Review: Peg Leg Porker Dry Rub

I recently attended the Business of BBQ with Mike & Amy Mills in Murphysboro, IL.  I met lots of great folks, including Carey Bringle of Peg Leg Porker.  I've read about Carey, his competition team, his team mates, and his line of signature BBQ products.

Carey is a seasoned competition cook and I'm really glad that I got to know him.  As the 2-day class wrapped up, Carey tossed me some of his rub to try out and reveiw.  So I brought it home and finally got around to firing up the Big Green Egg and giving it a try.

This is a classic Memphis style dry rub.  It's not sweet.  In fact, I'm not sure there's any sugar in it at all.  But that's okay.  It has a very rich, earthy flavor with a slight hint of chili powder or something similar.  Don't get me wrong...it's not spicey, but it has a nice flavor.  If you've ever eaten ribs at the Rendezvous in Memphis, this rub is similar to the dry rub they serve.

I like to taste test rubs on chicken.  I think you get a better idea of the flavor profile with the lighter flavor of chicken.  I hit some chicken with Peg Leg's rub and smoked it for a couple hours.  I thought the rub had a great taste and went great with chicken.  I'm sure it'll go great on pork too, and I'll be trying that soon.

Peg Leg has a couple of other products available at their website, as well as information on the competition team.  You can also catch up with them at Memphis in May.

Here's their contact info:

www.peglegporker.com
www.smokelikeapro.com
Follow Peg Leg Porker on Twitter
Peg Leg Porker Twitter Page
Join their Facebook Page:
Peg Leg Porker Facebook Page

Cheers,
Braddog

Review: Rendezvous - Memphis, TN

I'm reluctant to even write a review of the Rendezvous in Memphis, TN as I'm sure that it's been done many times given their reputation.  But, why stop now when I take every chance I get to review a new BBQ joint.

I can usually coerce my family into eating BBQ at least once when we travel and since we were staying just a block away, it seemed inevitable that this is where we would eat  BBQ.   I'd received strong recommendations for a couple of other places, but Memphis is just full of too many places to choose from and the reputation and proximity of the Rendezvous sealed the decision.

In any event, we headed over to the Rendezvous on Friday night to find the place rapidly filling up as the dinner hour was getting into full swing.  Looks are deceiving, and there is plenty of seating inside. We were quickly shown to a table where we perused the menu.  For my family, there was some debate as to what they would order but for me this was a foregone conclusion.  So my wife and kids ordered up BBQ chicken platters, while I went for the whole slab of ribs.

The Rendezvous isn't fancy and the food was served quickly on paper plates with plastic utensils.  The family got started on chicken that was very tasty and I paused to snap a picture of my ribs.  Now I prefer dry rubbed BBQ and typically turn up my nose at BBQ that is too wet, but I was not prepared for the amount of dry rub & spices that were visible on the surface of my ribs.  My wife took one look at my ribs and said, "Those don't look like Braddog ribs".  I was flattered and didn't bother to try to explain that these ribs are char grilled as opposed to the way I prepare them.

The ribs were tasty, but due to the chargrilling they were chewier than I'm used to.  The beans were very good and the slaw was sweet and vinegary (the way I like it).  Service was top notch and the we were in and out in a very short amount of time.  I'd read enough about the place beforehand that there were no surprises and all-in-all I enjoyed my trip to the Rendezvous.

There may be better BBQ in Memphis, but based on reputation and notoriety you've got to give the Rendezvous a shot when you're in town.

Cheers,
Braddog