As usual, I volunteered to cook BBQ for a crowd.  Some things never change.  Today my department is having a holiday party combined with a birthday party for a couple of people.  We’ll have biscuits and fatties for breakfast.  Brisket, pulled pork, baby back ribs, cheesy potatoes, and green beans for lunch.  Hopefully someone remembered to get a cake.  The picture above is what the baby back ribs and pork butts looked like before I wrapped them in foil to finsh.  The cherry pellets make a nice color.  I can tell you that the smell was fantastic.

We have a few folks in the office who don’t eat pork: Kosher, Muslim, or allergies.  I didn’t want them to be left out on the fatties, so I’m trying a Honeysuckle Turkey Sausage.  Straight from the package, it wasn’t as firm as a normal pork sausage.  I like to use Jimmy Dean Regular or Hot.  So for the Turkey Sausage, I’m curious to see how it turns out.  I’m hopeful that it sets up like a pork sausage would and isn’t mushy.

I’m using the FEC-100 for the first time in about a month.  That is one excellent cooker.  It was 30 degrees when I went to bed last night.  The insulated FEC-100 chugged along wonderfully, and everything was as I would have expected several hours later.  I sure love that cooker.

Plowboys BBQ had the honor of helping Operation BBQ feed some worthy service men and women as well as their families this last Sunday. The BBQ team of Mad Hogs & an Englishman were host to Air Force Reservists and BBQ fans in at the St Joseph, MO base. Our brisket from the Kearney contest was added with dozens of other teams in the Kansas City area to feed these worthy men and women. Our part was small. We appreciate the folks who fed the troops and the troops for their commitment and sacrifice for this country we love.

From Barb of Mad Hogs and an Englishman:
The meal for the St. Joe MO Air Force Reservists was fantastic. We fed about 150 people and sent food back for the “night shift” at the base. We also had enough meat donated to send “goody boxes” home with those who wanted them. These guys deploy for 6 weeks desert training the first part of October. They get to come home for Thanksgiving then will be sent overseas. They put a donation pot out and the $185.09 that was collected is going to be sent to “A Soldier’s Wish List” which sends care packages and letters to soldiers in the Middle East. We explained that Operation BBQ doesn’t take money from the men we cook for but we would see that it was donated to an organization that sent care packages.

So from the troops themselves - a huge “Thank you, thank you, thank you” to the teams that donated their leftover turn-in meat from Kearney. I would love to list every team that donated at Kearney but there were so many and I would not want to forget anyone, which I’m sure I would do. Let’s just say that well over half the teams donated. And from the Atchison contest these teams donated their left over turn-in meat - Roo-B-Q-N, Dusty Roads, Smoke on Wheels and Tasty Green. All in all, we had over 30 half pans of meat donated. One reservist said “I didn’t know BBQ could taste this good. I’m not a huge BBQ fan but what I’ve had before never tasted like this.” Thank you to every team that donated.

Again the troops wanted to make sure that everyone that donated got a huge thank you from them.

One of my favorite contests of the year is the BarBeQlossal held during the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, IA. This is our fourth year of competing and it gets better every time. Day 1 starts on Thursday. I came in on Wednesday night to work form Des Moines during the day, while Randy rolls in Thursday morning with the concession trailer. The big event for Thursday is a high end, five course cigar dinner for six that we are serving on behalf of the Missouri Pork Association. The Missouri Pork Association is a sponsor of our competition BBQ team: Pork Pullin Plowboys.

This was labeled as the 1st Annual Cigar Dinner for the Missouri Pork Association at the World Pork Expo. The six guests from Ohio bid on and won the dinner at a National Pork Board function earlier in the year. Comments from the group was that it was the highlight of their week at the World Pork Expo and that they would love to come back the following year. The meal was provided by Plowboys BBQ with wine from the Missouri Wine & Grape Board.

Antipasto
Premium Smoked Sausages and Fine Cheeses with Accompaniments
Wine: 2002 Blanc de Blancs (Stone Hill Winery)
Cigar: Punch
First Course
Spring Greens
Wine: 2005 Chardonel (Les Bourgeois Winery)

Intermezzo
Rasberry Sorbet

Entree
Bacon Wrapped Double Cut Grilled Pork Tenderloins paired with lobster tails
accompanied by Backed Potatoes and a Seasonal Garden Selection
Wine: 2003 Norton (Adam Puchta Winery)
Cigar: Partagas 1845

Dessert
New York Cheesecake
Wine: Ice Wine (Augusta Winery)

Digestif
Wine: 2003 Fine Old Ruby Port (Crown Valley Winery)
Cigar: La Perla Habana Black Label

The pork tenderloins, lobster and potatoes were grilled on a Traeger 075 pellet grill. The pork tenderloins were cooked until an internal temperature of 150 degrees. The lobster tails were cooked until opaque and basted with clarified butter throughout the cooking process. Despite never having grilled or otherwise cooked lobster, I thought everything turned out fantastic. The guests voted with their plates… no lobster or pork was to be found at the end of the meal.

As thunderstorms roll through KC area and much of central midwest the Traeger 075 is rolling along with a packer brisket finishing up and two racks of pork spare ribs going on at 11-11:30a. All of it is going to Michael’s teachers who have family in from out of the country that wanted to try BBQ. Trying something different with a 50/50 mix of Plowboys Yardbird Rub and Lotta Bull’s Red Dirt. Brisket smelled great when I wrapped it this morning. Going for a 12 hour cook on the 12 lb. whole brisket. Ran 225 for 8 hours and then bumped up to 300 here for the last 3 or so.

Pointe of Hope church is planning a special Friendship Sunday, on April 1^st at 9:20am. Members of Pointe of Hope are extending invitations to the community, friends, neighbors, and relatives to have a smoked BBQ lunch at the church on April 1^st, 2007. The meat will be grilled and prepared by the award winning team  “Pork Pullin Plowboys” led by Todd Johns  (www.plowboysbbq.com). Todd will be supported by the additional teams of Smoke On Wheels, Mean Dean’s Smoking Machine, Boys of BBQ & Patty,  and the MoKan Meatheads.  Throughout the morning, during service, Todd and his teams will be smoking assortments of chicken, pork and beef to be served at 11:30 that day, along with typical barbecue luncheon faire. During the meal, Todd and his smoking associates will be doing demonstrations, offering advice, and answering questions on how to smoke meat with their award winning style and recipes. Pastor Brian Hetzel and Pointe of Hope Church are extending an invitation to “chill out” on Sunday, April the 1^st  at 9:20am worship  joining with friends and neighbors to hear a message on “Gods Grip”, followed by a great meal.

For more information about Pointe of Hope Church, visit our website at http://www.pointeofhope.org/, or call 816.220.2609.  We are located at 3719 W 40 Hwy Blue Springs, MO 64015, one half mile west of Woods Chapel Road.

Audrey’s boss at work asked me to cater barbeque for her team’s holiday party last week.  Per usual, the menu was long and we could have fed an army.  I didn’t get a lot of pictures of the final product, but I did get a couple of shots on the smoker.

The menu included…

Pulled Pork Empanadas
Pesto Grilled Shrimp
Plank Cooked Brie (one with pesto and one with sun dried tomato)
Hot Wings
Beans
Spare Ribs
Brisket
Pulled Pork
Stuffed Sausages

Everything got rave reviews which is always gratifying.  I was just pleased that it all came together so easily.

I say it all the time that BBQ is America’s trendy food. You barbeque all over FoodTV and the growth of BBQ competitions across the US is growing like wildfire. BBQ has even found its way to the island of Manhattan with dozens of barbeque joints sprinkled throughout the city. With the trendy move to BBQ, fine diners may want to pair a wine with that brisket or pulled pork. Here are some recommended wine and BBQ pairings from an exept taken from an article by Robert Fernandez at WhiteTrashBBQ.com.

Starters (salads, cheeses, appetizers):

• Sparkling wine, Gerwurztraminer, Riesling, White Zinfandel, Pinot Grigio

Beef:

• Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Zinfandel

Chicken:

• Dry Rose, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Shiraz, Pinot Noir

Pork:

• Dry Rose, Savignon Blanc, Merlot, Shiraz, Pinot Noir

Hamburgers:

• Dry Rose, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Savignon, Shiraz

Ribs:

• Dry Rose, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Merlot

White fish or shellfish:

• Sparkling wine, Dry Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay

Salmon:

• Dry Rose, Sparkling wine, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Serving Tips:

• Use the same wine in recipes that you plan on serving with the course.
• Count on “five” 5oz. servings from a 750ml bottle of wine.
• Chill sparkling, white and blush wines to 40-45 degrees F
• Serve red wines at 65-68 degrees F - that means on a hot day, don’t be afraid to keep them in a cool place!
• Keep wine bottles out of direct sunlight while storing.
• A five-ounce serving of wine (red or white) contains about 100 calories.
• Have iced-tea, lemonade and non-alcoholic frozen drinks as options for your guests.