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Entries in BBQ (74)

Thursday
Aug262010

Review: Flavors BBQ

DateThursday, August 26, 2010 at 8:01PM

With a new day, hope springs eternal. And, after yesterday's failed excursion I was hopeful that I'd find better eats at a place called Flavors in South St. Louis.

Before I got to the door, I spotted what appeared to be a Southern Pride cooker out back and I could smell the smoke. That's always a good sign.

When we walked in, I found what is quite possibly the nicest BBQ joint I've ever been in. All that was missing was white table clothes and fine wine. This place was very nicely decorated and spotless. I wouldn't have been surprised If I'd been handed a fine Italian or French menu, but I was really happy that what I got was pure BBQ.

My lunch mates ordered up the pork plates and I went for the brisket. What we received were huge portions of the respective BBQ dinners with 2 sides for less than $10. Quite a value!

The pork was very good, some of the best in town. The brisket was close, but the fact that the fat cap wasn't trimmed either pre or post cook meant that I received quite bit of fat on my brisket slices. Other than that, the meat was very good.

The side dishes were a mixed bag. My lunch mates really enjoyed a baked potato as a side dish, but being a purist I went for baked beans. What I got resembled a doctored up can of pork and beans. I wish there'd been a little more love and care in the side dishes as there was in the BBQ.  Additionally, there was only 1 sauce on the table and I'd swear that it was Original Sweet Baby Ray's in a nondescript bottle.

Here's how I'd rate my trip to Flavors BBQ

  • Atmostphere - A+
  • BBQ - B
  • Sides - C
  • Sauce - C
  • Value - A
  • Overall - B

I really enjoyed my visit.  I'll definitely go back, but Flavors BBQ could be a couple of sides and an original sauce away from making my list of the best BBQ joints in St. Louis.

Oh, and they did have sweet tea!  ;-)

Flavor's BBQ

(314) 533-1288

4317 Manchester Rd
St Louis, MO 63110

Cheers,
Braddog

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Sunday
Aug222010

Reveiw: Blues Hog BBQ Sauce

DateSunday, August 22, 2010 at 8:26PM

I firmly believe that most BBQ sauce should only be used as a condiment.  And mostly that's the result of all the poor samples that line the shelves in the grocery stores.  Now over the years reading BBQ forums across the interwebs, a few names keep coming up regularly and come highly recommended. 

One of these is Blues Hog BBQ Sauce .  I really don't have a good excuse for not trying it sooner as it's made fairly close to my home in St. Louis, MO.  So recently I determined to give it a try and made a trip to a local BBQ shop that I knew carried the product.

Today, I got the opportunity to crack open the jar and give it a test drive.  Wow!  I was really surprised at how good it is.  In fact, I couldn't keep my fingers out of it.  It is a sweet sauce, but it has a little bite to it that lingers on the palette.  The sweetness doesn't remind of honey or sugar, instead I'm reminded of berries or currants.  I basted a pork tenderloin and a couple of chicken breasts with it and this stuff rocks!  I think I actually preferred it on the chicken.

I'll definitely use this on ribs the next time I cook them.  In the mean time, I'd highly recommend the sauce. 

Cheers,
Braddog

AuthorBraddog | Comment1 Comment |
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Monday
Aug092010

BBQ Ribs in 2 Easy Steps

DateMonday, August 9, 2010 at 11:10AM

When I first began trying to create great ribs, I stumbled upon the 3-2-1 method. That's the method that involves 3 hrs in the smoke, 2 hours in aluminum foil, and another hour in the smoke (or a variation of these times).

That method produces pretty good ribs, but there are some that say the time in foil is steaming the ribs, not BBQing them, etc. I say if you like your ribs that way then have at it.  In fact, I was a 3-2-1 guy myself until this summer.  I've had the chance to cook more ribs this season than ever and here's what I've learned.

    IMG_0649
  • Foil...who needs it?  Partly due to the fact that I've begun to cook on a Backwoods Fat Boy where doing a whole lot of ribs at once makes foiling a huge, time consuming effort, I no longer wrap my ribs in foil.  The Backwoods & the Big Green Egg maintain a moist cooking environment and I don't find that I need to bother with the foil to get great results.
  • Cooking at a little higher temp isn't a bad thing.  I've always tried to keep the cooker at 250*, but it turns out that most things are just as good at 275*.  When demonstrating the Big Green Egg this summer, it was hard to keep the temp below 275* what with everyone wanting to see the meat on the cooker.  Frankly, those are some of the best ribs I've done.
  • Patience, as I've stated earlier, truly is a virtue.  Foiling the ribs and messing with all that always seemed like the magic to getting really tender, juicy ribs.  But guess what, if you're patient and let things take their own course, good things will happen.
  • 3+2+1=6  Now I didn't have to take up BBQ to learn that math, but my new approach to BBQ'ing ribs has them finishing in that amount of time or less...usually less.  I think that foiling made me feel like I was a more integral part of the process than I really am.  Frankly, the fire & the smoke are doing all the work and don't really need my involvement othen than tending the fire.

So my revised rib process looks like this:

  • Put the ribs on
  • Take the ribs off when they're done

Doesn't get much simpler than that!


Cheers,
Braddog

 

AuthorBraddog | Comment3 Comments |
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Wednesday
Jul212010

The Most Important Ingredient for Great BBQ

DateWednesday, July 21, 2010 at 9:53PM

While I've always appreciated good BBQ, I haven't always been able to create good BBQ.  Over the years, I've tried my hand at it with a variety of different BBQ pits.  My failures usually left me thinking that it was an equipment problem.  Finally, after going through a couple of ECB's (El Cheapo Brinkman water smokers) and an off-set cooker, I finally decided that maybe the common denomenator was the guy running the show.

I began to read a lot of the BBQ forums on line and decided to give it one more shot.  My folks had a gas powered, bullet smoker that they'd never used.  I pressed it into service and applied the techniques I'd read about and much to my surprise, I turned out some awesome pulled pork.  I finally realized the most important ingredient that I'd been missing in my previous attempts.

You see, I'd been following the FDA guidelines regarding safe temps for food preparation.  You know, those numbers printed on the back of meat thermometers and such.  I'd always pulled pork shoulder off of the cooker when it reached 165 degrees.  What I failed to realize is that while no one will die from eating pork cooked to 165 degrees, that doesn't mean it's done.  In fact, the magic is only starting when pork shoulder hits 165 degress.

The ingredient that I'd been missing all along wasn't a rub, a sauce, or a cooker.  It was patience.  It turns out that you can't rush good BBQ.  You can't cook by your watch.  You have to cook by temperature (for the most part) and pork shoulder isn't done at 165 degrees, it's done at 195 deegrees.

So grasshopper, now that you know the secret.  Be patient, cause great things come to those who wait!

Cheers,
Braddog

 

AuthorBraddog | Comment2 Comments |
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Wednesday
Jul142010

Best BBQ in St. Louis

DateWednesday, July 14, 2010 at 10:20AM

I try to make it a habit of visiting as many BBQ joints as I can for a couple of reasons.  First I like good BBQ, and second it's great blog fodder. ;)

Over the past couple of years, I've eaten at most of the BBQ joints in the St. Louis area.  There are a couple of chains that I typically avoid and I'm sure there are places that I haven't had the opportunity to try.

However, I though I'd put together the short list of the places that I think are at the top of the heap in the St. Louis area.  Note that this includes the metro-east or Illinois side of the metro area, mainly cause that's where I think you'll find the best BBQ in town.

Here goes:

  1. 17th St. Barbeque- This is my favorite place to eat BBQ in the St. Louis area.  It's one of Mike Mills' restaurants.  If you track the BBQ culture, you know that Mike "The Legend" Mills is a well respected competition cook, restaurateur, and pitmaster.  If you live in the St. Louis metro area, it's worth the drive to try Mike's ribs in O'fallon, IL.
  2. Pappy's Smokehouse -Another joint with great credentials, Pappy's sports some trophies from Memphis in May and folks line up at lunch time to get a taste of some really great BBQ.  Pappy's has also been featured on food & travel shows on cable TV.  They're located in the downtown area so there's no excuse not to sample their fare, but get there early.  When they run out of BBQ, they close early.
  3. Plush Pig- This is a place that I nearly overlooked when they were located in downtown Clayton, MO.  They've since relocated, revamped the menu, and if possible made the BBQ even better.  Still one of my top 5 places to eat BBQ in St. Louis, they're now located at McKnight & Manchester.
  4. Hick's BBQ- Another Illinois place, I discovered them after buying some of their sauce at a BBQ shop in St. Louis.  I've enjoyed their BBQ a couple of times, but when I attended a backyard party that they catered I really became a fan.  I highly recommend their sauce and their BBQ.  I've also had the opportunity to meet the owner and he's a super nice guy, further reinforcing my belief that if you BBQ you're my friend.

So there you have it gang.  To my taste buds, these are the best BBQ joints in the St. Louis metro area.  Who'd I miss? Which joints do I need to visit?  Where do you think the best BBQ in St. Louis can be found?  Drop me a comment and let me know.


Cheers,
Braddog

AuthorBraddog | Comment9 Comments |
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Saturday
Jun122010

Update: Pig-a-palooza 2010

DateSaturday, June 12, 2010 at 8:17PM

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I volunteered to help with the cooking at a local fund raiser.  The main course was to be a whole hog, but there were also plenty of pork butts & ribs to cook too.

We convened on the cooking site at 3:00pm on Friday and began preparing the rotissiere/spit that we would use to cook the hog.  Now, I'd never done a whole hog before but one of the volunteers was experienced with the process so he took the lead.

We prepped the hog, got it mounted on the spit, and had the first coals under the 159 lb. guest of honor shortly before 6:00pm.  We had a large trailer-mounted pit that we used for the ongoing process of lighting fresh coals and readying them for shoveling under the spit.

We decided that we'd use my Backwoods Fatboy to cook the butts and ribs.  We picked up my cooker and had 12 boneless pork butts (~60 lbs.) on by 9:00pm.  That would allow us to get the butts done and the ribs started early in the morning and hopefully have things finishing up by the noon serving time.

It was all revelry and good times early on, but slowly the observers drifted off to their homes for a comfortable night's rest as the night wore on.  By 1:00am we were down to three guys who were committed to the process and whatever outcome morning would bring.  We had one close call around that same time.  We hadn't anticipated that the hog would shrink as much as it did, and we had to readjust the clamps that held it on the spit to keep it from flopping around and coming apart.

The hog finished up around 7:00am, about the same time that we began taking pork butts off of the Fatboy and started putting the ribs on.  We had the hog picked by 8:00 or so.  We kept it in pans on the pit we used for charcoal starting and waited for lunchtime.

Once we pulled the pork butts and began to serve lunch, it became clear to us that the pulled pork butts were much tastier than the whole hog.  Over the course of the afternoon, we served all the pulled pork and the ribs.  We only served about half of the pickings from the whole hog.

So here are a couple of observations about my first time doing a whole hog.

  • I don't care for it.  There's so much of it and no real good way to season it, so it ends up tasting mosly like pork roast.
  • I think we cooked it too fast early on.  The pit that we rented for the event had no thermometer, so we were cooking by feel.  I think we should have started at a lower temp.
  • Doing a whole hog is really all about the process and presentation.  For pure eating pleasure, I think the pulled pork and ribs were much better.

After tending the pits for 23 straight hours, I'm beat.  But I do feel a sense of satisfaction and pride when I see folks' reaction to our efforts.

Additionally, we helped a great cause.  I hope the whole event was successful enough to warrant doing it again next year, cause I had a blast.

Cheers,
Braddog

 

AuthorBraddog | Comment6 Comments |
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Monday
May312010

First Overnighter on the Backwoods FatBoy

DateMonday, May 31, 2010 at 9:12AM

With the long holiday weekend, I decided that I had plenty of time to pull an overnighter on the Fatboy.  So, I picked up a brisket & a pork butt and decided that I'd cook on Sunday night for the Memorial Holiday on Monday.

I loaded up the firebox about 8:30pm on Sunday evening and had the cooker read to put the meat in by 10:00pm.  I'd done a couple of long burns just to get a feel for how long the cooker would run on a single load of charcoal.  I was expecting ~8-9hrs.

The meat went on at 10:00pm and I topped off the water pan & charcoal pan around 11:30pm, then hit the rack.  I was up 5:00am to check and I was pleased to find the cooker chugging along at 250*, so I decided to grab a couple of more hours. 

At 7:00am, it was still hanging on to 250* like a bad habit.  I inserted my meat probes and was surprised to find that they were both nearly done.  I was expecting the cook to last until sometime closer to noon.  At 8:00am, the brisket went in the cooler and the butt followed at 8:45am.

I had the end of a beef tenderloin ready, so I popped it in the cooker and it's roasting now as I type this.

I'm really surprised about a couple of things:

  • I'm getting a really long burn from this fire.  Longer than I'd ever hoped for.
  • The meat seems to get done much quicker than I'm used to.  I'd noticed this with ribs and pork steaks also.

I'm gonna have lots of opportunites to cook this summer, so I'm glad to be getting this practice in.  Hope you have/had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Cheers,
Braddog

AuthorBraddog | Comment2 Comments |
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Saturday
May292010

Trimming a Beef Tenderloin

DateSaturday, May 29, 2010 at 8:21PM

Around my house my family only goes for one kind of steak, filet mignon.  Well that can be a pricey proposition.  In fact, the last time that I bought filets from the market they were running $23.95/lb.  Not the kind of thing I can afford to do very often.

So, I've been thinking about picking up a whole tenderloin and trimming it myself.  Today, I took the plunge and bought a small(ish) one at Sams Club.  The thing weighed in at a little over 5 lbs. and was priced at $9.98/lb.  Still expensive, but much more affordable than buying the steaks individually.

Now I'd never trimmed a tenderloin before but I figured, how hard can it be?  Well the step by step guidance was just a quick Google search away.  I should have known that I'd find all the video help I need on YouTube.  There I found two different videos and after spending less than 10 minutes in front of my iMac, I was ready.

I had the tenderloin trimmed and cut into steaks in less than 20 minutes.  I cut filets a little on the thin side since my family also thinks steaks (or any meat for that matter) should be well done and it's tough to get a really thick steak done enough for them without charring the outside too much.

After marinating for about an hour, I put the steaks and baked potatoes on the Bubba Keg.  Man, they were every bit as good as the $23.95/lb steaks that I'd gotten at the market before.  And the best part is, I've got a nice piece of the tenderloin left.  I plan to smoke it on Monday and cut it thin for sandwiches next week.  I've got a taste for a steak panini.  Stay tuned for that!

Here are  links to the 2 videos that I found on Youtube.


Cheers,
Braddog

AuthorBraddog | Comment2 Comments |
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Sunday
May162010

Learning on the Backwoods Fatboy

DateSunday, May 16, 2010 at 8:27PM

I've done a couple of short cooks on the new Fatboy so far.  Today, I did a variety of items.  I picked up a rack of St. Louis cut spare ribs, a couple of pork tenderloins, the neighbors brought over a couple of racks of baby back ribs, and a couple of hot links.

I'm getting more comfortable with temperature control, but I have to confess that I haven't gotten used to the water pan and the mess associated with it and the ash pan.  I also haven't gotten used to the fuel consumption.  I've been pretty spoiled by the fuel efficiency of the Big Green Egg.  I don't think I'll ever have a cooker that's as efficient as my Egg.

In any event, here are a couple of shots of today's efforts.

Cheers,
Braddog

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Tuesday
May112010

Pig-a-Palooza

DateTuesday, May 11, 2010 at 9:32AM

I recently became aware of a local charity that's putting together a BBQ & music event.  The folks organizing the event are neighbors of mine who have a foundation in the name of their son who they lost a short while ago.

I've volunteered to pitch in and help cook a whole hog & pork butts for the event.  Luckily, we've got an experienced hog cooker signed up to help as I've never had a chance to cook a whole hog.

Here are the details:

WHAT:  A Bar-B-Que Eat’n • Music List’ning • Game Play’n Charitable Fun Time
WHERE:  Schranz Park (aka Swansea Kingdom), 360 Honeysuckle Lane, Swansea , IL , 62226
WHEN: Saturday, June 12TH – 11 am to 6 pm
WHY:  To honor the memory of Jacob Kellogg and raise scholarship funds
for students of Wolf Branch and Belleville East

Entry donations:
unaccompanied kids ($15); single adults ($25); couples ($40); entire
families ($50)
RSVP to:
deatrice@charter.net (RECOMMENDED)


If you can’t attend but would like to make a donation, please send to:
Jacob’s Ladder Foundation, 2661 N. Illinois Street, PMB 309, Swansea , IL 62226

Hope to see you there!

Cheers,
Braddog

 

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