March 31, 2009
Best BBQ Joints in America - Arthur Bryant's
You are sure to get a healthy argument in Kansas City over where to get the best BBQ in town. Folks in Kansas City tend to be loyal to their favorite BBQ Joint like your dog is loyal to you. One of the BBQ Joints that can claim as large of a loyal following as any in Kansas City is Arthur Bryant's.
Arthur Bryant was know as the "King of Ribs" and some have called him the most renowned barbequer in the history of barbeque. Arthur got into the barbeque business when he visited his brother Charlie, who worked for Henry Perry who started the Kansas City barbeque tradition. Arthur never left Kansas City and the world of barbeque after this visit. After Henry and Charlie died, Arthur took over the business and perfected the sauce. About the sauce, he once said, "I make it so you can put it on bread and eat it."
Arthur Bryant's many loyal fans include New Yorker columnist Calvin Trillin, who once called Bryant's the best restaurant in the world. Over the years a number of Presidents have dined at Bryant's, including Harry Truman (the Kansas City areas hometown President), Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Other well known celebrities who have dined at Bryant's include Steven Spielberg, George Brett, Wilt Chamberlain, Robert Redford and Jack Nicholson.
Bryant's slow smokes its meats with a combination of hickory and oak woods (Pork Barrel BBQ's favorite mix of smoking woods) to perfection. Step up to the counter and order a beef sandwich with white or wheat Wonder Bread. The man behind the counter slaps down the bread, puts at least a half of a pound of meat on the bread and then provides a generous slathering of sauce. There is literally enough meat on the sandwich for two or three meals!!! Don't forget to add fries, beans and a good helping of pickles and wash it all down with a Boulevard Wheat Beer - Kansas City's hometown beer.
You'll find the original Arthur Bryant's at 1727 Brooklyn Avenue, in downtown Kansas City. In recent years one has opened up at the Ameristar Casino and at the Legends at the Kansas Speedway. Check them out on the web at http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/.
If you need anymore convincing just look at the picture at the top of this blog post and try not to drool all over yourself.
March 24, 2009
Where In The World is Pork Barrel BBQ? - Wyoming!
Pork Barrel BBQ's biggest fan in Wyoming - Tyler Gale! Any 1 and a half year old who understands the value of great BBQ is clearly going to be a future President of The United States, or maybe will be a future owner of Pork Barrel!
March 18, 2009
Where In The World Is Pork Barrel BBQ? - Stonehenge
You are all probably familiar with Flat Stanley, the paper guy kids from all over the world have taken to famous spots and not so famous spots for school projects. We thought it would be fun to see where in the world Pork Barrel BBQ is. If you are a Pork Barrel BBQ fan and are traveling send us a picture of our can somewhere in the world with a brief explanation of where the can is and why it is significant to you.
Our first picture comes from me on a March 2009 trip to the UK. Here is a tin of our All American Spice Rub at Stonehenge.
Send us your pictures at porkbarrelbbq@gmail.com.
Happy Travels!!!
March 16, 2009
The Tools of the BBQ Trade - Meat Thermometer
I used to think that the best BBQ'ers could tell when the meat their cooking is done just by touch, or some special BBQ ESP. That's true to some degree (my steaks always cook to a perfect medium rare), but when cooking a pork butt, or a chicken, an essential tool is a good meat thermometer.
Fresh ground beef, veal, lamb, pork 160 degrees F
Beef, veal, lamb-roasts, steaks, chops
Medium rare 145 degrees F
Medium 160 degrees F
Well done 170 degrees F
Fresh pork-roasts, steaks, chops
Medium 160 degrees F
Well done 170 degrees F
Ham
Cook before eating 160 degrees F
Fully cooked, to reheat 140 degrees F
Poultry
Ground Chicken, Turkey 165 degrees F
Whole Chicken, Turkey 180 degrees F
Breasts, roasts 170 degrees F
Thighs and wings Cook until juices run clear.
Stuffing (cooked alone or in bird) 165 degrees F
Egg dishes, casseroles 160 degrees F
Leftovers 165 degrees F
Information courtesy the U. S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service
March 15, 2009
Best BBQ Joints in America - Rocklands Barbecue and Grilling Company
Since we are two guys from Missouri, you probably think all we can talk about is great Kansas City Barbecue - and you'd be right - except for a little gem of a BBQ joint we found in Alexandria, Virginia - Rocklands Barbecue and Grilling Company.
Wild Boar at the Organic Butcher of mcclean!
Our friend Don Roden at the Organic Butcher of mcclean has added a new product to their wild game offerings - wild boar strip. This lean, yet tasty cut is on special along with their popular boneless wild boar shoulder. Their wild boar is truly wild and feeds off lush woodlands and pastures with a natural diet of grass, roots, nuts, fruits, acorns and grains. This is a tender meat with a rich and nutty flavor. The shoulder is great for a stew, ragout or to throw on the smoker. The loin can be cut into strip steaks for the grill or roasted whole.
Be sure to say howdy to Don and pick up your boar at:
The Tools of the BBQ Trade - Chimney Smoker
Besides your grill, the single most important BBQ tool is a chimney smoker! What's a chimney smoker you ask? A chimney smoker lets you quickly start your charcoal, without having to use any starter fluid. Simply put your charcoal in the chimney, place some paper in the bottom and in 15 minutes your coals are ready! There are several benefits: 1) its faster - your coals are in an instant; 2) your don't have to use lighter fluid - meaning your food won't taste like fuel and you can help out the environment by not burning excess fuels. Bottom line - you're cooking faster and it tastes better! They cost about 20 bucks and last 1-2 BBQ seasons depending on use - so go pick one up today!
March 14, 2009
Brett's Secret Pulled Pork Recipe
Peggy requested a good recipe for Pulled Pork - this is Brett's secret recipe. Be sure to allow 6 hours for this - it will be the best six hours you've had in a long time - there's just nothing better.
Ingredients:
1 4-5 lb Pork Shoulder - Bone In
6 T Pork Barrel BBQ All American Spice Rub
4 lb Hickory Chips
1 lb Mesquite Chips
1 bag Natural Wood Charcoal
2 c BBQ Sauce
1/2 Stick Butter
Mop Ingredients:
6 bottles Beer (I like a dark lager)
1 medium Red Onion
1 c Brown Sugar
2 T Stubbs Mesquite Liquid Smoke
1 cup Cider Vinegar
5 cloves Garlic
2 T Pork Barrel BBQ All American Spice Rub
1 t salt
1 t pepper
To make the mop, combine all the above ingredients and bring to a boil. I like to make this an hour before I start cooking. It can even be made the night before and refrigerated. You will brush this mop on the pork shoulder every 30 minutes to help keep it moist and add a sweet, spicy and smoky outer coating.
How to Make Pulled Pork
1. Combine wood chips in a bowl and soak in water for 30 minutes. You will add this to the charcoal to create the smoke.
2. Preheat Grill to 375 degrees, on a Weber grill, I put the charcoal on one side, leaving space for the pork shoulder to sit to get the indirect heat.
3. Coat entire pork shoulder with Pork Barrel BBQ All American Spice Rub - be sure to rub it in!
4. Place a handful of chips on the heated charcoal - let the smoke begin! Add chips approximately every hour, when you open the grill to put on the mop.
5. Place pork shoulder on heated grill with the fat side up. You put the fat side up so that it drips in the meat as it slow cooks. Let it cook for 4-6 hours, putting the mop on it with a brush every 30 minutes. The key to success is to not move the pork shoulder, and keep it moisturized with the mop - this creates a sweet, smoky outer crust. It is done when the internal temperature hits 190 degrees.
6. Remove the pork shoulder from the grill and place on a cutting board. With 2 large forks, "pull" the meat - it should shred pretty easily. I like to then put the meat in an aluminum pan that contains 2 cups bbq sauce and 1/2 stick of butter - all I can say is yummmmmm. I add 2 T of the Pork Barrel BBQ All American Spice Rub before serving.
A few hints and safety tips:
1. Be sure to use a meat thermometer - and let it get to 190 degrees - this is the safe temperature for cooking pork, and it won't pull correctly unless it gets this hot.
2. Keep a constant cooking temperature at 375 degrees - resist the temptation to peek - it just makes it take longer.
3. Stop adding wood chips the final hour - I think this keeps the smoky flavor from overpowering the taste of the meat.
4. Stop adding the mop for the final 30 minutes - and don't use the mop after cooking - its just not safe...
Try this out and let us know what you think - we guarantee that you will be the life of the party!
March 6, 2009
Websites and Blogs About BBQ and Food That You Should Bookmark - Capital Cooking with Lauren DeSantis
One of the goals of the Pork Barrel BBQ Blog is to provide our readers with resources that help make each of your meals a new adventure in food. We believe there are few things that define who we are as individuals, families, and cultures more than food. We also believe that one of the best parts about food is expanding our knowledge and interests in it through these very same individuals, families, and cultures who hold their food traditions high with great pride. In order to do this we begin a new regular blog feature today called Websites and Blogs About Food That You Should Bookmark. We think these sites are some of the best resources as you begin or continue your life long trek through the culinary world.
Today we highlight my good friend Lauren DeSantis's website (www.capitalcookingshow.com) and blog (www.capitalcookingshow.blogspot.com).
During the week Lauren is an attorney, but on the weekends she is host of public television's Capitol Cooking with Lauren DeSantis. According to Lauren's website, "Capital Cooking is a series exploring the culinary and cultural riches of Washington, DC...Capital Cooking highlights cooking traditions of regional cuisine from all areas of the country as well as international dishes."
In less than a year (Capital Cooking made its TV debut on May 2, 2008) Lauren's show has grown in exposure and now reaches 25 cities in the United States and was just picked up in New Zealand!!! Check out her blog for stations near you that carry Capital Cooking.
In addition to her TV show, Lauren offers cooking classes - if you are interested in hosting a private event drop her an email at capitalcooking@gmail.com.
Keep an eye on Lauren's and our websites and blogs for information on an upcoming episode of Capital Cooking that will focus on BBQ and feature Pork Barrel BBQ!
Now go check out www.capitalcookingshow.com and www.capitalcookingshow.blogspot.com!!
Kansas City Star BBQ News - Barbecue fans aren't reluctant to voice opinions
Posted on Thu, Mar. 05, 2009
Barbecue fans aren't reluctant to voice opinions
By JOYCE SMITH The Kansas City Star
There’s an old saying that in polite social circles one should never discuss religion, politics or sex.
In Kansas City you might add barbecue to the list.
Almost nothing gets barbecue fanatics riled up as a discussion of Kansas City’s best.
Take the recent reports on the closing — then reopening Wednesday — of Famous Dave’s Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que in the Kansas City Power & Light District.
Dozens of readers rang in on The Kansas City Star’s business blog, economy.kansascity. com, with such comments as “it turns out Famous Dave’s is actually better than a lot of KC BBQ places” to “a Minneapolis BBQ joint in the BBQ capital of the world — Kansas City? What a joke.”
But there’s no debate that Kansas City is a barbecue town.
Zagat Survey even selected three barbecue places — Oklahoma Joe’s Barbecue, Danny Edwards Blvd. BBQ and Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue — in its list of top 10 area restaurants for 2008.
So this week I stopped at those restaurants, and more, to get the inside scoop from pit masters themselves on what makes great barbecue.
•Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque, Kansas City and Kansas City, Kan.
The technique: “The sauce, the tradition, the way we prepare our meats — slow-smoke it over hickory and oak. The key to barbecue is the pit master. We have three here and all of them have been here over 15 years. We try to prepare it the way Mr. Bryant did 80 years ago,” said Eddie Echols, general manager.
Also on the menu: turkey, sausage.
•Danny Edwards Blvd. BBQ, Kansas City.
In 1980, Danny Edwards went head to head with legendary Gates Bar-B-Q and Arthur Bryant’s. Not only did it survive, it often makes top barbecue lists, right along with them.
“I didn’t worry about what they have, just worried about what I sell,” he said. “You just do your best. I’m the one back here doing the cooking. It really makes me happy seeing all these people at the door every day, even in a depressed economy. They just want a good product at a reasonable price.”
The technique: Juicy slow-smoked brisket using hickory wood.
Also on the menu: Mexican chili, sweet potato fries.
•Famous Dave’s Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que, Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City Power & Light District.
“Minneapolis, that’s where our company is based, but our flavors and our cooking processes and all that came from all over the country,” said Mat Eastlack, general manager of the downtown Famous Dave’s. “Our founder, Dave Anderson, spent 25 years developing his recipes from all over the country — Kansas City, Memphis, the Carolinas, Texas — and so he takes the best from all those areas.”
The technique: Signature rubs, meat smoked for 2½ to three hours, then cooled. The next day it’s brought up to 160 degrees to help break down the fats and loosen the meat up so it falls off the bone easier. It’s charred on the grill, then sauce is added and the meat is grilled until caramelized.
Also on the menu: chicken Caesar salad, catfish fingers, smoked salmon spread, Cajun chicken sandwich.
•Gates Bar-B-Q, Kansas City, Kansas City, Kan., Leawood and Independence
George Gates II calls Gates a specialty house that concentrates on just making great barbecue.
“Barbecue is an art, it’s a feeling,” he said. “Everybody can paint, but not everybody is an artist. That’s what makes Kansas City so great, because you have so many styles of painting — of artistry of barbecuing.”
The technique: The pit has to be at the right temperature with the right moisture. Ribs start off on the bottom of the pit, close to the fire. The meat is seared to keep the juice in, then moved away from the fire to finish.
“Directly over the fire, not indirect, is what gives us our Gates flavor, along with our Gates spices,” Gates said.
Also on the menu: mutton, turkey, yammer pie.
•Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue, Country Club Plaza, downtown, Martin City and Overland Park.
“We really try to focus on the quality of our raw ingredients and preparing all our products fresh from scratch,” said Case Dorman, president.
The technique: Authentic brick pits using 100 percent wood — 60 percent hickory, 40 percent oak — with meat seared at 350 degrees, then moved to a rotisserie smoker to slow-cook and hold the moisture.
Also on the menu: Rack of lamb, seared tuna, vegetable kabobs, entree salads and cheesy corn bake.
•Oklahoma Joe’s Barbecue, Kansas City, Kan., and Olathe.
Started as a competition barbecue company, Oklahoma Joe’s opened as a restaurant in 1996.
“There’s a big difference in cooking barbecue in your backyard, cooking barbecue at a competition or cooking barbecue in a restaurant,” said Jeff Stehney, co-owner with his wife, Joy Stehney. “The most important thing when you go from cooking competitively or in the backyard to the restaurant is you obviously have to figure out a way to make money at it … but you do need to stay true to your belief that quality comes first.”
The technique: “Our barbecue rubs are what makes our barbecue stand out. The most important thing is how the barbecue rubs interact with the smoke and the heat,” Jeff Stehney said. “And we use only Missouri white oak to smoke with.”
Also on the menu: Red beans and rice, smoked chicken gumbo, Z-Man sandwich (smoked beef brisket, barbecue sauce, smoked provolone cheese and onion rings).
March 3, 2009
BBQ Blog - Let's Meat on the Avenue Hosts - Beef 101 - Meat from a Butcher's Point of View
March 2, 2009
The Organic Butcher of McLean Becomes Second Pork Barrel BBQ Retail Outlet
6712 Old Dominion Drive
McLean, VA 22101
March 1, 2009
How Do We Create Pork Barrel BBQ Spice Rubs? First Stop - Penzeys Spices
Heath is the real culinary genius of Pork Barrel BBQ - a true master of the bbq grill and kitchen. We have a special process for each dry rub we create. It all starts with a trip to Penzeys Spices - be sure to visit them at http://www.penzeys.com/. We are convinced they have every spice known to man!
For our All American Spice Rub, Heath purchased over $120 worth of spices and created five test dry rubs. We then hosted a meeting of the Pork Barrel Kitchen Cabinet, a group of 10 of our friends (really an excuse to eat and drink) that test each dry rub. At the end of the evening, we take their comments and Heath makes a rub combining the best of all the rubs!
Our All American Spice Rub contains Heath's secret blend of 14 spices. I was really amazed to see the final list - you'll never be able to guess all the ingredients! They sure do taste great together!!!
