Eye of Round...Injection Needed

My last cook was a night cook practice and all went OK.  The meat was good but did not meet my high standards.  I now know that when I cook any beef on the smoker, I am going to make damn sure I inject that puppy.  I have a picky eater in my family so I overcooked the meat a bit.  I should have pulled the meat around 145F seeing how much more cooking occurred during rest time.  The sammies were good but not "My BBQ Shack" good.  The true star of the night was the Kielbasa I smoked, going to have to make sure I get three next time.   OK so lessons learned.

Eye of Round Roast (Beef)
Char-Griller Pro Duo
Time: 3hrs (cook) 4hrs (total)
Ambient Temp: 45F-47F (Night)
Cook Temp: 225F-250F
Wood: Hickory (75%) Mesquite (25%)
Charcoal: Briquettes (50%) Lump: (50%)
Practice (1st)

BBQ and Who I Am

A lot of people ask me where I come from when it comes to BBQ.  They seem to want to know what drives me to constantly cook for hours on end, research and test recipes and flavor profiles until the early morn, watch temps and the fire like a hawk, and baby BBQ meat like it is my first born…Well the answer is I like it and I’m good at it.  Now that may sound arrogant, but let me explain.  First you need to look at who inspires me in the BBQ world…Myron Mixon, Johnny Trigg, and “The Baron of BBQ” Paul Kirk.  These guys are many times considered cocky, sometimes aggressive, but always confident.  Second I have lived my life with people telling me I couldn't do it.  I've been told it’s a waste of time and it’ll never make me money.  The worst however is when people think they are better than me…Most of these people don’t put in the work I do, and most of them don’t have a fraction of the talent I do.  This may sound arrogant to you but it’s true.  I’ll have someone tell me “oh so you make sauce huh, I make sauce and people say it’s like crack.”  I usually smile and say “That’s cool.”  But in my mind I’m thinking “they only think your sauce is good because they have never had mine and they have no basis to judge it on.”  Don’t get me wrong I have years of learning and perfecting my craft to go.  I am by-no-means  ready to hit the KCBS or MIM circuits and start waxing veterans, but I’m getting better and I’m on the verge of breaking out on the BBQ scene soon…and in a BIG way!

My passion runs deep and my goals are set high.  I will have a killer sauce sold in grocery stores across the US.  I will own a restaurant slinging cue’ for Denver…and it’ll be the best.  I will be a world champion pit master on a world champion BBQ competition team.  I will put Denver on the BBQ map.  How do I know this?  I know this because I believe.  I know this because I work hard on this craft.  I know this because I taste the options in my area and I’m better than them (even better than some of the big chains).  I know this because this is all I really want to do.

BBQ means a lot to me.  There is something very primal about cooking naturally, no gas, no electricity, just wood and coals.  It’s the truth in Americana, being born from necessity in an evil past and evolving into a way of life that is really only American.  BBQ brings people together.  It bridges cultural gaps.  Rarely do I hear that BBQ is disgusting if it’s done right.  BBQ is in my soul.  It is a way to express myself in a very intimate way.  I pour my heart and soul into my cue’ and many times my finished product represents the way I am feeling that day.

So maybe next time you read a post you can better understand if I boast or even if I trash myself.  This is who I am and who I am becoming.

Ribs 2...The Demise of Maple Syrup

Second rib practice went down and I learned some lessons.  Lesson 1 buy really good meat.  Lesson 2 practice consistency.  Lesson 3 watch the fire not the meat.  Lesson 4 not all of them can be winners.


 Pork Spare Ribs (Cut St. Louis Style) and Tips
Char-Griller Pro Duo
Time: 6hrs (cook) 9hrs (total)
Ambient Temp: 62F-64F
Cook Temp: 225F-250F
Wood: Apple (100%)
Charcoal: Briquettes (30%) Lump: (70%)
Practice (2nd)

With a 30 minute mistake of not watching the fire, my temperature reached 325F for 30 minutes.  This really ruined the cook in a competition sense...but the flavor turned out ok for the family. Instead of honey I used maple syrup and it completely killed my glaze and flavor profile. My wife really liked the crispiness of the bark...I guarantee the KCBS judges wouldn't have.  Lessons learned.

Next Topic...Where I am at.

Next Cook...Competition Chicken or Ketter's Brisket



Snow and Cold...

I apologize for not getting a post on a cook done last week.  The temperature outside was in the negatives and the snow was really just ice covered with a dusting, so I was not able to get my cooker out.  I plan on doing some more ribs in a couple of days if finances stay positive.  I really hope to get more support for my Colorado BBQ dreams...so if you are reading this, please leave comments on what you like, don't like, and what you want to see on this blog.  AND AS ALWAYS, please share and spread the blog around.  This is the beginning of a 2-3 year push to become a professional competitor and owner of a BBQ team and a BBQ sauce company.  Thank you all for your support.

       Up Next...Rib Cook (Hickory)

Good Ole' Boston Butt, AKA Pork Butt, but Really Pork Shoulder

So the cook went real well.  I am going to change up my format a little on the cook posts.  So here is the pulled pork cook...

Boston Butt Bone In
Char-Griller Pro Duo
Time: 8hrs (cook) 11hrs (total)
Ambient Temp: 52F-60.5F
Cook Temp: 225F-250F
Wood: Hickory (80%) Apple (20%)
Charcoal: Briquettes (20%) Lump: (80%)
Practice (1st)

Basic Rub: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Brown Sugar, Chili Powder and some Secret Spices.

Injection: Salt, Apple Juice, White Sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, and Water

About 1/3 of the way into the cook...Testing out if my thermometer would show up in the pics.  In stead of showing a bunch of pics throughout the cook I'll just report temps.  1/3 cook: 138F, 1/2 cook 152F, 

Wrap: 166F, Pull to Rest: 196F

Mopped every hour from hour 1-5 with apple juice.

Pulling the meat can be challenging because even after 1 1/2 hours resting the internal temp near the bone is 180F.

Finished product.  The meat was succulent and the flavor was balanced between the smoke, bark, and pork.  Not pictured is the money muscle which I cubed and ate as a "Pit-Master Privilege".   I ate mine plain with just a small topping of BBQ sauce, while the others ate theirs atop a hamburger bun.  Very proud of this cook!

Next Cook...Chicken or Tri-Tip

Next Topic...TBD  

A Quick Word on Sustainability

I am real big on sustainability.  I am a firm believer on fiscal sustainability as well as product sustainability.  I want to keep my BBQ about Colorado and for Colorado.  I am in the process of picking which grass fed ranch i can buy my proteins from.  If any of you reading this know of a great ranch let me know in a comment.  The ranch has to be sustainable and grass fed.  No hormones, bad living conditions, etc.  I am also buying what I don't make myself from local Colorado artisans and craftsmen.  I  may have to make my own BBQ sauce again because the two local sauces I have tried are really bad.  I think any products I may find that I like, I will dedicate a small post to try to get the word out.  So all I can say is Colorado BBQ Pride and GO BRONCOS!!!!!

Up Next...

I'll be cooking a pork butt for some pulled pork! 

Rib Time!!!!

Ribs have got to be one of my favorite items in the BBQ world.  Jamie, my wife, asked me to make sure the ribs were sweet and saucy, so I made some like Mr. Trigg makes (just not as good I'm sure).  The ribs turned out better than I thought.  They were tender and sweet and salty.

 I made a pretty basic rib rub.  For pork I always cut down on the pepper and I make it sweeter tha when I'm preparing beef.

Here's a tip...when using brown sugar in a rub, dry it out on a sheet of aluminum foil.  Stir it around every hour or so.  Once dry, place another sheet of foil over it and roll a unopened soup can over it to break up the sugar.  I find this method makes it easier to shake out the rub, avoiding clumps.

Ready for the cooker!

Winter smoking does have it's challenges...today was high wind.  I'm using the Minion Method for the fire during this cook.  I used a fruit wood mix for the smoking process.

Smoking the meat using the 3-2-1 cooking method.  This is about 1 1/2 hours in at 225F.

Wrap Time! 3 hours into the cook.  2 hours wrapped at 225F then unwrapped, sauced, and back on the cooker for 1 hour at 225F...Thats the 3-2-1 method!

Ribs resting, the hardest time for a BBQ cook.

Ribs and rib tips...man they turned out great!

Next Topic TBA...Next Cook is Chicken In 2 Weeks