

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:11:00 +0000

"Imagine going into a local supermarket or butchery, pulling out your cell phone and using its camera to instantly check for the best piece of meat on display." - From Article by Joshua Williams.

Researchers use infrared cameras to determine taste quality of Japanese beef. You gotta love the future-now.

Get the fire started: I'll be Grillin' on the Bay!

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 01:09:00 +0000

Well, the time has come to get back in the ring. My team - the Better BBQ Bureau - and I will be returning to the competition world on March 27th, 2010 in Brooklyn, NYC at Grilling on the Bay. I'm very excited and looking forward to bringing home some more trophies.

Stay tuned for updates.

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:19:00 +0000

Happy New Year! May the BBQ Gods smile upon you.

NYC BBQ Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:03:00 +0000

NYC Wedding Photog Daniel Krieger really likes shooting BBQ! I came across these amazing NYC BBQ Restaurant photographs.

Beautiful.

I Que Wins Jack

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:09:00 +0000

I- Que won the Jack. Northeast BBQ is really shining these days.

Wings are the New Breasts

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:10:00 +0000

Good old supply and demand in action. Makes me want some hot wings. Reminds me of the 'baby back ribs'.

Auspit Seems a Super Cool BBQ Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:48:00 +0000

I read this post over on WhiteTrashBBQ and I must say I can't wait to try one out.

It seems a perfect way to do bbq while camping and not being able to take a smoker with you.

Very old school barbacoa over and open pit fire is really fun especially when cooking with a group of people, and the FireTrough is just a great idea when you can't do the open pit. I love it, if it works as advertised (and Robert assures me it does).

Anway check out the Auspit and tell me what you think.

Eggheads

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:35:00 +0000

I have never had the pleasure of cooking on a Big Green Egg, but Eggheads are like Macheads, Harley Davidson riders, Trekkers - very passionate about something to an almost fetishistic level. (I wonder why I don't own a Big Green Egg now!)

Anyway, CNN has a small story on the Egg and the People who love them.

Smoking Again

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:27:00 +0000

After a break and adjusting to a new job situation, I am back to smoking again and the BBQ Blog is back in action. To get started I finally set up my Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker 22-1/2-Inch Smoker. I will post pics of the set up and my first smoke in it in the next couple of entries.

Welcome to BBQ season!

Brisket Might Be Good For You

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:28:00 +0000

This article details how brisket has higher amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids than other parts of the cow - especially in corn fed beef. The article does mention Wagyu beef but does not state the results of any tests on grass fed beef. It does seem to imply that this information could allow butchers to start charging a higher price for brisket, promoting it as some sort of health food. We'll see.

Study: Healthy 'Depots' Discovered in Beef Brisket

Fourth of July Menu: SmoFried Turkey Breast

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:12:00 +0000

Since I was making smofried chicken wings, I decided to apply the same process to a turkey breast. The results were okay, but not quite as tasty as the wings.

First I rubbed and then smoked the turkey breast.

I smoked it until it reached about 155° internal. Then I dropped it into the fryer:

After a couple minutes, I pulled it, temped it, and let it rest.

Next time I will inject it for a stronger impact.

Fourth of July Menu: SmoFried Chicken Wings

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:39:00 +0000

After the fatty, it was on to SmoFried Chicken Wings. I am a big fan of hybrid cooking methods, and this one combines two of my favorite methods - smoking and deep frying. I have my own variation of how to do this, but you can find a great primer on smoked and deep fried wings on the TVWB.

First I salted and then smoked the wings - I only smoked them for about an hour and then fried them. I used to use a full dry rub them, but most of the rub would burn by the time it got to the fryer afterwards. I think the skin holds up better this way but you still get the tenderizing effect of slow cooking the meat and I add the dry rub to the sauce. Here are the wings about 45 minutes into the smoke:

As I am smoking the wings I prepare my buffalo sauce. I added some dry rub, ground rainbow pepper corns, and Franks' Hot Sauce to a reduction of blood orange juice. I bring it to a boil, remove it from the heat and then add butter. I keep stirring and let the butter slowly emulsify until it forms a nice sauce.

I fried the wings in peanut oil at 350° for about 3 minutes or so.

When finished I pulled them out of the oil and let them air for about 30 seconds, then I toss them in the sauce. When finished this is what they looked like:

These take more time than your regular wings, but the flavor is so good you should give it a shot. Since the oil was hot, I went on to cook up a SmoFried Turkey Breast as well.

Fourth of July Menu: Fatty First

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:40:00 +0000

How was your Fourth of July weekend? It was rainy here - I went to the baseball game and got soaked. I am going to break up the food I cooked for the weekend into separate posts.

First off, to get started I smoked a non stuffed fatty.

Then I sliced it,

covered it with aged cheddar and

then popped it under the broiler for a couple seconds to bubble the cheese.

Yummy.

Next up were Smo-Fried Buffalo Chicken Wings.

Grilling Spot: Pelton Pond Picnic Area

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:10:00 +0000

I found a great spot for grilling at Fahnestock State Park: Pelton Pond Picnic Area. There are some great grills built into this area next to picnic tables and a beautiful pond.

There are also great fire pits all around this spot.

BBQ Spot: Jackalope BBQ in Fishkill, NY

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:37:00 +0000

I was wandering around upstate NY the other day and, thanks to my GPS, I came across a place named Jackalope BBQ. I don't do reviews - you should check out pigtrip.net for that - but I was pleasantly surprised with this place. From the outside I thought it was going to be a psuedo-que place, but as soon as I walked in there was a pleasant smoke wood smell gently perfuming the inside. Overall, the service was really great and I was glad I found that spot. Its comforting to know that you can always find decent BBQ somewhere if you just use the force!

Tim Russert has died.

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:19:00 +0000

This is obviously off-topic, but those of you who know me know that one of my biggest passions is following politics and one my grandest traditions was every Sunday sitting down with a cup of coffee and watching 'Meet the Press' with Tim Russert. Apparently he has died of a heart attack.

In my opinion, Tim Russert was a one of the greatest political interviewers of our time. I will miss him. Sundays will never be the same.

Reserve Champion, and 3 Other Trophies at Grillin' on the Bay

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:06:00 +0000

Despite the temperature and a couple of other issues yesterday at Grillin' on the Bay (New York City's only Grilling competition), we won 4 trophies and a ribbon including Reserve Champion!

We were less than one point away from winning Grand Champion. Congrats to SmokeInDaEye BBQ team. Not only did he win Grand Champion, it was his birthday.

Here are the Grillin' On The Bay results.

We hit the cycle with a 4th in fish, a 3rd in Chef's Choice (we did Jerk Ribeye), a 2nd in Pork (we did Ribs), and 1st in Chicken. This was by far our best chicken turn-in as far as scores go, including one 9-9-9 and one 9-8-9.

Woot! We were happy with the results, and super-psyched that Robert pulled of the competition despite many set backs. He did a really great job, and every time I see him at one of these comps I realize what a truly nice guy he is and what a big role he is playing in bringing BBQ to NYC. Thanks Robert and thanks St. Mark's for hosting us.

We are not doing anymore comps until October because of scheduling conflicts, so we are happy to let these trophies get us through the summer.

Grillin' on the Bay Still Has Some Space!

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:52:00 +0000

Grillin' on the Bay, taking place this weekend June 7th, 2008, in Brooklyn, NY still has some slots left for teams to compete. They had to reschedule and change the venue for it this year so maybe people don't know they still can enter. Please email them right away and let them know you are interested and get your cooking application here.

WSM Smoke Day IV

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Sat, 31 May 2008 19:45:00 +0000

This past weekend was WSM Smoke Day IV and so in the spirit of the event I smoked 4 pork butts on one of my WSMs running with a BBQ Guru DigiQ II.

Here are the pork butts at the start of the 16 hour smoke. I had bbq sandwiches that night and then for memorial day I used the pork for pork tacos which all my guests seemed to enjoy.

Happy Memorial Day

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:51:00 +0000

While I am not a big supporter of the decisions that the civilians in charge have made lately, I am a big supporter of the military - especially the families of those serving. I guess I am bit biased, as I grew up in one of those families. I am an Air Force brat - moving around a bunch when I was kid and living in the military structure and culture for the better part of my early development.

Some of my favorite memories are Memorial Day celebrations cooking food and spending time outdoors with family and friends both on base and off of base.

Get outside, cook some food, and enjoy the day. If you see someone in uniform thank them for their service, and if they are with their families thank them for their service as well.

KCBS Certified Judges Must have KCBS Membership Card

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:01:00 +0000

The title kind of says it all but Merl Whitebook posted some new info about Kansas City Barbecue Society rules for certified judges over at the The Virtual Weber Bullet forum. The gist is that you must have your KCBS membership card with you in order to prove that you have a current membership (and, I gather, current dues have been paid.)

Grillin' on the Bay RESCHEDULED

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:31:00 +0000

Grillin' on the Bay has been rescheduled and restored to last year's format. They competition will be only a NEBS-sanctioned grilling comp and will NOT have a KCBS-sanctioned BBQ component.

I wanted to be NYC's first KCBS grand-champion, but I'll have to wait until next year. Hah.

If you can not cook that day, I'll bet they will be looking for judges, so get in touch with them.

Updates Coming Soon

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Smoke) — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:24:00 +0000

I have a lot of updates to get to, but don't have time at the moment: they include the story of my BBQ tour to Charleston, SC and back again, my review of Wildwood BBQ that opened last week (go get some pulled pork if you are in the neighborhood), and my updates on the BBQ competition this season.

I will get to them A.S.A.P. so check back later today or tomorrow.