Posts Tagged ‘bbq’

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.

This past weekend we traveled to Kettering Ohio for the first time. It was a really challenging competition as our son ended up getting sick on the way and we spent a lot of time during the competition cleaning up his vomit.  It was coming out of all ends of him and it was a hard battle to try to stay dually focused for the weekend. We did our best. We came in 7th overall with the only call of the weekend being Chicken (7th) out of 51 teams. It was a really nice location under some trees and we were well taken care of. we never experienced any issues with power, ice or having our questions answered. The organizers did a really good job!!!Also the breakfast was terrific from the Vets. They are an incredibly special bunch at this competition. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to go.

One of the highlights of the weekend had to be meeting with Curt McAdams from www.Livefireonline.com He is an incredibly accomplished photographer, bbq’er and all around a generally wonderfully thoughtful person. His blog is impressive and it has been given an accolade from Saveur as one of the sites they love.

Previously we had met Curt a few years ago at a Dr. BBQ class in Dettroit. It wasn’t until we were chatting that we realized we had both attended the same class. Curt also made the first BBQ fatty I ever tried. It was a moment I will never forget.

Curt took some pictures and captured some moments at the competition here are a few of them to share.

All images copyright 2010 Livefire Photography.

He took others as well but these are just a few. Thank you Curt for capturing some of our competition moments and thank you for the Killer brownies from Dorothy Lane Market. Wow. They were awesome.

I love a great short rib. I love beef ribs period.

I was craving some short ribs and had some company for dinner so it was a great night to make them.

Hovey’s Gourmet meats is where I got these beauties that had some terrific marbling and a good amount of beefy goodness.

I generously seasoned them with Traegers Prime Rib Rub and some additional sprigs of rosemary. Onto the grill for 3 hours at 250F.

While the ribs were getting happy I made a side salad. Sugar snap peas shelled, blanched and shocked.

Then I made the dressing. Thinly sliced red onions, segments of orange all marinated in a mixture of Kozliks Amazing Maple mustard, Sunrise Vinegar by Mr. Vinegar, salt, pepper, summer savory, and chives.

Tossed together and rested for a couple of hours in the fridge it was a nice fresh pairing contrasting  the decadence of the ribs:

Due to the heat wave we are experiencing we are eating dinner outside much later (thats my excuse and apology for the poor pictures). The ribs after 3 hours at 250F had some great color. I added 2 cups of low sodium vegetable stock to each pan and covered them to let them braise and tenderize for another hour.  I removed the pan juices and reduced them by half. I added some port and some grilled mushrooms. Served on the side.   They were lovely and delicious.

We paired the meal with a wonderful riesling!

Sunday. Hot as heck. I wanted something smoked but nothing heavy.  Took freezer inventory and found a HUGE boneless turkey breast.

Thawed the turkey breast and gave it a quick brine for a couple of hours.  Rinsed it off and generously sprinkled it with Plowboys Yardbird Rub.  Off to the Traeger at 225F till the breast read 160F. Glazed it with Smoking Stampede Beer & Chipotle BBQ Sauce.

Grilled some corn sprinkled with lime zest & chipotle, as well as some lovely onions and tomatoes I had purchased from our local farmers market yesterday.

Also raided our pantry for some black beans and a few other ingredients.

Super simple and super filling this salad was a wonderful meal for all of us.

Start with shredded lettuce:

Add a medley of black beans, grilled corn, tomatoes, red pepper, yellow pepper, grilled onions, fresh chives, salt & pepper.

Top with slices of tomatoes and smoked turkey with a little extra BBQ sauce

Drizzle on a little salad dressing we had creamy poppyseed in the fridge it worked well with the BBQ sauce.

Yummy for the kids and the adults.

Heres an event that is sure to be fun locally.  Ill be in BC when it happens or I would be there for sure! Great town and area. Just a gorgeous setting for a rib cook off!

NAME OF CONTEST: Penetanguishene Curling Club RIB COOK-OFF

LOCATION: 8 Owen Street, Penetanguishene, ON L9M 1M8
Date: July 24, 2010
STARTS: 1 pm
ENDS: Party ends 1 am

CONTEST DETAILS AND PRIZES: This is a fund raiser for the Penetanguishene Curling Club. It is a FOR FUN ONLY RIB COOK OFF.
The winner will be chosen by People’s Choice.
The prize pool will be determined by the number of entrants!
(All registration money will be used in the prize pool.)

$150.00 per team.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Name: Jim Reichheld
Address: 8615 Hwy 93, Midland, ON L4R 4K4

Phone: (705) 241-6560
Fax:
Email: molsoncanadian@gmail.com

Smoke Signals Magazine Issue #4 is now available online. If you haven’t checked it out before now is your chance. Its a great BBQ Brethren Publication that covers outdoor cooking and entertaining.

Myron Mixon one of the judges from Season 2 BBQ Pitmasters makes a return visit to the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson.
Too funny.
Part 1

Part 2

This is a great deal and a good place to eat. Was in there for lunch earlier this week and saw their Fathers Day special posted:

Big Chris fathers day special folks.. Two full racks, large fries, and a large caesar salad for $35.00.. Dont make dad cook on his day, take it home and tell him that YOU MADE IT..

Location:

110 Anne st. South

Barrie, ON

Phone:

705-721-7427

Sometimes you just wish you could be in two places at once………….

If I wasn’t already booked for a competition I would be going to this next weekend. Rob “Rub” Bagby is a top notch competitor and an all around really great guy with a proven track record for getting terrific results!!

I have heard many extol the virtues of this class after taking it. I sure wish I could have made it down for his excellent BBQ Cooking Class.

You can also find Swamp Boys on Facebook and also you can catch up with them on their BLOG and Website

I received a new toy to try out and play with the Looft Lighter In Canada the Looft Lighter is available at Ontario Gas BBQ’s and retails for $89.99.  

THE LOOFTLIGHTER STORY

It all began 1997 when theatre director Richard Looft got angry. The chicken he barbecued tasted lighter fluid!

Richard started thinking of a better and more environment friendly way to light the grill.

He poured coal into a toaster, turned the flow around in a vacuum cleaner and discovered that the coal got ready to use in just a few minutes!

In 2003 a prototype was presented to the Swedish Inventors’ Association.
In 2005 Looft Industries Ltd was established. In 2006 the first 5000 Looftlighter arrived in Stockholm and Richard then called the most exclusive department stores. Nobody wanted even to see him…

So he took his grill, placed himself outside the shops, called again to the purchasers and asked for 60 seconds of their time. They came out, Richard made his demonstration and all ordered the Looftlighter right in the street.

Today the Looftlighter is being sold as a BBQ- and fire place lighter in all of Scandinavia, more than ten countries in Europe and has also been introduced in the USA.

I have to admit I was pretty shocked at the price considering it is just a BBQ lighter. I mean who is going to spend $89.99 on essentially a lighter. Ok really its a lighter and beer opener. It would be advisable though to open your beer then light the charcoal. It is very hot once you use it rendering the beer opener unusable until the unit cools down.

I used in in my weber kettle last weekend. I wasn’t going to be cooking in fact I was out in my backyard with my daughters friends who wanted to roast marshmallows. It sounds an awful lot like a hair dryer. Which makes sense since it is hot air that is being used to light the charcoal. I simply pointed it to the pile of lump charcoal I was using and approx 30-40 seconds later it started sparking and about 1 minute later the piece of lump it was pointing to – was lit. That was it. However due to its design you only get one or two pieces lit at a time.  I left the couple of pieces lit and after 45 minutes the rest of the charcoal was ready to go. You can also use the looft lighter in fireplaces.

The lighter overall seems to be constructed well. It is heavier than it appears. Solid overall. However there is no child lock on the lighter. That would be a concern for me.

The looft lighter absolutely works as stated. No denying that fact. Its a fun expensive gadget for sure. For however many coals you want lit you have to hold the button down. IF you want a whole lot of coals lit at once that means potentially holding the button for 10-15 minutes listening to a loud hair dryer. At the end of the day I am really comfortable using my weber chimney that cost 19.99 and a sheet of newspaper (free from the assortment of flyers I get weekly) or a weber cube ($4.99 for 24 cubes). Its much easier to me to light my charcoal chimney full then go play with my kids, or prep the meats and veggies and come back and dump them in. Simple easy lighter fluid free.