It’s true that I have more money invested in my BBQ pits than I ever did in a gas grill. And when I’m asked for advice on a grill/ smoker purchase, folks often cringe at the cost of the cooker that I like to recommend ( The Big Green Egg).
But I’ve come to a conclusion about what grills cost. You see, before I stepped up to a quality grill/smoker I went through my share of gas grills. I bought cheap units from big box stores as well as stainless steel units from higher end shops.
When I spent $100 on a grill, it would last about a year before it was falling apart and needed to be replaced. When I spent $500 on a stainless steel grill, it lasted about five years before the cost of replacement burners and parts were more than it was worth. See what I’m getting at? Gas grills have an annual cost of ownership of about $100 and it really doesn’t matter how much money you spend.
Sure, I’ve got approximately $800 invested in my large Big Green Egg. But it seems like this grill is going to have a much lower cost of ownership as I believe it’s useful life will be much greater than any gas grill I’ve ever owned.
Of course if you factor in how much more cooking I do now vs. before, my meat costs have gone way up! =)
I’m a lucky man. I grew up & still live within spitting distance of the home of Mike Mills and 17th Street Bar & Grill, one of the best BBQ joints in the country. Mike is referred to as “The Legend” based on his record as a competition BBQ team, his restaurants (So. Ill, New York, Las Vegas), not to mention his outstanding BBQ. I’ve written about the restaurant before, you can find that blog post here.
I’ve become a regular at the O’Fallon, IL restaurant and thoroughly enjoy the ribs there. 17th Street’s ribs are dry rubbed and served with just a touch of their house BBQ sauce, so on my last trip I picked up a bottle of sauce for home.
Since then I’ve tried it on brisket, pulled chicken, and pork steaks. And it’s a great compliement to all of them. It’s a thin, vinegary sauce with just the right amount of pepper & spice. I’ve gone through nearly an entire bottle of the past 2 weeks, so that should tell you something.
I don’t usually make my own sauce or BBQ rub, cause I find that there are so many good sauces & rubs on the market.
I’ll bet you’re like me and you find that you have a standard sauce that you go to for most things. Mine is Sweet Baby Ray‘s original sauce. As a result, I typically have a few open bottles with just a little bit left in the bottom.
Recently, I was doing BBQ beef on the Big Green Egg and as I got ready to pull and sauce the chuck roasts I realized that I had 5 partial bottles of Sweet Baby Rays. I snapped this picture of all the wounded soldiers on my Big Green Egg table.
What’s your “go to” sauce? Drop me a comment and let me know.
I’m reluctant to even write a review of the Rendezvous in Memphis, TN as I’m sure that it’s been done many times given their reputation. But, why stop now when I take every chance I get to review a new BBQ joint.
I can usually coerce my family into eating BBQ at least once when we travel and since we were staying just a block away, it seemed inevitable that this is where we would eat BBQ. I’d received strong recommendations for a couple of other places, but Memphis is just full of too many places to choose from and the reputation and proximity of the Rendezvous sealed the decision.
In any event, we headed over to the Rendezvous on Friday night to find the place rapidly filling up as the dinner hour was getting into full swing. Looks are deceiving, and there is plenty of seating inside. We were quickly shown to a table where we perused the menu. For my family, there was some debate as to what they would order but for me this was a foregone conclusion. So my wife and kids ordered up BBQ chicken platters, while I went for the whole slab of ribs.
The Rendezvous isn’t fancy and the food was served quickly on paper plates with plastic utensils. The family got started on chicken that was very tasty and I paused to snap a picture of my ribs. Now I prefer dry rubbed BBQ and typically turn up my nose at BBQ that is too wet, but I was not prepared for the amount of dry rub & spices that were visible on the surface of my ribs. My wife took one look at my ribs and said, “Those don’t look like Braddog ribs”. I was flattered and didn’t bother to try to explain that these ribs are char grilled as opposed to the way I prepare them.
The ribs were tasty, but due to the chargrilling they were chewier than I’m used to. The beans were very good and the slaw was sweet and vinegary (the way I like it). Service was top notch and the we were in and out in a very short amount of time. I’d read enough about the place beforehand that there were no surprises and all-in-all I enjoyed my trip to the Rendezvous.
There may be better BBQ in Memphis, but based on reputation and notoriety you’ve got to give the Rendezvous a shot when you’re in town.
When I tell folks that the pulled pork they’re enjoying cooked for 12+ hrs (or longer), I often hear comments like “Wow, how many times did you have to add charcoal?”. People are amazed when I tell them that I didn’t add any and that I got a good night’s sleep besides. So here’s an example to illustrate the burn times that can be achieved with the Big Green Egg.
Over the holiday weekend, I cooked pork butt on three consecutive nights. The last night, Saturday, I fired up the BGE at ~9:00pm for an all nighter. I filled the BGE with lump charcoal almost to the fire ring. The butts cooked until ~2:00pm the next day. At that time, we bumped the temps to 300 degree and put a load of ABT’s on the cooker. At ~4:00pm, I removed the plate setter and continued to cook at 300-350 degrees while I put a couple of chicken breasts on.
All told, the cooker ran for ~20 hours on a single load of lump charcoal. I accomplished this without the aid of an electronic draft device (i.e. a Stoker or BBQ Guru), just controlling temps with the vents and giving the coals a good stir when switching between smoking and grilling.
So how about it? How long have you cooked a single load of fuel? And gas doesn’t count! 🙂
Like most holiday weekends, I find myself cooking for almost the entire weekend. But that’s okay, I love doing it. This Memorial Day weekend was no different. And for large meals, there’s nothing better than pulled pork. It’s pretty simple and goes a long way. (Here’s my method for pork butt/pulled pork on the Big Green Egg).
It’s sort of a tradition for me to feed the guys at work on the Friday before a holiday weekend. So, Thursday night I fired up the Big Green Egg and cooked two pork butts totaling ~13lbs. They went on the cooker at 5:45pm on Thursday night and came off around 8:15am on Friday. That’s one all-nighter in the books.
On Friday, I offered to bring pulled pork to a family gathering on Saturday for lunch. So once again I fired up the cooker and went with a single pork butt. (I also fired up theBubba Keg for some bratwurst for dinner.) This time, a six-pounder went on the BGE at 5:30pm on Friday night and I took it off at 6:30am on Saturday. That’s two all-nighters.
My neighbor had planned a backyard party for Sunday and asked me to cook pork butt, so ~15lbs. of pork butt went on the cooker at 9:30 on Saturday night and came off at ~2:00pm on Sunday. That’s three all-nighters in a row.
Even though the BGE does a great job and doesn’t require much tending, I have stayed up late and gotten up early for the past 3 nights. I’m sure glad it’s raining today, I could use a nap!
I’m enjoying some late spring skiing in Colorado with my family. Today, my wife threw me a bone and suggested we try a BBQ joint in Frisco, CO. I guess that’s the least she can doing since I’ll spend the next 3 days packing everyone’s skis and gear back and forth from the mountain.
In any event, we wondered into a place called Q4U. I could see smoke rising from behind a picket fence so I had high hopes. Like a lot of BBQ joints, there was a chalkboard for a menu and orders are taken at the counter. My wife ordered a pork sandwich and I opted for the burnt ends sandwich (I won’t mention the kids meals here since they didn’t try the BBQ).
I was a little disappointed to receive a sandwich covered in sauce, but the sauce was pretty good and it wasn’t overpowering. The sandwich was served on a very crusty roll, not what I’d expected. My wife thought the pork was a little tough. I thought the burnt ends were pretty good and the baked beans were tasty.
I began to wonder what the regional preferences are for BBQ in Colorado. Am I unfairly comparing Q4U to my own preferences for BBQ? I don’t know. I did enjoy the BBQ and at the most basic level, the burnt ends were smoky, had a nice bark, and were very tasty. Buns & sauce aside, I guess that’s what really matters.
A recent story on the Travel Channel made me aware of a BBQ restaurant in my own backyard that I had yet to try. Apparently, the restaurant has won Best BBQ in St. Louis by a couple of local publications. I guess I really gotta pay more attention to what’s going on in my part of the world.
Nonetheless, I made the journey to Pappy’s Smokehouse for lunch today. Before leaving work, I looked up their hours or operation only to discover that their hours are variable based on what time they sell out of their various meats. Apparently they prepare enough meat for each day and when it’s gone it’s gone. So I headed out with a sense of urgency. When I walked in, I was greeted by a line that stretched almost the entire length of the place.
As I watched plate after plate of good looking BBQ being brought from the kitchen, I was greeted by the sight of 3 Memphis in May trophies near the front counter. I guess these guys really know what they’re doing. I was also very encouraged to see that the BBQ was served sans sauce but there were three types available as condiments on the table.
I ordered up a pulled pork sandwich with a side of baked beans and an ear of deep-fried corn on the cob.
This was the small sandwich but the pulled pork was generously piled onto a bun. It was very tender and had a nice smoke flavor. I opted for their sauce called “Holly’s Hot Sauce”. They bill it as a Texas style sauce, and I enjoyed it very much. The baked beans had a nice flavor but I have to say that I wasn’t wild about the deep fried corn on the cob, although it was definitely a first for me. I also tried a bite of their brisket (one of my lunch pals gave a sample from his plate), and found it to be very good as well.
Like most BBQ joints, the place was minimally decorated. They had a super wait staff though and I enjoyed the blues music that played while we ate. They were very prompt in getting the food out, cleaning off tables, and ensuring that everyone was satisfied with their meal. In fact, the owner himself was very visible around the place.
The menu is extensive and they do a very nice variety of meats and sidedishes. If their catering business is anywhere near as busy as their lunchtime business, then they must do a great business.
I’ll make another trip here you can bet. I’d like to try more of their brisket and maybe some chicken, but they’ve got a real shot at being my recommendation as best in St. Louis. Oh, there’s one other “clear the bar” item for any good BBQ joint and Pappy’s didn’t disappoint. They serve sweet tea! ;>)
Here’s my final report card:
BBQ – A
Side Dishes – A-
Atmosphere – A
Value – A
Overall – A
Pappy’s Smoke House 3106 Olive Street Saint Louis MO 63103 Email: mike@pappyssmokehouse.com Phone: 314-535-4340 Fax: 314-535-4337 Hours: M-F 11-7 or 8 (we sell out around then) Week-ends 11-around 4 (we sell out fast on week-ends)
Over the past few years, my parents have officially become snowbirds. That means they spend 6 months per year in sunny Florida. Those would be the same six months that I’m battling cold temperatures and wind while trying to perfect my BBQ technique.
Recently, they began to sing the praises of a BBQ establishment in Naples, FL, called MichelBob’s. Now I’ve never been to the place and I can’t substantiate their claims about having the best ribs in America. However, my folks did send home a bottle of their rub/seasoning so I thought I’d give it whirl.
I tried the rub on a brisket that I cooked on the Big Green Egg on Sunday. I found it to be a little saltier and have a little more garlic than my standard brisket rub. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As the brisket finished up, it formed a nice bark and the was very tasty. In fact, I think enjoyed it even more the next day.
I hope to get to Florida to try their BBQ Ribs first hand, but until then I will definitely continue to enjoy their rub. I wouldn’t mind giving their sauce the once over, but alas no one has come forward with a bottle of that! 8>)
It had been awhile since I’d done ribs on my Big Green Egg, but with the weather hovering around ~70 degrees I decided Saturday was a perfect day to fire up the cooker. So off to the store I went for some ribs. When I got there, all that was available were spare ribs. Now I usualy cook baby backs but didn’t feel like hunting all over town for them so I just went with St Louis style spare ribs.
What’s the difference? Well, baby backs come from “high on the hog” and are typically smaller and more tender. Spareribs on the other hand come from the belly of the hog, are larger, and typically have more fat. You also have to deal with a flap of meat on the bone side of spare ribs and a strip of meat and cartilage along the edge. You can find spareribs with the extra flap and cartilage removed by the butcher. These trimmed spareribs are often referred to as “St. Louis Style”.
While the spare ribs turned out okay, my family let me know in no uncertain terms that they prefer the “other kind”. So from now on, I’ll stick to baby back ribs even if I have to chase all over town to find them.
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