R&D with extra sauce

One of my favorite things to do while traveling is to check out the local BBQ joint. Diving into some messy BBQ and knocking back PBRs is what I call R&D.

On my last visit to my hometown of San Diego the fam and I visited Phil's BBQ on Sports Arena Boulevard in Point Loma. I had heard of this place before and it had been highly recommended to Mom so we cruised over and got in line. Phil's is a counter service joint and let me tell you, they got their stuff down to a science. While in line you peruse the menu of basically ribs or chicken in any kind of quantity or combo you want. They have all the usual suspects when it comes to sides minus the southern staples of collards and hushpuppies. When you get up to the front counter you are accosted by pyramid stacks of Phil's BBQ Sauce and Spice Rub. (Phil has great branding, his logo is on everything from the front door to the wet naps.) After you place your order you get a buzzer and it's up to you to weave in and out of the busy dining room and score a table. At the table they supply you with hot sauce, cajun seasoning and of course Phil's BBQ Sauce. A busser brings you share plates and cutlery and when your buzzer rings you walk up to the expeditors line where they have your dishes very methodically placed in between two ticket rails with your table number.

The food was really good for such a corporate setting. I noticed they had a Phil's event center across the street and catering trucks lined up out front that were definably in constant use. The ribs and chicken were extremely moist and tender and were coated with a sweet and slightly spicy BBQ Sauce. The mac salad was nice and tangy, the potato salad consisted of halved red potatoes mixed with a mayo-herb dressing, coleslaw was very fresh, baked beans looked like they were strait out of a can but good never the less, fries are cut and fried in house and they also serve enormous onion rings. Did I mention they serve PBR in 24 oz. cans?

photo from Phil's BBQ website

Phil's blew any BBQ joints I've been to in SF out of the water. If you are ever in the area check it out, not only for the food but to see how a well oiled machine of a restaurant runs. Phil's is slingin' out hundreds of pounds of meat a day. And everyone there has a smile on their face.

Put Heat To Your Meat

Hot Sauce. It's one of everyone's favorite condiment. One of the reasons the market is so saturated with different brands of hot sauces is because it's so easy to make. Follow the basic  process and slap on a funny label and boom your in business. In today's blog I will talk about ingredients, methods and storage of home-made hot sauce. The rest is up to you!

Ingredients - You need three basic ingredients to make hot sauce, you can add more if you want but it always has to have at least these three:

1. Chiles - The type of chile you use will determine how hot you want your sauce to be so really it's              just a personal preference. Warning: Always use gloves when handling chiles. Here is a list of some great chiles to use in hot sauce:

• Serrano
• Fresno
• Holland
• Cayenne
• Jalapeno
• Habanero
• Thai Chili Pepper
• Dried New Mexico (re-hydrate before using)
• Dried Chili de arbol (re-hydrate before using)
• Ghost Chili (The worlds hottest pepper)

    

     2. Kosher Salt - It's easier to control and doesn't melt as fast as regular table salt.

     

     3. Vinegar - Do you want this ingredient to add flavor or do you want the chiles at center stage? If 

         you want the flavor of the chili to shine through go with distilled white vinegar. If you want to sass 

         it up a little try using apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar.

You may want to add other ingredients to enhance the flavor of your hot sauce. Common ingredients used are: Garlic, Onion, Fresh Tomato, Tomato Puree and Sugar.

Basic Hot Sauce Recipe

1# Chiles

3 Tablespoons Kosher Salt

2 Cups Vinegar

Methods - There are two different methods you can use to create hot sauce. The fresh method and the fermentation/aging method. Here's how they work:

1. Fresh Method (for the impatient cook) - Roast chiles over an open flame or in a 500 degree oven until skin blackens. Place chiles in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes. Peel the skin off of the chiles and remove stems (leave the seeds). If you are using dried chiles, place chiles in hot water and let sit covered for 10 minutes. Remove from the water, peel the skin off and remove stems. Rough chop the chiles and place them in a pot with the salt and vinegar. Simmer on medium low heat for about 30 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Make sure to press all liquid through. Discard scraps. Let the sauce cool and then refrigerate. Will stay fresh for at least a month. 
2. Fermentation/Aging Method (For the adventurous cook) - Rinse chiles under hot running water and pat dry. (If you are using dried chiles re-hydrate them in hot water, strain and pat chiles dry) Put the chiles in a food processor with the salt and finely chop. Warning: Do not lean over bowl while the peppers are chopping or right after you finish chopping and the lid has been taken off. The fumes will burn your eyes and lungs. Transfer mixture to a sanitized glass jar. Cover and let sit in a cool place for two days without stirring. Allowing mixture to start fermenting. Uncover, stir in vinegar and cover again. Let sit in a cool place for five more days. Allowing flavors to meld and sauce to age. Strain the chile mixture and discard solids. Pour sauce into a glass bottle with tight fitting lid. Refrigerate for up to six months. Shake before each use.

Storage - You can simply store your hot sauce in the refrigerator or you can preserve your sauce by canning it. There are two methods for this as well. Hot Filling or Pressure Cooking. For both you will need sanitized glass jars. For the hot fill method you will need a plastisol lid. If you are using a pressure cooker you will need a 2 piece metal lid with a rubber seal. Put your hot sauce into a hot jar.

Most importantly - Have Fun!

Reno and Ribs

Labor day weekend Spencer and I braved the traffic and drove up to Reno for the annual

Pit-masters hard at work

Nugget Rib Cook-Off. It was an entire day of eating ribs, drinking beer and ogling at the impressive operations of each BBQ team. This is not your average street fair with food booths that have a couple tables and a grill. These guys had built temporary restaurants equipped with multiple smokers and grills, entire cooking lines, portable walk-ins and blast chillers. Amazing. What was also amazing was the food. Champion Pit-masters from all over the United States.

Mike Mills author of Peace, Love and BBQ

The first place we tried was Memphis Championship BBQ. Their ribs were really good. In our opinion their BBQ sauce was the best we had all day. The founder is Mike Mills who is also the
author of one of my favorite books - Peace, Love and BBQ. Although they do Memphis style BBQ all of there restaurants are located in Las Vegas, NV.

Ribs at Memphis Championship BBQ

The second stand we tried  had our favorite ribs of the day as far as the flavor of the meat went. The Checkered Pig is based out of Martinsville VA. They also have a restaurant in Danville VA.

The Checkered Pig

 

Ribs at Johnson's Bar-B-Que

Next we hit up Johnson's Bar-B-Que which won our award for longest wait in line. Unfortunately these guys took forever to serve up their food and we stood angrily in line sweating in the hot Nevada sun. These guys are based out of Chesapeake, VA and their tagline is "Where hogs carry donor cards". We talked to the grill guy while we ate our ribs and learned that they start up the smokers at 2am, cook all day and then go home around 10 at night. He also said that he "sometimes makes his coleslaw if Sam's Club runs out", to which Spencer and I had a good giggle. Their ribs were surprisingly chewy and had a little bit to much sauce poured on them for my liking. Their baked beans and coleslaw did indeed taste like they came from Sam's Club.

After that we were so hot and getting a little full that we snuck into a nice dark bar to cool off, have a couple beers and work up our appetite again. The first place we went after that was called

2nd Place winner

Chicago BBQ Company from Burr Ridge, IL. These guys ended up winning 2nd place in the competition. They were probably our 3rd favorite rib joint.

Next we tried the ribs and their signature Mac and Cheese at
Joey's Texas Thunder. The ribs were seasoned heavily with sweet spices - allspice, clove and nutmeg. Not our favorite. The Mac and Cheese on the other hand was some of the best I've ever tried. It was your typical yellow cheddar baked pasta but it was seasoned with BBQ spice which made it a little spicy and super flavorful.

Ribs and Mac and Cheese at Joey's Texas Thunder

Our final destination of the day was called
BourbonQ, based out of Westport, KY. Their ribs were so tender you barely had to use your teeth to get the meat of the bones. These ribs were definably among the best we tried and the cooks were super friendly and funny. They were all wearing PETA shirts (People eating tasty animals). It was a great place to end our pig pig-out.

Ribs from BourbonQ

It was a great day. Some of the best BBQ I've ever had the privilege to sample. The 1st place winner was Back Forty Texas BBQ, based out of Pleasant Hill, CA of all places.
Unfortunately that wasn't one of the BBQ stands that we went to that day but I'm sure it was delicious. The Nugget Rib Cook-Off is an annual event. I recommend staying at the Holiday Inn down the street. It's an inexpensive but nice place to stay, its just off the beaten path so it's a little quieter and they have a free shuttle that takes you back and forth to the event.