We are getting ready for the Jack Daniels Invitational already! Prepping our lists and making plans ! We are doing a fundraiser for the Jack trip. Its an expensive trip to haul our gear down and represent Canada to the best of our abilities. We are thankful to sponsors and our friends and family who have been helping us!

Here are the details of our fundraiser. There are only 180 seats available so please purchase your tickets in advance we cannot guarantee there will be any available at the door: **** Please note that the poker tourney and the pool tourney will have separate buy ins. Thanks all!!

https://kiosk.eztix.co/kiosk/3622

Huge thanks to our sponsors and supporters for this event:

BBQ’ed or grilled meat on sticks makes people happy. I am sure there is a study out there somewhere. Have you ever been to a dinner party and a tray of skewered meats goes by??? People lose their minds.  Anything you grill on a stick makes people happy. I think its a caveman thing. Truly. It doesn’t really matter what sticks you use. It could be traditional wooden or metal skewers or maybe something a little more exotic like lemongrass or branches of rosemary.

Pork Kebabs on charcoal

This weekend my kids were involved with these. They were a huge hands on help forming the meat around the skewers.  We love Chevaps.  We buy them regularly from DS Meats in Ajax Ontario. This is our homemade version.

We used a combination of ground beef and pork. Plus assorted herbs and seasonings.  There is no recipe.

Its all up to your own personal tastes. I walked to the herb garden and grabbed chives and thyme which seem to be thriving in our garden this year. A couple of minced jalapenos and garlic were added as well. Pulsed everything in a food processor  with kosher salt and black pepper and added to the meat mixture. Then I took about 2 handfuls of the meat mixture and pulsed it in the mini chopper. Its a nice way to get a different texture from the meat. Its also holds the meat together well acting as a binder.

We also added Vegeta. Vegeta is a staple spice in our household pantry.  Using an ice cram scoop ensures that each portion of meat will cook in approximately the same time.

I used metal skewers with the intention of putting them on the Big Green Egg. One problem I had no charcoal left. Ugh. Are you kidding me?? I was shocked but sadly it was true no charcoal – must pick up more Basques this week!!

Off to the traeger! 

About halfway done…

Slathered with Joey Mac’s Amberque.  love this stuff. Great on well… everything.

Dinnertime.

This weekend its Carib fest here in my hometown of Barrie Ontario. To celebrate I thought it would be nice to have some jerk chicken.. I have a terrific recipe for homemade Jerk seasoning but it has quite a few steps. The best alternative ?? Open the cupboard and pullout my bottle of plowboys jerk seasoning.   In our house we have little ones that are not fans of jerk seasoning so we did pineapple chicken two ways. One with just salt & pepper and the other with jerk seasoning.

To start we made stands for our chickens using 2 pineapples. Super easy to do – just cut the pineapple into a base for a chicken. The pineapple steams from within adding lots of moisture and a light flavoring of pineapple. For an additional pineapple boost grill off extra slices and serve along with the chicken.

Season the chicken and place on the pineapple throne.  Cute presentation.  This would be fun for a dinner party.  I used hickory pellets on the traeger this weekend. The breast was 163F and the thigh was 178F when I pulled it off to rest for 10 minutes prior to carving.

This chicken is super moist and tasty. Great way to use up leftover pineapples.

I must sincerely apologize for the delay in posting I have been busier than a bee. We have been travelling from BC to Buffalo competing!

In Langley BC I had the distinct pleasure of teaching once again at Well Seasoned. It was a terrific set of days we had a sold out classes for Ribs and received a lot of positive feedback from the classes.

Then we headed up to the gloriously beautiful Whistler BC to compete at the Canadian National BBQ Championships!!  This is the most gorgeous location to have a BBQ competition. At the base of the mountains beautiful wisps of smoke plume upwards . It is a sight to behold for sure. Our site was once again shared with the teams from Well Seasoned with pitmaster Angie Quaale and David Gassaway, Praire Smoke & Spice with pitmaster Rob Reinhardt and Jaci Reinhardt.  We all get along really well and there was a lot of sharing involved with cooking techniques and recipes.

Congratulations to Wine Country Q for their GC and to the Canadian Team Well Seasoned RGC and the ticket to the Jack !!!! We received 7th in burger and 6th in King of the Q,  1st place pork and the rest lets just forget about it till next year. Overall we came in 13th out of 43 teams. It was not our best results for sure. They really didn’t like our food other than our pork this year. Oh well. We still had a blast!

Angie and David. Wow were they ever surprised awesome to see!!

After flying back from BC we had just 36 hours to prep and pack for the Taste of Country Nationals in Buffalo BC. Talk about some quick packing!!

This new event combines great country music family friendly events, BBQ vending and of course a BBQ competition. Moe Cason from Ponderosa BBQ and I were asked to go on the local TV station ABC WKBW News 7 in Buffalo and do a short segment on the event!!

The event was a blast to do and the crowds were enormous. The vendor lines never stopped the entire time we were there and there were hundreds of people in the Peoples Choice tasting lines as well. For this contest we were joined by a Ninja. No kidding. A Pork Ninja named Jamie. We were really appreciate of his help all weekend for sure and we could not have done the sampling without him.

We were lucky enough to come home with some hardware!! 1st place pork 3rd Chicken 7th ribs 13th brisket for 5th overall. Plus for the first time ever we won 1st place people’s choice. that was a big thrill for us. We usually don’t participate in peoples choice. This one was a blind peoples choice for pork. IT was a thrill for sure and we will be back next year.

Then right after awards we raced back to Canada for a VIP catering event for some lovely folks.

Catering table as we were setting up.

Good times but we are now taking a well deserved long overdue …weekend off. Catch you next week!!

This morning its all about veggies (and tofu too!) on Ontario Morning with Mike Ewing (Filling in for Wei Chen) here are a couple of the recipes I talked about

Grilled Brussel Sprouts

• 1 lb Brussel sprouts cleaned and trimmed
• ¼ cup butter melted
• Salt
• Pepper
• Granulated garlic
• Fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 BBQ buddy™ pan

On a charcoal grill with a medium heat (300F) place bbq buddy ™ pan.
Fill with brussel sprouts and sprinkle on granulated garlic, salt & pepper.
Brush with butter. Turn after 5-10 minutes then brush with butter again.
Remove when brussel sprouts are just starting to turn soft (approx 15-20 minutes)
Garnish with sprigs of thyme.

Optional : drizzle with a very good quality Balsamic vinegar or truffle oil just prior to serving.

BBQ Spaghetti Squash

• 1 large spaghetti squash halved
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Brush cut sides of spaghetti squash with canola oil and pierce multiple times with a fork. Sprinkle on thyme, salt and pepper. Grill indirect on medium high heat for 3/4- 1 hour until squash is softened.  Using tines of fork scrape the squash to create strands. Top each half with 1 tablespoon butter and Parmesan cheese. Serve warm

Diva Q Sweet Potato Casserole

• 5 lg. sweet potatoes
• 1/2 c. butter, soft
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 c. milk
• 1/3 c. Butter

Topping

• • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• • 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• • 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions.

Heat grill to medium high heat.  Poke washed sweet potatoes with a fork multiples of times. Wrap in foil and place on grill.

When potatoes are fork tender (depending on size anywhere from 30-45 minutes) remove and set aside to cool a bit.

When cool enough to handle use a paring knife and remove skins. Mash 1/2 cup butter with sweet potatoes.

Add brown sugar, vanilla, milk and butter mash well. Pour all of this into a well greased oven proof 9×12 dish

In a bowl mix together the sugar, flour and cut in butter till a coarse crumble. Add the pecans and sprinkle this mixture over the sweet potatoes.

Place back on the grill indirect at 350 degrees for approx 30 minutes. Serves 8.

Portobello Veggie Heaven Cheddar Burger 

Cheeses that can be grilled:

Halloumi –  Halloumi is the traditional white cheese of Cyprus . It is delicious when grilled .

Guernsey Girl - Upper Canada Cheese Company    Delicious and fun to grill.

Great products to use with grilling veggies-  Alcan BBQ Buddy available all over Canada at major retail chains and supermarkets.

Weber Veggie Basket available from Ontario Gas BBQ 

Frogmats - Great for indirect cooking

Its hot. Its humid and there is no way in HE double hockey sticks I am cooking indoors.

I cook on the grill constantly when the weather is hot. We eat a lot of super salads. Basically pick a protein whether it be poultry, seafood or beef and build a salad around it. The choices are endless and our kids love them. Lots of seasonal choices can add a lot of interest to a salad!

This week we enjoyed a BIG chicken salad. Enough to feed 8 ppl with enough for leftovers to take to work the next day.  I used a rub I have been enjoying lately Bub-ba-Q all purpose rub.

Ingredients

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 bunched romaine washed  chopped
• 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
• 1/2  small red onion thinly sliced
• 2 cups frozen corn thawed
• 3 scallions finely chopped
• 1 cup shredded old cheddar
• 3 tomatoes chopped
• 2 green peppers chopped
• 2 cups torn baguette or croutons
• 1/2 cup BBQ Rub

Well that was a weekend to remember.

This past year I have been struggling a lot with my BBQ at competitions. Up and down and everywhere in the middle my scores landed and brisket was my nemesis. This weekend sure made up for it.

The venue was the 1st ever Blue Mountains Chili & Ribfest held in the gorgeous town of Clarksburg Ontario. Not only was it a 1st time contest it was also the very 1st time there has been a KCBS contest in Ontario. I am a huge fan of the KCBS and how they sanction contests. It removes all doubt about integrity and fairness in judging and how the contests are run. To me personally it gives me an assurance that I am going to get a fair shake at it.  I may not be the best but I just want to be treated fairly and not have rules change after I arrive at an event.

The weather was perfect and so was our site at Cedar Run Horse Park . It was half in the shade and half in the sun. Perfect for setting up our kids tent and just generally enjoying the surroundings. The entire competition site was incredible. From a few miles out (lots of clearly marked signs) the organizer uber chef and BBQ lover Steve Perrin and his endless line of volunteers and crew did an outstanding job.  Water and electricity and the ever important porta potty’s were already set up. Team sites were clearly marked. Each volunteer was easily recognizable for their red shirts. We were greeted shortly after arriving by Steve and some of their crew.

There were vendors and rides and an entire chili cook-off as well. Each area uber well maintained by maintenance staff and an endless supply of security personnel.  There was also a HUGE sound stage that featured a variety of musical acts throughout the weekend. To say this 1st year contest was well run would do it a disservice. This was one of the very best organized competitions I have seen period.

Shortly after arriving we were advised there was a Feast for all competitors and VIPS that evening. Its really nice to not have to worry about what to do for dinner when you are competing. The Cooks meeting was first and it went off without a hitch. Bill and Debby Gage were the contest reps for this event. They spent a LOT of time with the new teams and made sure they knew what the expectations were. I was asked to show them a turn in box that I had already prepared and to talk about turn in boxes in general.  I think its always important to help new teams. I am more than willing to show them my box prep and help them get the best out of their meats.

Off to dinner we went and wow they were right it was a feast for sure!!  Prime Rib, pork roast, BBQ chicken, salads, corn on the cob, pasta salads and much more. Each person manning the feast was so friendly it was excellent. Our kids love the food too as there was so much variety !!

The food was delicious!

After dinner we socialized a bit with some teams we have not seen in some time. We have not competed in Ontario in 2 years since our last win in St. Thomas. It was really great to see some folks we have missed. I didn’t not however have a single cocktail. It was a 100% diet coke night for me.  The meats went on without a hitch and we settled in for the night.. OK that’s really not accurate I didn’t sleep much at all. In fact I haven’t slept much since we got back from Ottawa I admit it. I have been over-analyzing this contest since I found out it was an auto to the Jack.  I wanted to go back to the Jack.  I want to finally go up the hill and look over the valley. I missed out on that the 1st time round and I wanted to actually experience that. So what did I do ? I went back and re-read every single BBQ note I have taken, reviewed every single class note I have written and emailed a few very good friends of mine asking for their advice.  I made a plan and stuck to the time lines. I made sure I wasn’t changing things.  I actually followed the advice I give out -stick to the plan you make and from a friend of mine who always advises run with what brung ya.

Getting all the BBQ's ready to go 3 Traegers 1 Onyx Oven from the BBQ Guru and a Weber Performer.

My husband did an excellent job setting up the site and keeping things at the right temp for the hour and a bit nap I had. I just couldn’t sleep.  I drank I think about 9 or 10 coffees in a row then my hands started shaking so bad I ate a PB sammie to balance the caffeine.  I took a walk around the competition site and watched the sun come up over the Blue Mountains and Georgian Bay. It was a gorgeous and beautiful day for a BBQ competition.  I said a few prayers and gave a lot of thanks for my family and friends.  I think its really important to be thankful.  I would not be here if it wasn’t for the help support and love of my family and friends. They mean the world to me.

Such a beautiful location for a contest. We will for sure be back next year !!

Then I had a not so great thing happen right before I foiled my ribs. My son (aka chaos) knocked over the potty bucket in their tent. Yes that bucket. The one my son had generously used through the night and my youngest daughter had taken a dump in.  Yes the same bucket they had not put the lid on. Because nothing says being a Mom 1st and a competition BBQ chick more than having to clean up poo and pee (all the while doing everything you can to not hurl and add to the vile mess) then scrubbing the tent floor with bleach spray. I believe I could have won an award for the fastest clean up ever. So after thoroughly scrubbing the floor and then myself off it was time to finally get the ribs foiled.

Then it was game time.  Chicken came off the grill and I loved the color and the flavor throughout. I was really pleased with the box styling and I was super proud how it came together. Ribs came off and I had more good racks then ok racks and that was thrilling. I turned in the best ones out of the lot and was super thankful none were over or undercooked. Pork got all sorted out and placed into the box. It was one of the best boxes we have done. Then I started to panic.  I was thrilled with 3 categories already turned in. Brisket has broken me more times than any other category.   Nervously I opened up my resting briskets.  Slicing into the first one I could feel my heart racing and the adrenalin pumping.  This is why I think competition BBQ is a real sport. It takes endurance it takes a lot out of you and it takes a whole lotta balls to go up against the big boys and girls.

Our site set up.

Sometime before slicing into the briskets a friend texted me. She wished me good luck. I told her I had my big ass girl panties on. For those of you reading this you know who I was texting….  Well that helped the mojo for sure. So did the Divagator. Plus all the really super nice emails I got from friends encouraging me.

Lots of happy people serving food at the Friday Feast.

The brisket was delicious. It tasted like BBQ. Not freaking pot roast but BBQ. Really good brisket. Holy crap did that ever scare me. I remember getting the box done closing the lid and thinking if this doesn’t score well I think I may be done with competing. So thats where I was. Praying like every other competitor does after you turn in your boxes. Hoping that it would land on good tables and beyond exhausted. Then I did something I have never done after turn ins I had a diet coke and then crawled into my kids tent mentally and physically exhausted. I don’t remember my head even hitting their blow up mattress. I was done in.

Daryl Maybanks from the super successful team Q'N Canucks catching up on a few Zzzz's

Sometime a couple hours later…. I woke up and my beloved husband had packed up everything and I mean everything other than the tent. The grills were put away the pop ups the food the electrical cords I mean everything. He knew I didn’t have anything left in me. That’s why we made such a great team for this event.  We really worked with each others strengths and weaknesses.

Stanley's Smokehouse

I packed up the tent the sleeping bags and the odds and sods and off we went to the awards ceremony. On the way we stopped to see our friends the Pork Ninjas and Jamie asked if I liked my boxes. Truthfully I told him I would have been proud to turn those boxes in anywhere. Whether it was the Royal or the Jack I was happy with the food we made.

Pork Ninjas Jason Rees out enjoying the sunrise too!

Waiting at the awards we relaxed a tiny bit and then they started to call from 10th on up.  Chicken came in at 7th and I was disappointed. Wow. I thought this is not going to be a good day. My husband said he was surprised too. Even our daughter Lexi the best taste tester we have loved the chicken and she is more critical than anyone.  I prepped myself for a disappointing finish and cheered on the other teams. Congrats was given to Big Grill Catering & BBQ for their 1st place win.  I hope they post their chicken recipe sometime.

Earl Whyte from Bustin Loose!

Ribs was next.  We tied for 2nd place but lost the tie and moved to 3rd. It was really great to hear us get called in ribs. Its been a really inconsistent category for us. Taking on some advice from friends in this category really paid off. We stuck to a recipe we know like the back of our hand and didn’t make any last minute changes.  HUGE congrats to the 1st time competitors Tornado Alley Barbeque . They were really awesome people to meet. A nice family out to compete for the first time.  Also I have to say I really loved the announcer that did the entire awards ceremony. HE was terrific.

Schultz from Happy Grillmore!

Pork came and we really loved what we turned in and so did the judges. 1st place with a 179.4 one appearance mark away from perfect. Pork has always been our best category. I feel zen like when working with Pork Butts I just love working with them. I love the way they change so much in the cookers.  They are my favorite meat to BBQ by far.

You need to come to this contest next year!!

Then I sat back and took a breath or two. Seeing our friends walking to the stage gives me great joy. Watching friends win (even when we don’t) is awesome. You know how hard they worked.  Brisket. ….. Ugh. They called out that there was a 180. I was 100% convinced it was Can’t Stop Grilling. Truly their brisket has been taking names. They have been winning everywhere. Tim their pitmaster however turned to me and said its you. I shook my head and said no way. Not in brisket. Maybe in pork, dessert or anything butt but never ever would I have dreamed a 180 in brisket.

2 of our tiny terrorists enjoying the feast!

In the end I just about had a heart attack.  I sat there and heard them call the teams up to 2nd. I still didn’t think it was going to happen. I have been in this spot before 3 calls and tanking in brisket. When they called us for the brisket -a perfect 180- I shed a few tears (pfft so flippin girly it was pitiful) I have never been so shocked at a contest anywhere ever. I knew it tasted good but I sure didn’t expect a 180. I remember repeating to myself (apparently I said it out loud too!) that it was a protein that it wasn’t a dessert 180 finally!! I really wasn’t sure if my now jello legs would walk to the stage with my kids and husband.

So we did it. Grand Champion.  We finally got our Mojo back, our BBQ karma or whatever you call it. We got it back. While this is only 1 Grand Champion win this year – it feels good and we will once again will have an opportunity to represent Canada at the Jack Daniels Invitational BBQ competition in Lynchburg Tennessee.  This time I will make sure to go up the hill and it will be with my beloved husband and my Sister in Smoke BFF Angie Quaale and the boy and a few other people I owe a lot of thanks to. I can’t wait. For full contest results check out the KCBS website  Congratulations to the RGC Black Pig and all of the other competitors as well.

PS- You see its been a rough and extremely frustrating year. When you consistently have been challenged both in your professional and personal life you really start to doubt the fairness of life sometimes. Call it whatever you want but I sure as heck wasn’t in a good place for a while.  So those friends and family that lift your spirits and continue to encourage you are worth everything in the world. This competition wasn’t just a win for my team it was a win for all of them. I am eternally grateful to some fine folks who sponsor and helped us as well:

Traeger Canada

Basques Charcoal

Butcher BBQ 

Smoky Mountain Smokers 

Plowboys BBQ

Smoke on Wheels

BBQ Guru 

Novelis *(Alcan) Foil

Harvey White Auto Glass & Detailing

Team Diva Q is honored to have been asked to represent Canada in Ottawa at the US Embassy for a the first ever Ambassador’s Cup #BBQ contest on July 4th 2011 Co-ordinating everyone and all of the catering  is John Woods from the award winning 1st Choice Catering . The event is expected to have over 4000 dignitaries  in attendance.

Hosted at U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson’s Official Residence, this prestigious event will be key part of the Embassy’s annual July 4^th celebration. Woods and his company, First Choice Catering, is no stranger to this type of an event, having catered some of the largest events in North America including catering this event in Ottawa, Canada in July of 1999 while simultaneously feeding 10,000 people at the Mall in Washington, D.C. the same day. This event has been planned for well over a year.

In addition to John Woods, John Wheeler- Pitmaster of Natural Born Grillers, and James Swenson – Pitmaster of Military Chefs will be representing the USA.  For Canada in addition to Team Diva Q –  are Can’t Stop Grillin’ w/Pitmaster Tim Brown &  Steph Legari.

To talk about the event John Woods &  I will be on CTV Canada AM Canada’s most watched National morning  news program – Live at 8:50 am July 4th to talk about the event.

Making parsley turn in boxes or “the putting green” as it is commonly referred to as is time consuming to say the least. First you have to find parsley no easy task sometimes. You need to find parsley that is all the same shade of green – and that looks alike.  You may decide to do a combo lettuce and parsley box or straight up lettuce the choice is yours!  I personally do parsley boxes 100% of the time.  Our team is small – just my husband and I and the occasional friend that shows up. This task always falls on my lap. I have had many a night where myself and a few friends have had parsley parties working on the 4 turn in boxes for an hour or more. . However I have begun to get into the habit of doing them at home prior to a contest and transferring them on site.  I first saw a version of this on the Pickled Pig Forum.  This is how I do it.

Start with 4 turn in boxes and label them for each category – depending on how you present your food you may want a box that is fuller and or lower in height with the parsley.

Wash and rinse your parsley thoroughly.  Parsley is grown in super moist soil and it can be very gritty when you purchase it.

For 4 boxes I will use anywhere from 12- 18 heads of parsley depending on the size and quality. If you are attending a contest with friends consider splitting the cost of a case. I place my parsley in a bin with a couple inches of water at the bottom to keep it moist and hydrated. IF you are keeping the parsley in your fridge for a couple of days make sure to change out the water.

For those teams travelling to the US from Canada – I suggest you buy only US parsley. We have never had a problem at the border. I keep a couple of the tags from the parsley to show it is a US product.  This parsley is from Lil’ Bear Produce grown in Edinburg, Texas.

You will need heavy duty plastic wrap for this. – This stuff doesn’t stick to itself as much as a regular use plastic wrap. It is also much stronger.

Line a turn in box with plastic wrap leaving enough on each side to completely cover the turn in box.

Build your parsley box. For great instructions step by step you can visit the BBQ Brethren website.  I skip the base of lettuce and just pack in a lot of parsley. (Thanks to Kim Groneman from Smoke on Wheels for teaching me this great tip!)

When you are all done and complete spritz with water.

Layer on damp paper towels and then the excess plastic wrap from the sides.

Place in fridge until you are ready to transport to a competition. I have done this 4 days in advance and as long as the parsley is fresh and the fridge is cold- it keeps just fine.  A tip – each day ensure the paper towels are still moist. Not dripping just moist.

When you arrive on site and receive your real turn in boxes its time to transfer the parsley.. First spritz the plastic wrap with a bit of water to make the parsley slide easier.

Lift up one side and place your hand over the parsley.

Slide it all in. Make sure your plastic wrap is laying out smoothly to make the transfer easily.

Adjust any stray pieces and you are done. Cocktail time!

Fathers Day is right around the corner … and this is where I would usually give a list of great BBQ items you should be giving him. It would probably include Thermapens, Basque Charcoal, Traegers, Charbroil Infrared grills, Grill Charms, Branding Irons, BBQ Classes, BBQ T-Shirts, rubs and sauces or similar stuff. All those are great and fine …however this year give your Dad something he will never ever forget…..

Barbeque Cologne

Heath Hall & Brett Thompson the guys behind the Pork Barrel BBQ brand of sauces and rubs are at it again this time with something uber unique…..

Eau de Barbeque by Pork Barrel BBQ

 

 

Discover Que, the intriguing new fragrance from Pork Barrel BBQ. An intoxicating bouquet of spices, smoke, meat, and sweet summer sweat.

Que. A tantalizing fragrance that attracts the opposite sex, giving them whiplash as you saunter by.

Que. An alluring aroma that stops all conversations as others breathe in your presence.

Que. An Eau de Barbecue.

Vote for your favorite Que Commercial HERE!!