East v. West 2011 California State Championship

East v. West II California State Championship BBQ Competition - held in Wildomar, CA. This comp was a really well run event by Henry S. The weather seemed to hang out for a while on Saturday morning over the highly superior BBQ Team field that descended on this competition. All the big guns from the South West United States were present and accounted for.

Meat, Inc. had the fine opportunity to host the men from San Jose's Smoke Slayers present to assist. Thanks to Johnny Cakes (C-a-k-e-s) and Chad Quarrey. For some reason these kids thought Meat, Inc. would be a great source of information for their future BBQ comps. They washed a LOT of dishes!


No one said we didn't know how to make breakfast!


ALL Firemen LOVE atomic buffalo turds!


Chad and Johnny scrape chicken skins - my favorite!


Making ABT's - me and Nate having a disagreement on how to core peppers!

R - L - Chad (Smoke Slayers), Neil (Big Mista), Aaron (Meat, Inc.), John (Brazen BBQ), Johnny (Smoke Slayers and Lot Lizard) = getting our dance moves on.

Breakfast of champions - carne asada chowder with breakfast fatty. Horrible breakfast - low fat and tasteless! Or was it?!?!?

Clown patrol - Brad, John, Dave, and Steve!

Louie and J-Lo checking on the ABT's! Looking great!

Looking like another beautiful southern California Day - Meat, Inc. sponsored by Oakridge BBQ!

Chad giving Johnny some BBQ tips!

Chicken turn in:

999 999 878 988 978 879 - 5/54

Ribs -

888 898 877 788 899 676 9/54

Pork Butt -

777 987 877 788 899 676 16/55

Brisket - this was THE poor entry we had - it was a rough turn in - according to the Stoker it was over temp... according to the probe test it was over temp... When I sliced it the meat seemed under cooked. It was really weird!

976 866 766 767 766 866 - 53/55

Beef Ribs side comp:

887 889 766 767 787 878 11/24

Chad, Aaron, and Johnny showing off. Thanks for the assist Smoke Slayers!

Stuffed Pork Loin

Stuffed Pork Loin

This recipe looks much more difficult than it actually is. The hardest part is butterflying the loin. You can do the same thing with a tenderloin but it is much harder to butterfly the meat. The nice thing about this recipe is you can cook it on a smoker, in the oven or in a modified indirect gas grill. It also looks REALLY impressive when sliced. Your guests will be impressed - and full - when dinner is done!

This picture is from the Havasu 2011 BBQ Comp - Anything Butt Competition. Looks great! Tastes better!

Ingredients:

Pork Loin

Baby Spinach - about 8oz

Pepper jack Cheese - shredded or sliced - about 1lb.

Hard Salami - about 1/2lb.

Dry Rub - I like Sweet Mesquite Dry Rub from Costco

Butterflying the loin is the hardest. You can see that this loin is triangle shaped instead of rectangular. The meat will dictate the shape. Try and find a loin that is the same thickness throughout the entire piece. Feel free to dig in the meat cooler - they won't mind!

I made one slice right down the middle and then about 1" from the bottom started slicing sideways. Use a really sharp knife and go slow - it isn't a race! Make as many slices as you need to create a flat, even piece of meat when finished. The time you take will be worth the time. Be careful not to cut too thin so the meat blows out (creates holes).

Note - I like to add a heavy layer of dry rub on the inside of the meat.

Lay down a heavy layer of baby spinach. Don't worry - it'll squish down.

Next the layer of hard salami. Why hard salami - don't know - seems to fit. The hard salami adds a little bit of fat without making the loin greasy and now there is two types of meat per bite! Don't be afraid to go thick - overlap and lay a heavy layer!

Next and final layer is the cheese. You can use sliced or grated pepper jack. You can see both in the following pictures. I didn't notice a difference between the two. Sliced is easier - I'd go with sliced.

Roll the loin up as tight as possible and then tie in at least three places with butcher's twine - as tight as possible. The meat won't feel it - get that twine tight!

Dust the outside of the loin on all sides with a heavy dose of your favorite dry rub. The Sweet Smokey Mesquite dry rub from Costco is really awesome!

This is the loin from Havasu - you can see they are much more square - and will look better when sliced. I also used sliced cheese instead of shredded. You can also see the heavy dose of dry rub under the stuffing ingredients.

Rolling up the loin as tight as possible.

Stuffed pork loin on the grate.

Make sure you cut all the butcher's twine off the meat before slicing or eating.

Pork Loin sliced up. The loin was cooked up to 150F internal. USDA rules have changed - old rules say the loin had to be cooked up to 165F internal. New rules say 150F. I also recommend resting the loin - wrap the loin in heavy duty foil and then in an old towel and placed on the counter - or even better - in a clean dry cooler - for an hour or so. This resting allows the juices in the meat to redistribute - making the meat more juicy.

Here's the stuffed loin plated with some smoked mac & cheese along with a Tapenade Stuffed Loin.

Here's the Stuffed Loin plated for the Havasu BBQ Anything Butt competition - along with Smoked Mashed Potatoes, Stone Ground Mustard, BBQ Sauce, and Raspberry Chili Powder Reduction. It was good for 3rd place!

Let's eat!

Oakridge BBQ - Official Sponsor of Meat, Inc. BBQ Team

- Announcement -





Meat, Inc. Professional BBQ Team has a new sponsor - Oakridge BBQ!

Oakridge BBQ makes professional quality BBQ Competition dry rubs and spices. They are unique and amazing - please visit their web site and look for their specials. Right now they have a special that lets you try their 4 competition rubs for $01 (1 cent) plus S & H. This is a really great deal and the perfect way to try out some new rubs.





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Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus is a quick and easy way to add a great appetizer or side dish to your meal - and best of all - it's wrapped in bacon.

EVERYTHING IS BETTER WRAPPED IN BACON!



The recipe is really easy -
Bacon - average quality. No need to get high quality - unless you want - and no need to get thick cut - it would actually be more difficult to keep wrapped.

Asparagus

I used 1lb of bacon for one average size bunch of asparagus.

Trim the bottom off of the asparagus. Cut the bacon in half. Wrap each asparagus spear with a half piece of bacon. Try not to overlap the bacon so it cooks evenly. Pull and stretch the bacon as you wrap it around the spear so when you let go, the bacon contracts and clings to the spear without the need of a toothpick.

The bacon wrapped asparagus does take up quite a bit of room on the grate. I suggest cooking this on a smoker where there are no direct flames. You can cook them on a gas grill but make sure you keep the burners OFF on the half of the grate you are cooking the asparagus on. The bacon grease is really easy to cause flare ups on a gas grill. You can also cook these in an oven.

I cooked these at 225 grate temp and it took about 1 hour. Cook until the bacon is completely cooked. The asparagus will probably be overcooked at this point but who's tasting the asparagus anyway? It is really just a delivery vehicle for the bacon.

After about an hour the bacon is done and ready to eat. Some other options are to sprinkle some brown sugar on the bacon to add a little sweetness. Candied Bacon Asparagus? Sounds good!

Plated up with some smoked Pork Tenderloin. Really good! Let's eat!

BBQ Tools - Cedar Planks

BBQ Tools - Cedar Planks



Cedar wood grilling planks have been around for a while and most of you have seen them before - but do you know how easy they are to use and how well they work?!?

The purpose of the Cedar Planks is to provide an indirect cooking area for more delicate foods while adding some flavors. These planks can be used in any smoker, charcoal grill or gas grill but take the following precautions - on any cooker, make sure the grate temp does NOT exceed 300F:

Smoker - no real precautions - you're already cooking indirect so just soak the planks.

Charcoal Grill - try and move the coals to one side of the kettle and place the planks on the opposite side. Keep a spray bottle of water handy just in case the plank catches on fire.

Gas Grill - ONLY use on the indirect side - turn the burner on one side only and use the planks on the other side. Make sure the flame does NOT touch the planks. Keep a spray bottle of water handy just in case the plank catches on fire. You may also want to place a sheet pan between the burner and the planks to ensure no flames touch the planks.

Prep the planks - soak the planks in a container that covers at least half of the plank - remember - they float! Soak the planks for at least 1/2 hour and up to 3 hours. You can add salt, balsamic vinegar, apple cider, or whatever you can think of that will add flavor to the food as it evaporates during the cook.

The first time you use the planks, you will have to cure them - soak them and then cook them on the grate for 2 minutes per side and flip at least 2 times so each side gets "heat treated" twice. This will reduce warpage in the future.



Soak the planks for 1/2 hour to 3 hours. I used a bucket with some apple cider, sea salt, and season salt. I soaked them for 3 hours, flipping them over every 1/2 hour to ensure the entire plank was soaked.



The first time you use the planks you have to "heat treat" them. Place them on the grate after you soak them - make sure you flip them every 2 minutes and make sure each side gets the treatment at least twice. This will ensure the planks don't warp.



Cooking on the planks - these planks are great to cook fish, shell fish, vegetables, or any other delicate food item that will fall through the cooking grate or tends to fall apart. I cooked some salmon here.



You can see the salmon cooking - the planks slowly loose their moisture and the cider and seasoning that I soaked the planks in slowly steamed out of the planks and into the food. This is a great way to infuse some additional flavors. I don't recommend cooking anything on the planks that takes longer than 30 minutes because the planks will completely dry out and then you have a fire hazard. Watch the pit / cooker the entire time these planks are on the fire!

This is an inexpensive way to add another dimension - and some fun - to your cook. What a great way to experiment AND cook some foods that are typically tough to cook on the grate!

Tapenade Stuffed Pork Loin

Tapenade Stuffed Pork Loin!



This looks impressive, it's very tasty, but don't tell anyone - really easy to prep and cook!

Tapenade is usually made as an appetizer - made into a spread for crostinis or toast - but can be used to stuff meats - like I did!



The ingredients are pretty basic:
Olives - 1 cup
Garlic - minced - 1 1/2 tblspn
Capers - 4 tblspn
Lemon Juice - 4 tblspn
Olive Oil - 4 tblspn
Kosher Sea Salt - 1 1/2 tblspn
Black Pepper - 1/2 tblspn



Mince the olives and capers - not too fine. Add and mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Now the hard part - it's not really that hard - prepping the loin. You must have a very sharp knife. Make the following cuts slow - take your time. If you cut too deep you will slice through the meat and there will be a hole in the finished meat. Holes are bad - the filling will fall through!



Cut down the center of the loin until there is about 2" left unsliced.

Start slicing horizontal about a 1" down from where the vertical cut stopped and open the flap up as you slice. Slice until you are about 1" away from the horizontal edge.

You can slice offset from the previous slices to open up the meat the rest of the way. You want to cut offset from the previous slices because the meat will open up more and there will be less chance of slicing through the meat and making holes.

Spread the tapenade filling evenly over the loin. You can add other ingredients into the stuffing such as cheese or some red or yellow bell peppers to add some color. You want the tapenade flavor to come through so if you add something else - make it a mild flavor or a flavor that will match well to the salty / olive flavor of the tapenade.

Roll up the loin and use butcher's twine to tie the roll up and hold it together. Have someone help you on this step and try and get the twine as tight as possible - you can't hurt the meat so pull the twine as tight as possible.

Now let's make the dry rub that will cover the outside. This dry rub is Mediterranean inspired - feel free to adjust as you like.

Black Pepper - 1 tblspn

Garlic Powder - 1 1/2 tblspn

Kosher Salt - 1 tblspn

Italian Seasoning - 6 - 8 tblspn

Heavily coat the outside of the loin.

Place on the smoker / gas grill / oven @ 300F grate temp. Pretty easy to make in the oven. Gas grill would be tough but possible - place the loin on the side of the gas grill with all the burners off - control the opposite side burner as low as possible and keep the grate temp at 300F.

Roll over to evenly cook and get some grate marks on the other side after about 1 hour.

For a smoker - I would avoid using mesquite - it's just too powerful of a flavor and will drown out the tapenade. I would use apple, pecan, or maybe oak.

Cook until internal temp is 160F. I average about 2 hours cook time on this loin but have seen in take up to 3 hours. The nice thing is you can estimate long and let the loin rest longer. After you hit internal temp, wrap in foil then a beach towel and place in a clean dry cooler or on the counter for at least 1/2 hour to let it rest.

Cut the twine off. Slice into about 1 1/2" thick slices. The pin wheel effect looks nice - the meat should be pretty even between the coils if you cut the loin up evenly. The bark on the loin looks nice and dark offsetting the pork. If you cooked it on a smoker nice and slow, you will get some pink smoke ring too.

Serve it up - Let's eat! This is plated with a spinach, hard salami, and pepper jack cheese stuffed loin and some smoked Mac & Cheese.