I have been on a BBQ crawl all over Maryland, Virgnia and North Carolina. I ate everywhere and anywhere I could get to and as time allowed. I also had a great experience at a place called Serenbe with the great group of Char-Broils all star bloggers along the way.

AS I head home back to Canada I am just trying to play catch up to everyday life.  Over the next week or so Ill blog about all the fantastic places I got to eat and where I got to meet some awesome BBQ people. It was one heck of a trip and another thing off my own personal BBQ bucket list.

The recipes I tested:

Jack Daniels World Championship Ribs
I Que Rub
IQUE BBQ Sauce
Pork Rib Marinade

These were recipes that made my taste buds dance, made my BBQ better and were enjoyed by everyone in my family. Well thought out ingredients – never skimping on quality, often sourced out to the best possible result were used.

I remember emailing some questions back and forth about ingredients and application. One of the things that came through clearly was that this is a book filled with unique fearless BBQ recipes.  They had a mandate to put out the best and they did. Complex recipes each adding a new element of flavor. Great recipes that you will return to time and time again.

All tried out – tested multiples of times. This is not a dumbed-down fluffy BBQ cookbook. This book was not just churned out with only 1/4 of the recipes tested. No this book is a solid book filled with terrific tips, incredible recipes and full of passion for the art of BBQ. I know many people who were seriously anticipating this cookbook (myself included). With good reason- it is a no holds barred culinary BBQ adventure book. They give up a crapload of competition secrets and some truly inspiring recipes.

Written by Andy Husbands (Fearless Chef, Tremont 647, Sister Sorrel), Chris Hart (IQUE) with help from food writer Andrea Pyenson. These men have some serious bbq chops. World Champions, outstanding culinary chefs with a  huge understanding of meat, smoke and fire. This is a new must have for anyone who wants to improve their everyday BBQ and to elevate their competition BBQ

From starting the fires to sourcing meats and adventuresome recipes this book has it all covered. Photography by Ken Goodman adds to the books overall appeal. This is high on my list of recommended reading for 2012. Get it.

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

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 

Here is my ultimate BBQ Christmas Wish list….

Pitmaker Pits are absolutely gorgeous. Incredible cooking machines and fabricated to incredible specs. I have seen many of their pits in person. Awesome paint jobs tricked out to the 9′s with pop up LCD tvs, deep fryers and if you can dream it they will build it. Wicked cool.

Extreme BBQ trailers

To be able to design a trailer and have it custom made would be a dream. These are some of the most beautiful trailers I have seen.

Now if I am dreaming I may as well get a new truck too !! 2012 Super Duty F-450 King Ranch. It would have to be black

But its going to need this grill:

I have had the pleasure of working on this great BBQ more than once.The Traeger COM 200. It has 50 square feet of cooking space. Love the capacity and ease of use. Its a dream to cook pork butts on the traegers and the color and flavor just rocks.

Mack Daddy Outdoor Kitchens. Who wouldn’t love to cook outside in one of these? Down to the last brick I have one figured out. Now if I can just find the property and cash to make it a reality.

The FEC 500 is really an amazing cooking machine. Double walled insulation & double walled stainless steel interior. I have enjoyed cooking on a few of the smaller FEC100′s and they do an excellent job.

I ♥ Texas. I would love to own a big a$$ Ranch in Texas and get a real experience in cattle farming. Then BBQ out under the moon and the stars!!

I would think that spending a weekend with this guy would absolutely be wickedly awesome. Wouldn’t it be cool to just load up on groceries fire up some grills and cook with this guy. Steven Raichlen is a legend in BBQ. With multiple successful cookbooks and tv shows he knows BBQ and grilling.

Speaking of legends there are lots of awesome BBQ people that I would love to spend a weekend with too many to mention in fact……

Now to get around to all those Legends of BBQ and the legendary BBQ joints all over North America, to travel to every competition possible I am going to need one of these:

Prevost Luxury Centurion RV

There are lots of toys out there and lots of options to dream these are just a few of mine

The road to Lynchburg. Its been 3 years. You know you have to pinch yourself to see if it is real. As we left our hotel and headed to Lynchburg it was almost surreal. Wow. We are heading back to the Jack. It is incredible to be here again. The last couple of days have been so overcast and rainy. As we drove towards Lynchburg the weather brightened the sun was shining and it was just lovely. I got goosebumps seeing the Lynchburg signs. Exciting at the same time.

As we approached the competition area we took it all in. Traffic jam at the entrance gave us a chance to see our friends from MR. Bobo’s travelling all stars BBQ team and the Burnside BBQ team from Canada.

We got to our site and we were introduced to Jim Johnson who was doing an International dinner in the pavillion where our site was to be. We set up what we could and we headed to the town square where we picked up our Jack merchandise. I could drop a lot of coin at the store. So many fun Jack Daniels items.

At 1pm we had reservations at Mrs. Mary Bobo’s

The meal was delicious and we had a great time. It was the first time the entire team has been together. There are 8 of us and since we all live in different cities etc. it is hard for us to get all together prior to the Jack.

The rest of the evening was a great get together with all of the International teams as they chowed down on catfish fries and a whole lot of other food from Jim Johnson. It was a lot of ppl to feed.

The rest of the night was spent drinking and fraternizing and having a really great time with so many folks we don’t get to see often enough. (No pictures LOL)

Now we head off to the hollow overnight to BBQ our very best. Ill catch the blog up on Sunday since Internet in the hollow is not that great. Make sure to check the twitter feed for updates throughout the next 24 hours. …