I love Texas. Hopefully this year I will be able to go back and eat at some of the legendary BBQ joints. For now though I spend a lot of time over at Full Custom Gospel BBQ reading his reviews and experiences.  These ribs were inspired by my last trip there.

One of the challenges that I always have is finding beef ribs that have enough meat on them. It seems that outside of a few locations this is quite a daunting task.  A friend of mine Mike the owner of Big Bone BBQ came to my rescue. His restaurant serves up BBQ Beef ribs once a week at Big Bone BBQ Barrie. I got some from him and I was all set.

Removing the membrane was easy with a clean bar towel. Better grip than a paper towel for this tough membrane.

I also used a spoon to scrape off the large pockets of fat. Whatever you do though don’t discard the fat. Put it aside into a small saucepan and Ill get to it in a bit. After a bit of trimming I had about 2 cups of fat and beef bits.

Decided to keep the rub super simple only 4 ingredients. Granulated garlic, granulated onion, Morton’s Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper.

3/4 c Salt

3/4 c Pepper

1/2 cup garlic

1/2 onion

Generously rubbed (I used about half of the rub and stored the rest for future use) they headed to the grill at 225F . I used mesquite pellets for these.

Then I got around to making the mop. The first step was to render out some beef fat from the trimmings. This measured out to be 1/4 cup when finished.  You could also add 1/2 bottle of beer to this Mop if so desired. In addition pay attention to the sodium levels on the beef broth. Some are horrendously high. I used a reduced sodium broth and opted not to use Soy Sauce in this recipe.

Mop Ingredients

2 c beef broth

1/2 c  Worcestershire sauce

1/4 c Apple Cider vinegar

1/4 c Rendered Beef fat

1/2  bottle BV beef upper  ( approx 1.5 oz – you can also substitute Kitchen Bouquet)

4 tbsp Tiger Sauce

2 tbsp Mustard powder

2 tbsp dried onion flakes

Bring all of the Mop ingredients to a simmer. Set aside.

About 4  hours in I started Mopping every 15 minutes. I wanted to wait until the ribs had developed a very thick bark (crust).

Before Mopping:

After mopping:

After two additional hours mopping every 15 minutes the ribs were done.  Rested them covered tightly in foil for 15 minutes.  They were dark and crusted over and absolutely delicious. Some of the ugliest ribs I have ever made and it just didn’t matter. Paired with cornbread, cheesy pasta casserole and green beans they made an excellent meal.

Bacon apple chestnut stuffed pork loin

Ingredients

3lb pork loin
10 slices bacon

For the stuffing

3 c large seasoned croutons
2 ½ c diced apple
1 c reduced sodium chicken stock
1/3 c chopped parsley
¾ c chopped roasted chestnuts
6 slices bacon chopped
2 onions diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper

In a medium sized pan on medium level heat fry bacon until crisp. Using a slotted spoon or bamboo strainer remove the bacon and set aside.

Add chopped onion, thyme, salt, pepper and garlic to the residual bacon fat. Stir often scraping any bacon residue from the bottom of the pan. Sauté until the onion has softened. Add the diced apples and reduced sodium chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and add the croutons. Mix thoroughly cover and remove from heat.

Butterfly the pork loin using 3 cuts to open like a book. See this video for instructions -

Cover the pork loin with plastic wrap. Pound the pork with a mallet to make it a uniform thickness. Remove cover from the stuffing and fluff with fork. Add parsley to the stuffing mixture.

Spoon the stuffing mixture onto the pork loin leaving a 1 inch frame around all of the edges.
Starting at one end – roll the pork and stuffing together to make a tight roll.
Wrap pork with bacon lightly overlapping each layer. Secure with butchers twine.

Grill indirect at 275F until a digital thermometer reads 155F. I used oak and hickory wood pellets. Rest for 10 minutes then slice. Feeds a crowd.

Yesterday was the cutoff date for submissions of videos for BBQ Pitmasters Season 3 !

The competition is really heating up for a spot on the hit show. Lots of great audition tapes posted to Youtube and Vimeo. Some are new faces and some are people you may have just seen before. Good Smoking Luck to all who applied!!

BBQ Pitmasters 2012 from chris hart on Vimeo.

Pitmaster’s Audition from Bourbon Barrel BBQ on Vimeo.

Rod Gray Pitmasters Audition from Scott Jolley on Vimeo.

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

 Let me introduce you to my friend Jack!

 One of our important stops !! Duty Free!

The weather was grey and overcast the entire trip.. Mass pockets of rain hindered what is usually a beautiful scenic drive.

Getting to the Jack and our hotel as fast as possible was our goal. We had decided that it would be in our best interests if we drove through the night as much as we could safely.

Vlad – drove 99% of the way he is a trooper! 

There were four of us in the truck from the team – Vlado, Jamie, Mike and myself. Lets just say the ratio of testosterone to estrogen was a bit skewed. The boys talked about sports and argued the validity of their teams. Jamie had downloaded a lot of 80′s music that was great to listen to. Mike was in charge of candy procurement and snacks.

With all the rain and fog and mist we didn’t take a lot of pictures but how cold you miss this Dinosaur LOL 

It seemed like it took forever to get here. It almost did – almost 28 hours after we left we arrived in Nashville.

Now I am a very superstitious BBQ lady and I believe if you have done something in the past and it has worked then you should repeat the process. SO off to Jack’s BBQ for some food and a slice of chess pie. Just like I did 3 years previously.

At Jack’s I made sure to pet his pig at the front.  Then we grabbed a couple of plates of food to share with each other.  I think it is really important to try as much BBQ as possible wherever you are. I think it is a lifetime of learning about the different ways ppl make BBQ.

The guys about to Chow down!  

It was a good meal and a great kickoff to our time in Tennessee.

Texas Sausage, mustard greens and sweet potatoes all of it was delicious. 

Great memorable beans, cornbread, delicious brisket also ribs, pork and mac & cheese. 

After Jack’s BBQ we finally got to our hotel in Tullahoma TN and after cleaning up it was time for a few cocktails and talking to some of the teams that had already checked in.

We love Motts clamato caesars and Yeungling and we are well stocked for the next few days! 

That’s it for day 1 !! (well that’s all that can be published lol) Today we are off to the legendary Mrs. Mary Bobo’s

This past weekend the Inaugural Sam’s Club National BBQ Tour kicked off in Gilbert Arizona !

30 teams and 30 judges got down to business in rainy drizzly weather….Sanctioned by the KCBS!!

Here is an excellent video from:

One of the best things about BBQTV videos is to hear the judges commentary on the BBQ that was presented to them.  You can learn a lot from watching their videos- all 577 of them!!

After the boxes were turned in & the results tallied the Grand Champion was … Darren & Sherry Warth from Iowa’s Smokey D’s BBQ !!

Reserve Grand Champion was Jennifer Duncan from Smoked to the Bone..

The Top 7 teams overall from this contest will be continuing on to the next tier in Las Vegas on May6th & 7th 2011:

Overall:
1 Iowa’s Smokey D’s BBQ
2 Smoked to the Bone
3 Rhythm ‘n Que
4 Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ
5 I.A.B. 30 BBQ
6 McFrankenboo BBQ
7 Loot N’ Booty BBQ

Congratulations to all the teams that participated!

Spring is just about sprung and its always a good time to take stock of your grills, sauces and rubs as the warmer months approach..

BBQ Tip: Spring- Clean your grates the easy way- remove grates put them in oven & use cleaning cycle (always check Manufacturers instructions 1st)

BBQ Tip: Spring-perfect time to inspect grill hoses 4 cracks & wear turn gas on-listen 4 leaks be4 turning on burners. Turn off & replace!

BBQ Tip: Spring Buy a new good quality cleaning brush preferably with a replaceable head

BBQ Tip: Spring Check out your wood chip, chunk & charcoal levels. Stock up so you are always ready to get your grill on !!

BBQ Tip: Spring Check your rubs and sauces out make sure to replenish and replace any that are out of date or stale. Try some new ones!

BBQ Tip: Spring Along with maintaining a safe grilling/bbq area inspect your fire extinguisher gauge to make sure you are in the green area. Recharge if necessary.

BBQ Tip: Spring Buy a few large boxes of baking soda and have them handy- great to use for cleaning and snuffing out grease fires.

BBQ Tip: Spring Invest in a small notebook – keep a cooking log of food you make. That way if something is a success you can repeat the results!

BBQ Tip: Spring is a great time to try some new recipes check out Youtube, BBQ forums, and of course recipe sites for new inspiration! (avoid all with liquid smoke)

BBQ Tip: Spring find a good butcher & get to know your meat. They can provide you with tons of tips, advise on deals & share knowledge

BBQ Tip: Spring is an excellent time to invest in a new grill or BBQ. Get out & buy something new- Pellets, Charcoal & Gas all have different unique features.

BBQ Tip: Spring is a fantastic time to kick it old school with a stick burner. Imagine cool nights, thin wisps of smoke & the smell of wood & meat… awesome

Above all keep your grill clean, well oiled and full of tasty food!! Enjoy !!

You may just might recognize a few folks in the following video clips from TLC BBQ Pitmasters Season #2

http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/bbq-pitmasters/

Fun times with alligator. Believe me.