Yadkin River Smokers North Carolina Western BBQ Sauce

Yadkin River Smokers Barbecue Sauce

I tried out a new western North Carolina vinegar based barbecue sauce made by Yadkin River Smokers this evening.

Yadkin River Smokers were at a barbecue competition with a team and with a booth for pork skins and sauce this weekend. Since I adore pork skins and especially those fried fresh on site, I had to stop by. The pork skins were absolutely amazing, and Robert hooked me up with a bottle of their barbecue sauce.

Robert said that he likes Yadkin River Sauce on chicken, and that it's extra good warmed up and used as a dipping sauce. Barbecue people know their products, so I decided to do my first quick grilled chicken smoke just as he had suggested.

When I opened the bottle, I got the vinegar kick smell, but it was not as strong as many North Carolina barbecue sauce products. There was an extra sweet layer in there. The scent was very nice, so I was curious to see how the sauce would taste grilled on the chicken and also on the side as a dip.

Grilled Chicken Breast Strips with Yadkin River BBQ Sauce

I would call Yadkin River Barbecue Sauce a mop as is the tradition in North Carolina, but it had just a little more body than the NC sauces I've used before. This meant that the sauce stayed on the chicken better than mops which was nice, since I was doing the boneless, skinless chicken breasts which can be on and off in minutes. After a long weekend at a barbecue competition, I really wanted something fast and simple.

I let the chicken rest in the sauce for about a half hour while I got the grill fired up and hot. Preheating a grill really is important. If it's not hot, then grilled foods will stick.

My yard was smelling great, and we were all looking forward to dinner. I was hoping the chicken would taste as good as it smelled.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Yadkin River BBQ Sauce

I pulled the chicken and had some sauce that I heated on the stove. Sometimes I heat sauce on the side of the grill, but the boneless breasts grill really fast, so it seemed a good idea to heat the mop sauce inside and have it ready.

The grilled chicken with Yadkin River Barbecue Sauce was excellent and even better with extra warmed dipping sauce. Robert told me right on that.

Yadkin River BBQ Sauce is a North Carolina sauce - clearly. But, it has an extra layer of sweet to cut the twangy vinegar. I adore our North Carolina vinegar sauces, but they can be a bit much for those outside the area. I think Yadkin River BBQ Sauce will appeal to locals but also to those who are not used to the real high octane vinegar sauces. It's in the spirit of our sauces but with more layers and not so "in your face" on the vinegar.

You can buy Yadkin River Sauce direct, and they hope to be in grocery stores soon. Since Food Lion is based here in North Carolina, I hope they will be carrying Yadkin River Barbecue Sauce. They are good about stocking local products, and this is a thumbs up.

Barbecue Judgement Day at Tilley Harley Davidson Biker, Blues & BBQ

Whew! What a Weekend at Biker, Blues & Barbecue


I headed back to the Tilley Harley Davidson Biker, Blues & BBQ yesterday to see if any of the barbecue competition teams had drowned (talk about some rain around here this week) and also to see who would be taking home trophies.

The rain had stopped by turn in time, and barbecue teams were walking the competition boxes up the side of the building. With four categories in a Kansas City Barbecue Society competition spaced a half hour apart, the turn in time is a pretty long process.

Tuffy Stone of Cool Smoke Walks His Competition Box In


I was weaving in and out of the barbecue tents but staying in the background and out of the way. The last thing you want when you're trying to get your chicken thighs just right is someone gabbing and asking you to pose for photographs.

Fast Eddie's Fine Swine On the BBQ Competition Home Stretch

Once the barbecue boxes were turned in, most of the teams kicked back for a while and shared chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket with family, friends, and random nice people. This is when it's great to have lots of barbecue Facebook friends and a camera.

I visited with some of the teams I'd met the day prior like Yadkin River Smokers (great sauce) and Smoke-a-holics (Pig Pen - terrific BBQ seasoning). They hooked me up with some fabulous samples. It's amazing the variety of wonderful barbecue these guys turn out. Now, I'm sounding gushy in this paragraph, but there aren't enough adjectives to really capture the yummyness of slow smoked meat right off the smokers.

Catawba College Kids Give D&D Hickory Hogs the Thumbs Up


My crew which ended up including my son who goes to Catawba College and his roommate and a buddy home based with D&D Hickory Hogs. We'd been talking about the competition for several months. It was the first time Darrin and Donna had ever entered.

Darrin was a little nervous about his food. Some of the teams do talk junk like you see on Barbecue Pitmasters (Myron Mixon - hi there), but most (at least in private) were worried. I tried out Darrin and Donna's meat, and I was pretty certain the pork and brisket were going to be in the money.

By this point I was so full of barbecue that I needed a nap and a membership to the YMCA, so I hung out with Kevin Sandridge who had been judging. Kevin owns the BBQ Smoker Site, and we had fun sharing barbecue writer war stories.

It was finally time for the winners to be called, and Gary Moss took the stage and began handing out trophies. I crawled up through the crowd and parked it on the curb so that I'd not block anyone's view but could still get some photos. Darrin and Donna found me, so we were all curbside and hoping for the best.

First Timers Darrin and Donna Vasseur Score Big


Yahoo. D&D Hickory Hogs took 7th in brisket and 8th in pork to land in the winners circle. They were 15th overall in a field of 37. That's really rocking especially for a first timer team.

Tuffy Stone Cool Smoke Takes Grand Champion at Biker, Blues & BBQ


The Grand Chamption at Biker, Blues, and BBQ was Tuffy Stone of Cool Smoke (from Barbecue Pitmasters TV). We had chatted both days, and I took him a bottle of Ralph's Dipping Sauce which is my favorite North Carolina western barbecue mop. He's going to give that a try and see what he thinks of our local sauce which is made by my co-worker at the college.

Smoke This at Biker, Blues, and BBQ


The Reserve Champ was Smoke This. So, I'm seeing a pattern here. If I ever have a barbecue team, I think I will have to name it Smoke Something. Both winners had short names featuring the word Smoke. Yes. I do have random thoughts like that - all the time.

Pickin' Porkers with pitmaster Roger Wise won People's Choice. That's a real honor. Folks at the event voted on them.

You can see all the teams and scores at the KCBA site.

Also check out the Biker, Blues, and BBQ photos from Friday evening and a large set of competition day photos.

Biker Blues & BBQ - Tilley Harley-Davidson of Salisbury, North Carolina

KCBA Barbecue Competition at Tilley Harley-Davidson of Salisbury, NC

Salisbury, North Carolina is a barbecue town, but it's not been a BBQ competition town. We've had a couple of small comps but not much to write or call home about. So, I had been looking forward to Biker Blues & BBQ at Tilley Harley Davidson.

After work today, I headed over to see how Salisbury would do with a circuit barbecue competition.

I was greeted in the parking lot by a guy with a brochure. I was pretty sure he was going to shake me down for a few bucks to park, but he didn't. Parking was free, and they even had the golf cart taxis to haul us up one block to Tilley's. Hey now, you can't beat that.

D & D Hickory Hogs Barbecue Team

I went looking for Darrin and Donna Vasseur. We are friends on Facebook, and they were out for their first barbecue competition.

Our golf cart taxi driver took us around back where there were more vendors and the teams and helped us look for D&D. We hopped off right beside them and finally got to meet face to face.

Last night was a gully washer, but Darrin and Donna had weathered it well along with Bella - their rescue dog who was enjoying the heck out of the barbecue comp. The rain had put a dent in the canopy, but the trailor borrowed from a friend who races dirt bikes was dry and ready for the big prep.

Donna was doing something with parsley. I won't say what she was doing, since that might just be one of those barbecue competition secrets. It was cool to watch though, and I might parsley up something here soon.

Pig Pen Barbecue Seasoning

I wandered on down the line of campers, and I must say that barbecue cooking must pay better than barbecue writing, since some of those rigs were fancier than my house.

Down at the end of the row I found Pig Pen. I've been wanting to meet him. I bought his seasoning at Food Lion, and then I got my reading glasses out (Argh - hate not being able to see well now) and noticed that he is local. I've been enjoying the heck out of his seasoning, and he gave me a bottle of his new Pig Pen hot mix which I can't wait to try out.

Cool Smoke - Tuffy Stone

Jimmy told me that Tuffy Stone was taking photos. He's been on BBQ Pitmasters, and he's on my Facebook friend list too. I looked closer, and . . . yes . . . that was Tuffy Stone.

I went over to chat with Tuffy and got my photo made. I don't guess I've tried to get a TV star photo since I was about 12 years old and was at Tweetsie Railroad and had my photo with Jody from Family Affair (a TV show - dating myself for sure now). I was so nervous that time that I sat about 6 feet away from Jody, so I did much better this time. Tuffy was very easy to talk to, and I managed to stay in the photo frame.

Yadkin River Smokers - BBQ Team and Pork Skins

Before we headed off for the night, I wanted to get some pork skins. Before you say, "Oh gross," you really must try them. Pork skins (or good ones) are light and airy and kind of like chips but not really and much better.

The Yadkin River Smokers out of Lexington had the pork skins spot on. They were making them right there at the competition. I had a hard time deciding which flavor to get but went with the plain ones. Fabulous. I am munching as I type, and since this computer is about to give up the ghost, well . . . no problem with crumbs.

Robert gave me a bottle of their barbecue sauce too. It's a North Carolina western - vinegar with some red (tomato) and a little more sugar than typical. Robert suggested that I heat some and use it as a dip with grilled chicken, so that's on my list to check out soon.

We were hitting it off great with Yadkin River Smokers, and they gave us cupcakes by The Cake Plate from Winston Salem too. Yum. The key lime frosting was terrific. I was also impressed with the really cool pig cake that they had on display. Perfect way to end a night on a sweet note.

The Tilley Harley-Davidson barbecue competition was really solid. We enjoyed the evening, and I think we will drop back tomorrow. The food was yummy. We had wings and French fries by TGIF and listened to some great blues music. I tried some wine from Old Stone Winery of Salisbury, and it was so good that I bought a bottle of the peach wine for a birthday gift coming up. I may have to get another when we go back. It was an all round great time, and I'm glad I went out. I guess I better wrap up here soon, so I can drop by tomorrow and see the winners. But, I must say they are all winners. Just a great bunch of folks and a really nice barbecue gathering.

Enjoy some Biker Blues & BBQ photos from Friday evening that I posted on Facebook and a large collection of competition BBQ photos from judgement day.

Frigidaire - Terrible, Awful, No Good, Dangerous, Fire Hazard Stove

Frigidaire - Worst Stove in the Whole Wide World - No Kidding

I do have a kitchen and a stove (-: even though I'm known for being an outdoor grilling/smoking kind of girl. It's nice to put some barbecue side dishes or bread on the stove burners or in the oven, and . . . heck . . . I do make a lot of Southern dishes traditionally in the kitchen . . . or I did before I bought the kitchen stove from hell made by Frigidaire owned by Electrolux.

My old stove was 38 years old so when it bit the dust, I went to Lowe's and went back and back and back. I went three months sans a stove and just cooking outdoors while I looked over the stoves on the market and tried to make a good selection.

Finally I made up my mind and bought the Frigidaire glass top stove you see above. It does look nice, and it does have nice features or so it seemed at the time.

The fun NOT began from day one with my brand new Frigidaire stove. I would put someting in a pot on the burner on simmer, and it would be boiling like beat the band. Good grief. I'd go to high, and it might be high, or I might have bathtub barely warm heat. It was always a roll of the dice, so I had to stand and babysit anything I put on the burners on this horrible stove.

Let's add some insult to the injury with the Frigidarie oven. The heat was so uneven that I had to put canned biscuit on the rack placed to the top notch, and then I'd still have to turn on broil to get the tops browned to go with the burned as heck bottoms of most foods. Argh.

My brother told me that maybe I needed to use the fan which meant that I had to go with the "fast bake" button. I thought maybe that was my problem. But . . . no . . . the baking was still awful, and I could not post up photos for my cooking blogs due to the lack of browning and other problems related to the oven not doing what it should have done.

Before six months rolled around, one of the metal rods on the fancy rack pulled loose. I'd only used this crappy stove 15 or 20 times total, since it was so lame.

I went to Lowe's. That where I bought this dreadful Frigidaire range. They gave me the rack out of the display model, since my rack was clearly messed up with the rod sticking up and making pans sit all crooked. When I mentioned the heating being off on the burners and oven, I was told that I'd have to hire a repair person to test the stove (at my own expense) and then if . . . and only if . . . I had proof that the heat was off, then I might get some help.

Seriously now, I am a food and cooking writer. I can carry in some biscuits burned on the bottom and anemic on top baked in this oven. Or, I can make photos or take video. But, I don't see throwing good money after bad which seemed rather likely given the poor quality of the Frigidaire stove. Some "broke" really can't be fixed, and this struck me as that variety.

I trudged along and pretty much lost my inside cooking mojo with this awful stove that cost close to $800 (but a litle less with a 10% discount) and didn't even work as well as the $10 toaster oven I had back in college. Bascially, I just avoided any kitchen cooking if at all possible. But, I sure gritted my teeth every time I walked in to see that shiny new piece of junk stove taking up space in my kitchen.

I should also mention that this glass top stove won't work with just any old pans. They must be totally flat on the bottom. And, they don't recommend cast iron on them due to scratching. Break out the wallet to buy new pans to go with the new stove.

And, you need ceramic or glass stove top cleaner as well. You can shine this sucker stove up but spill a few grains of salt on the stove top, and it looks like a hot mess and dirty. Glass topped stoves are billed as easier to clean, but I can attest that as being a dirty marketing trick too. Unless you just have a stove for decoration, then plan to stand around with a cleaning rag all the time, and the stove will usually look dirty anyway.

Yes. I copped an attitude on the Frigidaire stove. It was THAT bad. But, it got worse.

On Friday, I decided to make some Chex Party Mix. That's hard to mess up, and even my awful stove could bake at low for a while and crisp up Party Mix. That was my thinking anyway.

When the Party Mix was done, I shut off the Frigidaire. I left the Party Mix in the oven to just rest as the oven cooled.

But . . . the oven was not cool an hour later. Ouch. I touched that but let go fast.

STRANGE!

I took the Party Mix out with a kitchen glove, and I kept checking the Frigidaire for two hours. Hot. Hot. Hot. The oven was turned off, but it was not off.

Thankfully, I had left the Party Mix in the oven to cool off, so I noticed this problem. I looked online, and others were not so lucky. Just Google Frigidaire and fire hazard. You will not only see stove problems but problems with almost everything they manufacture. Some of the stoves are even recalled due to fire hazards. I'll bet my year model 2010 will be. Perhaps Frigidaire is waiting for someone's house to burn down or for someone to die.

I could raise cain and as a cooking/food writer, then I'd likely get some action under the table on this. But, guess what? I think it's much more important to warn others than to get personal help. I write, because I do think I help others. I would not be able to sleep at night knowing what I know now about Frigidaire and thinking about other unsuspecting people buying Frigidaire products which are bad in general and dangerous on top of that.

I'm just getting by like most of my readers. I can't go buy a new stove every year. I checked on Craig's List and found a 1994 GE stove for $150, and I'm not pawning off my Frigidaire stove which looks fabulous on anyone else. That would not be right. I guess I rented that Frigidaire stove for one year and 16 days to the tune around $800. It was a gosh awful stove from the start and ruined the few meals I tried to cook on the stove. I guess I'll just be thankful that the stove did not burn down my house or kill my family. But, I have an awful taste in my mouth when it comes to Frigidaire. That company should be ashamed . . . very ashamed.

My New/Old GE Stove Circa 1994

I'm very happy with my second hand GE stove. It may not look as flashy as that Frigidaire stove, but it cooks and bakes good, and I don't have to worry about a fire when the thing is shut off but isn't or with burners coming on at random times with no circuit shut off (another problem noted online with Frigidaire).

If you are looking to buy a Frigidaire, please do Google. You will find a shocking number of problems like mine. Frigidaire deletes Facebook posts about these problems, and Lowe's won't post reviews that mention the Frigidaire fire hazard issues. But, you can still find other places where you can read about these safety problems and direct CPSC Frigidaire consumers problem reports, and you can feel free to add comments to my post.

Frigidaire Stove - $799 plus taxes
Being Alive to Post About Frigidaire - Priceless

If you are having safety issues with your Frigidaire range stove or other products, you can call the Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC at (800) 638-2772. You will need to provide your contact information including a phone number as well as the model and serial number and place of purchase with a purchase date.

Goo Gone Grill Cleaner Review - #GooGonePassionProject - Cleaning My New Weber Bullet

Goo Gone Grill Cleaner

Today I'm testing out Goo Gone Barbecue Grill Cleaner as part of the #GooGonePassionProject. You are probably wondering what I mean by the Goo Gone Passion Project.

This story dates back to early July when Amber emailed. She said Goo Gone had noticed my blog and my passion for grilling. "During the next few weeks, we’d like to send you a very cool, valuable item that we think you will really get excited about. The catch is that it will come with a little imperfection that will only take a few minutes to fix," she said in her email.

To be honest, I've seen emails like this, and the exciting "thing" has turned out to be an email photo. Photos are fine, but I can't really tell readers much about something I have not seen or used. That's what makes my blog special. I try things out at home with my family, and I share the best data that I can.

I do like to help readers, so if my schedule is not too packed, I'll try out most anything, unless I'm sure I won't like it. No fig barbecue sauce. I'm sorry. I just really hate figs. So, I don't think it's fair to test something when I know it's going to make me gaggy.

In the Goo Gone case, I just asked if this "something to fix" was related to barbecue. I don't want to spam my blog with random posts that don't add value for readers. Amber replied and said that the fixer upper would be in my content area. OK. I'll see what comes and if I can fix it. Am I not the most helpful blogger you read? I sure hope so (-:

Actually, I forgot about this email, since it had been a few weeks.

Then, the FedEx man pulls in right as I'm about to get in the shower. I think the FedEx man does this on purpose. I peek out the window with only my eyes showing and see that he puts a huge box right behind my Jeep. It's almost time to go to work, and I'm blocked in. So, I shower quickly and go to examine the big box.

Wow! There's a Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5 inch behind my Jeep. I didn't order a smoker. Has this dropped from heaven? No. I did see the FedEx man, but I am rather confused as I drag the smoker box in the garage.

I also have a small package compliments of the FedEx man, so I take that inside and quickly open it before I have to head off for work. The mystery is solved. Goo Gone explains that the smoker is part of the #GooGonePassionProject.

The Barbecue Master with Goo Gone and the Weber Bullet Smoker

Now, it's the weekend, so one of my guys puts the used Weber Smokey Mountain Bullet back together, since it's disassembled to fit back in the box.

I get the Goo Gone out and get ready to test out this new grill cleaner. The Weber smoker is great (of course - I have the small one), but my real task is to find out if Goo Gone actually works.

Dirty Weber Smokey Mountain - #GooGonePassionProject

First, let me say that Goo Gone did, indeed, send me a dirty smoker. That kind of cracks me up, since I've never had a company intentionally send something dirty. But, that's the whole point of the Goo Gone Passion Project - to see if the grill cleaner works. I could certainly come up with some dirty grills to test out. SHHHH. We won't tell my Mom that. She does not believe in dirt or spider webs or dust balls.

I can attest that the overall smoker was not totally cruded up, but the lid and grates clearly needed some elbow grease.

Down and Dirty - Quick and Easy with Goo Gone

The directions from Goo Gone Grill Cleaner say to spray on the product and wait for one to two minutes. Gotta love easy and quick. But . . . will this stuff work?

Putting Goo Gone to the Test

I squirt the Weber Bullet lid with the Goo Gone with visions of smoking something tomorrow and hoping that the grease does come off without a whole lot of work.

Time to See What Goo Gone Brings to the Table (or BBQ smoker)

I begin wiping as instructed, and the grease splatters wipe off easily. Goo Gone sent the cloth for cleaning as well, and I, being the frugal type, kind of cringe about using a brand spanking new dish type cloth on a greasy grill. But, I decide to follow all the directions. The Goo Gone towel is a regular towel though, so you don't need anything special to use the product.

Let's Get a Close Up of that Goo Gone in Action

Here you can see that I'm wiping the Weber Bullet. I'm using almost no pressure. I'm not sure you can see that, but I'm vibing my hand not being put to any real test here.

Mom Would Approve of This Clean Barbecue Smoker

Here you can see that my smoker from Goo Gone looks brand new. I could put it on the store floor, and I'm sure no one would guess that it had been used for a test smoke before the cleaning.

Yes. I Can See Myself in the Smoker (and you can too in this photo).

In case you aren't sure by the full shot or are blinded by the fact that I wear pink shorts with red shoes (not to confuse a barbecue blog with a fashion blog), here is the close up of the Weber lid. If you can see any grease, then I will get my reading glasses and go back out and check again.

That's my #GooGonePassionProject report.

I do thank Goo Gone for the Weber Bullet and for the Flip video cam and maybe I can get over my shy and do some video too soon. I splatted a turkey ball right in the middle of the last video attempt - not to mention some very random and spazzy out takes that I edited out.

As always, I tell it like it is (or how I see it anyway). Goo Gone Grill Cleaner took care of the grease on the WSM smoker with almost no effort on my part. I'll be trying it out on some of my other dirty grills and reporting back, but I'm going to go thumbs up. Goo Gone worked just as promised on the test drive, and I have looked high and low for grill cleaners. My "go to" prior has been Dawn dish washing liquid (great stuff - suggested by my plumber), but that's more work than this spray which did cut through and clean up the grease.

You can read more about the Goo Gone Passion Project and check out the other stories on the Goo Gone Facebook page.

Dizzy Pig - BBQ Rub Review - Excellent All Purpose Dizzy Dust

Dizzy Pig - Dizzy Dust All Purpose Barbecue Seasoning

Heather contacted me about trying out the Dizzy Pig line of barbecue rubs. I'd heard that they make really great rubs, so I was watching for the package to come in.

The package arrived, and the smell was fabulous. The Dizzy Dust All Purpose bottle and the sample packs of the other flavors were sealed up tight, but I still got that blast of "yum" smell.

Pork Chops Sprinkled with Dizzy Dust BBQ Rub

I decided to grill boneless pork chops, because they are quick and easy. Plus, I can really taste rubs or sauces and get the full effect with the chops which are very mild.

Some barbecue rubs are over the top on salt or heat or something, so I went light as you can see. I hate to tank a meal and end up breaking out a frozen pizza.

I should not have worried though . . .

Grilling Pork Chops Featuring Dizzy Dust by Dizzy Pig

Dizzy Pig uses all natural ingredients. They make these rubs fresh and with quality ingredients. And, it does make a difference.

The all purpose rub you see here is gluten free (and some of my family members can't eat gluten) and also has no MSG. It's also salt free which I thought might cut down on the flavor, but it didn't.

Even though I used a light hand seasoning my pork chops, the taste was just fabulous. The seasoning is robust on the one hand but not overpowering. I could easily see this barbecue seasoning being a "go to" for all types of meats, fish, potatoes, and vegetables. It just has an all round easy-on-the-mouth pop that made my pork chops rock even with a skimpy shake.

Next time I'll go heavier on Dizzy Pig. The barbecue mix is designed to crust on the meat with flavor. It did crust, but I would suggest shaking on more liberally. The best parts were the bites with the most Dizzy Dust.

I don't find many barbecue rubs that I go hog wild over. This is one that is spot on. A balanced and beautiful flavor. No strange flavor notes that push this one to the back of the cabinet. I can see why Dizzy Pig has won awards. It really is THAT GOOD. Yum.

College Son Learns to Grill Boneless Chicken Breasts Spiced Up with Country Chef Grilling Sauce

Youngest Son Gets Some Grilling Lessons Before Heading Off to College

My son headed off to college this week, and he said he'd like to learn a little about grilling beforehand. His older brother is getting in the grilling groove at UNC, and he's found that it's easy to make friends at college over a hot grill especially when the food is good.

I thought grilled boneless chicken breasts would be a good starter barbecue project. That's our fast food around here. Fire up the grill. Dinner is ready in minutes if you do the chicken filets or tenders. I wrote up the directions on How to Grill Boneless Chicken if you need some tips and help on that. I wrote out just what I told my son.

For the sauce, I pulled out Country Chef Grilling Sauce Honey Recipe. Country Chef is a 100% all natural recipe that tastes like homemade. Plus, my son loves honey. I wanted his first chicken grilling session to be a good one, and I trust this line of sauces which you can find at Ingles grocery and some other places now too.

Country Chef 100% All Natural Grilling Sauce - Honey Recipe

I told my son . . . OK first thing . . . you take a picture of the jar of sauce. He got a laugh out of that, because he knows that's what I do. I think and hope it makes it easier to find sauces and other products I talk about.

Eli got a pass on photo taking and picked up with the actual grilling. I watched and mentioned a few tips along the way, but he grilled up the chicken for dinner.

Grilled Chicken with Country Chef BBQ Sauce - My Son's First Time

I think my son got the grilling gene and probably a good general idea about how to successfully grill just from watching and helping out over the years. His barbecue chicken turned out beautiful, and it did taste as good as it looked. Any sauce can be used, but the sauce is pretty key on boneless chicken breasts. I'm glad I pulled out Country Chef Honey for his last week home and working on his grilling skills.

Now I'm home alone, and it sure is quiet. I can grill for one, but I had a night class so I didn't fire up tonight. I'll be back on the grill again soon - of course. I'm not really hungry just yet, because it's hard when your last kid moves off. Where is that box of Kleenex anyway?

I am excited for my son, and I'm sure he'll do great at Catawba College. It was fun to pass along the barbecue torch, and I'll look forward to when he comes home, and we can grill some more together.

Barbecue Sauce Experts Tell All (or most) on Hot Sauce Weekly Podcast

I joined a roundtable barbecue sauce discussion with Hot Sauce Weekly last night. Brian Meagher had emailed and invited me. I don't usually do the spotlight stuff, because I'm a bit shy in person or when microphoned. Plus, Brian mentioned Skype, and my computer is old, and my sound does not even work after I had my computer "fixed" three months ago. That cure ended up being worse than the virus it turned out I did not even have. Sigh.

Brian and his wife Marilyn who own Hot Sauce Weekly were so nice, and I knew the other barbecue sauce guys scheduled were top notch, so I decided to ignore that little voice in my head that said that I would forget what I wanted to say or would say something random and goofy on podcast to be forever online to haunt me.

The roundtable podcast turned out great. OK. I did blurt out that liquid smoke is like a breast implant job. You can tell the difference. But, you can. Or, I can. I love smoke, but a barbecue sauce does not need to have that fake stuff in there. Make a good sauce. I'll provide the smoke. That's just me.

Brian and Marilyn did a super job hosting the roundtable, and the guests were Larry Gaian (MOINK ball inventor), Brian Henderson (BBQ Sauce Reviews), and Wayne Brown (Big Wayner BBQ). These guys really know barbecue sauce. And, I know these guys online from barbecue circles and have met Wayne who lives about 45 minutes away.

Be sure to check out the Hot Sauce Weekly podcast. You will hear about some of the best barbecue sauces out there. I was familiar with most mentioned, but the guys tossed a few out that I'm going to have to check out. If a barbecue sauce rated a mention by sauce guys, then I know it has to be great.

The podcast also gives you an idea about how barbecue sauce reviewers operate. Just a heads up . . . we are all different. But, the thing we have in common is that we really love barbeuce and barbecue sauces.

Be sure to share you favorite barbecue sauces too. It's always great to find a new one that is terrific.

Wilber's BBQ Restaurant Goldsboro North Carolina - Barbecue Restaurant Review

Welcome to Wilber's BBQ Restaurant in Goldsboro, NC

Wilber's BBQ restaurant is an iconic eastern-style North Carolina wood burning barbecue restaurant, so I was pretty stoked about getting to stop by and try out some chopped pork when we headed to the beach for vacation. Wilber's is right on 70 on the way, so it was a no brainer to time for a lunch stop on the way to Emerald Isle.

Wood Burning Pit at Wilber's BBQ in Goldsboro NC

Wilber's is clearly a classic barbecue joint. It's out in the country even if on the highway. You can see the pit above where they slow smoke whole hogs which is the eastern style of barbecue in North Carolina. Western (or Lexington style) North Carolina barbcue is shoulders or Boston butts.

I've read that Goldboro gave Wilber's a grandfather clause so that they can continue to wood burn and slow smoke the barbecue, but once Wilber Shirley is gone, they have to shift to gas smoking. That's a shame, and I sure do hate to see our wood burners slowly go away. You just can't beat the real deal.

Sunday Crowd at Wilber's Barbecue Joint

The parking lot was packed when we got to Wilber's, but we didn't have to wait very long. We hit the far end of the Sunday crowd.

An older gentleman was at the front door greeting. He was super nice and friendly. He said something funny like that we'd only have to wait three days. I suspect he may have been Mr. Shirley, but I'm not certain on that. It was a good start though.

Hush Puppies at Wilber's BBQ

I've heard that the hushpuppies at Wilber's are awesome. They are free like nacho chips at many Mexican restaurants. When the waitress came out, she brought a bowl and put them on the table.

My guys go wild for hush puppies, and I'm a pretty big fan myself, so we were all pretty excited to get the bowl and try them out.

Perhaps they left something out of the hushpuppy recipe the day we visited. They were really bland. It is also possible that the oil had not been changed. In any case, I think this was the only trip we've ever made to a barbecue restaurant where the hush puppies went begging. We all tried them, but no one got very excited about those hush puppies. They were just kind of like cardboard.

Also, we did not have butter on our table. I don't put butter on my hushpuppies, but the guys usually do. Since we didn't see our waitress again for a while, we snagged a bowl of butter from an empty table. That didn't help much apparently, because we still had hush puppies left in the bowl, and the table next to us had two big bowls of hushpuppies that just sat there getting cold.

Oh well. Hushpuppies can be great, but we were at Wilber's for the pork barbecue meat.

Chopped Barbecue Sandwich Plate at Wilber's

Since it was lunch time, we went with the barbecue sandwich plate which comes with French fries. I did get a side of Brunswick stew (which was quite good). There are other sides like potato salad which looks close to mashed potatoes (with tiny chunks of potato) and slaw that is mayo based with some hot sauce and green beans (but it's garden bean season - hard to compete with that).

First, let me say that the price is a real deal. I am always amazed that North Carolina slow smoked barbecue sells at such a low price, when the work is so labor intensive.

The barbecue at Wilber's comes out sans sauce. The sauce is on the table, and they offer the eastern style which is vinegar with some hot pepper seeds. They had a milder one (ligher colored) and a hotter one (darker color).

Vinegar Based Barbecue Sauces at Wilber's

We all dove right in to our barbecue sandwiches. The meat did have a nice smoke flavor, and the general chop was good (medium). North Carolina is not pulled pork; it's chopped with knives. This is more labor intensive, and it's a nicer texture in my book.

I was enjoying my Wilber's chopped barbecue sandwich when I hit a blob of fat. This was not a little blob. It was close to the size of a ping pong ball. OK. I opened the bun and got a second fat blob out of there. I was hoping that I got the only fat ball sandwich, but three of the five sandwiches also had the fat hunks. That's not good.

My older son got a bite of pig skin. No. It was not outside brown. It was the slimy type of skin that is in a fold and is pretty gross. That pretty much did him in on the meal.

Then my younger son said, "Hey, there's a bone in here." I thought he had to be mistaken, but he was not. He did have a bone about an inch and a half long in his barbecue sandwich.

Whole hog is a challenge, but Wilber's has a reputation for being a master at slow smoking full pigs. I can see how some crud might make it through the chopping. You've got a lot of pig and a lot of chopping to do. But, this barbecue was bunned up or plated, and there's really no excuse for huge fat chunks, skin, and bones to be in serving sizes the size that go on buns.

I'd also note that one member of our group got a gross soggy bun with his barbecue sandwich. No. This was NOT after he sauced his meat. It appeared that buns were microwaved (which is fine) to heat them, but this bun must have been in the bottom corner of the plastic bag and caught all the moisture, so it was flat out drippy. We should have sent it back, but my brother just won't complain even when he gets a drippy bun.

Wilber's Barbecue Restaurant

I do respect that Wilber's is an old school wood burning barbecue restaurant. We were warmly greeted. The place did have the real deal feel. But, if you bite into a hunk of Crisco-like fat, rubbery skin, or an actual pig bone in a sandwich, then it kind of wrecks the mood. Four of the five plates had those problems. While I'd guess that is not typical, not one member of our group gave a thumbs up or wants to go back.

Bummer. I certainly wanted to love Wilber's. I'm very disappointed that this one does not make my "visit again" list, but I still have visions of the pork junk in the meat dancing in my head. I got the fat blob, and that was not a great dining moment when I sank my teeth into that globber.

Grilled Pork Chops with Morrocan Sauce - Hot and Spicy

Grilled Pork Chops with Harissa Moroccan Sauce

Last night we spiced things up with barbecue grilled pork chops slathered in Robert Rothschild Farm Harissa Moroccan Sauce. This is another of my purchases with the birthday gift card my son gave me to A Southern Season (gourmet food and cooking store) in Chapel Hill, NC.

If you're not familiar with Harissa, it's kind of the catsup of Tunisia in north Africa, but it's been trending in Morocco. It's a tomato product with various spices and chilis, and it's typically quite spicy; styles vary by area and the cook or chef. Harissa sauces are used in cooking and also used as condiments.

Pork Chops Marinating in Harissa Moroccan Sauce

Someone (who will remain unnamed) picked me up some pork chops to grill but got the real thin cuts. Those are hard to grill. They grill so fast that saucing them is pretty difficult. The sauce just won't set up in the time they take to grill. So, I have been using marinades and seasonings on my thin grilled pork chops.

The Robert Rothschild Farm Moroccan Sauce is not specifically a marinade, but it's thin enough that it works fine. The texture and body is similar to salsa.

I put the pork chops in with the Moroccan Sauce for about a half hour before I put the meat on the Char-Broil Urban Grill.

Pork Chops Grilling with Harissa Moroccan Sauce

I put the pork chops on the hot grates (preheated about 10 minutes) and flipped them after about 5 minutes. They had nice grill marks at that point, but chunks of tomatoes don't exactly set up on pork chops. So, I topped the grilled up side with a little more of the Moroccan sauce.

With the grill lid down on lower heat (again for around 5 minutes), the pork chops finished off, and the sauce got nice and hot and spread out across the top of the pork chops.

Wow! This was a flavor explosion. Morocco is known for spicy hot food, and this sauce is no exception. It has several kinds of hot chilis in the sauce. It was really zippy but a nice flavor (sweet hot - not bitter hot).

Only the heat freaks were home for dinner, and everyone thought the Moroccan Sauce was great. I would not serve it to my younger son who does not like spicy food, and I'd not use it for a general party, unless I had some mild foods for an option. But, for those who like some fire in the flavor, this one rocks it. Quite hot but just a lovely flavor mix with the spices.

Rothschild Farm Harissa Moroccan Sauce

Here's the Moroccan Sauce that we used on our pork chops. I know it's easier to know what the bottle looks like rather than go in the store and try to find something you've not seen before.

How Noah Greenberg Picked His Perfect Grill with Grill Comparison

How do you decide which grill is your best buy? That’s a question that many consumers ask. Today, Noah shares his story about picking out a grill that works best for him and for his grilling needs.

Noah Greenberg Loves His New Napoleon Grill Found with Grill Comparison


How I Selected my Gas Grill
By Noah Greenberg

When recently on a mission to find a new grill to buy, I had a striking revelation; getting a new barbeque is an amazingly exciting, yet daunting process. Although I was sad to see the old one part (too many memories, too many steaks), all I could think about was what the new one would look like, what features it would have (who wouldn’t want a grease managing system?), and of course, what would be the first thing I cooked on it.

Gas Barbeque Grill Comparison Tool

The truth is, there are hundreds of gas grills out there, and not all grills are created equal. Fortunately, I used this great new Grill Comparison released by FindTheBest to compare my options. FindTheBest compares just about everything, and their new Gas Grill Comparison really provides a great way to compare your options. With over 140 grills to compare, they’ve got all the top manufacturers, and then some.

There are plenty of different things to think about when researching new grills, and fortunately the tool covers them all. Sift through your options by Fuel Type, MSRP, Features, number of burners and more. You can even filter by the cheapest grills, then click a few features that you’re looking for and see what grills show up in the search results.

Finally, with a unique BTU’s per square inch feature, you can even ensure that you’re not getting a grill with a huge cooking area but no burner power.

Next time you’re in the market for a barbeque, make sure to check out this grill comparison tool to see what’s out there that fits exactly what you’re looking for.

Not Exactly Sure What Grill Is Right For You?

There’s even a fantastic Guide Me feature that lets you pick how much you value certain features, and FindTheBest will suggest six grills that fit your preferences. That’s how I picked my grill, and these six grills were suggested, and I ended up with the Napoleon Ultra Chef. Napoleon isn’t paying me, but I’ll just say that I may have found the best…

Country Chef Grilling Sauce Original Recipe - BBQ Sauce Review

Grilled Chicken with Country Chef Original Sauce

We enjoyed some delicious Country Chef original barbecue sauced chicken before we headed out to the beach (what fun - that). It was a quick and easy meal that is much faster than fast food, since we live out in the country and have to drive into town to get carry out.

Mike sent me his set of sauces to check out, and I grilled pork chops with his Country Chef Chipotle for our first grill out with the sauce collection. I'm a sucker for heat, and I didn't find the sauce to be very hot but was quite impressed with how it was so fresh and like home canned.

The original flavor has the same small batch look and feel, and it is a little milder in terms of heat than the first one I tried. I don't see this as a heat freak line, and since it's available at some grocery stores now like Ingles, then it would be pretty crazy to go scorching the mainstream population. I find few people who really go wild for flavors that make them break a sweat, but there are a few of us . . . On the flip side, I adore good and balanced flavor in general, and Country Chef nails that.

Chicken Off the Grill with Country Chef BBQ Sauce

Our quick grilled boneless, skinless chicken breasts with Country Chef original sauce hit the spot before we left and ended up eating a lot of road food and sandwiches on vacation. The chicken really doesn't have a whole lot of flavor plain, but it's healthy. When you add a nice sauce like Country Chef's, then the grilled meal then pops.

What I love about Country Chef sauces is that they do taste like they were made out in the country by someone who cares and knows how to make canned foods. The grilling sauces are excellent, but I think I like them even more as condiments on the table. So, you can consider these great table dips as well. We just did a combo - grilled with the sauce and then added more at the table.

Country Chef Grilling Sauce

It's dark outside, so I can't get a nice shot of the original Country Chef Grilling Sauce. Here is what the jar looks like (for the chipolte), so you can eyeball it know what to look for when you go shopping for tasty barbecue sauce.

Grilled Bacon Wrapped Meatballs with Fischer & Wieser Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

Fischer & Wiser Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce


I have been looking forward to trying out Fischer & Weiser's Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce. Toni sent me out a sample bottle right before I went to the beach. The packaging is really nice, and the sauce looks beautiful through the glass.

Raspberry Barbecue Sauce

It's easier to see what the Fischer & Weiser looks like when I have it poured in the bowl to sauce up some MOINK grilled meatballs. The color is just great, and you can see that the sauce looks home canned with the chunks of raspberry clearly visible.

The smell was great, so I had a quick taste before I started grilling. Wow. This sauce tastes like candy. Honestly, I could have kept eating right out of the jar. But, that would not be a very balanced dinner, so I put on the MOINKs.

MOINKs Ready to Go on the Grill to Slow Smoke

Larry at Barbecue Grail came up with MOINKs which are Moo (hamburger) and OINK (bacon) - hence the name. They are really simple to make. Just buy or make meatballs and wrap a half slice of bacon around. Secure with a toothpick (soak those in water for 20 minutes so they don't burn). Grill or smoke slowly until the meat is close done. Sauce. Finish grilling until the sauce caramelizes.

Sauced Up Barbecue Meatballs with Bacon

I was talking on the phone and ran late getting our meatballs on the grill, but they smoke pretty quickly. They can go right on the grates, but I find it easiest to use my grill wok. With the lid down on the grill at medium heat, the meatballs barbecue even and don't even need turned. On the grates, I usually have to turn them.

Here you can see that I added the Roasted Raspberry Barbecue Sauce to the MOINKs. I used a brush, but I sometimes use tongs and lift and dip each one and then put them back in. Either method works fine.

Grilled Meatballs with Raspberry BBQ Sauce

My son was starving, so he dove right in. I was close behind. We both thought the Fischer & Wieser Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce was great on the MOINKs. The very sweet flavor with only a slight hint of heat went just right with the meats. They were some of the best MOINKs we've had.

This barbecue sauce would be good where you want a nice sweet kick. The MOINKs are excellent, and I'd say the sauce would go very well with chicken and pork too. Frankly, I think it would be good on hot homemade biscuits just out of the oven as well or even ice cream.