For the second year in a row I volunteered to smoke the pork butts & ribs for Pig-a-Palooza. This is the big fund raiser for Jacob’s Ladder, an organization that provides scholarships to school children in our area to enable them pariticpate in music & band programs.
We planned to cook 20 pork butts and 25 sides of ribs. Ribs we served in 4-5 bone portions and we served nice big pulled pork sandwiches. Additionally, we had a large grill to cook hamburgers & hotdogs on.
Friday night, I headed to the park at 10:30pm. I had the cooker lit by 11:00 and we began rubbing the pork butts shortly after midnight. We put half of the pork butts on at 1:00am, and the other half went on at 3:00am. I managed to rack out for a couple of hours around 4:00am, but when you’re sleeping outside and it’s 90 degree weather you don’t sleep much.
We began pulling the membranes and trimming the baby back ribs at 9:30am. We staggered the start times of 27 sides of ribs. This allowed us to keep a steady stream of fresh ribs coming off the cooker throughout the afternoon.
There were lots of activities for the kids, music, and silent & oral auction items. We had a great turnout despite a heat index of well over 100 degrees.
By the end of the day, we sold all of the BBQ that we had prepared. I had great help from my friends and neighbors. I can’t thank them enough for volunteering to help prepare and serve the food. As I write this, I’m still pretty tired from working more than 20 hrs straight. But I’m sure that I’ll be ready to do it again next year.
June 11th – cooking pork butt for a graduation party.
June 18th – my first BBQ competition
June 25th – pork butt & brisket for my cousin’s wedding reception
So with all that to do over the next month, I realized that I needed to lay in a few supplies and settle on a flavor profile (at least for the month of June). Since I’ve been using Plowboy’s Yardbird, it’s become my go to rub. Likewise, Blueshog BBQ sauce has become my go to sauce for ribs. I’m still in search of a go to sauce to apply to sandwiches, but for now I think I’m set.
Since I’ve been blogging, I’ve been cooking on a Big Green Egg. But it dawned on me recently that as much as I evangelize the merits of the Big Green Egg, I’ve never actually written a review on the product. What prompted this review is the number of people that are coming to GrillandBarrel.comafter doing a search for “Big Green Egg Review”. Well for those of you that have gotten here through that method, here goes.
For centuries, people have cooked in clay vessels. Evidence of clay cooking vessels have been found all over the world. From the tandoor cooker in India to the mushikamodo in Japan, it’s believed that these are the precursors to today’s kamado style cooker.
Kamados became popular in the US after World War II. Today, there are a number of companies making kamado style cookers using ceramic and refractory materials in their construction. Big Green Egg began production in 1974, first using clay materials and finally the ceramic construction used today. Based in Atlanta, Big Green Egg is the world’s largest producer and international distributor of ceramic, kamado style cookers.
There are many advantages to this style of cooker and in particular, the Big Green Egg.
Temperature Control – once the ceramic material comes up to temp, it retains the heat for hours and doesn’t require a large fire to maintain that temp.
Low Fuel Consumption – as stated above since the ceramic is radiating retained heat, only a small fire is needed for low temperature smoking and thus only a small amount of fuel is required.
Moisture – this style of cooker does not require a pan for water or other liquids. The ceramic retains the moisture in the cooking chamber and produces moist & flavorful results
Grill or Smoke – Of course you can cook indirect on lots of grills, but few afford you the ability to smoke or grill equally well.
Active User Community – There’s a very strong following of fanatical owners of the Big Green Egg online. Called “Eggheads”, you can find them hanging out at the Egghead Forum or gathering at regional “Eggfests” around the country. The granddaddy of all eggfests is in Atlanta in October called Eggtoberfest. There’s plenty of advice, tips, techniques, and recipes willing shared among the loyal following.
Of course there are some drawbacks to any product, and the Big Green Egg is no exception.
Capacity – Although you can add additional cooking grates higher into the dome, there’s no getting around the fact that capacity can be an issue if you often cook for large groups. Now by “large”, I mean more than ~20 folks or so (depending on what your cooking).
Portability – These things are heavy. As such, they’re not great for tailgating, camping etc.
Personally, I find that the advantages to a Big Green Egg outweigh the disadvantages. And since the product comes in sizes ranging from mini to X-Large, I’m confident that there’s a size that’s right for everyone.
Since I acquired my Big Green Egg, the way we eat as a family has completely changed. I cook nearly every weekend and often times throughout the week. With a little practice, you can have the cooker running and ready to cook in less than 15 minutes even though it’s charcoal. So being able to cook dinner after work is very easy to do. When I cook on Sundays, I am most often smoking (or cooking low & slow). This typically means a larger meal with plenty of left overs.
Throughout the pages of GrillandBarrel.com, you’ll find lots of my own experiences with the Big Green Egg. So peruse the information here and let me know if you have questions or feedback on the product.
Just like last year, my buddy & I will be demonstrating the Big Green Egg for the local dealer. This is their annual wing-ding where the manufacturer’s representatives come and display their wares, answer questions about their products, and cook samples for folks to try.
Last year the Big Green Egg rep couldn’t make it, so we stepped up and handled the demo in his place. They asked us back for another demo on Father’s Day weekend also. I don’t mean to brag, but between the two demonstrations and their normal sales efforts we sold every Egg of every size that they had ordered for the entire season….and then some.
So if you don’t have plans this weekend, come on down to Hearthside Grill & Fireplace to check out the Big Green Egg (as well as the Weber, Traeger, & Holland line ups).
I’ve said it before. I eat at a BBQ joint just about every chance I get. Even if I’ve eaten there before. Now I try to be respectful of other folks if I’m out to lunch etc., but given the choice I’ll nearly always choose good BBQ over the other food groups.
I also find that in most BBQ joints, the BBQ is pretty decent. Not always great, but good. In fact, anyone that knows me knows that I critique the hell out of most of the places we go to. And, I believe that my BBQ is just as good.
But sometimes I walk out of a BBQ joint and say, “That was great”. So I’ve begun to ponder what the difference is between “good” & “great” BBQ joints. Is it the meat, or is it something else? I’m not a big sauce guy, so it’s not the BBQ sauce. Every BBQ joint you eat in these days all look the same, so it’s not the atmosphere. Is it their reputation? I don’t think so. I’ve eaten in some notable joints and walked away underwhelmed.
So what’s the difference between “good” & “great” BBQ joints? I’ll tell you what I think it is. It’s a combination of all the things I’ve already mentioned, plus awesome side dishes. While I can cook the heck out of BBQ, I’m not as good at side dishes. So I guess I put a high value on the things that I can’t do myself.
If you want to take your BBQ joint from “good’ to “great”, you have to do all the basics and you have to do them well. But you have to have great side dishes too. It’s not enough to have good meat, a selection of sauces, a big glass of sweet tea, and a down home atmosphere. You have to close the deal with some great sides.
I mean, have you had the BBQ beans at Martin’s BBQ Joint or the creamed corn at 17th Street Bar & Grill? Shut my mouth & slap your grandma! Now that’s good eatin’, and those are “great” BBQ joints.
If you’re a frequent visitor to GrillandBarrel.com, you know that I was cooking on a Backwoods Fatboy before and have since upgraded to a Backwoods Pro Jr. I certainly notice a few differences, and an inquiry from one of my brethren over at BBQ-Brethren.com prompted to spend a little time documenting some of them. So in no particular order, here are a few noticable differences.
Fuel Consumption: It stands to reason that the bigger cooker will need more fuel, but I didn’t expect the difference to be quite as big as it is. On the Fatboy, I would use a half a bag of Kingsford briquettes for a 5-6 hr rib cook. The Pro Jr took a whole bag, and then some.
Water Consumption: Just like fuel, the Pro Jr uses more water than the Fatboy. Again, my first cook was ribs and I expected a full water pan would last through the duration of a 5-6 cook. Not so, at about the 5 hr mark, I was out of water.
Temperature control: I noticed that I had a harder time getting the cooker to 250 (the temperature that I usually cook at). The Pro Jr seemed to want to settle in at 225 and I eventually made peace with leaving it there instead of trying to get it to 250. I also ran the bottom vent a little wider than I typically would have on the Fatboy, but frankly that could have had as much to do with the weather conditions as anything.
This is a big ol’ cooker and I’m looking forward to firing it up this weekend and working on competition butts & brisket. I’ll keep you posted on any new observations. In the meantime, here are a few more shots of the Pro Jr.
Braddog with the Fatboy on the left and the Pro Jr on the right5 cooking racks on the Pro Jr with better clearance than the Fatboy
Recently, I was having lunch with Carey Bringle of Peg Leg Porker at Pat Martin’s BBQ Joint in Nolensville, TN. Peg Leg Porker will be at Memphis in May as they usually are, and we began to talk about the difference between MBN competitions and KCBScompetitions. Our conversation got me thinking a little bit. You see, Carey’s position is that the presentation that is part of MBN competitions is really the essence of BBQ, more so than the nondescript Styrofoam box that’s judged blindly in KCBS competitions.
The more I ponder it, I think he’s right. I walk into BBQ joints every chance I get and I eat BBQ. No offense to great BBQ joints like Pat’s or 17th Street, but I often walk away thinking that I can cook just as good. In fairness, I’m not cooking for the masses (usually). But is BBQ really just about the food? Or is the enjoyment of my own BBQ a result of the experience, the tradition, the stories told around the BBQ pit, or maybe just the satisfaction of doing it myself?
I can enjoy good food in a restaurant. But if you believe that BBQ is the sum of all those things I mentioned previously, you can’t get BBQ in a restaurant.
A couple of years ago, I stumbled on the blog of a guy in Tennessee who was chronicling his journey in starting a BBQ joint. Now I don’t think there’s a restaurant in my future…ever. But I thoroughly enjoyed following the story of Martin’s BBQ Joint and pitmaster Pat Martin. I mentally put his joint on my list of places to visit if the opportunity ever arose.
Martin’s BBQ Joint – Nolensville, TNWell recently I had the opportunity to travel through Nashville on a BBQ related trip of my own. I’d also had the good fortune to meet Carey Bringle of Peg Leg Porker at the Business of BBQ class in January. When Carey found out I was coming through town, we agreed to meet up for lunch. Carey told me on the phone that “Pat’s is the best place in town”. It took me a minute to realize that he was talking about Pat Martin. That sealed the deal, we were headed to Martin’s BBQ to meet Carey for lunch.
The Hog CoffinI’d read about the original joint and frankly forgotten that Pat had moved into a new building. But when we rolled through Nolensville, TN, there was no mistaking that we were at Martin’s when we spotted the “Hog Coffin” parked out front. Now that’s a serious BBQ rig. It’ll cook 6 hogs at once and has a big Ole Hickory pit mounted on it as well. We took a few minutes to admire the rig while we waited for Carey.
Once inside, do you know how I could tell we were in a BBQ joint? There’s a freakin’ pit in the middle of the dining area. I’m talking about a hog cookin’ pit. Whole hog is Pat’s specialty and they cook them in full view of the diners. Now I wasn’t there on a day when they were cooking whole hog, so that means I have to get back there another time when they are.
We ordered up a couple of sampler platters and Carey had the brisket tacos. We had baby back ribs, brisket, pulled pork, bbq beans, green beans, and cornbread on the platters. I’ll just cut to the chase, I loved it all. The brisket was probably my favorite meat, and the bbq beans were my favorite side dish. But it was all good!
As we were finishing our lunch Pat came by and we spent some time talking about their pending trip to Memphis in May, the merits of the Backwoods Smoker that I was there to pick up, the Big Apple Block Party, and a variety of other bbq topics. It was great to have lunch with Carey & Pat, a couple of guys who are definitely living out their bbq dreams.
If you find yourself anywhere near Nashville, TN, then I’d recommend diverting to Nolensville (just southeast of Nashville) and eating at Martin’s BBQ.
Much to my wife’s dismay, I’ve upgraded….for the second year in a row. Last year, I acquired a Backwoods Smokers Fatboy. That upgrade more than doubled my capacity from the Big Green Egg, and I’ve really enjoyed cooking on a vertical, insulated cooker. However, I learned very quickly that the stated capactiy of the Fatboy really wasn’t accurate. To cook pork butt & brisket well, the cooker really could only accomodate half of the available cooking racks due to limited clearance between them.
Traveling GearAdditionally, it seems that the more I cook, the more chances I have to cook. And I’m talking about cooking for larger groups, fund raisers, family reunions, wedding receptions, and so on. While I don’t need the extra capacity every day, there are a half dozen opportunities per year to really take advantage and put on a big feed.
So, when I stumbled upon an opportunity to acquire a larger Backwoods Smoker, the Pro Jr., I couldn’t pass it up. A competition cook out of Columbus, GA had decided it was too large for cooking competitions and had downsized. That may be the only time I’ve ever heard of a pitmaster downsizing. Usually, Pitmasters are like boat captains and jonseing for bigger pit or boat respectively. So I borrowed a trailer, made arrangements to meet Quenut halfway, and headed out to pick up the new cooker.
Before & AfterAfter a 700 mile round trip, a stop over in Nashville to hang out with Carey Bringle of Peg Leg Porker, and lunch at Martin’s BBQ Joint, I made it home with the new cooker and the capacity to cook 35 pork butts, 36 sides of ribs, or 16 full packer cut briskets.
I grew up in the midwest and pork steaks were something that we grilled often. I was probably 25 years old when I realized that people elsewhere in the country didn’t know what a pork steak is. I was reminded of this again last month when I was in Murphysboro, IL for the Business of BBQ with OnCue Consulting at 17th Street Barbecue. Dinner that evening was lightly smoked pork steaks finished over a high heat grill, but not everyone was familiar with a pork steak. These pork steaks were tasty, but I like them dry rubbed and smoked until they’re so tender that they almost fall apart.
But I digress. For the unitiated, pork steaks come from pork butt sliced into steaks. They are very common at bars, restaurants, and backyard cookouts in the midwest. I grew up eating them grilled hot & fast, but a few years ago I began cooking them low & slow on the smoker.
I’ve experimented with a couple of different flavor profiles, but we prefer them seasoned with a basic grill seasoning and smoked until they are melt-in-your-mouth tender. Here are a few shots of the smoked pork steaks that I did last week.
Your typical pork buttBut this one is “sliced”A Pork SteakPork Steak on the Backwoods FatboyThe finished product
Is this cut of meat available where you live? Leave me a comment and let me know.
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