To Kabob or Not To Kebab ...sheesh...

Pic Source ForkinitBlog

History of Kabobs

What a crazy question. Kabobs, oh yeah. Do you know I found out that from this article  they claim Christopher Columbus did attribute Kabobs to the Portuguese (though they claim kebabs are originally of Turkish descent)? I don't care who takes the credit for them--it was a mighty fine idea putting a bunch of veggies and scraps of things on a stick and grilling the crap out of it don't you think?

I don't know if you remember that I told you before when I visited Whaling City, Massachusetts for the annual festival in the Portuguese community they told me pit beef in their culture was supposed to be small chunks of beef on the kabob stick, not the giant ass hunks I had on my grill to slice with a meat slicer (which they really didn't like one bit.)  Lucky for me although I didn't sell much beef that week, but I sure did have a great time hanging out with Chef Scott Boland from Smithfield.


Cons of Kabobs: With Solution

The one thing that urks me is the wooden sticks. I can't tell you how many times they have splintered in my mouth, even when soaking them first to make sure they won't.  So I use these stainless steel shish kabob skewers .Your kabobs won't spin on this stick! Made of stainless steel these side skewers will last a lifetime. Check out their blog for some great recipes too!

Pros of Kabobs:  Outweigh the Cons

The great thing about Kabobs is there aren't any rules. You can stick whatever the hell you want on that stick and grill it and feel like a very accomplished pitmaster. There's nothing like beef, shrimp or chicken kabobs done over a hickory hardwood slathered with (grilling tip->) your barbecue sauce and cherry tomatoes on top added at the very last minute!  Most kabobs are healthy mixes of meat and veggies, and may be considered a healthy alternative!


What are your thoughts on kabobs? Let me know.....@BigFatDaddys on twitter.

Barbecue Party Grilling Tips and Party Hints

Soon we will be grilling it up at our own shindig.

Party Time
This year we are planning our first annual barbecue party for our closest friends and family. At the end of our busy season, we want to kick back and relax at the farm compound with a band, some good old fashioned pork BBQ, great contests, and maybe even play some football or have a backyard cookoff. A lot of people write in and ask for Grilling Tips for a home party, never knowing how much food to order.

Home Party Grilling Tips
In my experience, when the average cookout only lasts a few hours, people on average, eat six to seven ounces of meat each. The reason being, they will make a decent size (maybe even heaping) sandwich the first time through the party line, which consists of a roll or bread, grab some side items, a drink, and snacks. Now, if they are big eaters, they maybe come back through to the food once. You have to factor in the some will eat more, some will eat less rule.  If you have burgers, pit beef, and hot dogs, you don't necessarily have to figure in one of each per person.  We also find that when people consume alcohol, they generally eat less.  Now this will change if you have an all day into the night party,  you had better grill for the masses.  They will be eating grub with you all day long.

Party Mayhem
Now my wife stresses over the tiny details and has found these great five things I wanted to share with you.

These cow ice trays are only $3.69 each at LovelyMold on Etsy.

1. Cow or Bull Ice Cube Trays 
The first thing is the ice cube trays as pictures above.  These take the cake. My wife is going to be busy for a month making tiny ice cows and bulls with silicone molds (above) in the shape of little cows.  We listed these first because you can only make four at a time, so get freezing.

Thanks to Sweet Magnolia Design on Etsy for having such kick ass invitations.

2. Invitations
A good old country BBQ invitation is a great way to make a good first impression. Now my wife is an artist so she did up her own but if we hadn't, we would have gotten these off Etsy at Sweet Magnolia Design. They can personalize them just the way you want them.  Hell Yeah.

Source: cake-links.com via Cindy on Pinterest

3. Sweet Treats to Eat 

You have to make a cake, in fact there are plenty of recipes where people are making hickory maple cakes or adding in barbecue sauce now to get a really cool flavor. For our barbecue party we may go with a cow cake, a state of Texas cake since we sell big ass Texas Beef, or maybe just a bunch of little cupcakes with cool toppers like the ones we found over at  Cake Links, the cake decorating supplies specialist .  These folks are out of Christchurch!

They stock Cake Decorating tools and equipment, including Cake Toppers, Icing Cutters, Sugarpaste, Modelling Paste, Modelling Tools, Cupcake Decorations, Boards, Boxes and Ribbon. Basically everything you would expect in a cake makers aladin's cave and more! They pride ourselves on offering a first class service to all our many customers. They  have a fantastic product range which they are always adding new innovations, and trends!

Patty out of Illinois on Etsy makes these for just $12 at alpacapatty

4. Costumes and Fun Stuff

What a great way to embarrass your friends or wait til a few beers kick in and dress up like pigs and cows. Oh yeah, have to have some costumes and mascots going on at the farm party.  If you don't feel like getting a Halloween costume and dressing like a pig or cow, have your old faithful bff do it.

Thank heavens for Little Dog Fashion on Etsy, where we can let the costume task go to the dogs!

Of course I'm not talking hubby or wife, but the family dog.  We've seen everything from three little pigs costumes for your dog to a bull mascot.  If your little buddy can handle it let him run around and spread some piggy or cow love and cheer at your barbecue party.

Signs are essential. Go to TrueConnection on Etsy to see more!

5.  Signs and Decorations
What would a party be without signs and decorations? If you don't feel like making them yourself, here are plenty places to buy them. Signs like the one above can be used for just about any party.   They don't have to cost a lot but they are essential to your party!

Grilling With Liam Bacon Wrapped Chicken Part 2

Liam Sean O'Sullivan uses an electric smoker but his recipes can be used on any smoker.

It's been awhile since we featured Part One of Liam's Grilling Tips, featuring his scrumptious pork that used an Electric Meat Smoker .  Liam Sean O'Sullivan smokes it up in Central Illinois. His recipes are out of this world and not to mention healthy! We can apply his recipes to any regular grill smoker! 

Liam's Bacon Wrapped Chicken Recipe
Courtesy of Liam Sean O'Sullivan

Liam's Bacon Wrapped Chicken is Delicious and Nutritious!

Liam's top secret recipes looks more complicated than it is.  He uses chicken breasts and if you look closely adds a bit of seasoning (which includes red pepper).  A bit of dry rub wouldn't hurt either!  Liam wraps them lovingly with farm raised bacon (you can go up to 3 slices thick), and garnishes the toothpicks with sweet peppers. 

Total cooking time he says is about 2.5 hours, and slathering with your favorite BBQ Sauce before, during or after is optional.  Make sure to read about Liam's other meals under Part One here if you haven't already.

Eat Healthy!

Poultry is a healthy alternative when grilling.  Here is a great book on Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes. We also recommend eating lots of fruits and vegetables throughout your day to balance those big meaty meals you have too.   The web is full of healthy recipes and low fat alternatives, for something totally different yet super yummy go to healthy food recipes.  We made a very scrumptious Thai Mango Salad.
 

Grilling Fruit and Vegetables Recipes and Tips

Grilling peaches is an art. Here they are on my pit.

The Art of Grilling Fruits and Veggies

Grilling fruits and vegetables can be as much of a learning experience as grilling beef, pork, poultry or fish. People think I am crazy because I put just as much time into grilling my veggies and fruits than I do my meats.  Mainly I look at these items as a side item and a lot of time a form of a healthier dessert option. I wanted to tell you a few tips for grilling fruits and veggies if you are a beginner, and maybe bring a few things to your attention if you are not.

Fruits

Certain fruits handle the heat better than most. Nothing like a fine grilled fruit to finish off your meal.  Some of my favorite fruits to grill on the direct grill are apples, peaches and pears.

Apples, Peaches and Pears

For apples, I love to core the apple, slice large round layers and cover in butter and cinnamon then grill.  Sometimes I leave the skin on but this is optional.   Peaches I've been known to grill in the skin and add some maple syrup on top.  This foodie site, http://www.grilledpeaches.net has a lot of information on grilled peaches.  Nothing like a fresh warm peach hot off the smoker.  Pears I've been experimenting with and find you can really add any taste you want to them.  Wife prefers brown sugar on them.

Hot Sweet Berry Mess

For other fruits like blackberries, raspberries and blueberries, I've been known to put them in a pocket of aluminum foil with a tiny pinch of butter and grill them good. This will half bake them and they will become runny. Nothing like  adding this warm messy mix of berries on top your pie or ice cream.  Yummy.

Grilling Limes and Oranges

Just for fun we cut some limes and oranges and grilled them up. These don't take long, and you must keep in large round slices with rind on or they will fall through the grates. A few slices of each makes a tasty treat and garnish on a pie, cup of sherbert or ice cream.

One of my fair signs, selling grilled corn is a big hit.

Grilling Corn

We grill our corn right in the husk, turning often.  If you are grilling meat, cook your corn on the side but if your corn is done prior to your meat, put your husk up on top your meat like we did here. You are going to remove the husk anyways and your goal is to keep the corn off indirect heat so it doesn't dry out once it's done.

The best way to find out if your corn is done is to squeeze it. If the corn feels hard to the touch, it's not done. If the corn is softer to the touch, it's done.

Be careful removing the husk because it will be hotter than hell's bells and the steam can burn you.  Now we coat in butter and Old Bay Seasoning, this is a Maryland specialty. We sell a lot of this on the road. Grilling on an open pit makes it taste altogether different.


Tomato, Pepper and Onion Pockets

Certain veggies are not your friend, take for instance the almighty tomato. If you are grilling this for a kabob, add within the last few minutes or they will become mushy and fall apart. Now, you can use some aluminum foil and make a pocket with green pepper slices, white onion slices and cut tomatoes.  Add some seasoning of choice and within 40 minutes turning several times you will have a nice grilled medley. We use Italian seasoning if we are in the mood for Italian style, sometimes adding extra basil and garlic to the mix.  If you put two to three teaspoons of Italian dressing this will usually give it a good flavor without using the dry herbs. We've also been known to season it only with butter and our dry rub seasoning for a grilled flavor.

Crookneck has a very hard skin, so cut long ways and grill skin side down at first.

Squash and Zucchini

We grill squash all the time. In fact, there's a few ways to do it.  The best way for crookneck or any kind of squash with a hard skin, is to cut the squash horizontally into long layers and grill on the open flame. We like to cut some of the seeds out but this is optional. Turn occasionally and about 3/4 of the way, turn to the skin side and finish grilling, coating your squash with butter, salt and pepper. Some like to add their own spices at this point.

Don't get me wrong, squash doesn't really have a lot of flavor, so its' one of those foods you can add your own flavor too. We find maple syrup makes any kind of squash taste like a dream.

Zucchini squash can be cut in slices and put into an aluminum foil pocket with butter and cinnamon and a pinch of brown sugar for the tastiest dessert ever.

What do you grill? 

Share your grilled fruit or veggie pictures with me by tweeting to @BigFatDaddys and I may just use your photo right here!

KCBS Barbeque Competition Jitters and Grilling Tips

It is true, even after all these years I'm camera shy.

The First Competition Jitters

People have asked me why, if I'm a lifetime member of the KCBS, I don't compete? Truth be told I've been grilling my way (or the highway) for 30 years (prior to the conception of the KCBS) but that's not really why.  I hate being on camera and hate doing interviews, because I'm really a private person, but that's not really why.

The reason is my livelihood is selling and serving food at most of these events. It is my career. It takes me a long time to prep, get ready and make sure I have enough of my texas beef, pork barbecue and turkey legs to serve the public when they come to eat.  I am, by trade, a food vendor.  The problem simply is time. 

BBQ Competing is True Dedication

I am sure any BBQ Team will tell you the extraordinary the amount of time and painstaking grilling, flipping and prepping that goes into competition barbecue. I know because most of my friends and pals do it all the time. Watching the pork butt, turning it here, turning it there.  If you don't keep an eye on things, your stuff will burn to hell, or dry out.  I don't want to put out a half ass entry. I want to be able to dedicate my whole damn day to it.

Truth be told, it's not about the money, but about the product. I want my meat to be mouth-watering, scrumptious, and yummy.   So I'm here to announce that I have the competition jitters. This weekend, I'll be competing for the very first time, (solely thanks to Scott Walker at the Bel Air Downtown Alliance) in my hometown, while trying to cook and serve my food to the masses.  This is going to be serious pressure for me, and I will have the Monsters on Hand and my wife on speed dial just in case I have a nervous breakdown. I keep having nightmares that I'm busy flipping turkey legs to sell to the public and my competition pork butt is burnt to hell.  Don't want that big DQ on my chart.

Eric Sessions, Professional Competitor and Owner of South Carolina BBQ

Friends in the KCBS

So to my rescue came one of my best KCBS pals to hug me and tell me "It's going to be all right Big Fat Daddy. " Hey, even a real big man needs a hug once in awhile from his friends.  Special thanks to Eric Sessions, of South Carolina BBQ for giving me some pointers.  Here is what he had to say:

• Don't stress, just go with it!
• Cook that pork low and slow. 
• Presentation is key. 
• Don't use anything in your presentation that may throw off the taste of the meat. 
• Don't get one blemish on that container or you are looking at a Big Fat DQ.
• Sleep in your car using the car phone to wake you every two hours to flip your pork.
• Prepare to sleep all day Sunday. 
• You can be first place this time, and last place next time. You will never know it all, or master it all, so just have fun with it. 

I will feature Eric soon on this blog.  In the meantime, I'm getting some zzzz's now since I won't be sleeping at all this weekend. Instead of sheep I will be counting briskets...

Competition Update: We basically sucked. I did manage to beat my pal Eric in one category, but Competition grilling is a lot different than grilling for the masses for lunch. One day you are #1 the next #55. OUCH. Definitely is an art to master. For starters, I did not know I could use bbq sauce on my pork that could have helped me a bit. Woopsie. Got in trouble and points deducted for my ribs falling sweetly off the bone.  Love 'em that way darnit. Bottom line, it's not how you like to eat something, or how you are used to making it, they have rules, standards, specifications. Better read 'em before you go into it blindly. So if you think you are #1 take a step back and enter a BBQ competition. It's not as easy as it looks. Hats off to my fellow BBQ Teams. This fallen pitmaster's going to take a moment of reflection, then get back up on the horse and ride.

The Perfect Baby Back Ribs : Part One

I'm going to show you how to make the perfect baby back ribs.

I'm going to share my recipe for the perfect Baby Back ribs. This is going to be a two part picture instruction series, the second, giving a full meal recipe of my Baby Back Ribs.  You'll have to wait for part two to get the recipe for the sides of Summer Maple Squash, and Angus Mac-n-Cheese.  Yum.   I have to tell you, the key to perfect ribs is cooking them LOW and SLOW.  Sort of why I chose to cook them on my vacation, I'm not in a hurry. I have no where to go.  So let's get started.


Step One:  Marinate the Night Before.

For this project, I cut the ribs into small racks and marinated them overnight in one of those aluminum turkey pans you get in the grocery store. I find they are long and low and can fit a bunch of baby backs in your fridge for overnight marination. Be careful not to puncture it or you will have a bloody mess to say the least.  For this recipe, I marinated with a blend of:

• Dry Rub Seasoning  or throw your own dry spice together. (Make sure to include  Season Salt, Parsley, Garlic Salt, Paprika, Basil)
  
• Thin white onion slices
• Add Crushed Garlic to Suit

 
Step Two:  The Next Day: It's Cooking Time. Get in the Lo-N-Slow Cooking Zone.

Cooking the perfect ribs takes time, so you should get yourself into the mood where you have all the time in the world.

Step Three:  Choosing the Right Grill and Smoking Wood

For this project I am using a vintage Weber full size vintage grill. It's something my wife's family cooked on when she was a child. I think it's circa 1977. Whatever the case, it's in great shape even though it's been sitting outside all these years. For this I am using planked hickory wood. It has been split and dried out. I should add that I spritzed it down with apple juice repeatedly until the juice soaked into the wood and dried.  I also am using some charcoal, but the plank wood will give it a nice flavor. Covered, with hood vent 3/4 open.

Step Four:  Get 'em On.

This is what they look like when they first go on. Note I've cut them into six or eight bones,  my dry rub is spread out and the onions all over.  The plank wood is atop the slow burning charcoal to give a smoke. The key here is that your ribs should cook about five hours. Low and Slow, maybe temping the grill about 225 degrees.  Low and slow. 

Step Five:  Be Patient and Check Often. Flip Occasionally.

You are going to have to have some patience as it will take some time cooking this low and slow to really see things happen. I often temp my grill as this is an older model and I want to make sure I'm at least 225-250 degrees. Don't want any little critters getting in my intestines from undercooked pork !  While these were cooking I fed some ducks, broke out the four wheeler and drank some Natty Boh's.

Step Six:  Refurbishing Your Fire. Plank This.

It is important when cooking for such a long time that you have a way to remove the ribs, and stoke up your fire. If you can see, the planks will sometimes smother out the charcoal if not placed properly.  In addition, the charcoal itself isn't really designed to last a full five hours, so you will have to stir, stoke and add fresh about half way thorough. Oh yeah, love me some ribs.


Step Seven:  The Debate.

Now at this point the ribs are temping well over 165 degrees.  Most people would take 'em off at this point and chow down,  and that is just fine if you want to do this.  If you'll notice the plank wood has well been burnt up into smithereens, and the charcoal is down to only a low heat. 

 If you break into them, you will see the meat is fully cooked, there is a bit of a pink smoke ring around the outside (that's flavor folks!)I like to keep them on a bit longer, until when I touch the with my tongs, they want to fall apart. To me ribs should melt in your mouth and you shouldn't have to pull them apart.  It has been five hours in.  I stoked up the coals and let 'em ride another 20 minutes, but that's just me.

Step Eight: The Lather Up and Throwdown. 

Do I really have to explain this? I smother mine in BBQ sauce right before eating, and throw them down with some great smokin' sides. In Part Two I will show you my actual meal and give you my top secret recipe.   For now I have to go suck some sauce off my fingers.  For this meal, I used Sweet Baby Ray's.  Even though I have my own sauce I use for everything, I still love eating everyone else's. 

GO TO PART TWO


=====================

Beef Does a Body Good Grilling Tips

Got beef?

Beef and The Body

Meat and potatoes. Or just meat. This was the food of our ancestors. There is so much stank put on the beef industry due to their use of growth hormones in fertilizer and feed, some accused of injecting the animals themselves, or the monopolies they once placed on beef, that we have some forgotten just what it is that beef does for our bodies.

I've made a living selling beef. It is a product I believe in.

Beef does a body good.  Makes us strong. Muscles.  Oh yeah, that's why I'm supporting the first annual Atlas Classic Bodybuilding Show and talking about beef and protein! Nutritionally speaking, it contains protein and iron which are essential, in fact, recently it was noted that Top Round, Eye Round and Bottom Round (which I use) came out on top of the 12 Skinniest Cuts of Meat list.  They also claim you have to eat a crapload of Tuna to get the same nutrients in 3 oz of beef.  Read about it here in Beef Bytes.

You can read how to make these beef tips recipe here.

Choose Your Meat Wisely

Now what type of beef you eat or buy is up to you and this is where it gets dicey. If you go to the grocery store with a few bucks in your pocket chances are you are going to get yourself some crappy ass ground snout and hoof meat. I'm not going to call this "pink slime" because the public has done a good enough job of using that term to destroy the beef market (which drove prices down, so I guess that was a good thing.) 

Seriously folks, eating healthy is a bit more expensive these days.  If you are going for steaks, they come in different cuts, some fattier than others.  There are ways to trim and sear your steaks to cook off some of the fat.  I use Bottom Round beef flats, but after high temp grilling on the fatty side, which protects the meat from getting burnt to all-hell, then trimming and searing in my five step grilling process the fat is 90% gone so there are ways to grill your meat to death and still have it taste dynamite.

Big Fat Daddy's Beef Grilling Tips:

• Tenderize your meat with a butcher hammer before applying dry rub or marinade.
• Marinate over night in dry rub or liquid even up to 48 hours for optimum flavor.
• Trim fat leaving only a thin layer to "grill off".
• Grill low and slow.
• Flip often avoid burnt or overcooked areas.
• Place fatty side down at first which will serve as flame enhancer and sear flavor into your meat.
• If using wood and you have a flame flare up, do not "doust" the flame but instead hit with a few drops of water. Otherwise you just put your flame out.
• BBQ Sauce or final leftover marinade should be placed at 80% to 90% finished to avoid excess burning.
• Some may choose to use the "foil" method for placing beef that is 60% cooked in a foil wrap with veggies and oil and steaming it off the rest of the way, which has been known to flavor the veggies and keep the meat tender and juicy. 

Hunk of Bottom Round, marinated, with fatty side down allowing fat to cook and burn off!

Get Creative With Your Meat

If you are wanting to eat healthier, try to find grass-fed or organic beef. Perhaps you can budget accordingly and buy a small steak that is top quality versus three steaks at bad quality. Use the steak in another dish such as beef tips over pasta or veggie wraps with beef in them, or grilled steak on top a dynamite salad.

You don't have to have straight up steak. You can get creative implementing this beef or steak into something tasty and low fat, obtaining the protein from a good quality cut of meat.

Burger Junkies : Love Me Some Angus

I'm a burger junkie. If you a burger junkie, ground beef can be bought lean or high quality rather than fatty, choose lean ground round, Angus, or even Bison if you really want to have less fat.  Make sure to read the label, because some "angus" labels are not "Certified Angus".

According to this Angus Beef Explanation article at Straight Dope, "Certified Angus Beef" (CAB) is a special industry designation developed in 1978 that involves standards for marbling, tenderness, age, and color. According to the National Cattleman's Beef Association, only about 8% of U.S. beef is entitled to the label "Certified Angus." Just because something is labeled "Angus" or "Black Angus" doesn't mean it's the same quality as "Certified Angus Beef." Angus beef is further differentiated by USDA grades such as "prime," "choice," and "select," giving us such labels as "Certified Angus Prime," indicating the best Certified Angus Beef."

****Foodies! Please visit our friends at Epikur Magazine!****

Epikur Magazine  is a food and wine publication based in Philadelphia, PA. It offers wine, beer, and restaurant reviews and is currently available via web, email, kindle, Android tablets, and iPads.

Pork BBQ Grilling Tips Be a Grillmaster

Depending on who you ask, there may be a "right way" or "wrong way" of home grilling or experimenting with your pork barbecue. Now granted, I'm not talking competition because rules do apply. I'm talking home cooking for your family, friends, or even trying to market your own style pork BBQ. I'm here to tell you there is no right and wrong.

Certainly we must give credit to Memphis Style and traditional Southern Pork Barbecue, but today, there are so many styles of "barbecued pork" throughout the US and abroad that if you took a lifetime you could not try them all. Certainly one could make a living eating and reviewing everyone's pork BBQ because, chances are, no two will ever taste exactly alike.   Some will indeed make your tongue slap your brain.

You have the sweet and tangy.
You have the bitter yet brown sugar honey-fied.
You have the vinegar based sweet succulent.
You have the spicy and red sauced.
You have the hickory smoked sliced bbq pork.
You have the pulled that melts in your mouth that you can't describe.
You have the soy based pork bbq.
You have the kind that sets your mouth on fire.
You have the kind that falls right off the bone.
You have the kind that's been processed into fine little bits.
You have the sliced and diced kind.
You have the kind they cut up old Southern Style with a small axe.
You have the one you can't quite put your finger on what it is but it's damn good.

Be Daring.

At home you are your own grillmaster. Do it up right. Sprinkle some love. Put a dab or this and a pinch of that and see where it takes you.   Should you get bone in or bone out? That's up to you.   Smoke it. Bake it. Broil it. Boil It. Do whatever the hell you want to your butt of pork.   Season it, baste it, taste it, pull it,  shred it, cut it, chop it, mutilate it, it's all good.  

If I lived by the rules of doing it "this exact way" or "that particular way" I would never have had my own hickory sweet tastin' pork bbq that is not duplicated by anyone because it's my own recipe.  Some people will say hey, that doesn't look pulled like traditional bbq.  Others may say "hey, pork isn't supposed to be smoky or taste like apples and hickory." That's when I make them a sub and they shovel it into their mouth bite by bite. Yum.

 

I have spent lots of time at barbecue festivals tasting other's pork bbq and I have to say that no two have ever tasted alike to me, but I could spend the day eating it all as there are so many ones that are delicious.   So what I'm advising is be daring. Try something new. Don't be scared to add that pinch of brown sugar or touch of Tabasco. It's all you.  It's YOUR PORK BBQ.

***********You May Also Enjoy Visiting My Sponsor!**********

Please visit my sponsor!   For the best Salsa information out there, please visit http://www.salsasauce.com/ 

Electric Meat Smoking with Liam O'Sullivan Part One

Liam took this picture of his electric smoker.

Twitter is a wonderful thing.  That's how I met Liam Sean O' Sullivan who (let's say loves his Cubs baseball team) as much  almost as much as his barbecue! He's currently in Central Illinois (Champaign) but does up some very tasty creations. So I wanted to showcase them here. 

First of all, how do you smoke your meat?

"I won't lie. I cheat at smoking.  And I'm so happy about it.  I use an electric smoker. I make really lame smoke bombs (I wrap my wood in foil, but leave the sides open so it smolders instead of burns). " 

Electric Smoking Hint: Liam uses hickory chips and often a pan of water to keep his food moist.

What do you do for pork?

"Pork at 170. Once at 180, wrapping it, and placing in a pan. Bring it to 205 and we're golden! When I wanted to make my pork have a little extra oomph, I injected half a jar of giardinera oil. (Chicago style hot peppers, soaked in oil. The oil holds the spices).  Did I mention 5 full injectors through the fatty side of the pork?  Most of it cooks out, but you get a little bit of a kick."

Liam's pork looks scrumptious.

Any recipes you'd like to share? 

Liam's individual meatloafs, yum!

"Here is my individually smoked meatloaf.  The recipe idea was taken from smoking-meat.com , but I used sweet peppers instead of jalapeños."  

 

What does barbecue mean to you? 

"To me, bbqing is what you do when the weather is nice and friends come over to eat. It could be any type of food, just tossed on the grill/smoker/fryer. Just the other week we did a bachelor party for a friend, and it was pulled pork, some burgers, and sides. And was the simplest yet tastiest thing I'd had in quite some time. It also seems to be the essence of American food. Every other type of food seems to be a derivative of another country, but bbq, bbq holds it's own as truly American. And as an Irishman, I love that."

What do you obtain your beef?  

"I use www.rkbeef.com for all my beef/pork products. The website is outdated, call Ryan for product info."

Go To : Part two: Liam's Smoke Bomb Chicken Bacon Wrapped Chicken Part Two.

Grilling Tips: Write Down Your Recipe

Get the recipe for this Beef Burger with Anchovies here on RecipesMy

Many of us toss something grand together and mean to write it down. What if you can't remember where you wrote it and want to find it later?

An easy solution to that is to post your recipe to the internet and have it in safe keeping. There are many places you can share you grilled recipes (or non grilled recipes) for that matter.  Many of us share our own recipes on our blogs or websites. What about if you want to share them to other people's websites for safe keeping down the road?  Here are a few suggestions.

Recipes My
http://RecipesMy.com

This site was started by Sandra, who is passionate about food and cooking and combining new and exciting tastes in recipes. Sandra firmly believes that all recipes should be free, therefore content is creative commons licensed, even for commercial use!  By signing up for free, you are able to add new recipes, but must agree they can be used by others--which means, you can use others you find there too! Sandra says she has much work to do on the site, and hopes to upload 500 plus recipes soon. Maybe your favorite cole slaw recipe will end up in a cookbook someday! I like this site because it's not loaded with recipes *yet, so your chances of getting noticed may be better.

All Recipes
http://allrecipes.com/
This site is free to join and you can submit recipes, it currently has over 40000! You can keep recipes in your personal recipe box.


FoodBuzz
http://www.foodbuzz.com/
Here you can submit recipes here and grilled ones are welcome. You can make foodie friends and "buzz up" each other's recipes, gaining more "clout" in the buzz community.

ChowStalker
http://www.chowstalker.com/
Here you can submit a photo, which links right to your original recipe location on your site or blog! Warning: Make sure to read Chowstalker's teams and conditions, this is something called Paleo and Primal foods. Therefore, your item should be meat and potatoes and no gravy....

BBQ Central
http://www.bbq-4-u.com/forum/

There are plenty of barbecue forums online which allow you to be a star and join discussion list, post your recipe or write a blog post! One in particular we like is BBQ Central - they have a whole section on recipes just waiting for you to post one.

If anything, you will be writing your recipe down, to find later.

Complete Guide to Baltimore Dry Rub Seasoning

Dry Rub on my food..

Big Fat Daddy's Dry Rub History Questions
 
I get asked a lot about giving advice, tips and tricks on dry rub seasoning. I guess that's because "Big Fat Daddy's Seasoning" also called "Dry Rub"  was the form of some early publicity, originally discovered by Steven Raichlen and featured in the NY Times.    Last year alone I counted 295 emails last year alone asking me dry rub questions.  I wrote a great article about the benefits of Dry Rub in one of the forums I belong to, but somehow it was lost or eaten by dust mites. So here we go, to answer all you dry rub users, dry rub wanna-bees or people who need more help with it. 

Welcome to My Dry Rub Wiki- based on your questions over the last year!

What is Dry Rub?

Believe it or not dry rub is just that, a dry blend of spices and seasonings (usually containing salt) that is rubbed on FOODS prior to grilling.

What are the benefits of Dry Rub? 

Salt and spice dry blends enhance the flavor of your food and acts as a marinade, soaking into the food and flavoring it--or enhancing the natural flavors in the food itself.

What foods can I use Dry Rubs on? 

It depends on the dry rub. Some rubs are made specifically for beef, or some for fish. Overall dry rubs can be used with veggies, game meats, bison, pork, beef, lamb, vegetables, kabobs, as seasoning in soups, on poultry, hams, etc. Not all dry rub does taste great with all meats or all veggies, so you have to experiment and find the ones you like to compliment the food you are eating.

How is it applied? 

As crazy as it sounds, you rub it on your food prior to cooking or grilling.

Application Tips: 

I suggest to sprinkle lightly on poultry, fish and veggies.  I'm not a fan for getting raw chicken on my fingers, nor rubbing fish as the fish can fall apart.  I do suggest to hand rub in a circular motion the dry rub onto pork, beef, and game meats to really get into the pores of the meat. Bond with your food!

Dry Rubed Marination can be combined with other marinades. The salt base rub soaks into the meat.

What about marination time? 

Unlike some people, I suggest a full 24-48 hours for marination on beef, chicken, poultry or game meats.  I know for a fact you get more flavor this way and less rub is needed because the rub has long to soak into the meat. I generally sprinkle it on veggies right as they are cut for grilling, and fish the night before.  Can you wait until the night before ? You can, but try it both ways. Grill the steak with an overnight marination, then with a two day marination and get back to me. You'll thank me for the 48 hour time, trust me.

Is it salty and what if I am on a restricted salt intake?

Some dry rub contains salts which will indeed have sodium, but only a small amount is needed if you apply it correctly. One teaspoon of my dry rub seasoning can easily marinate and flavor four steaks. So you are only eating one steak per person, that is really only ingesting .25 of a teaspoon per serving and not the whole thing is comprised of salt. So overall you should indeed gauge the salt intake on the label nutrition facts. Avoid products with unnatural flavor enhancers and steer clear of anti-caking agents. If you are making your own blend, cut salts in half for a low salt alternative.

Read the package thoroughly to see if yours are presmoked and brined, or just fresh.

When NOT to use a "Salty" Dry Rub: 

Avoid using too much of it on pre-salted Turkey Legs (unsalted legs are okay, see a guide about turkey leg types here) or high content salty Ham shanks.  I also like it on lamb kabobs but not lamb shanks as I think lamb is a bit on the salty side. To each their own. For these items you may have to go with a mesquite rub, or other seasoning blend that is not so high in salt content.

Making your Own Dry Rub: 

You have to remember experimentation is key. Your base should be salty and flavorful, but not overtake the food.  Too much salt can really overpower the flavor and taste like hell.   The key here is to mix ingredients in small batch quantities and write down as you go. Call this first concoction  "Your Own #1." Try it on poultry, meats, fish, veggies and pork.  Let's say you may have a winner for one item (chicken), but not the other (pork), which is okay!  If you have written it down you will be able to duplicate it next time you make that special chicken dish or chicken soup! Now keep experimenting. Keep writing down ingredients and making in small batch quantities. Soon you will find the perfect "Your Blend #2", and so on and so forth.

I use the rub on all kinds of meats, and added a little maple powder for the ribs. Yummy.

What if My Dry Rubs Cakes Up? 

If you are using sugars, salts, or garlic salts/powders I can guarantee over time that your spice will cake up over time. For most of us, that's not a problem and a quick pinch will uncake it. For those of you who are using a shaker with small holes, add some rice into it. If this still bothers you, then you will need to either a) make in per serving small batch quantities or b) buy an Anti-Caking Agent.  I do not use them , but you may wish to explore the many alternatives on the market.

Why Don't You Use Anti-Caking Agents? 

The reason I don't, is I make small hand blended quantities to keep the spices fresh, and there have been some allergies to certain anti-caking agents. To me, they just aren't natural so why put them in? 

Why Doesn't My Dry Rub Concoction Taste Good on Everything? Can You Help Me?

First of all, don't feel bad! Not all taste buds are alike, and some seasonings don't sit well with some foods. It took me 6 years of experimenting to make my Big Fat Daddy's versatile Classic Dry Rub #1. That's a lot of trial and error. I can honestly say mine does taste great on beef, pork, ribs, chicken, turkey, game meats, fish, and veggies but the tricky part was finding something in a winning combination that didn't overpower the food. I also have alternates I use such as mesquite blend on some ribs and My #2 Fanny's Favorite which is a more sugary-sweet blend. So even I have a few options and you should too.  Keep trying! Go with what YOU think tastes good!

Is your Spice Gluten-Free?

Yes.

Is the New York Times article really the Big Fat Daddy's dry rub? 

It is the basic recipe that my brother blabbed, but of course key ingredients are left out for proprietary sake.  You are welcome to view the basic recipe here.

Why do some things say Wayne Schafer and some things  Brian Schafer?

The notoriety in the early 2000's was thanks to to my baby brother Brian blabbing the key ingredients of "family recipe" back in 2000 when he ran the pit beef stand on Route 40. Although I started Big Fat Daddy's, we would not see eye to eye working together. So by 2000 he ran the stand on 40 and I worked in the Big Fat Daddy's warehouse on Philadelphia Road.  By 2005 I gained back full ownership due to differences and Brian's health issues. He passed in 2014.  I continue to strive to keep Big Fat Daddy's on top of it's game, keeping my original vision for the company since I started, which is to constantly reinvent. 

Is the Big Fat Daddy's Dry Rub the Only Dry Rub You Use?

I have the Original Big Fat Daddy's blend, which I call #2. This was made in the old Pit Beef Days when there were two of us. Over the years however, I have adapted some more variations, which I use in special circumstances.

I have my Hers blend which incorporates a bit of sweetness (natural sugars) into the #2, my wife and I created this about eight years back.  I have my Cajun Blend which I created a few years back primarily to use on fish and sometimes in my slaw to make it a Cajun Slaw.   I have my Mesquite Blend which I perfected about a year ago and use when I'm low on the good wood and I want to cheat ha ha.  I have my special Maple Blend (for ribs)that I made a few years back.

When you get a good base, take it, and add to it.  Then you can experiment and tweak it to different tastes and styles. My dry rub you can pretty much use on everything, but after awhile I wanted to try something new. 

Where Can I Buy the Real Big Fat Daddy's Dry Rub?

I do not commercialize my seasoning or else I would be out of business because every BBQ guy would be selling and duplicating my food taste. I do get a lot of letters from people who are on the West Coast wanting to try my seasoning and so for them,  I do consider my spice gourmet and do sell it in hand blended small-batch quantities in my barbecue store. It is enough for you to make a few great dishes.  Not all blends are available.

Do you use other Dry Rubs and if so Which Ones? 

I would be lying to you if I only said I use my own. I'm a big fan of trying all kinds of bbq rubs dry rub blends, and seasonings when cooking at home. Believe it or not one of my all time favorites is Stubb's Herbal Mustard Blend on veggies and grilled chicken, (it's gluten free.)

My wife is a huge fan of Todd's Orignal Dirt and we put that in our Sweet and Sassy Chili Recipe. mmmm mmmm good!

If you have a question about dry rub ask me here. 

Thanks for reading our official   

Grilling Turkey Legs on the BBQ Tips n Tricks

There are a few things I want to tell you when grilling turkey legs on the barbie! First of all, you need to know what kind of legs you are working with.  

The legs you get frozen in the freezer section of your grocery store are usually uncooked turkey legs. You know, the same kind of turkey you get for Thanksgiving dinner.  These are usually uncooked and unseasoned, but you have to make sure before adding a salty rub or seasoning to them--because if they are cooked and already salted you will be dying of thirst all night.  The big problem one has with these kind of turkey legs is you must grill low and slow or they will fall apart. Some of them on special may have been thawed and re-frozen and put on special in the grocer's box. So remember, cook well on the barbie and avoid turning too much.

Commercial turkey legs and butchers offer two types of turkey legs. Pre-smoked and Raw.  Let's get one thing straight, pre-smoked is not pre-cooked. Pre-smoking is still raw but they can give a faux appearance of being pre-cooked. Don't you believe it! They are pre-smoked and treated with a salty additive and carry a smokey taste but you must still cook them to proper internal temperatures.  The key here is not to dump a ton of salty seasoning on them or you will be sorry! 

The raw is usually fine to lather with your dry rub or dump your seasoning on before grilling.  

It is not uncommon for some turkey legs to weigh a few lbs each which means you will be be grilling them for awhile.  If you are looking for a quick meal, grill something else. The legs if large will require some time and you should make sure to temp them very deep and far in several places to make sure they are done. 

Get my recipes for Seasoning for your Poultry or Turkey Legs here!

Read all my grilling tips here

Christopher Walken Harness the Power , Grilling Tips

There's a Christopher Walken in all of us. My wife told me once, we must "harness the power of Walken". If you think about it, inside each one of us is a bizarre character called a cook or chef, who would almost on queue toss together a bit of this, a tad of that, and some things unknown....yet ideally we have the phenomenal foresight to see and feel the taste of the final product.  As we are creating, our tongue is tingling perhaps from the Walken-like ESP telling us this will be the best thing we've created yet....I believe it is in the darkest corners of our mind, lie the best recipes yet. Today's grilling tip is to break some flavor boundaries, and harness your Inner Walken for the best bbq, beef, pork, brisket, fish, chicken, turkey, or whatever it is you are cooking.  Do not fear the mixing of paprika with orange juice--experiment.  Embrace the lime juice and caraway seed.  Sprinkle some brown sugar on that Budweiser Butt Chicken.  GO FOR IT.  Don't you deserve to know the limits of the grilling universe?  Enjoy the videos and THANK YOU CHRISTOPHER.

Tips for Beef Dry Rub Grilling with Fruit Brisket Heaven

We marinate beef briskets and bottom rounds in fruit and onions!  Pin It

Woop there it is.

Russel writes in from North Carolina:   "Dear Wayne - your beef picture up on there is just too pretty to be real. Did you decorate it up with orange slices just for the website or does that crap really work? I thought you only use the dry rubs."

Hell yeah it's real. See the orange slices at work!

Well Russel, it's real, and it's ours, (see above) and in fact we have some grilling tips for you.  Dry Rub Grilling is perfected when you find your niche seasoning blend.  The experimentation however, does not stop there.  Mixing other components with your dry rub can take your grilling to a whole new level. I can't tell you all my grillmaster trade secrets but I will share this in regards to Fruit:

Tips and Tricks:

§ Experimenting with paper thin layers of sliced oranges, lemons, and limes atop my meats while the meat is marinating in the fridge provides a nice light citrus flavor.  In case you haven't noticed, I also do this with paper thin white onion slices.  So on top my marinade, I have a mix of orange and onions.  I like to think of this as adding some sugar and some tang.

Marinating for 12 hours or less will give you a slight "hint" of sweetness. I leave mine in the fridge for 24-48 hours at least. This gives the fruits time to soak into the meat.

Now one would think you remove this fruit prior to grilling but I don't.  I sear the meat with the citrus still present. Even if the sliced fruit drops into your charcoal or gets stuck onto the the grate area, the aroma is still there and hell, we've eaten the crispy onion and fruit pieces too.

Experimentation with fruit on top of dry rub takes your meat to a whole new level of heaven. Just goes to show there is such a thing as a fruity hillbilly!

Read this post here for my optimum gluten-free Citrus Marinade recipe!