BBQ Recipes: Ed Tep's Thai Barbecue Chicken

I came across this recipe for Thai Barbeque Chicken over at Ed Tep's food blog Is It Edible?. It's an interesting take on barbecued chicken with some different flavor profiles. Due to its low sugar content it should work really well in the smoker.

Unfortunately Ed doesn't have a grill or a smoker, so he makes his chicken in the oven. I like his method of baking the chicken and then placing it under the broiler to crisp the skin. Now this recipe, unlike many on the Internet that claim to be barbecue, can actually be turned into real BBQ chicken. All it really needs is a little time in the smoke and fire.

I'm going to make the extreme sacrifice and cook this in my Weber Smokey Mountain just for you. Like Ed, I'll be cooking in in-direct heat first and then grilling the skin at the end. Wish me luck, I'll post the results this weekend.

THAI BARBECUE CHICKEN

3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sherry
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
8 chicken thighs, skin-on

1) In a large ziploc bag, combine all the ingredients except the chicken thighs. Seal and shake until well mixed.

2) Add in the chicken thighs. Seal bag, and shake until chicken is well-coated. Allow chicken to marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4) In a large foil-lined baking pan, place the chicken skin-side down in a single layer.

5) Bake for 25 minutes. Turn chicken thighs over. Bake for an additional 20 minutes.

6) Flip chicken thighs over again so they are skin-side up.

7) Broil the chicken (out 5 inches from the broiler) for 8-10 minutes or until done.

Makes 4 servings.

And before I go, I just want to give a shout out to our friend Lisa over at The Home Sick Texan. Lisa's in Italy right now, so she probably didn't see this, but yesterday's Liz Smith column mentioned her...

"RIGHT OFF the Web site slugged homesicktexan.blogspot.com comes this news: The slogan "Don't Mess With Texas," dreamed up by the Austin advertising agency GSD&M, grabbed top honors recently in the third annual Advertising Week's Most Popular Slogan competition."

It's nice to see Lisa get some unexpected press. Great job!

BBQ Ingredients: Molasses

Let's talk about barbecue. This is a blog about barbeque isn't it? No more soup recipes for awhile, I promise.

Let's spend some time talking about a common ingredient that is found in many BBQ sauces across the county -- Molasses. Do you know the difference between types of molasses? We often hear the term "blackstrap molasses," but what does that mean? "Dark", "Light", "Barbados Molasses"; what is it and which do I use? What does molasses taste like?

Here's some answers. Our friends at Hormel Foods provides us with this great guide to molasses. Enjoy.

Molasses

A thick, strong flavored syrup, produced as a by-product when sugar is refined through several boilings of sugar cane or sugar beets. Molasses is the brown heavy syrupy liquid that remains after the sugar cane or beets have been boiled into a juice and then the sugar crystals are removed. There are basically 3 types of Molasses produced from the refining and boiling process: light, dark and blackstrap Molasses. Some food manufacturers will produce variations of the 3 different types, which are generally lighter in texture and color but sweeter in taste.

Light Molasses are produced from the first boiling. The lighter Molasses, often referred to as "original," "mild" or "Barbados" Molasses, provide a subtle, sweet tasting syrup. It is an ingredient that is commonly added to syrups, baked goods, marinades, rubs, and sauces, or served as a topping for toast and biscuits. It is combined with foods and recipes which benefit from the addition of a mildly sweet product that is more mellow in flavor. This variety produces cookies that may be somewhat softer and breads that are more crusty.

The second boiling produces a darker Molasses, also known as "robust," "full flavored" or "cooking Molasses", that is not as sweet as light Molasses but thicker in texture. The dark Molasses are most often used to flavor sweets, such as fruit cake, ginger snaps, gingerbread, shoefly pie, and Indian pudding. It is also used to flavor baked beans and sauces such as barbecue, meat, soy, spaghetti, or sweet and sour sauce. Light and dark Molasses can generally be used interchangeably.

The third boiling produces the blackstrap Molasses, a very dark and thick solution with a somewhat bitter flavor. This variety of Molasses can be found in natural food stores where it is sold for its nutritional benefits, which have not been fully proven yet. The majority of blackstrap Molasses ultimately become an ingredient for use in the production of livestock feed. However, it is often used as a coloring agent in foods as well as a sweetener for some baked goods, meat and vegetable dishes when blended with light Molasses. Similarly produced is a sugar known as treacle, a Molasses product that is common in Eurpoean areas such as the United Kingdom and like Molasses, is produced as a byproduct or residue of cane refining. It is available as light or dark treacle both of which have the same characteristics as light and dark Molasses.

When a Molasses container identifies the product as "sulphured" or "unsulfured" the terms are used merely to advise which Molasses were refined using sulphur dioxide. Sulfured Molasses are made from young sugar cane, which requires sulfur dioxide during the sugar refining process. As the sulfur becomes mixed into the Molasses solution, a change in flavor occurs, reducing some of rich taste generally provided by Molasses not processed with sulfur dioxide. Unsulfured Molasses are made with more mature raw materials and the juice is clarified as it is processed, producing a higher quality, thicker, sweeter, and better tasting grade of Molasses. Unsulfered Molasses are typically preferred for recipes in order to provide a more pure flavor.

Other types of Molasses are also produced, such as pomegranate Molasses from the sugars in pomegranate juice; sorgum Molasses made from sorgum grain and processed into a syrup; and bead molasses, a Molasses similar to light Molasses, which is commonly used as a flavoring and coloring for many Asian food dishes.

All Molasses should be stored in dry, moderately temperate (50°F to 70°F) areas, away from heat and humidity. Light and dark Molasses can be kept for 1 to 2 years, while blackstrap Molasses stored at room temperature should only be kept for 3 months or less.

Light, Dark, Black Strap and Bead Molasses (I can't really see a difference in the pictures. I guess you have to be there.)

Preparation Tips

To remove molasses more easily from a measuring cup or spoon, coat the inside of the measuring utensil with vegetable oil, which can also occur if a recipe requires the use of oil. Measure the oil first and then leave the measuring utensil coated with the oil and measure the molasses.

To reduce the acidity of molasses when making baked foods, add baking soda to the recipe with a ratio of 1 teaspooon for each cup of molasses.

BBQ Recipes: Roasted Pumpkin Soup

This comes to us from the fine folks at Weber.

Now I don't know about you, but I don't like pumpkin. I don't like pumpkin seeds and I don't like the smell of pumpkin when I cut it up into a Jack-O-Latern. I really don't like the smell when I cook it on a grill!

But many people do, fiercely I've found. My wife craves pumpkin pie this time of year and from what I know her obsession is far from unique. This soup comes close to the flavor of pumpkin pie and adds a mild smokey taste as well.

As you know I have a vegetarian in the house, and I've had to expand the cooking repertorie quite a bit lately. I made this yesterday for him and his vegetarian friends and they were suitably impressed. Personally, I hope my grill recovers quickly from the assault of the orange orb.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

This easy-to-make soup adds bright color and delicious fall flavor to any autumn or holiday feast.

Ingredients:

• 1 3-pound pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup minced onions
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Salt and pepper
• Nutmeg (optional)

Directions:

• Cut top off pumpkin. With a large metal spoon, scrape seeds and stringy fiber's from interior.
• Replace top and place in centre of cooking grate.
• Grill until pumpkin flesh is very soft, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
• Remove from grill and allow to cool.
• Scoop out the pulp with a spoon and reserve.
• In a medium stock-pot, melt the butter over low heat.
• Sweat the onions in the butter for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the wine and simmer until completely reduced.
• Add the pumpkin pulp and the chicken broth; stir well.
• Bring to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the salt and heavy cream and return to a simmer.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with nutmeg, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

BBQ Recipes: Smoked Sausage, Beer and Cheese Soup

After that diversion into that parallel universe, let's get back to some meat. This recipe comes to us from the folks over at About.com.

Smoked Sausage, Beer and Cheese Soup

Smoked Soup? Why not take all those hearty ingredients for your next soup out to the smoker to add that great smoky flavor to it. This rich soup uses smoked sausage, but while you're at it, why not throw in the potatoes too.

I've changed things around to more suit my tastes just a little bit.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound mild sausage or if you like it spicy, get some chorizo or go really crazy and mix it up. Don't get stuck on only pork sausage, this works well with beef, pork or veal sausage.
  
• 12 ounces dark beer (stout if you like it)
• 1 large white potato, chopped
• 1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 cups chicken broth or water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  
• 2 green onions, diced
• 1 cup half and half
• Chopped fresh chives for garnish
  

PREPARATION:

• Smoke the sausage (or heaven forbid, buy smoked sausage).
• In a large pot boil potatoes is in water until they start to get tender.
• Add onions, wine, salt, and sausage.
• Simmer until potatoes are completely tender.
• Add remaining ingredients and simmer until the soup thickens.

BBQ Recipes: BBQ Soup - The Vegetarian Speaks

As some of you may know, my son has recently announced that he has become a vegetarian. I still haven't found the reason for his sudden conversion, but he's sticking to it. To be completely honest, he started out vegan, but he when he was presented with a Junior's cheesecake his abandonment of eggs and dairy suddenly went out the window. I can't say that I blame him for that.

Continuing the soup theme and in honor of my son, here's a vegetarian version of barbecue soup. I know - this has absolutely nothing to do with real barbeque. Humor me won't you?

This recipe comes to us from the folks over at Soy Beginnings.

BBQ Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp Soy Beginnings Oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 3 cups water
• 1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, chopped, with liquid
• 1 Tbs molasses
• 1 Tbs brown sugar
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 can (15 oz) soybeans, drained & rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) garbanzo or pinto or cannellini beans

Directions:

• Heat the Soy Beginnings Oil in a large nonstick pan
• Saute the onion, green pepper and garlic until tender
• Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, cinnamon and cloves; stir to coat
• Add the remaining ingredients and mix well
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for at least 30 minutes
• Puree 2 cups of the soup in a blender and stir back into the pot before serving

Yield: 8 servings

BBQ Recipes: BBQ Soup (?)

The days are getting colder and my cravings for soup are kicking in. They always do around this time of year. It's an obsession that usually lasts until about mid-February when I get fed up with winter.

I found this on the internet this morning. This interesting recipe comes to us from the Department of Agriculture for the state of Colorado. I don't know who Pearl is and Pearl seems not to know the difference between barbecue and grilling, so just assume her barbequed meats are grilled. Let's put aside the pretentions and enjoy the food.

Pearl's BBQ Soup
Pearl Alter, Evans, CO
Servings: Makes 12 or more one cup servings

Ingredients:

• 32 ounces of water
• two 14 ounce cans of beef or chicken broth
• one cup of chopped carrots
• two large stalks of sliced celery
• one small onion (any color)
• Approximately 1/2 cup five on-the- vine tomatoes (diced)
• five red, unpeeled potatoes (diced)
• one leftover bar-b-qued steak or bar-b-qued chicken breast
• four leftover bar-b-qued hamburgers
• five leftover bar-b-qued brats or hot dogs
• one tablespoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Combine water and broth in large cooking pot.
• Add potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion.
• Simmer on medium heat for fifteen minutes.
• Cut up all leftover bar-b-qued meats. Add to pot with all spices.
• Now add the tomatoes and simmer another fifteen-twenty minutes over medium-high heat.

Now enjoy the leftover bar-b-qued stuff you never knew what to do with!

My other food obsession: Soup

I got this in my email the other day and I thought I'd share it with all of you. It's from the Lobel's Culinary Club and it covers just about all the basics of making stocks. Enjoy.

One of cookery’s foundations and a key to individual cooking style is stock making—the source of soups, sauces, and gravies from around the globe.

Having a freezer full of variously flavored stocks can make any dedicated from-scratch cook feel wealthy and prepared for anything.

Basic Terms

• Stock – Slow-simmered broth made from cooking meat, poultry, or seafood with or without vegetables and seasonings in liquid—the base for making soups, sauces, gravies, glaces, and demi-glaces.
• Brown Stock – While most stocks are known by their primary ingredient (chicken, beef, veal, etc.), brown stock is made by combining beef and veal in the stockpot, yielding a highly versatile, deeply golden, and gently flavored brew.
• Glace – The syrupy result of reducing stock to about 10 percent of its original volume through long simmering. A glace contributes concentrated flavor without adding a large volume of liquid to sauces and gravies. Lobel's offers Lamb Glace, Pork Glace, and Roasted Chicken Glace.
• Demi-Glace – Equal parts of brown stock, brown sauce (a.k.a. Sauce Espagnole), brown stock, caramelized mire poix, tomatoes, and sherry. Lobel's offers a Veal Demi-Glace.
• Mire Poix – The fundamental mixture of onions, carrots, and celery that serves as the stock’s aromatic base. White mire poix replaces the carrots in favor of leeks or mushrooms.
• Bouquet Garni – A bundle of fresh and/or dried herbs and seasonings added to the stockpot to add herbal notes to the flavor.

Types of Stock

Generally speaking, stocks can be hearty or clear:

• Hearty stocks are made by roasting or browning meat, poultry, bones, or vegetables before deglazing the pan and adding the contents to the stockpot. Roasting and browning caramelize the ingredients which, in turn, deepens their flavor and intensifies the stock’s color.
• Clear stocks are made by combining uncooked meats or bones and vegetables in the pot. Absolute clarity of the stock is of ultimate importance when making consommé or aspic.

For most soup and sauce applications when the stock is combined with other ingredients, a hearty stock that contains small bits suspended in the liquid are of little concern and, in fact, add to the texture and flavor of the stock, soup, or sauce.

Control the Heat

Of paramount importance in stock making: Initially, stock should be brought to a boil, but only briefly until the surface is skimmed of any foam. After that, do not boil the stock. Lower the heat. Simmer is the keyword—bubbles slowly rising to the surface, not a raging roll of bubbles.

Why should you care? Boiling breaks down fats from the meats, etc., emulsifying them, making them inseparable from the final stock and turning it cloudy. Simmering keeps the fats intact, letting them rise to the surface for skimming or separation later for a sparkling clear result.

Once fats and stock are separated, you can always add some fat back to the clear stock for making soup or in a sauce as a roux—equal parts of fat, oil, or butter and flour cooked to a pasty thickening agent.

Equipment

• Stockpot – These range in size from 5 to 20 quarts and are made from various materials, most often stainless steel or aluminum and should be heavy gauge to withstand high heat needed for browning stock ingredients before adding liquid.
• Colander & Cheesecloth – Together with the colander, cheesecloth is used to strain the stock of solids. Cut a piece of cheesecloth that, when dry, lines the inside of the colander and overhangs by 2 to 3 inches. Dampen the cheesecloth with water and then unfold it to a double thickness to line the colander.
• Potato masher or heavy spoon – Once the stock solids are in the colander (you may have to do this in batches), gather the cheesecloth around the stock solids and press down on them with the masher or spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.
• Skimmer – This long-handled tool with a wide, fine-mesh screen is a life saver.
• Gravy separator – A handy, measuring-cup looking, 2- to 4-cup container with the spout at the bottom used to separate the fat from stock

Ingredients

Although you can opt for fresh whole poultry and meat selections, stock-making is an efficient way to extract every bit of goodness from trimmings and leftovers.

• Parts and cooked parts – When making poultry stock, necks, wings, backs, and gizzards can be used alone or combined with whole poultry or poultry pieces. Do not use poultry livers—they will make the stock bitter.
  
  Fresh bone-in cuts of meat or leftover bones from roasted, grilled, or boiled meats are a good start for stock, particularly if there’s some meat still on them, which can be used later in soup.
  
  
• Bones – Beef, veal, lamb, and pork bones of almost any type, particularly shanks (a cross section of the lower leg) and whole leg bones (lamb, ham, etc.) are stock foundations. Meat and poultry bones contain marrow which, when simmered, is absorbed into the stock giving it body, and it acts as gelatin in cold stock (aspic).

Three Important Steps

Skimming – Within the first 30 to 45 minutes on the heat, the stock will produce a foam that rises to the surface and should be carefully skimmed away. A long-handled skimmer, a large, slotted spoon or a small handheld sieve are the best tools for this task.

Straining – Use the cheesecloth and colander to separate the stock’s solids from the broth.

De-Fatting – Here are some options:

• In batches, pour the stock through a gravy separator.
• After removing the solids, refrigerate the stock until a layer of fat has hardened on the surface, which can then be removed with a spoon or spatula.
• Small bubbles of fat can be removed from the surface of warm stock by dragging the edge of a paper towel over the spot of fat.

I'm back

Well sorta.

I've left this blog empty for far too long in an effort to promote Paul Kirk's School of Pitmaster's class and I've been expending all of my energy on that. I don't think I've ever been as tired in my life as I was at the end of that class. My body's hurting and my brain has been playing major ticks on me and when I have slept, which I don't do much of normally, I've been having all sorts of vivid dreams, and yes I do dream in color. (Can you identify the run on sentence?) If any of you out there know how to interpret dreams, I'd love to talk to you.

The Paul Kirk class was great. It was a lot of fun and I'll be posting pictures and recaps in a future post. I also have some great information for you from a dinner meeting with Adam Byrd over at Men in Aprons and a quick look at Charbroil's new line of grills and accessories.

Restaurant Review: R.U.B.

From the Village Voice:

Best Raunchy Ribs - R.U.B.

I've made a career out of reviling New York barbecues, and made plenty of enemies in the process. Truth be told, little in town matches the kind of wood-intensive smoking you'll find in places like Lockhart, Texas; Lexington, North Carolina; or Owensboro, Kentucky (hometown of pirate Johnny Depp). One of the best we have, though, is R.U.B., which stands for Righteous Urban Barbecue. The 'cue is done in small batches, the sides are better than average, and the moist and hammy pork ribs in their various manifestations are sublime. Just don't spill on any of the cloying barbecue sauce. (Robert Sietsema)

Manhattan
208 West 23rd Street
View Map
Phone: 212-524-4300

And if you want to learn how to make ribs almost as good as those found at R.U.B. check out Paul Kirk's School of Pitmasters this weekend.

BBQ Recipes: Baked Apples

Some new recipes guys from the BBQ chain - Smokey Bones. Smokey Bones is the new, well to me anyway, barbecue chain restaurant from the same folks who have given us Red Lobster. I'm not going to get into a discussion about Smokey Bones barbeque today. Just enjoy these two great side dishes.

SMOKEY BONES BAKED APPLES

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 2 1/2 pounds golden delicious apples
• 1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix both sugars and cinnamon together until thoroughly combined and set aside. Wash, peel and core apples, then cut into 1/2 -inch wedges. Toss apple wedges in sugar and cinnamon mixture and coat apples thoroughly and evenly.

Brush the bottom and sides of a medium casserole dish with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter, then place seasoned apples in dish. Drizzle remaining melted butter over the apples.

Bake apples approximately 30 minutes or until slightly soft. Serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

SMOKEY BONES HONEY PECAN BUTTER

• 1/2 cup pecans, halved
  
• 1 pound unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup clover honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place pecan halves on a cooking tray and bake until toasted, approximately 5 to 8 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Chop cooled pecans. Place pecans and butter in a mixer and blend for three to five minutes using a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, as needed. Blend on low speed adding honey and continue until all ingredients are well mixed.

Place in serving dish or bowl and refrigerate until ready for use. Serve with warm cornbread.

BBQ Class: Chef Paul Kirk chimes in

The Baron's School of Pitmasters is filling up fast. If you haven't sent your check in yet, getta moving! You don't want to get shut out from this.

Here's some words about the class from the Baron of Barbecue himself as he posted on the National BBQ News Forum ...

"This class is set up for the beginner to the true professional, back yard to the chef. The classes I do in the PNW (Pacific North West Barbecue Association) say that this class takes from 3 to 5 years out of trial and error, from backyard or competition. All of the meat is provided, brisket, pork butt, ribs, and chicken, you will develop, make and cook with your own rub, you will make sausage and develop your BBQ sauce on paper and cook all day and have fun with it. -- Chef Paul"

A couple of questions have come up repeatedly about the class, so let me answer them here. Yes, it is rain or shine. The class will run approximately 12 to 13 hours. Yes, you will get to eat what you cook. And finally - NO, this is not a demo class. This class is fully hands on. You trim, prep, season, cook your meat and you tend the fires. At the end of this class, you will be well fed, a better cook, dog tired and have a bunch of leftovers to feed your family. Personally, I can't wait.

BBQ Class: Paul Kirk's School of Pit Masters Sponsored by R.U.B Restaurant

We'd like to invite you to The Baron's School of Pitmasters! - A first for New York City and a benefit for St. Mark Sports Association

Paul Kirk, the legendary Baron of Barbecue, co-owner of NYC's R.U.B. Restaurant, Barbecue Guru, Ambassador of Barbecue, Order of the Magic Mop, Certified Barbecue Judge, Kansas City Barbecue Society Board of Directors, Inductee into the KCBS Barbecue Hall of Flame, Author of numerous cookbooks and 1990 Chef of the Year Greater Kansas City ACF Chapter is coming to New York City to teach the Baron's School of Pitmasters.

• When: Saturday October 21, 2006 - Rain or Shine.
• Where: The Water Taxi Beach, 2nd Street and Borden Ave, Hunter's Point, Long Island City, Queens, New York. WTB is easily accessible from most major highways and public transportation and it has an incredible view of the New York City skyline.
• The What and The Why: This class is suited for the back yard BBQ enthusiast, the seasoned competitor, or those considering opening a BBQ joint (restaurant). The Baron will cover the basics of BBQing Brisket, Pork Butt, Pork Ribs, Chicken, and Sausage. He will also cover fire management, fuels, BBQ rubs and spices, BBQ sauce, contest presentation, among many other subjects.
• How much: $250 per person - THIS CLASS IS LIMITED TO 40 ATTENDEES.
• What do I need to bring: You bring your cooker, fuel, cooking utensils and whatever you'd need to cook outdoors. We supply the rest. (Meat, spices, rubs, etc.)
• How do I get into school: Contact Robert Fernandez aka WhiteTrash BBQ or Matt Fisher aka The Hampton Smoker.

DOWNLOAD YOUR ENTRY FORM TO
THE BARON'S SCHOOL OF PITMASTERS HERE!

Don't miss this historic opportunity to learn with the one of the best. See you there!

R.U.B. BBQ
208 W. 23rd St., 212-524-4300

The phrase “New York barbecue feast” is thought to be an oxymoron, like “Moldovan hamburger festival” or “Wyoming clambake.” Occasionally, however, miracles do occur. That’s our explanation for the dauntingly delicious “Down Home Pig Pick’n,” available for a cool $89.75 at Righteous Urban Barbecue (R.U.B.) in Chelsea. This fat man’s banquet—is there any better way to eat barbecue?—consists of an entire pork butt, rubbed with secret powders (paprika, chile, brown sugar, etc.), then smoked down to its porky essence over many hours. Proper pig pickings are designed for mass consumption, so the butt is served whole, with a blizzard of pickle chips, slices of bread, and four silver tongs for picking off the meat. Use the tongs for a while, then do what we did and begin tugging at the ribbons of hickory-smoked pork with your fingers. If the meal devolves into a free-for-all, don’t worry. In down-home proceedings like this one, going hog-wild is the point.

The St. Mark Sports Association is a Brooklyn based non-sectarian sports program for boys and girls from ages 4-16. We provide children with the opportunity to play and learn competitive basketball, swimming and soft ball. We also offer a girl's cheerleading program. We are part of The Special Olympics, The Jr. NBA, The Jr. WNBA, CYO and The Brooklyn Children's Baseball and Basketball Association. We are a non-profit organization. We do not discriminate. All children living within our neighborhood are welcome into our programs. The St. Mark Sports Association also hosts NYC's only NEBS sanctioned barbeque related event each spring Grillin' on the Bay. Thank you for your support.

Feeling Snarky

It's that time again, let's take a trip into the culinary world of "Barbeque Recipes." This recipe comes to us from our friends at Quad-Cities Online and is the creation of Jerry Christiansen of Bettendorf.

This recipe makes me think it was developed for a day care that was trying to jazz up it's menu by adding something exotic that unsuspecting little children would eat and another culinary barbecue bastard was born. This recipe turns my stomach.

Now I don't know Jerry, but come on my friend. How can you possibly call this barbecue when the food never even sees a flame? I' m not picking on you sir, it's just so many people make this mistake.

But to your food editors at Quad-Cities Online, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You should know better. Just because a recipe has the word barbecue in one of the ingredients, does not make it barbeque. I guess if I add French dressing to some canned tuna I've just mastered the art of French cooking.

Jerry's Barbecue

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 pound hot dogs, sliced
• 1 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 heaping teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with water to form paste
• Hamburger buns
• Cheese slices

Instructions

Place ground beef in microwave-proof bowl and cook at high power until no pink remains, breaking up into pieces every few minutes. Mix in hot dogs, barbecue sauce, relish, brown sugar and cornstarch to thicken slightly. Cook until heated through. Serve on warmed buns and top with a cheese slice.

Repeat after me "Barbecue sauce does not equal barbecue."

Sometimes you just gotta laugh. Forgive me. I'll be in a better mood tomorrow.

Blogging in the night

October's here and so's my first fall cold. I spent most of the day curled up in a down comforter. Nothing new to report. Over the weekend we spent Saturday exploring Red Hook and the Brooklyn waterfront. Unfortunately we forgot to put batteries in the camera, but the view of Manhattan and the civil war era buildings was/is just incredible.

However, if you are thinking about attending the Paul Kirk School of Pitmasters that I announced earlier, drop me a line quickly! The response has been great considering the post has only been up a couple of days. Even if you don't have your own pit, don't let that stop you from taking the class, we will be able to supply some. I think we're going to sell out on this one. Don't miss out.

Burning Net: Barbecue Forums

I just wanted to take a few minutes tonight and point out some of the barbeque forums available over the internet. By no means is this a complete list, but here's some of the better ones. I'm a member of a bunch of them and have learned something from all of them and you will too. EDIT: By the time I got to the end of this post, I realized that there are a couple of more that I want to bring to your attention, which I will do in a future post. For today, enjoy all of these.

The first BBQ forum I want to tell you about is the HomeBBQ Forum. The Home BBQ Forum is run by Kevin Bevington and his wife and provides all sorts of great information, gear, and some of the best bbq sauce and rubs I've ever tasted. Home BBQ is for every type of barbequer out there, from the weeknight gas jockey to the weekend stick burner to the competitor. Be sure to check it out.

Another forum that I visit is the Big Green Egg Forum, also known as Club Egg. Club Egg according to their website is "the place for EGGsperts, 'newbies,' and interested visitors to ask questions, and to share recipes, information and EGGsperiences." While this forum is comprised primarily of Big Green Egg owners, it counts amongst it's members the legendary Dr. BBQ (Ray Lampe) and the competition team of Dizzy Pig. Hang out with these "EGGsperts" and you'll be learning a lot about the art of low and slow.

A forum that is primarily populated by Klose Pit owners is "Pit Talk." That's not a surprise as this forum is hosted by Dave Klose and Klose BBQ Pits. Loyal readers of this blog will remember that I've talked about cooking on a Klose pit many times over the years. Many people feel that this pit is the "Rolls Royce" of cookers, and it's hard to argue with that assessment; Dave's Backyard Chef is legendary. This is the pit that I've used with Phil, Steve, George, Greg and QZar when cooking in the competitions in the North East. This is the pit that Matt of the Hampton Smoker keeps at his home. It's that good. Pit Talk is another great place to spend some time.

Another forum hosted by a cooker manufacturer is the Kamado Forum. A Kamado, I know you've probably never heard of Kamado cookers. I know I didn't until I got seriously involved in barbeque. They're probably the best looking cooker on the market. They are a ceramic based cooker available in gas, electric or charcoal burning models. Astute readers of this blog will remember that I picked up a vintage 1960's model last year.

I save the best for last. And finally, let me remind all of you of a forum that is near and dear to my heart, The BBQ-Brethren. If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you're familiar with The BBQ-Brethren. This forum is unique amongst the BBQ forums in that it's chock full of information for every type of cook and cooker on the market. Everything is done with a sense of humor at the Brethren. It's the only forum where I post regularly and spend a lot of time.

The guys on the BBQ-Brethren are my brothers in smoke. Unlike most of the other forums, this group of posters has become a second family to me. I've cooked with various brothers. Gotten drunk with others and hung out in their restaurants. I've grieved and celebrated with my brothers, even the ones I've only met on the internet. Go check them out. If you're like me, you'll be staying a while.