While noodling around with Google Maps on the iPhone, I discovered that there was a BBQ joint not far from my office that I hadn’t tried yet.  So on Friday, I set out to give it a try.

The place is called Dickey’s Pit BBQ and it turns out that they are a rapidly growing chain.  I hadn’t been there before, but my previous experience in a BBQ chain wasn’t all that great.  So with a little apprehension I stepped up to the counter and ordered my lunch.

They serve the usual BBQ fare of pulled pork, brisket, sausage, chicken and ribs.  I ordered the two-meat platter of brisket & pulled pork with a  couple of sides and a glass of sweat tea.  The food came out quickly and it looked promising enough, but it didn’t much of a smoke flavor and there was little to no additional flavor in the bark.  Having said that, the meat was tender and the portions were generous. 

The side items were probably my favorite part of the meal.  The green beans with bacon and the BBQ beans were very tasty.  And, I can’t say no to a hunk of sweet cornbread.  I also enjoyed their sauce which is served warm from a steam table by the salad & drink bars. 

Overall, it’s the best chain BBQ joint I’ve eaten at and they do have a pretty large presence across the country.  So, if you run into one of their locations I wouldn’t shy away from eating there.

 Here’s my breakdown:

• BBQ – B
• Side Dishes – A
• Atmosphere – A
• Value – B
• Overall – B+

Cheers,
Braddog

If you spend any time at all reading the numerous BBQ forums on the interwebs, you’ll see a question asked quite often. “The meat’s done too early, how do I keep it warm until dinner?”  When cooking low ‘n’ slow over an extended period of time, you can run into this situation quite often. 

Here’s how to deal with it:

• When the meat hits the desired internal temperature (you are checking internal temps and not cooking by the clock, right?), pull if off the cooker and double wrap it in heavy duty aluminum foil.
• Poke your thermometer through the foil so you can continue to monitor internal temperature of the meat.
• Then wrap the meat in an old towel or blanket for extra insulation, leaving the thermometer or lead from your thermometer probe accessible.
• Place the wrapped meat into a dry cooler.  Some folks like to preheat the cooler with warm water, but that’s a personal preference.
• Periodically check the meat’s temperature.  As long as it stays above ~150* or so you should be okay.  Remember the danger zone for meat is between 45*-140* or so.  If the meat spends more then a couple of hours in the danger zone, be safe and don’t eat it.
• When it’s time to serve, unwrap the meat and serve it as you normally would.

Using this method, I’ve personally been able to hold ~65lbs. of pork butt for 5+ hours.  However, if the meat drops below the saftey threshold I’d recommend you move to plan B.  Pull the pork, refrigerate, and reheat at mealtime.  I’ll cover reheating another time.

Check out a much more detailed description at http://www.nakedwhiz.com/coolerholding.htm

I usually try to error on the side of being too early and pad my start time a little.  Given my choice of having meat done too soon or too late, I’ll take too soon any time.  I’d much prefer to hold the meat than to try to hurry it up.

Cheers,
Braddog

Although I’m very happy with my Big Green Egg, I’ve been thinking about a cabinet style smoker for capacity.  A few times I’ve been asked to cook for parties and the like and I just don’t have the capacity that I need to be able to take on those jobs.  So, I’ve kinda been thinking about my next cooker.

On Friday afternoon, I headed out to West St. Louis County to check out a local grill and fireplace shop that I’ve heard about.  They’re listed as a dealer for Backwoods, Cookshack, Traeger & Big Green Egg grills & smokers, just to name a few. 

The shop isn’t huge, but they have a decent amount of their space dedicated to BBQ gear, including everything from gas grill parts, grills & smokers, smoking woods, charcoal, rubs, and sauces (the rest is dedicated to fireplaces and the like).  I found the staff to be pretty knowledgeable about the gear they sell and when I told them about Grill & Barrel, they quickly turned me onto the St. Louis BBQ Society and some local events that are planned for later this year.

I picked up a few things from the store and I plan to go back and get a first hand look at a Backwoods Party in a couple of weeks.  So if you’re in the St. Louis area, support your local dealer and give the guys at St. Louis Home Fires a shot the next time you’re in need of some BBQ gear.

Here’s their contact info:

St. Louis Home Fires
(636) 256-6564
15053 Manchester Road
Ballwin, MO  63011
2 Miles West of Woodsmill / 141

Cheers,
Braddog

As I’ve mentioned here a number of times, I cook primarily on a Big Green Egg.  For the first two years that I owned this cooker, I simply used a bucket and the BGE ash tool to rake the ashes out of the bottom of the cooker.  That worked great until I built my new egg table.  Now, it’s impossible to place bucket under the BGE directly, making ash removal a bit tougher.

A friend of mine happened to be in the BBQ store recently and came home with tales of an ash pan that was curved to fit the outside of the Big Green Egg.  So, I acquired one of these for myself.  This works like a champ and has made ash removal much easier now the egg is on the new table.

Cheers,
Braddog

Larry’s Pit BBQ is a little joint near my hometown and has always been one of my favorite places to eat when I visit my folks.  This past weekend, we had reason to make the trip and my wife suggested Larry’s for lunch as she’s a huge fan of their baked beans.

It appears that Larry’s business has grown nicely over the years, the building has been expanded and the parking lot improved.  Heck, they even have a drive thru now.  I’m glad to see a local joint like this doing so well. 

One of the things that I’ve always like about Larry’s is their sauce and the relish that they serve on their sandwich (optionally).  They call it “chow” and I think it’s a great twist on the practice of putting slaw on a BBQ sandwich.  Their sauce is a pretty traditional Memphis style sauce, and they have it in both mild and hot varities.

Larry’s serves pretty good pork BBQ, smoked turkey & chicken, and farm raised catfish.  In fact, there were probably as many people eating fish as there were eating BBQ.  I ordered my ususal jumbo pork sandwich with “chow” and their hot BBQ sauce.  It’s funny that I’d never noticed before that their pork appears to be thinly sliced pork loin rather than pork butt or shoulder.  As I thought about it, I believe it’s always been that way but I’m a little more educated on the subject now than I used to be.

Portions are very generous and their BBQ sandwich plate is served with 3 sides.  Most joints only serve 1 or 2 sides with a sandwich.  The menu is extensive and the prices are very reasonable, giving them high marks in the “value” category.

Here’s how I’d rate Larry’s BBQ:

• BBQ – B
• Side Dishes – A
• Atmosphere – A
• Value – A
• Overall – A-

Cheers,

Braddog