Sep 10, 2008 04:55AM

Almost Award Winning BBQ Sauce

This barbecue sauce recipe didn't really come close to winning any awards with competition judges. Likely because of the strong kick of heat provided by a dose of chipotle and cayenne. It just crossed the line out of "mainstream" in the heat department. A few judges seemed to love it with high ranks for chicken and ribs and all of our B-B-Q Tricks home samplers were ready to take a bath in the stuff. It's that good.

Sep 10, 2008 04:52AM

Winning Your First BBQ Cook Off

It can be a bit daunting... These BBQ competitions look kind of intense even with all the beer and funny t-shirts there is an underlying seriousness to it all.

After getting though our "first time" this past weekend at a Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned event we have a few tricks to get you through the first big cook off.

First, know all the rules. Head strait to the website of the organization putting on the event. In my case it was http://www.kcbs.us/. Read all the fine print. The K.C.B.S. site also has a great "Your First Cook-Off" article here.

Ask questions... start at your nearest BBQ joint. I was lucky enough to be warned about having a sanitation station. In our case a clean cooler filled with beach-water and clean rags for surface cleaning; plus a fresh water cooler with push-button spigot (upright Gatorade type worked nicely) over a bus-tray as a hand washing station. Don't forget the hand sanitizer, paper towels and soap.

You'll need to have a fire extinguisher. No one checked ours; but we were in an amateur division and it was on the KCBS check -off judges sheet.

You'll need gear. Don't be intimidated by the huge rigs of the regulars on the bar-be-que circuit. No doubt those guys have it down, but I've heard big contests have been won on a couple of small Webber bullet grills. Our team used a single Brinkmann "Gourmet" Charcoal Smoker and it worked great. We only had two divisions (chicken and ribs) so one smoker was easy. For next time (with additional categories of brisket and pork-butt) we'll add a second "bullet" smoker.

Research presentation and "turn in." Timing matters. Can you keep the meat hot up until turn-in? You'll be given official numbered turn in boxes for your team's entries. I've seen some teams use insulated pizza delivery delivery bags to help retain heat.

I had a tough time finding clear tips online. Here area few starting points:

http://www.barbecuen.com/champion.htm

http://www.squidoo.com/competitionbbqsecrets

http://www.3men.com/competition%20chicken.htm

Don't get too drunk. Not a problem for us... but seeing that we were warned by more than one cooker... and looking at a few of the teams... It must be a common hazard.

Do a test run at home. Use exactly what you'll be using at the competition. We didn't used colored cocktail tooth picks (to pin down the skin on our chicken) at our home test. To our horror the green and red toothpicks we used on-site added big green and red spots in the flesh of the chicken. Green spots have got to cost some "appearance" points! We got creative with a knife and sauce.

Don't forget the little things. There's potentially a lot. Again KCBS has a great list to get you covered HERE under "First Cook off." It's a good idea to start with a hometown (but sanctioned) contest. Out of town travel creates another level of planning. You'll be amazed how many competitions are in the state of South Carolina alone!

Be prepared. Anything can happen. It will probably rain. They won't let your car back on the grounds. Through all of it take a few notes for next time. Plus get the judges score sheets to track your future adjustments.

Sep 02, 2008 04:34PM

Award Winning Potato Salad

Aug 16, 2008 01:38PM

Kickin' Cheese Biscuits

Need a quick side to cap off a BBQ feast? This is a quick cheese biscuit recipe that has an emphais on quick. You could roll the dough and cut into neat rounds (trick: use an old clean soup can with both ends out for perfect round cuts) but these "drop" buscuits are a bit rustic and taste just as good.

Aug 16, 2008 01:37PM

Barbecue Trick - Grill Gas Check

It's happened to a lot of cookers... so it could also happen to you! You're in the homestretch of a day of prepping for the cookout. Chicken's on... and the gas on the... grill is... slowly... dying.

Running out of propane is easy to do because it's so hard to see through metal! (Although I have seen some transparent plastic tanks recently that look great.) Most of us don't have a gas gauge either.

Here's one tip for your next cook out:

You can estimate how much gas you have left in your propane tank by heating up some water to a boil (you can do this in the microwave or inside). Make sure you have enough hot water to gently heat the SIDE of the propane tank in question. Tilting the tank on a bit of an angle, pour the hot water up and down the entire side of the tank from bottom to top.

The level of liquid propane inside can be determined by feeling the new temperature of the tank with your hand. Where your hot water has succeeded in heating the tank is where it's empty. Where the tank is noticeably cooler is where you have some remaining liquid propane.

If there is no noticeable difference you're probably all out.

Jul 20, 2008 06:01AM

Gettin' Twiggy With It

In a previous post we suggested using basil twigs as a nice addition to the smoker to add that "extra something" to your grilled meat. Here's another barbecue trick.

Jul 07, 2008 05:30AM

Bring On The Hot - Or Not - BBQ Trick

There are two worlds of Barbecue lovers. One world loves heat. One world keeps it cool. Here's a quick barbecue trick that tempers or livens up the heat in your next sauce or salsa or whatever you're cooking up with high octane peppers.

Lets start by saying there's no taming peppers like habaneros or scotch bonnets. Scoville units measure the amount of capsaicin in a pepper and habaneros are in the 100,000 to 300,000 range.

A lot of capsaicin is in the white "core" or membrane of the pepper. y scooping out the seeds and white center of the pepper you can cut down the intensity.

Still Too Hot? Another tip is NOT to slug back water to cool off the heat. That will just spread the fun. Milk or Yogurt coat the mouth and that can help slow and block some heat. A good chew of something bland like break or rice can also help pull away the pain.

Worth noting the pain in your mouth is much more pleasant than the burn of other tender tissues. Wash your hands whenever handling peppers. The oils are there even though you may not see them.

Jun 11, 2008 08:32PM

Eating Around The Web

It's great to get to know new fans of barbecue and all types of food. Blogging seems to be a great way! Hello to my new friends joining in from the Great Cooks BlogRoll and SimpleDailyRecipes.com. Recipes look pretty budget friendly! Explore their sites and you're sure to find some good eats.