Lexington NC Barbecue Festival 2010 - Pigging Out with Pork Lovers

I headed off to the Lexington, North Carolina Barbecue Festival yesterday. It was sunny and in the 70s, so the crowds were thick even at 9 a.m. which is usually a little slower. And, the crowds got thicker from there. I'd have to guess that this is the biggest barbecue festival year since they began the 27 years ago.



The barbecue tents are always super busy. I've read they buy 40 to 50 thousand buns for the chopped pork that is served with slaw as sandwiches - classic North Carolina barbecue. But, the fried food booth was hopping this year as they offered all kinds of strange fried stuff like Oreos, Snickers candy bars, bacon and even butter on a stick and batter deep fried.



Here's deep fried butter. It's a third of a stick of butter. And, I'm just not up to that. Some of my friends got it and said it was great. I'll just take their words for that. I had the bacon on a stick with maple syrup. That was real good - kind of like pancakes with bacon.



Every year they have a great sand art sculpture at the Lexington Barbecue Festival, but I've never seen the artists working on it. This year the sculpture was in progress in front of the Arts Council of Lexington, and the process was really amazing.



Besides Jimmy and my son Eli, I also hung out with Brownkw and SirPorkaLot. If those names sound strange, that's because those are Twitter handles. Yes. I had my first Tweet Up. That's when you meet up with buddies you've made on Twitter. I hang out over at Twitter and talk to a bunch of Twitter peeps. I'm cyndiallison there - no spaces.



We all had barbecue sandwiches of course. What would our barbecue friends think if we went to a barbecue festival and did not have barbecue? And, some of the guys got the curly tail fries which are good too.



I must confess that I got a fried apple pie before I ate lunch. The line for the apple pie booth gets wicked long as the day goes along, so I decided the apples would make it okay for breakfast. I counted it as fruit and did not think about the homemade deep fried wrap.

My Grandma always made the best fried apple pies, so I always look forward to the fried pie booth at the barbecue festival. The fried pies are fabulous. I can't say they are as good as Grandma's, because you just can't say that. They are real close though.



This year they had some fake pork rinds. They are made of whole wheat pasta that they heat to just the right temperature to puff. They really do taste like pork rinds. Could have fooled me, and I've eaten those for years. In any case, we found something healthy at the barbecue festival at "What a Chip."



I also made a new friend at the Barbecue Festival. Here I am with Mr. Pink Pig.

All in all, this was one of the best years ever for the Lexington, NC Barbecue Festival. They had more local booths this time and also some barbecue sauces. The last couple of years had been rainy, and things were slower with fewer things to see and do. This year it was really hopping or maybe I should say oinking in Lexington.

Barbecue Pork Loin with Bacon Weave and Nephews Pumpkin BBQ Sauce

Nephews Pumpkin BBQ Sauce - Yes It is Zippy

Tonight I smoked a pork loin on the Traeger with Nephews pumpkin barbecue sauce. Yes. I did say pumpkin bbq sauce.

Dylan is a home state boy (Raleigh - go NC State). We are buddies on Twitter, and he sent me out some of his barbeuce sauces to try. With it Halloween this weekend, the pumpkin barbecue sauce, of course, caught my eye and imagination.



I had to think on the flavors a bit. The pumpkin barbeuce has pumpkin - well duh of course - and also ghost peppers so some heat. Actually quite a bit of heat. Yes. I did have to taste a spoon of the sauce, and it was fab-u-licious.

Down at the Food Lion, they had pork loins on sale (like half price - yay), and I got to thinking that might be a good match there.

I figured I needed to balance sweet and heat on this one, so here's what I did:

1. I got around 3/4 cup brown sugar with a half loin and sprinkled in a little cinnamon (like 1/2 tsp) and a tad of nutmeg (like 1/4 tsp) and garlic (like 1/4 tsp). Then I rubbed that on the loin. It's not thick. Just a little sugar rub all over and some spots not really looking all covered. Light on rub.

2. I added a bacan weave. I put slices across the narrow way and then did like in and out long ways. It takes a while but is not hard once you get going. Tuck in on the bottom side and serve with the pretty side up - for a hint there.

3. Before I used a turner to put this on the smoker (bottom weave side down), I did sprinkle on some lemon pepper which I love. I went easy on that too. Just a quick dash.

4. I smoked low at around 300 to 350 degress F for about an hour and a half (and turned pretty weave side up around one hour). Temp was 140 F then at 1 1/2 hr, so I sauced with the Nephews Pumpkin BBQ sauce. You could use other sauces, but you won't get this same unique treat.



USDA suggest pork cooked to 160 F. So, I did sauce at 140. Then I waited about 15 minutes or so and checked. I pulled the loin between 150 and 155 F, because I know it continues to cook some once off the smoker, and I do not want bone dry pork. That's just ick.

I let my Nephhews Pumpkin BBQ sauce loin sit there for 20 minutes or so with some aluminum foil also called tin foil in the South loose over the loin. That let the flavors meld and also gave all my peeps time to get back home. We run on a crazy time schedule around here.



This Nephews BBQ Pumpkin sauce pork loin was a home run. The combo of sweet and heat and with a mild loin and flavorful bacon just was spot on. The barbecue smoked loin was thumbs up all round. It was a little kicky (heat) for my mild son, but he just pulled off some of the bacon and sauce to cool his plate down. The medium and hot lovers were in hog heaven. Yeah. It was THAT good. That pumpkin barbecue sauce was amazing, and this recipe showcased it just right.

My Favorite Mustard BBQ Sauce Sam Dog Now on the Market

Sam Dog BBQ Sauce on Chicken

A while back I was telling readers about Sam Dog BBQ sauce. Greg had sent me a home canned jar of his families mustard based barbecue sauce to see what I thought.

North Carolina is vinegar based barbecue sauce country, and I like lots of different sauces. Mustard is down in South Carolina, and I had always liked it okay. But, I'd never had one that knocked my socks off.

Sam Dog Mustard BBQ sauce made a believer out of me though. That is some heap good stuff. It's got that musturd twang, but it's more balanced and complex than other mustard sauces I've tried. Sam Dog has a little sweet flavor plus a nice quiet back bite. It's my top pick yellow mustard barbecue sauce.

I noticed on Twitter yesterday that Greg was rolling out his barbecue sauce. It takes a while to get all that paperwork done and approved. And, today Jeff shot me an email to tell me Same Dog is up and ready. He's on the market, so you can buy Sam Dog BBQ sauce now and see for yourself at Jeff's store.

You heard it first here probably, since Greg sent out a family jar (thanks!) (-: Sam Dog Yellow Dog barbecue sauce is a thumbs up, and now everyone else can check it out too.

Congratulations to Greg and to his family. It takes a huge amount of time and work to develop a great barbecue sauce and then even more time to jump through all the hoops to get it bottled. I'm glad folks do it though, because some of my all time favorite sauces are the small label ones. You can simply taste the heart in the ones that come right from the kitchen.

Mayberry Days 2010 NC State BBQ Championship Smoke Off - Photos

This was one of those wild weekends. I hit the road right from work rather than backtrack and went to the North Carolina barbecue championship sponsored by the NC Pork Council. It was in Mount Airy, NC which is about an hour and half from work and little further from home. This was Mayberry Days weekend, and the state barbecue cook off was sheduled for the little mountain town for 2010.

With papers to grade and articles to write plus covering a big barbecue event, I stayed until around midnight but headed on home. I thought about getting a hotel room but figured they were full on Mayberry Days weekend and also wasn't so keen on getting up at 5 a.m. or so to "purty up" to get back to the barbecue lot.

As luck would have it, I met Fred Parker on Friday night. He's from the area, and he sent me photos of the morning after the early morning judging took place. Gotta love locals who help a girl out. Thanks Fred!



Now this is one pretty smoked pig if I must say so myself, and since I didn't smoke it, then I can. I can't speak to the taste, but I can sure picture eating this one. Yum!



North Carolina barbecue is chopped, so that's another big job on top of the all night smoking. If you get slow smoked NC barbecue, you are getting a labor of love. No one would do all that work if they did not really care about old fashioned slow barbecue smoking.



The pitmasters work with crews. It would be close to impossible to smoke whole hog without some help. Each pig in this contest ran a little over 120 pounds. I do pork shoulders and butts myself (Lexington style barbecue), because I frankly can't lift a whole pig and don't need that much meat smoked up at once usually.



Barbecue is not just a guys' game, although the bulk of the pitmasters are male. Good guys they are! But, many of the teams have female partners, and the winner this year for the 2010 North Carolina barbecue championship title was the lone female pitmaster - Carla Sweet. That's not her in the photo above, but I have an earlier post about Carla taking the NC BBQ champ title.



Here is some North Carolina chopped barbecue. Actually this is an early chop. They keep working the meat with knives until it's cut fine. This is not pulled pork country. It's chopped barbecue and usually served on a white bread bun with slaw and vinegar based barbecue sauce. It's unique to North Carolina, and if you ever visit the state, you ought to check it out. It's quite different from barbecue in other parts of the country, and it's really yummy.

North Carolina State BBQ Championship in Mount Airy, NC

I hung out at the 2010 North Carolina state barbecue championship contest in Mount Airy until about midnight. Pig smoking is an all night affair. I told the barbecue guys to have good smokes and headed back home to do some barbecue writing and to edit photos.

That mobile blogging thing was harder than flipping pigs with the slow load speed up there in the NC mountains. I think I could have walked the 80 or so miles home before photos would have uploaded on site.

Fortunately, I met a Mount Airy local, Fred Parker, and he sent me some barbecue contest photos. So, now you can see a whole hog barbecue contest the morning after.



Wow. Now that's a pretty smoked pig. They definately look tastier in the morning after they are smoked than at night when they are raw pig.



Whole hogs call for big smokers - of course. There were a range of different smokers at the 2010 NC state barbecue championship. Some of them were store bought and others were handmade smokers.



The pitmasters watch those temperatures and check out the meat. There's done and there's ready. It's a talent to get smoked whole hog smoked pork just perfect.




Once the pigs are done, there's a lot of chopping. In North Carolina, barbecue pork is typically chopped (not pulled) and then sauced. When you have top notch pig smokers like at this state championship, the secret and the win can be in the sauce which in vinegar based with various amounts of red (tomato product) depending on whether you are east or west of the North Carolina barbecue divide line.

Mayberry Days 2010 NC Pork Council BBQ Championship - Photos - Night of Smoke

On Friday night I reported live from the North Carolina State BBQ championship sponsored by the North Carolina Pork Council. The official state barbecue contest was held in Mount Airy, NC this year in conjunction with Mayberry Days. The contest rotates year to year.

Here are some more photos from the night of the barbecue smoke off in Mt. Airy.



Before the pigs arrive for smoking, the judges check out the various barbecue booths and judge them for showmanship. As you can see, Elvis was in the house (or parking lot) and apparently the king of rock and roll helped decide the king of pig this year.



Joe Peterson and crew had a booth that I called Pigs on a Blanket. They also had flying pigs overhead as we all found out when the judges stopped by. Peterson took second place in showmanship. Plus, the guys had a bed to nap on during the competition. Now, that's some good thinking there.



There are times to work and times to kick back. These guys were taking it easy here, but they were on their game once the pigs arrived. You take what rest you can get on an all night pig smoke, and yes it does take all night to smoke a whole hog.



Things did not get too out of hand at the overnight barbecue smoke, because duputy Barney Fife was on hand to keep order. He wrote some tickets, but those were for minor infractions like looking guilty of something.



This little girl was loving the barbecue contest and also loving getting her picture made. She was saying cheese, but she was not giving up that pacifier so that I could actually see her cheese smile. Bless her for effort and a first place for making me laugh.

North Carolina 2010 State BBQ Champion - Carla Sweet

Husband and Wife - Larry and Carla Sweet Get Their Pigs Ready to Smoke

One of the men at the North Carolina BBQ Championship Cook Off told me that I didn't look like a pig cooker. He probably did not think Carla Sweet looked like one either. So, the joke is on him. Bless his heart (our Southern snark comment).

The big barbecue boys were down in Mount Airy, NC last night for the NC Mayberry Days BBQ Championship contest. The state contest is sponsored by the NC Pork Council and moves around the state year to year. This time, Mt. Airy got the draw and during their annual event to celebrate the Andy Griffith TV show. Gotta love Andy and the gang and North Carolina barbecue too.



The Sweets were set up front of house or right on the main road there in Mount Airy. They didn't go all fancy with all the pig decorations and stuff. And, in fact, they were real down to earth and quiet. I had to ask one of the other contestants where the husband/wife contestants were set up.

Yep. There they were right in front of me all the time.

You may be thinking they were working together, but they weren't. They were side by side with each entered in the contest.

Husband, Larry, took second place last year at this same North Carolina barbecue competition (which came to a draw and was decided on the blind taste test), so he was definately one to watch. He uses charcoal rather than gas, so he is old school and had a labor intensive night. Props on that.



Anyone who overlooked Carla wasn't keeping up with barbecue news. She'd recently won a big contest with her husband (a master of the sport of barbecue smoking) in the dust.

Well, hey, it could have been a fluke. Carla confesses that's she only smoked seven pigs so far as far as she recalls. In the barbecue circuits, that's really green. So, she probably would not have been the money pick if it had been Las Vegas versus Mount Airy NC (where they don't much go for gambling).



The proof is in the pig, and Carla Sweet went home with the gold as the North Carolina state championship pig smoker.

Those North Carolina barbecue boys are great. They treated me great and fed me fine. But, I must say I'm kind of tickled that the girl trumped 2010 and proved that barbecue isn't all brawn and bluster.

Read all about the NC Barbecue Championship at Yes You Can Grill - my grilling and barbecue web site.

NC Pork Council BBQ State Championship 2010

North Carolina State Championship Pork Smoke Off

I'm reporting now direct from the 2010 North Carolina State Championship BBQ cook off in Mayberry, NC on September 20th. The event is sponsored by the North Carolina Pork Council - NCPC. The BBQ off moves around the state from year to year, and this year the contest is being held in conjuntion with Mayberry Days. Yes. Of course, Mayberry Days is a celebration of Andy Griffith (and this is the 50th year anniversary for that classic TV show that started before I was born).

The BBQ teams are all set up. There are 24 total, and they had to win some competitions to get a spot in the state event. So, we have here 24 of the best pitmasters across the state now waitng for the whole hogs to come in.

One guy to watch this year is Joe Peterson. He has taken the title the barbecue champ title the past two years, and that's a real big deal in barbecue circles. I hunted him up, and he and his wife and friends were just really super nice. They gave me chicken, corn, and beans and some bread pudding like Grandma used to make.


Joe Peterson

Before the smoking got started, the judges went around and checked out the set up displays. You may wonder why judges would go look at the tents and smokers. See one - seen them all. Nope. These guys (and a few girls go all out or maybe I should say hog wild on decking out the work areas).



Everyone was waiting for the meat trucks to show up except for maybe the lady who asked if they shoot the pigs there. Really now, it's in city limits. Of course, there's no pig shooting. The pigs come in on a big truck. They are not frozen either as woman asked. You know how long it takes to thaw a turkey. If the teams had to smoke frozen pigs, we'd be sitting there all week.



I don't do whole hog, because they are heavy. I heard weight numbers in the 120 pound plus range. That's a lot of meat and heavy. All hands were on deck as the teams began getting ready for an all night barbecue pig smoke.



I'll have to get some sleep, but I have more photos and stories. I'll share those after I get some shut eye.

Facebook Photo Collection from NC Barbecue Cook Off

If you'd like to read more about the annual NC Barbecue Cook Off, visit Yes You Can Grill where I talk about my first barbecue contest trip.

Great Grill Gifts Personalized from Red Envelope

Cutting Board with Moat From Red Envelope

Here is my beautiful cutting board from Red Envelope. They have a variety of great gifts for all occasions, but I go to the the grill section and drool. The best part is that these gifts which look great in the photos look even nicer when they arrive.

I'd never heard of Red Envelope, but Jake got in touch and offered to send me something from the line for an honest review. Well, we all know I'm darn honest to a fault, so that is a gamble. I warn folks on that. If the product is not as advertised or a piece of junk, I'm going to tell it. That's only fair to readers who deserve to get what they pay for.

In this case, I thought the cutting board would be terrific for my larger grilled cuts especially with that trench or moat to catch any juices which can be right messy as most folks will know. It's just about to turn barbecue season for those larger cuts. I do some in the summer, but it's flat been too hard for long smokes here in North Carolina. So, I'm going to oil up the wooden cutting board and crank up the smoker real soon. In the meantime, I'm just admiring this well made board that smells real nice too.



If you've not used a wooden cutting board, then know that you do need to season them with oil before using. This one is not seasoned for the photos, because I wanted to get some before I do that. That is repeated every few months depending on the amount of use.

I'll work on a how to article at Yes You Can Grill about seasoning and taking care of wood cooking items.

Also, you want to make sure you do not cross contaminate. Some people use two boards to help on that - one for meats and one for other foods. You can use Clorox for cleaning, but many people worry about that. So, household vinegar full strength is a good option and my favorite.



I'm excited about this really great looking cutting board and know that it will turn heads at parties. Not only is the cutting board really great looking and sturdy, it also has my intitials.

What sets the products at Red Envelope further ahead of many products I check out is that they have personalization. They engrave or burn in your name or initials.

Above you will see that my initials are on this cutting board. Yes. They are CYA. I do not think CYA meant what it means now when my Mom named me, or she had not heard of it. In any case, gotta laugh when your initials spell something funny - even an acronym.

If you are looking for really nice gifts and especially for your favorite griller, be sure to check out Red Envelope. And, no, I don't work for them or get any kick back. I just think have a rocking grill section and grill/barbecue gifts.

Win a Masterbuilt Barbecue Smoker - Giveaway Labor Day 2010

WIN! WIN! WIN!

Masterbuilt Barbecue Smoker Giveaway

Been thinking about making the leap to barbecue smoking? Well, here's your chance with a free Masterbuilt electric bbq smoker.


This 30 inch electric smoker has a window and an inside light, so you can see how the meat is doing without peeking. You get a push button temperature and time control and an easy load wood smoker box to the side.




I've not used this Masterbuilt smoker (and - no - I don't get one or anything else for hosting the giveaway), but I have a Masterbuilt Butterball turkey fryer that I wrote about last year. The fryer is well made and easy to use, and we've enjoyed frying turkeys and boiling Frogmore Stew. So, I'd expect that this would be a solid smoker and loads of fun. If you win, you can let me know!

What's the Catch?

My contests don't come with a catch. I just list several ways to enter and hopefully something for all readers (United States) to get a slip in the bucket. I do need some way to contact you if you win (only). That can be an email or your web site or blog contact or a twitter name that I can look up. I don't collect your information, and the company just asks for the winners address to send the prize. That's it. You really can get something for nothing - easy as that.

Required Entry

To enter, just check out the Masterbuilt outdoor products store and check out the recipes. This gives you a chance to see all the neat stuff they offer including the new smoker and also will get your taste buds cranking with the collection of barbecue recipes. Then, just let me know what recipe you would like to try out if you win the smoker. There is a comment section at the bottom. Fill that in, and you're set.

Contest Newbies - Better Directions

If you've not entered contests before, don't run off. I've had three emails asking exactly how to enter.

1. Click to the Masterbuilt page and find a recipe linked off the front page that catches your eye.

2. Come back here to Barbecue Master, because the contest is actually here and not off the company page.

3. Click on "comments" at the bottom of the post. You will see a colored link with x number of comments. That is the correct link, and the number changes with more entries. When you click that, go to the bottom of the comments pop up box, and you will see the little comment box to type in.

Or, if you came direct (and see the post plus other comments), go all the way to the bottom of the post below the last comment, and you will see a link called "submit a comment." Click that, and you will see the space to leave the message.

4. Fill out the little box with the name of the recipe and also some way to get in touch.

5. Fill out the little combo of numbers and letters that pop up. That just ensures that entries are real people and not robots putting up spam.

6. I check the comments before they go live so that the blog does not have dirty links and so on. So, you won't see your entry at first. I have to be on the computer and press publish, but I do that often.

7. The extra entries below are optional. They just get you more slips in the hat. Just repeat the above if you do any of the extra entries and let me know.

Extra Entries

Once you enter with the Masterbuilt recipe in comments (just the name of your top pick), then here are some additional entries if you like to increase your odds. Again, just let me know in comments about any add on entries to the giveaway.

1. Visit my web site Yes You Can Grill and then let me know what you'd like to see there that I've not posted yet. It's my "baby" and a work in progress.

2. Follow me on twitter - @cyndiallison If you look through my buddy list, you will find a lot of terrific grill folks and barbecue people including national champions. If you already follow me THANKS and let me know. I'll count that. Old friends are great friends!

3. Look over to the right and sign up for email updates here for Barbecue Master. Those are auto through Google, and all you'll get by email will be blog post updates. You'll get other contests, recipes, and reviews about grilling and barbecue that I post from time to time.

4. Share your favorite smoker recipe. I always enjoy doing new dishes on our smoker, and I'm sure other readers do too. You can just put the recpie in the comment section.

5. Tell us about your favorite Masterbuilt moment. It can be any product that you've used before. Mine, as I mentioned, would be with the turkey fryer. I also got to interview John MeLemore (the CEO of Masterbuilt), and that was a blast talking with him and getting to know the faces behind the product.

OK. That gives you 6 possible chances to enter and win a Masterbuilt Barbecue Smoker. So, what are you waiting for? This is an easy contest, and it's a great prize. I'd be excited to win a Masterbuilt smoker myself!

When Will The Winner Be Drawn?

I'll take Masterbuilt Smoker entries through 9 pm EST of Labor Day 9-6-2010 and then have the drawing. I think I'll have my son draw this time. He is an Eagle Scout and won a Carnegie medal for heroism. He's a good kid, and he's easy to find on a Monday night.

Home Stretch

I've been writing down entries and making sure I have all the multi ones in so that everyone gets all the chances possible. Whew! This one has taken more time than I expected, but I sure appreciate all the entries. Thanks so much for visiting and making this, by far, the biggest contest I've had on my blog. And, thanks again to Masterbuilt for sponsoring.



DRUM ROLL

I allowed an extra half hour past time to make sure all entries came in on my slow boat computer, and I went and got my kid who was doing his homework (good him) to draw the name . . .

The winner is: Oshawa Ogre

Well, blow me away! He won a Dean's Dip when my Mom drew several months back. He is one lucky duck. I mean, really, what are the odds that the first to enter would win the draw especially when those slips were jumbled and tossed more times than I can count?

Lord give me the luck of Oshawa Ogre. Amen!

Enter to Win at BBQ Grail Too

Larry is giving away a smoker on Barbecue Grail. So, be sure to enter there too. His contest runs through the 15th of September 2010, so you have a little extra time there.

Giveaway - $20 from Omaha Steaks - Drawing 8-24-2010

Win a $20 Gift Certificate from Omaha Steaks

I go way back with Omaha Steaks. In fact, I don't remember when I first ordered from them, but I do remember that I had my doubts. How could a company send meat to my door and it be good stuff?

I did decide to give it a go and even talked about buying meat online at my Yes You Can Grill site. Since then, I've continued to order from Omaha Steaks, because the products are great, and they are always spot on with delivery - excellent condition and on time.

Earlier this month, I mentioned the Omaha One Hole in One contest for the month of August 2010, and I hope some of my readers are hitting the links and playing the Omaha Steaks games. What fun! Play golf - enter to win meat. Oh yes!

Now, Omaha Steaks has been kind enough to offer a $20 gift card to Barbecue Master blog readers. You can buy what you like which is always nice. But, I would mention that they sent me their filet mignons box, and that was really tender and very nice. Let me also mention that they have Potatoes au Gratin which my boys call potato balls, and they go wild for those. My younger son will almost fight his older brother over these tasty treats. So, you will find all sorts of great foods for the grill or the kitchen at Omaha Steaks.

So - How Do You Enter to Win the $20 GC from Omaha Steaks?

This contest is easy. After all, if you have to spend an hour trying to figure out the contest, you might as well just go out and buy something - right?

For a chance to win $20 from Omaha Steaks, just do one or all of the following and leave me a comment telling me what you did (or email - cyndiallison at gmail.com).

Like Omaha Steaks on Facebook!

Follow Omaha Steaks on Twitter

Tweet: "I am golfing for @omahasteaks - hole in one #OmahaSteaks!"

Again, just do any of the above and drop me a comment. You can do all three for triple entries. Just tell me what you did to enter, so I can put your slip in.

On Tuesday 8-24-2010, I'll round up my Mom for the drawing if she is not off jet setting again. If so, then I get another unbiased person like one of the church ladies to pull the name.

Simple as that. But, you need to give me some way to get in contact if you win. I do not track on my site, so give me a twitter name, email or something, so I can round you up if you win.

*Note - I need a U.S. address with this being a meat delivery company, but feel free to enter and gift a U.S. relative or friend if you're over the country line.

Best of luck!

And the winnner is - Susitravel!

Grill Charms by Leslie Haywood - Barbecue Master Getting Organized

I've known Leslie Haywood for a while now and have an interview with this neat inventor on my Yes You Can Grill site. She came up with the idea of grill charms which are similar to wine charms but go into your foods on the grill to keep track of special grill orders.

It's one thing to have an idea and get something made, and it's another story to be successful getting the word out, and Leslie has done a fabulous job in taking her invention from the drawing board to the porches of home grillers across the nation. So, I have to give a shout out and say, "You go grill charm girl!"



The grill charms come in various sets depending on what you track on your grill (or what you need to). You could, for example, get the steak set and mark the different levels of doneness.

When I won a set of Grill Charms at Oshawa Ogre's Views, News & BBQ's, I was stoked and surprised. Fred and I chat on Twitter. I saw his barbecue grill charms contest and I do some giveaways too, so I usually support other bloggers by entering. I think, probably like many others, that I'll never win. But, there have been several online contests where I have won a prize. So, I'd say, "Be sure to enter!" You never know, and it's fun to get something cool in the mail even if it is all natural toothpaste for children which I am still puzzling over. That showed up in the mail, and I have teens, but we tried it out anyway. Pretty good stuff but kind of random looking in my bathroom with no kids in the house.

The set of grill charms I selected were the spicy or not set. It includes 6 grill charms. There are two hot peppers, two peppers with flames, and two peppers with x over them (mild of course). Here I am the hot Momma, my older son likes his food spiced up but not over the top, and the younger one is mild all the way. So, this means I can mark the meats and not have to keep track of which heat level is where on the grill and then on the serving platter.



Tonight I grilled chicken, and I had a spiced up piece with Stubb's hot barbecue, one with medium, and then two for Eli with KC Masterpiece Bourbon barbecue sauce (mild but bold).

I just pressed the grill charms in. They are about the size of a dime and the back has a little squiggle bar that keeps them secure in the meat or whatever you're grilling.

Then, I put the chicken in the Traeger and worked on some syllabi for classes which start next week. I'd go check and turn the meat now and then but not often (Traeger pellet grills are low maintenance). And, I did not have to think about which one was which on the pellet grill, since they were labeled with the grill charms.



Our chicken turned out great, and there were no questions or mix ups about which ones were which heat level. I gloried in my spicy grilled chicken while Eli chowed down on his mild chicken breasts.

The grill charms cleaned up easy and look brand new even after time in a smoker. I just hand washed them in a little soapy water.

Grill charms would be great gifts for your friends who grill but also a nice treat to pick up for home. It really did make it super easy to keep track of the different sauces and heat levels. And, it's always nice to simplify when possible.

As an added bonus, these also look real neat and impress folks. My son thought they grill charms were great and sends a hug to Leslie (-: for making sure he does not accidentally end up with my spicy hot grilled chicken. We won't tell him that he sent hugs. You know how teen boys are - kind of shy (-:

Cajun Cowboy Seasoning Rub Put Some Zip in Our Grilled Kabob Chicken

Tonight I tried out a new all purpose seasoning called Cajun Cowboy which is rub style when you're talking grilling. This one is from Wyoming and says "western style," although it's a cajun type sprinkle.

Harry (my step dad) is from Wyoming, and he picked up the rub when he and my Mom went out to see his side of the family this summer. Harry's a really great guy, and he thought about me and my grilling when he was on his trip.

This rub is from Riverton so a local product for Harry (or before he moved here when he married my Mom). I've not been out there yet, but I hear Harry and Mom talk about Riverton and all the good folks there. So, I had to look up Hi Mountain Seasoning to find out more about it. It looks like their main product is jerky, but they have other products like the Cajun Cowboy rub.



I tried Cajun Cowboy on kabob grilled chicken. I also had Yanni grilling cheese and green peppers on the Fire Wire kabobs, but I seasoned the various foods in different bowls. There was some blending with the food on kabob wires, but the flavors were distinct with the food marinaded separately.

My younger son is not keen on real hot foods, so I went pretty light on the Cajun Cowboy rub. It smelled great when I opened it, but I could tell it had some kick.

I was real impressed with the chicken. Cajun Cowboy rub does have heat, but it's the pleasant versus the hurting kind of hot. Yum. I went thumbs up from the first bite.

I asked Eli what he thought. This is the test for those who can't handle much heat. He said, "That's real good chicken. Whatever you put on it makes it taste better than regular chicken." He's not a gushy kid, so that's some heap high praise.

I'll have to try out some more Hi Mountain products. This all purpose seasoning can be used on the grill as I did but can also be used with kitchen cooking or on the table like salt or pepper. It's all purpose, but I found it to be an excellent chicken grilling sprinkle. I'd have to agree with Eli that this was some of the best tasting chicken I've grilled, and goodness knows I grill a lot of chicken. Healthy. Tasty. Quick. Inexpensive. And, chicken can be dressed up with easily with various rubs and barbecue sauces.

Grilled Cheese - Yanni Blew Away the Barbecue Master with This Yummy High Melt Temp Cheese

Wow! This Yanni Grilling Cheese is Really GREAT!

I decided to grill a pack of Yanni Grilling Cheese this evening. My son has been off to the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Washington, DC, so I wanted to have an extra special grilled meal this evening to welcome him home.

The Karoun Dairies, Inc. out of California had asked if I'd like to try out a free sample of the cheese. I am often asked about cheese for grilling, and there really are not many companies out there making cheese that will withstand the heat on a grill.

The Yanni Grilling Cheese is a semi-firm white cheese and has kind of a buttery taste. It's made from all natural California milk. No growth hormones or BGH/rBST.



You can eat the Yanni cheese right from the refrigerator, fry it in a skillet, or put it on the grill. No surprise. I put mine on the grill.

Before grilling the Yanni cheese, I rubbed it with Garlic Gold Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette. That's a natural olive oil with seasonings, and it's really tasty - one of my favorite grilling marinades.



I had the grill running close 400 degrees F when I put the Yanni cheese on. The temperature would have been a bit lower though (but not much), since I had to open the grill lid to put the cheese in.

After about 4 or 5 minutes I checked the cheese. It had nice grill lines and was soft but not melting all over the grill. It was easy to flip with tongs. The Yanni Grilling Cheese also, at this point, smelled really good.

With another 4 or 5 minutes, I pulled the cheese off the grill. It came off clean but was soft to the touch with the tongs.



When my son saw the Yanni Grilling Cheese, he asked if it was Greek cheese. He'd been to Greece this summer and said he had some cheese that looked similar to the Yanni cheese I'd just grilled. I told him that it was marketed as being great for Mediterranean dishes with the high melting point.

I like cheese, but I'm more likely to eat a little on a cracker and don't really go wild over cheese. My son - now he's the cheese fanatic. But, he had a kidney stone last year (age 16), so he has to watch milk products. I try to get him special cheese when he splurges. He loves the smoked gouda at Harris Teeter. There's also handmade cheese in the mountains here in North Carolina, but I have to drive up there to get it. Then, there's Yanni where you can check the map and find locations across the U.S.

My son tried the cheese. I asked him how it compared to the cheese in Greece. He is the thoughtful type. He paused for a bit. He said, "That cheese in Greece was really great, but this is better. Maybe it's the grilling. This is really super cheese."

I must say this is the best cheese I've eaten. I skipped the crackers for a change. Yanni cheese was so tasty that I did not want to water down that flavor with anything else. Oh no. I'm going to be spoiled now.

That's OK. A special treat like Yanni cheese is worth it - for sure.

*Note - The next thing I want to try is Yanni cheese on my Fire Wire bendable skewers. I need to decide what to put on there with the cheese. Hum. Maybe some lamb and tomatoes. Any other suggestions?

Win Omaha Steak Products with a Hole in One and Other Fun Contests - August 2010

Score a Hole in One and Free Steaks Too!

For all my barbecue golfing readers, I have great news. Well, it’s great news if you’re good on the links (-: And, if you’re not so great at golfing, well, that’s OK too.

Hole in One Instant Winners – Steak from Omaha Steaks

If you live in the United States and hit a Hole in One at 150 yards or better during the month of August 2010, you win four free Omaha Steaks Filet Mignons from Omaha Steaks. And, I can tell you those are sure yummy. I've written about Omaha Steaks before, and we have always enjoyed grilling with their products.

Just submit your hole in one certificate to Omaha Steaks by:

1. Facebook

2. Email: custserv@omahasteaks.com

3. Snail Mail:
Omaha Steaks10909 John Galt Blvd
P.O. Box 3300
Omaha, NE 68103

OK – You’re Not that GREAT at Golf – No Problem

If your skills at golfing, you’re not likely to hit a hole in one. That’s fine though, because Omaha Steaks has weekly contests for us.

Facebook and Twitter

For Facebook and Twitter followers of Omaha Steaks, there are Friday trivia contest. Just check in between 10 a.m. and 11:59 a.m. CST throughout August 2010. Answer the question, and you’re in the drawing for a great Omaha Steaks prize both on Facebook and Twitter every Monday during the month.

Foursquare

For all the Foursquare fanatics out there, you get an easy entry too. When you head out to the links, just tweet your check in at @OmahaSteaks and mention that you’re “golfing for Omaha Steaks,” and you’re in on the weekly drawing too.

So – What Are You Waiting For?

Here’s a great excuse to head out to the golf course and to win great products from Omaha Steaks. I’ve been grilling Omaha Steaks for years now. I thought buying meat online sounded odd to start with, but they do a great job packing up the products, and we’ve been really happy with our Omaha Steak purchases.

Enter Here at Barbecue Master for $20 on 8-24-2010 with a Giveaway Drawing

Omaha Steaks is also sponsoring a $20 gift certificate for Barbecue Master readers. Just check out the Barbecue Master Omaha Steaks contest and enter by Tuesday August 24, 2010 for a good chance to win!