Ted Reader has confirmed that he is Tabasco Canada’s newest Spokesperson on his facebook account:

I am happy to announce that I am officially one of Tabasco Canada’s newest spokesperson. I have always been a fan of Tabasco and all of their products and it is pretty exciting to now be part of the family. Check out Tabasco Canada and enjoy the tastyness. Cheers

I think this is fantastic news!! Ted comes up with wicked good grilling recipes and I really believe that unlike a lot of those celebrity spokesperson endorsements this one actually makes a lot of sense.

Ted+Tabasco= all things good, tasty & fun.

Tabasco made a super smart move having Ted rep them ! Great news!! I can’t wait to see the fun grilling and BBQ related recipes he is sure to create!

For more news about Ted make sure to check out

Tabasco Canada on Facebook

One little tweet. Thats all it took for the BBQ community to get all in a kerfuffle about a new Season of BBQ Pitmasters

BBQPitmasters
To all our great diehard BBQ Pitmasters fans, good news in the works. Check bbqforum.com for an announcement. Things are moving quickly!
26 Jan Favorite Undo Retweet Reply

2 days later a post on the BBQ Forum provided a link to the information:

BBQ Pitmasters is back!
Season 3 begins shooting in March!!

Good Luck to everyone sending in their audition tapes!!  I had a blast doing the show in Season 2.

Of course the debate about BBQ on tv continues on. Well documented by one of my favorite BBQ blogs

The BBQ Brethren

 
Lots of discussions are going on here.

It should come as no shock that I ♥ pork. All pork. I like different types of sauces and a Carolina Vinegar sauce is definitely different.

I love the balance of the rich pork with the tang of vinegar and red pepper flakes. I love the texture of chopped pork as well.

Ingredients

2 8lb boneless pork butt

For the Rub

1/4 cup butcher grind tellicherry black pepper
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup smoked paprika
1/4 cup Morton’s kosher salt
1/8 cup Chipotle powder

For the Sauce

4 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup finely ground tellicherry black pepper
1/4 cup Smoked Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
1/4 cup Morton’s kosher salt
2 tbsp Thai Red Pepper Flakes
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine all rub ingredients thoroughly rub on all sides of the pork butts. Set aside in fridge for 2-3 hours.

Set your grill up for indirect cooking at 250F.
I used hickory wood pellets for this pork. Use hickory chips or chunks depending on your grill.

Place the meat on the grill and BBQ indirect until the internal temperature has reached 200F Approx 6-7 hours depending on your grill. Wrap the butt in foil lightly and set aside for 1/4 hour.

While the pork has been cooking assemble the sauce ingredients in a non reactive pan or bowl. Whisk thoroughly to incorporate the ingredients completely. Set aside covered in the fridge.

Chop or pull the butts. Make sure to incorporate any pork juices that accumulated from foiling back into the the chopped pork.

Add sauce until desired moisture and flavor is achieved. The remaining vinegar sauce keeps well in the fridge for at least a month.

Piled high on a soft hamburger bun with a crunchy coleslaw this pork is awesome. The leftovers freeze well too- Enjoy!

Roc City Rib Fest BBQ Class APPLICATION Form

I really like Piri Piri hot sauces. While I can get a few bottles here in Canada -my friends from England The UK Grand Champion Award winning BBQ team Miss Piggy’s BBQ spoiled me with bringing multiple types when they came for a visit last year.

I set out to make my own. One problem. I could not find dried Piri Piri peppers anywhere unless I mail ordered some. As luck would have it a friend of mine was heading to Portugal and brought me back a few packets.

Piri piri can also be referred to as African Birds Eye Chilies they can range from 50,000 to 175,000 Scoville units

From Wikipedia 

Piri piri (pili pili, peri peri) is a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens, one of the sources of chili pepper, that grows both wild and domesticated. It is a small, extremely spicy member of the Capsicum genus. It grows in Malawi, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Here is a great chart from WIKI
Scoville heat units Examples
15,000,000–16,000,000 Pure capsaicin[4]
8,600,000–9,100,000 Bear spray, various capsaicinoids (e.g., homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin)
500,000–2,000,000 Most Law enforcement grade pepper spray[5]
855,000–1,463,700 Naga Viper pepper,[6] Infinity Chilli,[7] Bhut Jolokia chili pepper,[8][9] Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper[10]
350,000–580,000 Red Savina habanero[11]
100,000–350,000 Habanero chili,[12] Scotch bonnet pepper,[12] Datil pepper, Rocoto, Madame Jeanette, Peruvian White Habanero,[13] Jamaican hot pepper[14]
50,000–100,000 Byadgi chilli, Bird’s eye chili,[15] Malagueta pepper,[15] Chiltepin pepper, Piri piri (African bird’s eye), Thai Pepper Pequin pepper[15]
30,000–50,000 Guntur chilli, Cayenne pepper, Ají pepper,[12] Tabasco pepper, Cumari pepper (Capsicum Chinese)
10,000–23,000 Serrano pepper, Peter pepper, Aleppo pepper
3,500–8,000 Espelette pepper, Jalapeño pepper, Chipotle,[16][17] Guajillo pepper, New Mexican varieties of Anaheim pepper,[18] Hungarian wax pepper, Tabasco sauce
1,000–2,500 Anaheim pepper, Poblano pepper, Rocotillo pepper, Peppadew
100–900 Pimento, Peperoncini, Banana pepper
0 No significant heat, Bell pepper, Cubanelle, Aji dulce

Piri Piri Hot sauce

2 packages Piri Piri Peppers (approx 1 cup dried)
6 jalapeños seeded & chopped
1 cup red onion chopped
1 cup white vinegar
1 can diced tomatoes 398ml (14oz)
½ cup dehydrated red pepper
7 cloves garlic minced
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp white granulated sugar

In a glass bowl pour 2 cups boiling water over piri piri peppers cover with plastic wrap and set aside overnight.
Strain piri piri chillies reserving the water.
In a medium sized pan on medium heat sauté onions in the olive oil until softened. Add 1 cup of the piri piri water. Add jalapenos and continue to sauté until the jalapenos have softened. Add strained piri piri chiles, garlic, red pepper, salt, sugar and tomatoes mix thoroughly and set aside.
Pour the contents of the pan into a food processor. Pulse until the texture is smooth. Add the vinegar and pulse again until well combined.

Remove to a container with a tight fitting lid and set aside for 2 weeks in the fridge to let the flavours bloom.

I did an early taste test and there is real kick to this and a warmth that stays with you. I can’t wait to use it on some grilled chicken, pork and in a BBQ sauce.

For more hot sauce related information check out a couple sites that I like to visit:

Hot Sauce Daily 

Scott Roberts 

A fantastic Super bowl 2012 bbq buffet !

Ok I admit it. I know absolutely 0% about football. I don’t understand the game, I don’t cheer for any teams and I have no interest in it until the Superbowl. Aside from the commercials (go ahead and judge me) I just like the opportunity to cook for a crowd. Namely – my husband, his buddies and the wives.
Our menu for this year will include ribs, Diva Q 4 cheese abt’s, BBQ Pit Boys beans, BBQ Beef  nachos, chicken wings with a spicy piri piri sauce, bacon wrapped super fatty, and of course lots of libations!

Here is the number one searched recipe that I have posted in the past for superbowl snacking ! It feeds an enormous crowd of hungry game watchers!

Diva Q Ultimate Bacon Jalapeño Sausage Super Fatty

This is a party sized appetizer of enormous proportions – deliciously decadent…Absolutely this is one of my all time favorites from the grill…

Ingredients:
4 lbs sausage (3 regular 1 hot)
2 lbs bacon
3-5 jalapeños (cored membrane removed and sliced in half)
2 tablespoons Smoky Mountain Smokers Spicy BBQ Rub

Filling:
5 tbsp garlic tobasco sauce
5 green onions chopped
2 packages cream cheese
4 tbsp 3eyz BBQ rub
3/4 c Strodes Cherry BBQ sauce
5 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp Chipotle powder

Mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl and set aside in a piping bag with large nozzle.
Lay 3 feet of saran wrap on kitchen counter
Spread out sausage (no casings) on the plastic wrap evenly spreading the mixture to approx 1/2″ thick and forming a rectangular shape that is 21/2 feet long.
place the jalapeños in a line down the center of the sausage mixture
Pipe the cheese mixture onto the jalapeños going the entire length of the sausage.
Using the plastic wrap to aid you bring the sides of the sausage mixture up and around the jalapeños and cheese forming a cylindrical tube.
Place on a large tray and chill in fridge or if room allows the freezer for 30 minutes.

Lay 3 feet of saran wrap on the counter. Arrange the strips of bacon to slightly overlap each other. Depending on the thickness of your bacon you will need between 2 – 3 lbs of bacon . (Please see picture above)

Remove the sausage from the fridge. Roll the sausage out of the saran wrap onto the bacon layers.
Bring the pieces of the bacon at the ends up first then continue to bring the bacon slices up onto the sausage until fully enclosed in bacon.

Sprinkle the entire fatty with the Smoky Mountain Smokers Spicy BBQ rub.

Prepare your grill for indirect cooking medium heat (275-300F).

******* Big Caution here… its a LOT of bacon. Bacon grease fires are serious business. Ensure your grill if using charcoal or propane or gas – utilizes a pan (with about 2 inches of water) under the fatty to capture the bacon grease. Always be prepared with a fire extinguisher and baking soda in case of a grease fire. Stay put and stay close. YOu don’t ever want to be far from a grill that has bacon on it.  *******

Place the fatty on your grill in a horseshoe shape. BBQ your fatty until the internal temperature in many locations when probed reaches 165F (approx 2-3hours) and the bacon is crsipy. Glaze in the last few moments of cooking with the Strodes Cherry BBQ sauce. Remove from heat and rest at least 15 minutes. Slice and serve with additional BBQ sauce and hot sauces.

I love Char Siu. I love Char Siu from this dive in Toronto Kom Jug Yeun- their BBQ Pork is truly awesome.  I love it in a bowl of their awesome broths. I love it on rice. I love it on broccoli and snow pea shoots. I just love it. Plus I crave it. Often. The problem is lately I haven’t had much time to get to Toronto. So whats a girl to do? Well in my case its thaw some boneless pork butt and get to it.

Ingredients

8lb Boneless Pork butt

Marinade & Baste

1 cup Hoisin

3/4 cup Mushroom Flavored Soy Sauce

1/2 cup Wildflower honey

1/2 cup sriracha

1/2 cup Dry sherry

2 tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp minced fresh ginger

2 tbsp white granulated sugar

2 tbsp Umami paste

1 tbsp chili oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp 5 spice powder

1 tbsp red food coloring (*Optional)

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a glass bowl and set aside.

Trim the pork butt off excess fat and cut into long strips and pieces.

* Ever notice when you are not competing you always find the most beautiful money muscles ?? UGH.

Place trimmed pieces in a container that has a tight fitting lid.

Add marinade and place in the fridge overnight. (Seriously why can’t Glade or one of those companies make an air freshener that smells like this? I would so buy it.)

Preheat your grill to 225F I used oak and hickory wood pellets for this and since it was -15 out I used the traeger.

Baste the pieces of pork with the residual marinade every 15 minutes.

Now depending on how big or small your pieces are this can take any where from an hour or 2 until the bark has developed and the internal temperature of the pork has reached 155F or higher.

To say this turned out great would be an understatement. It was freaking awesome. I can’t believe I have not done this before now. I have about 90 lbs of boneless pork butts in the freezer and I can’t wait to make it again. I’ll be adding 1/2 cup of maltose to the recipe next time to give it more shine. Ill also try hanging it in longer strips from the dome of my WSM or maybe on the Weber performer.

My craptastic pictures do not do the pork justice. It was juicy and soo flavorful and it was such a nice change from pulled pork. The smoke really complimented the flavors.

Hope you take the time to make it. Well worth it. Let me know if you do.

Our March class has already old out. We will be announcing another 2 day competition class for May in the upcoming week!

Please note no recording devices will be allowed during class times. A combination of pellet cookers (Traeger) and Charcoal (BBQ Guru Onyx Oven/WSM/Weber Grill) will be used for the class.

This will be an instructional class.

Please note you can also pay in advance via check or cash.

Please email divaq@rogers.com for application form.

Hotels in the South End Barrie Area:

Super 8 

Holiday Inn Express 

Hampton Inn & Suites

Days Inn

Monte Carlo Inn

Grilling with Rich is running a contest for BBQ person of the year. He writes a great blog that is always interesting and with fresh content. I was nominated by some folks and that was quite kind of them. The list is fully stocked with some awesome folks from all over:

So the Christmas meal is over. The presents have all been unwrapped. The libations have been drunk. However you probably still have a few pounds of leftovers in the fridge.

Pot pies are a wonderful way to use up Christmas leftovers. Deliciously easy to make and simple to assemble. They taste terrific too!

Turkey Pot Pie with Biscuit Crust

2-3 cups chopped cooked turkey

2-3 cups leftover veggies chopped (seriously whatever you have throw it in)

2 cups turkey or chicken stock

1 red pepper chopped

1 onion chopped

1 cup frozen peas

3 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp ground sage

1 tsp ground savory

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Biscuit Topping

2 cups Bisquick

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Heat oven to 400F

I used my 3 1/2 Quart Le Creuset Braiser for this. One pot cooking and baking is ideal for fuss free clean up. You can also pour this into a casserole dish as well.

Saute red pepper and onion in butter until soft. Add in savory, sage, salt and pepper. Add turkey, chopped vegetables, frozen peas and 1 1/2stock. Mix thoroughly and bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with remaining 1/2 cup stock (use a small whisk) to create a lump free slurry. Mix slurry into turkey mixture and simmer until thickened.  Set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium size bowl mix Bisquick, eggs and milk.  Spread Bisquick on top of turkey mixture.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes prior to serving.  My whole family loves this dish and I end up with a fridge free of leftovers. Win Win situation!