Game Day Eats Wing Sauce Review - Thumbs Up for Buffalo Wings

I stumbled across Game Day Eats online and bought barbecue sauce and wing sauce. The GameDayEats bbq sauce was fabulous, so I was looking forward to trying the wing sauce.

My hot wings are sinfully delicious (fried and with lots of butter), so I do not make them often now. But, my son just turned 20, so I made buffalo wings for his birthday dinner.

Normally I use Louisiana Hot Sauce with the butter for my wing sauce, but this time I broke out the Game Day Eats wing sauce I had been saving.

Game Day Eats wing sauce comes in canning jars like my Grandma always used, so I popped off the cap. The smell hit me immediately, and I could tell it was going to be a great sauce. Some products - you can just tell. This wing sauce just had that fresh smell with a wonderful hit of heat.

GDE sauce is a bit thicker that the grocery store wing sauces but not so thick that you think you have barbecue sauce. BBQ wings are great too, but they are not hot wings or buffalo wings.

I made up the hot wings like I always do but with the new wing sauce, and they were terrific. Just perfect for a special birthday dinner for my son who is no longer a teenager.

Anyone looking for a fresher and better wing sauce can't go wrong with Game Day Eats. It really is delicious - just like the barbecue sauce I ordered from them. I hope to add both the barbecue sauce and wing sauce to my custom OpenSky grill store where I only pick out the best of the best products on the market. Game Day Eats more than makes the grade.

Best Chicken Hot Wings or Buffalo Wings Recipe Plus Tips

I do my fabulous hot chicken wings inside on the stove. Buffalo wings could be made outside over a gas burner similar to what you use for a turkey fry, but grills do not really provide the heat needed to do a good fry on chicken. And, hot wings or buffalo wings start out with fried chicken - or the really good ones do.



I first cut off the wing tips which really have no meat to speak of and take up too much room in the skillet.

Then I put flour with a little salt and pepper in a brown paper bag and drop the chicken wings in there and shake them up good.

While I am heating up oil in a cast iron skillet which holds heat better and also makes perfect drippings for hot wings, I put the paper bag with the wings in the refrigerator. This helps the flour stick on better.

When the oil is around 350 degrees give or take, I put the wings in to fry. The oil should be hot enough to sizzle but not splattering. So, adjust the heat as needed.

As the chicken wings get done, I put them on a plate covered with paper towels to drain and soak off some of the extra grease. It's not like Southern hot wings are healthy, but there is no reason for them to be drippy greasy either.



Before saucing the wings, I dump out the oil. But, I do not wash the pan or even wipe it out. Those drippings are critical. That is what thickens the sauce and makes the wings really good.



No. Pan drippings do not look yummy, but this is the key to great hot wings. And, cast iron skillets are the best for having great drippings.



I drop the heat on the stove burner or even turn it off and then add butter. I use real butter and use from a half a stick of butter to a full stick depending on how many wings I am making and also on the heat I want on the wings.

Tonight I am going a full stick of butter with really big and meaty wings. This is a base for rather mild wings, unless I add a whole bunch of hot sauce or wing sauce.



Once the butter is melted or close, I add my hot sauce. Most often I use Louisiana hot sauce, but tonight I have some Game Day Eats chicken wing sauce. I love their barbecue sauce, so I wanted to check out their wing sauce. As it turned out, Game Day Eats makes a really great wing sauce. I was impressed as were the boys. This is a homemade tasting sauce and gives a nicer punch to the wings.

I used half the jar of Game Day Eats chicken wing sauce which would be around a cup to the full stick of butter. That makes a mild hot taste.



To heat things up, then go like a half stick of butter and more on the hot sauce.



Once the butter and hot sauce are stirred up, then put the wings back in and roll them around in the sauce. Do a few at a time and put on a platter or in a bowl. Continue until all wings are sauced.



You can also do a mild version and sauce some wings and then add more hot sauce and do the last wings hotter. Just use a different bowl or platter so everyone gets the heat level they expect and like.



Yes. My Southern buffalo wings are as tasty as they look. The boys are always thrilled when I make hot wings. These hot wings were for my son's birthday, and he was really excited that I broke out the cast iron skillet and made one of his favorites.

If you follow all the steps, then you will have great hot wings. Even the little things make a difference on making killer hot wings.

Pork Ribs with Big Butz Barbecue Sauce

I wasn't really planning to grill tonight, but it's such a beautiful day that I could not help myself. Since I have some work to do this evening, I got some pork ribs and put them on the Traeger which is a wood pellet grill. It's really no more difficult to smoke on a Traeger than to bake in the oven.

For the ribs, I went medium heat for an hour and then 1/2 hour on smoke. Now, I have sauced the ribs and will just let them sit on smoke for another hour or roundabouts.

These are small pork rib racks, so they do not take as long as bigger ones.

A good check to see if ribs are done is to get ahold of a bone and tug. The meat should be soft, and the bone ought to be close to pulling out. I guess that's why they call it "fall off the bone" ribs sometimes.



The sauce here is Big Butz. That's some heap good barbecue sauce. This is the original blend which is sweet but with a little kick of heat. Big Butz has hot and extra hot, but I am doing the regular tonight, since the younger son does not like his food too hot. The regular works for him, so it is not super hot. I think few people would find it too hot. I'm a hot freak, but I tone it down depending on who is eating. So, Big Butz original is a nice go-to sauce for any group or occasion.

How to Grill a Ham - Easy and So Yummy!

A lot of folks are scared to grill larger cuts of meat, but hams are (or can be) super easy to grill or smoke. They just take longer, but the wait is worth it. And, you free up the oven for side dishes when you do the ham on the grill.

What Kind of Ham Do You Grill?

You can grill any ham on a grill. But, a pre-cooked ham is going to be easier, since you do not have to worry about actually cooking the ham. An uncooked grilled ham is great too especially if you have plenty of time.

Most families do pre-cooked hams for holidays anyway, so taking that idea, just get your favorite ham that you would usually buy. The one you see in my photo is a Hormel boneless ham. But, I switch around depending on the sales.

What Kind of Grill Do You Use to Cook a Ham Outdoors?

Basically, any grill (other than really small tailgate models) will handle a ham. You can use a charcoal grill like the Weber Kettle which is very popular, a gas grill, or a smoker.


How Do You Set Up to Grill or Smoke a Ham?

With a large piece of meat like a ham, you want indirect heat. Otherwise, you burn the outside and the ham has cold spots in the middle (or uncooked spots if you use an uncooked ham).

To get indirect heat on a grill, offset the heat. With charcoal, just push them over to one side. With gas, heat burners on one side but not the other.

Then, the ham goes on the side that does not have direct heat.

In either case, you grill with the lid down on the grill which is a convection method or rather like baking your ham in the oven. With charcoal grills, you will need to keep vents open to keep some air flow, or the coals will go out. With gas, no worries (unless you run out of gas).

Getting Some Smoke to the Ham

If you use a charcoal grill or a smoker with wood or charcoal, then you get the smoke flavor. With gas, just put some water soaked wood chips in a little aluminum wrap and put that on the grill beside the ham.

Adding Some Flavor to the Grilled Ham

The fun part is seasoning the grilled ham.

You can use the flavor pack and follow the directions, since many hams come with such packs, but I prefer to do my own seasonings and glazes.

I like to start first with just a little seasoning sprinkle like Pig Pen's seasoning which I just added to my OpenSky grill store.

Then, I like to mix some honey, brown sugar, and apple juice. Yes. This is messy. But, it is good. And, no, I do not really measure. I just work up a paste that will rub on. Then, I put some of that on the ham and then often add more off and on as the meat is grilling.

Keeping the Grilled Ham Moist

Depending on the grill temperature and other things, the ham can start to get a bit dry.

To take care of that problem, I just have some apple juice in a spray bottle and spritz the barbecue ham every 20 minutes or so.

How Long Do You Grill a Ham?

It is impossible to give an exact cooking time for a grilled ham, since everyone uses different grills and different types and sizes of hams.

On my Hormel ham above, it went around an hour and half in a Traeger pellet grill. In most cases, my hams stay on the grill or smoker from that time to up to 2 hours. The key really is just to get it heated through for an un-cooked ham. So, if you get your grill anyone close 350 degrees F, then that will give you a general idea.

With dedicated smokers like the Smokey Mountain Bullet which is fabulous, the temperatures are often lower, so more time may be needed to get the meat fully heated. Plan for, at least, two hours. But, you sure get some great smoke flavor.


When the Ham Comes Off the Grill or Smoker

Once I pull a grilled ham off the grill or smoker, I wrap it up in aluminum foil. That keeps it warm and lets the flavors settle in. And, then, I can work on the other parts of the meal.

Big Butz Barbecue Sauce Really is all THAT

I found Big Butz and his barbecue sauce over on Twitter whre you can Twit up with me if you want. And, yes, my Momma did tell me to be careful about those wild and crazy guys out there, but I must say that I have found some rocking and really stand up barbecue people at Twitter - guys and gals too.

Loads of folks were raving about Big Butz que sauces on Twitter. But, I had a backlog of bbq sauces in my refrigerator so had Big Butz BBQ on my list. Finally, I got the stock down enough to order more barbecue sauces this week.



I bought the four pack of Big Butz sauces, since I just could not decide on one. I am bad about that, I must confess. I hate to miss somehthing great - especially when it's a barbecue sauce. So, I got the original Big Butz, hot, extra hot, and the cranberry sauces.

Tonight we had grilled boneless chicken with original Big Butz barbecue sauce. I worked all day, and boneless chicken grills up fast. Also, I like to try chicken for new sauces, since chicken is mild flavored and let's me really taste the barbecue sauce.

When I opened the jar of Big Butz, it smelled so great that I had a taste before I even started grilling. Normally, I first taste sauces actually grilled on food and hot. But, I could not help myself. The sauce did taste as good as it smelled, and I could have just kept eating it with a spoon, but that is so WRONG. I have to watch that kind of stuff, or I would have to buy bigger blue jeans.



The grilled chicken with Big Butts turned out as good as I had heard and as yummy as I was expecting with that cold taste test.

This is a sweeter sauce than my other top picks, but the body on it is excellent. Even though Big Butz is sweet, it has a little zip in the original. It was not too hot for my younger son who can't deal with the heat. Overall, super balance. I would recommend the original Big Butz for anything you generally sauce up and for when you do not know how much heat guests can handle.

I can't wait to try out the hot and extra hot in Big Butz. I am a hot fan but rein it in for family and friends. I loved the original but think turning up the heat would rock my barbecue world. The sweet flavor was spot on and just perfect to contrast with a little heat. I did not add any more heat (so I could comment on the sauce), but I do have the hot and extra hot and suspect those will be my favorites in this line. I also think the cranberry sounds like a good bet.

At this point, I can vouch for Big Butz barbecue sauce original and say it is well worth looking up and buying. I'll check out the hotter versions when I have some hot foodie folks over and check back in on the extra heat.

Ostrich Jerky from the House of Jerky - Yum!

Tonight I had my son pick one of the jerkies from House of Jerky. He had a hard time deciding, but he finally settled on Western Ostrich jerky. He is not the most adventuresome eater, but I think he figured it would be cool to go to school and tell his buds that he ate ostrich.



As with all the House of Jerky products, the ostrich jerky was high quality. Thicker cut and with much more flavor than the jerky that is sold at the grocery store. Also, you can get more interesting flavors as far as the meats (like ostrich) and then more unique spices mixed in.

Ostrich is sweeter tasting and had some soy sauce and teriyaki mixed in with the peppers and other seasonings.

I eat a wide range of foods and have eaten ostrich before - but not ostrich jerky. I enjoyed the heck out of it. I'd rate the beef and ostrich (the two flavors we've tried to far) as equal. Both great.

My son, the meat and potatoes kid, said he'd vote on the pepper beef jerky. He liked the ostrich though and certainly chowed down on it. He said is was real good but just not as good as the beef. So, I'd say folks who eat more traditional foods may want to start out with beef jerky . . . and then check out some of the more exotic jerky flavors. For those who enjoy checking out new foods, ostrich would be a great pick.

Regardless, I don't see how you could go wrong with House of Jerky. A friend told me they had really great products, and he was right. I think I am going to be disappointed with grocery store jerky after trying these homemade tasting jerkies.

Grilled Pork Chops with Game Day Eats BBQ Sauce

This has been a rough week, but I wanted to crank up a grill and have a great dinner. I had some pork chops in the refrigerator and decided to turn on the Traeger and make some chops and sauce them down with Game Day Eats which is one of my favorite barbecue sauces.

I went with the Traeger grill, because it is so easy to use. You just turn it on, and then you chill out. No babysitting. The Traeger pellet grill holds even temperatures, so you just press the on button and select smoke, medium, or high and cook to times like you do with a home stove. It really does not get any easier with outdoor cooking.



I am a barbecue sauce nut. I could go broke with this sauce habit, but I would go broke happy.

Some nights I like to experiment with new barbecue sauces, but tonight I wanted a sure thing. And, I had some Game Day Eats bbq sauce in the refrigerator. There's no way to go wrong with that one. It has enough bite for me but not so much that my mild sauce son turns red in the face and runs for the water faucet.

Really I would say that Game Day Eats barbecue sauce is a super all purpose sauce, since it is robust but not over the top. It is fresh and has a wonderful kick but is not going to freak out any family or friends.



Here is the pork chop I ate tonight - smoked on the Traeger and sauced with Game Day Eats. It was a super easy grill night, since all I did was turn on the smoker and lather on some good sauce. I do more high maintenance meals, but it is hard to beat an easy and sure one especially if you are not clicking on all cylinders.

House of Jerky Rocked My Day with Some Jerky That Tastes Like Homemade

My son brought in the mail today, and he said we had a package from House of Jerky. Now, we love jerky around here, so I was pretty stoked.

I opened up the box and was drooling, but I wanted to wait until this evening to actually try out the jerky. I'm a night person, and I save treats for later in the day.



I did have to check out the jerky though, and there are just so many that they offer at House of Jerky. They have beef jerky which is what I'm most familiar with but also turkey, buffalo, and ostrich jerky.



After spending the morning working and the afternoon shopping, I ripped into the black pepper beef jerky.

Oh man!

This jerky is the real deal. I do buy grocery store jerky, and it is fine. But, some of my family members make homemade jerky, and it is just the BEST. It's like the difference between grocery cake and the ones you make at home. No comparison.

House of Jerky has that thicker cut and the flavor jolt that you get when you make it yourself. Honestly, if someone had just handed me a piece and not shown me the package, I would have sworn this jerky was made by a relative who knows how to rock the jerky.

My son in college loves jerky and especially really great jerky, so I am going to mail him some or save him some. Maybe I better mail that jerky, or I might just accidentally eat it. His birthday is next week, so I think I will make him a care package with gifts and food.

The black pepper beef jerky has a kick. It is not super hot, but it does have some heat. Of course, pepper is going to be hotter. So, if you like spicy foods, go for the pepper. If not, then get ones that do not have the pepper.

Regardless, if you are a jerky fan or if you have never had real jerky, then check out House of Jerky. If you have had homemade jerky, you will find that this jerky is very much like that. If you have never had the real thing, then you are in for a real treat.

Gourmet Barbecue Sauces to Spice Up Your Life - Or Great for Hostess Gifts

I love to find great new barbecue sauces, and Melanie's Big Acres bbq sauces are just divine. Whew. I can't believe I just said "divine" on my blog, but that really does capture these gourmet sauces.

All Natural BBQ Sauces

I always like to see natural barbecue sauces. They just taste better. So, here is what Melanie says about her sauces:

"Absolutely no preservatives, MSG or corn syrup. Only the finest all natural ingredients are selected to bring customers a superior product."

And, yes you can taste the difference. The flavors are just fresh. No after taste and strange stuff like liquid smoke.

Not Your Typical Tomato Sauces

These are gourmet barbecue sauces, so you get much more interesting flavors than just tomato with a little heat.

Melanie has come up with Chipotle Maple BBQ, Chipotle Peanut, Ginger Teriyaki, Mango Peach Chile, Milagro Mole, and Rich & Mild BBQ. Yum. Even the names of the sauces make my mouth water.

Now, sure, I use bbq sauces from the grocery store. Always have some bottles on hand. But, I really love to get the small batch sauces (great ones anyway). Then, when I want a special dinner or have company, I can rock it out with something that stands apart. These bbq sauces definitely fit the bill and add some thrill.

Treat Yourself or Someone Special to Gourmet BBQ Sauce

I have added the complete six pack of Big Acres sauces to Yes You Can Grill OpenSky. That's my little barbecue store where I carry only my very favorite barbecue and grill products.

I like to pop open a bottle of Big Acres sauces every couple of weeks. Also, I find that these elegant and tasty sauce make great hostess gifts. It seems everyone brings wine these days. Then the hostess has to decide if the wine should be served or not. With special barbecue sauce, it's clear that the hostess gift is meant to be enjoyed later when the hostess has a chance to relax after hosting a nice party.



Melanie has some wonderful rub mixes too, and here is some chicken we put on the grill with her rub.

Grilled Mini Bagel Burgers - Cute and Fun

I love bagels and grilled burgers, so I decided to come up with a good recipe combining both.

Full sized bagels are awfully filling. My boys could handle those, but I wanted something a little lighter, so I got the mini bagels. I guess you could say I went with bagel burger sliders.

I made my hand patted burgers but a little smaller, since the little bagels are about three inches across. I did not measure out the meat, but I'd say that I went with a generous 1/4 pound per burger at 80:20 (lean to fat) and keeping in mind that I'd have shrinkage with that fat content.

On the bagels, I just brushed on a little butter. Olive oil would also be fine. I placed the flat part down on the grill just long enough to heat the bagels and to get some grill marks on the inside part of the bread.

My younger son is good at art, and he said, "Wow. Those look like magazine food." They really did turn out cute, and they tasted great.

I'm sure full sized bagels would work fine with this burger bagel recipe, but that would be a whopping big burger. I found the mini sized bagels were just perfect for me, and the boys just got seconds.

How to Grill Hamburgers on Your Barbecue Grill

Make Sure Your Grilled Burgers Turn Out Yummy

My neighbor grilled some hamburgers and wondered why they did not taste like mine.

She started out with pre-formed patties (kind of like McDonalds). She did not marinate the burgers. She cooked them on a gas grill. Since they got done fast, she plopped them in a crock pot with Kraft barbecue sauce.

Well, OK, that is one way to do grilled burgers, but you likely will not be thrilled with your results if this sounds like your method.

I wrote a guide for making great grilled hamburgers at my Yes You Can Grill site. That will give you all the basics for nice juicy barbecue burgers that taste fabulous off the grill.

Over time, I have found that people will do some odd things when grilling and especially hamburgers, so I collected tragic tales and put together a grilled burger trouble shooting guide too. If I missed any grilling disasters that you've had with hamburgers, just let me know, and I'll add to the guide.

Hamburgers really are easy if you know how to grill them, and hamburger meat is inexpensive and often on sale. So, master the burger, and you will have a safe go-to meal on the grill.

If you're looking for a yummy marinade to try out in place of Italian dressing (which is very good), then one of my favorites is Wild n Mild barbecue marinade and sauce which is now back in stock at my OpenSky store. Wild n Mild has a nice sweet taste but with some zip - especially in the Wild version. But, it is not over the top. Even my mild loving son can handle both the Wild n Mild marnades.

Grilled Meatballs Wrapped in Bacon with Wild n Mild BBQ Sauce

MOINK Balls Marinating in Wild n Mild Barbecue Sauce/Marinade

Wild n Mild barbecue sauce is a thin mop style sauce. That just means that it can be brushed on the whole time your're grilling as opposed to tomato based bbq sauces which can only be put on near the end of the grilling time (or the sauce burns). In addition, Wild n Mild can be used as a marinade. So, it is one of the most versatile of my barbecue products.

After I discovered MOINK balls (hamburger wrapped in bacon and smoked) last month, the boys have been wanting those every weekend or more. MOINKs are easy to make but do take about an hour and a half to smoke. Well worth the wait I must say.

The way I made the MOINKs is to roll the burger up and marinate in Wild n Mild barbecue sauce/marinade. That gives the meat some moisture and also a sweet flavor with some kick especially with the wild version of Wild n Mild.

Then I put the meatballs in a grill wok and let them smoke on low heat until the bacon is done which runs right at the hour and a half mark.

I can't buy Wild n Mild around here, so I added them to my OpenSky Yes You Can Grill store. Now I can get Wild n Mild delivered right to my house. And, I can keep the MOINKs rolling off the grill. Yum! They really are delicious.



A lot of people like to dip the MOINK balls in barbecue sauce for the last 10 or 15 minutes of smoking time. Any barbecue sauce is fine. We like to use Chef Hymie Grande which I carry at OpenSky. I was first blown away by the taste of the small batch sauce. When I found out that it had the National Diabetic Seal then I knew I'd be keeping some on hand, since some of my family members are diabetic. I show them the bottle, since this is a sauce you would never guess is healthy. It is THAT good.

Save-A-Lot Foods in Charlotte Officially Open

I headed out to Charlotte, NC to the grand opening of the new Save-A-Lot grocery store at 3033 Freedom Drive. I was invited out as a North Carolina food blogger and was excited, since I don't think I've ever been to a ribbon cutting for a grocery store before. Probably not. I think I would remember that.

The day started off stressy, because I borrowed my son's TomTom, and he had the sound shut off. There is nothing much more useless than a GPS that does not talk to you. I stopped three times to try to fix that including getting help, but all the kids were in school, and none of us older folks could get that figured out.

Since I allowed an hour and a half for an hour trip, I made it about 5 minutes before the grand opening. WHEW! I hate cutting things close like that. Next time, maybe I'll camp out or buy my own TomTom and hide it from the boys, so they do not mess with the settings.

In any case, I made it to the Save-A-Lot - which is always a good thing when folks are looking for you.



The North Carolina Secretary of Commerce, J. Keith Crisco, was one of the special guests at the Save-A-Lot opening. I snagged him for a photo, since I'd promised some of my grill buddies that I would come back with, at least, one photo to post at Grillers Index.

Mr. Crisco is probably wondering who the heck grabbed him for a picture (-: But, he was a great sport. And, now he knows the Barbecue Master was at Save-A-Lot.

During the ceremony, Mr. Crisco noted that it was good to have stores offering low prices including healthy foods like fresh produce. Some of the budget grocery stores are slack on produce and meats, but Save-A-Lot has a nice selection. It's fresh too. I just ate a yellow delicous apple from the store.

Another thing noted by Mr. Crisco is that the new store in Charlotte means 25 more jobs in the area. Since there are six new Save-A-Lot stores in the Carolinas, that means several new openings which is a good thing with a 11% unemployment rate in NC currently.



Another VIP at the opening was the mayor of Charlotte, Michael Foxx. I'd not had a chance to meet him before, and he was very personable.

Mayor Foxx recalled that when he was a kid, his family would have to drive a good ways to a grocery store. The prices in his neighborhood were too high, or the quality was lacking. He was glad to see Save-A-Lot come to the Freedom Drive area of Charlotte, and he proclaimed today as Save-A-Lot Food Day in Charlotte.



I was expecting a traditional ribbon cutting where someone simply cuts a ribbon and declares the store "open." Save-A-Lot made it more fun than that. They had the VIPs roll some really cute little kids around in baskets on a scavenger hunt around the store.

To start off the grocery hunt, they lined up the carts and pushed through an opening day banner. Then, it was all over the store to find the food items on the list. I had to laugh when one little girl told Mr. Crisco that she really thought they needed two loaves of the wheat bread. She is going to grow up to be a savvy shopper I'm sure. And, Mr. Crisco grabbed her a second loaf.



The grand opening of Save-A-Lot was fun. Everyone had a super time - especially the kids. There were large carts perfect for shopping with little ones and with plenty of space to make a big grocery run. The grown ups got earth frinedly Save-A-Lot shopping bags with food samples like cereal, brownie mix, and fresh produce.



If you missed the grand opening, you can still check out Save-A-Lot in the Carolinas and get $5 off $20. Also, sign up for the Save-A-Lot club online. They have recipes and also print off coupons to take to the store. The coupon is good through 4-10-2010. Check out Save-A-Lot early to get extra savings on top of the already super low prices.

Save-A-Lot Grocery Store Ribbon Cutting in Charlotte, NC

Save-A-Lot - New Store in Charlotte, NC

I'm headed to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Save-A-Lot grocery store in Charlotte, NC to blog tomorrow. It is the location at 3033 Freedom Drive. The other new stores are in Kannapolis, Shelby, Fayetteville and Lexington, NC.

Save-A-Lot is new to North Carolina, but they have 1200 stores across 39 states. Save-A-Lot is a low cost grocery store with a focus on low costs with a good selection of fresh produce, dairy products, and fresh meats. As a griller and barbecue person, it is appealing to have the fresh items (and especially meats) at lower prices.


Save-A-Lot Features Fresh Produce at Low Prices

I've not been to a Save-A-Lot discount grocery store before, so I'm excited about checking it out. They emailed and then called to invite me out for the ribbon cutting. I'm impressed that they took the time to look up North Carolina food bloggers (and especially grill/barbecue folks) and to include us in the roll out of the stores. Some companies kind of overlook the online communities.

I was telling my brother, who lives in Dayton, about my plans for tomorrow. He said he shops at Save-A-Lot there in Ohio and that they do have good products and great prices. He entertains a lot, and he watches the budget but likes quality food products, so I was glad to hear that he knows and likes Save-A-Lot.

Another thing I would note is that Save-A-Lot is donating $25,000 to food banks in the local communities where they are opening stores. I notice things like that. Companies used to work hard at being good corporate neighbors. That kind of got lost over the years. It is nice that Save-A-Lot is helping here in North Carolina where many people have lost jobs with Cannon shutting down and Freightliner cutting way back (just for a couple of examples). Also, opening up grocery stores in the state means more jobs which are much needed.


Save-A-Lot Makes a $5000 Donation to Second Harvest Food Bank, Charlotte

I'll scope things out tomorrow at Save-A-Lot. I have my Acer netbook, digital camera, and notebook packed. As always, I'll tell you what I really think. That's why I blog. I like to share solid information whether it be easy-to-follow grill recipes, coupons, reviews or just thoughts from the woman grill cave.

If anyone has thoughts, observations, or tips on Save-A-Lot, be sure to leave a comment. I have my credit card packed too (-: So if you know of anything I should definately add to my grocery list, hit me with it.

Puh-LEEZE Food Lion - Give Your Workers a Break

Most people who read my Barbecue Master blog know that I'm in Food Lion country. Food Lion is where I get most of my meat and foods to cook out on the grill, and the guys in the meat department are very helpful.

Now, Food Lion is doing some "Welcome to your neighborhood Food Lion!" campaign and forcing the cashiers to say that. Holy cow. The first time I walked in the door and a cashier bellowed out WELCOME TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD FOOD LION!, I about tripped over a cart.

Clearly this is a corporate idea. Anyone on the floor would see immediately that yelling greetings at unsuspecting customers is a bad plan. It's just not "normal." Plus, it is distracting when checking out. I'm talking to the cashier, and he or she has to stop and yell at other people coming in the door.

The employees at Food Lion were doing great without corporate intervention. Feeding the employees canned greetings suggests that management does not trust those they hire to use common sense. It also suggests that Food Lion thinks customers are stupid and won't notice that interactions are now scripted.

If the greeting plan wasn't bad enough, I see that the cashiers have been told also to ask if I've noticed the lower price stickers and if I bought anything priced lower. Geez. Yes. I saw the stickers all over the store - very annoying. No. I do not know if I bought any marked "lower prices." There were so many that I tuned them out.

If Food Lion keeps this up, then I'll head on over to Harris Teeter. They do have higher prices, but they do not make the empoyees yell at people coming in the door and do not slap stickers on half the items in the store and have the cashiers ask if I've noticed the stickers.

Dean's Dip Winners - Congrats to the Winners From Barbecue Master and Deans

Momma had gone missing this afternoon, so I hung the prize hat on her doorknob. I called and left a message on her phone, and she pulled the names when she got home from the YMCA and Good Will.



All the winners (5 of them - from my comment section and Twitter) get Dean's Dip coupons for 2 free dips. Those are coupons seeing as how dip does not mail that well if you know what I mean. The winners can pick their own flavors though which is way cool. I especially love the guacamole, and my youngest son says the French Onion Dean's Dip rocks (which it does).

Crank up the band. Toss the confetti. The winners are:

Chilly
oshawaogre
Tom
Kyle
Dave

Now, I'm off to contact winners. Dean's will then send the dip coupons once I get contact info to get those out.

I do have contests from time to time. I do not get paid to do those or anything. Most often I get the product to check out to see if I would want to gift it on Barbecue Master fans. So, I got some Dean's Dips like the winners (2), and I did find Dean's Dip to be yummy.

If you look to the right, you can find a click to follow my blog or that email slot which just gets you any updates of Barbecue Master from Google. I don't track anyone. If you want to get me, just comment or email. In the meantime, keep an eye out. I have grill and barbecue notes, news, and sometimes fun contests too.

MOINK balls - Meatballs Wrapped in Bacon and Smoked - YUM!

I was getting my MOINK on this weekend when the Winter Grillers (group has now disbanded) tossed out a challenge for everyone to try making MOINK balls. First, I had to figure out what the heck are MOINKs. Some of the guys clued me in that they are hamburger balls (moo) wrapped in bacon (oink) for MOINK.

Later on I even found out who came up with MOINK balls. That's Larry at BBQ Grail who has an official MOINK page. And, even though I did not know the history of the official rules, my intuition had me producing a fairly authentic MOINK. The only major difference was that I added cheddar cheese to my smoked hamburger balls.



MOINKS can be made with frozen meatballs, and the originals were. Some folks can't find frozen meatballs. I've never noticed any around here. Other people just prefer scratch on meatballs. So, I rolled up my own meatballs which is easy to do. If using frozen meatballs, do let them thaw beforehand.

I had a pound of 93/7 ground beef. It does not have to be that lean. That's just what was on sale at Food Lion. Also, the bacon adds fat, so this is a case where I can go leaner on a grill or smoke. Normally with grilled burgers, I do 80/20. That's the lean to fat ratio if anyone doesn't know. And, some foods need a bit more fat on the grill to stay moist and not stick.

The kid asked if I could add cheese to the MOINKS. He's a cheese lover. So, I grated one cup of cheddar cheese and mixed that in with the hamburger by hand (smush, smush, smush), and then I rolled up the meatballs. For one pound of meat, I had 18 meatballs all around 1 inch in size.

I marinated my meatballs in Wild n Mild barbecue marinade sauce - one of my all time favorites. It's thin and works as a marinade or bbq sauce. I have to order it online, since Food Lion does not carry Wild n Mild. I hope they do some day soon. If I don't have Wild n Mild on hand, then my easy go-to grilling marinade is Italian dressing (the oily type - not creamy).



The next step was to wrap the MOINK balls in bacon. It takes a half slice of regular breakfast bacon (thin sliced) per MOINK, and I used Carolina Pride. So, that was 9 total slices on the bacon.

With the marinade being sticky and the meat fresh, the bacon clung real well. I considered skipping the toothpicks, but it's nice to have something to hold on to when eating grilled appetizers. So, I did soak some toothpicks and stuck one through each MOINK ball before smoking.



Most people put the MOINK balls right on the grates, and I could have done that. But, I wanted to keep this really easy. Plus, I was smoking rather than grilling. With the indirect heat, I did not need to turn my MOINKs. So, I loaded them up in a grill wok - a vary handy barbecue accessory for small items.

Then I offset the charcoals in my PK grill which is a cast aluminum model that holds heat really well. These can also be grilled over direct heat but should be checked and turned. And, they can go in a traditional smoker with times being very close to what I did with a slow smoke in a grill with offset coals and the lid closed (vents open).

It took an hour and 20 minutes to smoke my MOINK balls. The temperatures outside were low though - upper 30s here in NC. So, I'd say to check them a little earlier than that and keep an eye out if grilling in warmer temperatures.

Also, if you want to add barbecue sauce to the MOINKs, do that the last 10 or 15 minutes of grilling or smoking - less time for grilling and more for smoking. You don't want traditional barbecue sauce (the thick kind) on there for the whole cook, or it will burn. Just sauce close the end, and that works out great.



The guys loved the MOINK balls, and I must say I was pretty proud and impressed with how they turned out. It can be hard to nail a new barbecue or grill recipe the first time, but these were spot on.

If you want a terrific grilled appetizer that is easy to make and tastes wonderful, then MOINKs are just the ticket. They will definately be on our rotation list of favorites on the grill.

Game Day Eats Barbecue Sauce - Excellent on BBQ Ribs

I was playing around over at Twitter and came across Game Day Eats (@gamedayeats) talking about barbecue sauce. I'm always looking for new bbq sauces, so I clicked over to their GameDayEats web site to find the sauces. They have a nice ballgame themed site with lots of information, so it took me a bit to drill down and find their private label sauces, but I found them. I'm like a dog with a bone on things like that.

The sauce came quick and was packed nice. It was in the old fashioned Mason type jars that my Grandma always used, so that was a plus from the get go.

I had to screw off the jar ring and pop the lid open, and this sauce smelled like a winner. It had a rich smell but not too heavy on any one scent. And, yes, I did try a little dab and also found it to be a nice balanced sauce just as it smelled.

It was dark, but I couldn't hold myself back. I cranked up the grill and put on some chicken. I hadn't really planned to grill, but grilled boneless chicken breasts are about as easy to cook for dinner as anything I can think of. So, it was a dinner with Game Day Eats, but the lighting was not good to get photos like I usually do.

The guys thought Game Day Eats was excellent, and so did I. It was not too overpowering on the chicken. And, the balance held through the cooking process. So, the regular blend of Game Day Eats went on my "love it" list and would be a bbq sauce that I would recommend across the board, since it's got a very nice flavor but is not over the top. It would work for any gathering.



Then, last week when we had the big North Carolina snow in (8 inches - wow - a lot for NC), I cranked up the Traeger pellet grill to make a bacon wrapped pork loin. As an after thought, I tossed on some pork ribs I'd had in the freezer. Thought those might be good to have as an appetizer while waiting on the grilled bacon pork loin.

Since the little individual pork ribs were a last minute idea, I didn't marinate or rub them, so I had to think about which of the sauces to use when the ribs got close to done. With thicker sauces, you only put that on the last part of the cooking time. In the case of the Traeger with a low heat smoke, I sauced for the last 15 minutes.

Hum. Decisions. Decisions. I finally grabbed Game Day Eats sauce, since I'd not had that on pork before - only the chicken.



Boy howdy. The ribs were absolutely fabulous even if they were just on the fly. Game Day Eats did them proud. The sauce was great on the chicken, but I liked it even better on the pork ribs. The contrast was perfect. We got the full effect of the smoked ribs plus the robust but not a shock-to-the-system taste of the barbecue sauce. Nailed it.

If you're looking for a delicious all purpose barbecue sauce that tastes great but will not freak out folks who do not venture way off the culinary trail, then Game Day Eats is a great pick. It went over well here with both the mild and the wild crowd. Game Day Eats was just plain yummy and is one of the best ever sauces I've put on my ribs.