The Grills Gone Wild Blog!
Check it out:
by John Warren on 11/07/11
So have you ever wanted to know more about the animal that is responsible for great BBQ? Of course I'm talking about the pig. Well here's a great website that will answer everything you wanted to know about these creatures...and probably some things you don't!
And check out our friends at the Florida Panhandle BBQ Society. A great community who knows their barbecue:
http://www.flapanhandlebbq.com
The Reviews Are In......
by John Warren on 10/04/11
Well, a new review for "Grills Gone Wild: From Backyard to Backstage" was just published by Wilfred Reinke. He had great things to say about the video.
Highlighting some of the video's content, Reinke stated that the "video was fast paced and shot it a way that made you feel that you were right along with the camera man.." He also mentioned that "there were lots of interviews that were edited so that they were quick and interesting." Summing up the positive tone of the review, he states "I would most definitely give this film 2 thumbs up. I know that a few friends of mine that are also in BBQ will enjoy watching this and I would be happy to sit with them and watch it again."
To see the full review and Reinke's other work, visit his site at http://oshawalaser.com/Blog/2011/10/03/dvd-review-of-grills-gone-wild-a-documentary-of-the-2011-boots-n-bbq-fba-state-championship/
DOWNTOWN RIB THROWDOWN
by John Warren on 09/28/11
When a cozy quiet town throws a Barbecue Rib Competition, they do it right, with style and enthusiasm! The town of Grayslake, Illinois woke up to a rainy forecast, but it didn’t dampen the dry rub or the spirits of the attendees or the patrons that filled the streets.
Pictured above - Smokin Hot Fingers team and team captain Dr. Catherine Finger, third from the left from the Grayslake Community High School and Oasis board of directors and her valued team members. Each of their rib samples came complete with the American Flag. They had fun and did an incredible job!
Mike Pruitt, co-owner of the Vine Martini & Wine Bar started the Barbecue Rib competition in 2010 to help create another avenue to raise funds for Oasis Youth Center. This is only it’s second year, but it’s off to a great start and sure to become an event barbecue lovers will not want to miss each year. Grayslake is a great first place to be in the first place and then just add a tasty event like this and you have a perfect combination. I’m there!
Pictured in this photo, left to right are Joyce Campbell, Ryan Curtis and Michael Pruitt at the entrance of the barricaded Grayslake, Center Street competition and in front of the Vine Martini and Wine Bar. Don’t be fooled by the Martini and Wine Bar part of the title. This establishment, which I recently discovered, not only has killer creative seasonal Martini’s, but they also have a full service menu. The food was great and the service was top notch. I have 30 years of food service experience and I can tell you that this is a hot spot to go for dinner and then stay for cocktails and great live music.
Pictured below, Chef Steve Luebke was the competing chef for the Vine restaurant. Steve could still pose for a picture after only a few hours of sleep. Very impressive, considering Mike and Steve also had a huge dinner and bar service in the restaurant the night before. Awesome work guys! I asked Mike what his motivation is for this event.
Mike explained, “I love this event, because there’s a real home town feel and spirit to it. About 20 volunteers, many from Oasis, step up each year to help run the event. Everyone just puts their heart into it. They have fun no matter what the weather conditions are which by the way, we have only been at this for two years; each year to date it has rained.” Well Mike, the rain didn’t seem to matter. Great enthusiasm and smiles everywhere!
The competition was named the Downtown Rib Throwdown which was a fund-raiser for the Oasis Youth Center, which was conceived in 2003 and opened in April 2008 to provide the teens of Grayslake and surrounding communities a safe and stimulating place to go after school and on weekends. As many of the competitors explained, it’s always a good cause to raise funds for an organization that promotes a friendly and safe environment for our children to interact with one another and enjoy their music. The Oasis does just that. http://www.oasisgrayslake.com/
Ten teams participated in the barbecue contest this year. Joyce Campbell, Oasis president, awarded trophies to Gluntz Winery and Moose’s Barbecue who tied for first place. The Packin Heat Grayslake law enforcement team came in lights flashing for a close second. Let’s not forget they came in first last year. Then Rowland Martinez, Hainesville Firestone team rolled in with style for a very respectable third place.
Nick Schmidt of Moose's Barbecue, rather than talk up his award winning ribs, simply stated, “Hey look, this is what I want to say. This is a great event to participate in and a great group of people to work with. Beth and I really enjoyed it and will be back again.” Nick is a genuine good hearted competitor. This ain’t his first rodeo as you could taste in his tasty ribs.
Matt Gluntz offered me some of their barbecue right off the grill. Using a combination rub and sauce made for a winning combination. You can tell that Matt and his team truly enjoyed themselves by their smiles and teamwork.
Pictured below is the Gluntz Winery’s, Matt Gluntz (pictured left) http://gfwc.com/ and Nick Schmidt from the Moose's Barbecue out of Salem Wisconsin, run by Nick and Beth Schmidt, www.moosesbarbecue.com
Joyce would like to encourage anyone who has a love for Barbecue and a competitive edge to register early for the 2012 competition again in Grayslake again in September. Contact Joyce at: http://www.oasisgrayslake.com/
Now let’s dig into the details. The Downtown Rib Throwdown kicked off Sunday, September 18th 2011at 5:00 AM. The competition was between 11:00 am to 5:00 pm and took place in Downtown Grayslake, IL. The public paid $1.00 per ticket per bone, for as many bones as they would like.
Music was provided by The Shybillies, who didn’t miss a beat. I stood with rain gear on and rib in hand, enjoying their show. By the way Jimmie, as you may already know, you have a great deal of fans out here in Lake County, Illinois. Everyone’s looking forward to seeing you when you’re in town again. http://www.vanzantband.com
Tim Politte is the lead vocal on the left in the white shirt and James Truelove AKA Cleveland James, lead guitar on the right in the black shirt .
Now you might think this is a small event compared to some of the national events you may partake in and you would be right, but by no means did these 10 competitors cook on a small scale or with any less intensity. There were smokers, grills, coals, gas, wood chips, a lot of secret recipes and ribs stacked as high as the grills could handle. They did it right!
I would encourage you to make travel plans next year, September 16th to be in this Rib Throwdown or even just stop by to try some real heartfelt cooking. Forgive me, but I just have to stress, I mean real heartfelt cooking. Good people that work all night for good causes. They do it for the kids and for the community they’ll all tell you.
One chef and his partner (Team Chef Trek, Charlie Foy team captain) didn’t stop serving for a second when the rain was at its hardest. Thing was, he was the only guy without a tent over his area. A team of helpers carried a tent to his location and placed it over him and like the musicians; he didn’t miss a beat during all of it. Die hard? You bet! Old School work ethic and a good feeling to be around this group. Charlie explained while being pelted by rain, but still with a smile on his face. “It’s a great experience being here and it’s for a great cause. Have a rib!”
Speaking of good hearted hard working people, you’ll want to get hold of a copy of Jimmie Van Zant's “The Grills Gone Wild DVD” as soon as you get a chance, before their gone! You’ll get a real good idea of what I mean when I mention not missing a beat with music and barbecue. In this CD you’ll see professional Barbecue competitors dealing with the elements here too. Good thing “hot grills “and great music was nearby! http://chappellfilmsandentertainment.com/index.html
Now back to the competition. What good is going to come out of this? This is usually the first thing on the minds of competitors. This is where you can go anywhere in America and find the best of the best; not just best competitors, but best people at heart. Yeah… they hope to feel the rush of winning…. Sure, they hope to be able to have some bragging rights, but it’s usually teamed with a good cause to fight for.
That’s what makes them really go after it! Go ahead and ask any of them, but don’t expect them to brag about it. Proud, but too good hearted and reserved to go on about it. They just want to see smiles on the faces, like one of the Downtown Rib Throwdown teams “Packin Heat”. Any idea where this name comes from? Let’s just say, if anyone’s lookin to steal a BBQ secret recipe from these boys, you might wanna think again!
That’s right; these guys really are packin heat!! They are the Grayslake Law Enforcement from the Grayslake Police Department and second place winners this year. First place in 2010. The teams “master chef” if you will, was Matt McCutcheon (Grayslake Police Department, Operations Manager). Also part of the team was retired police Chief Jim Goldman, Rich Wood from Southern Pride Smokers (the smokers that Packin Heat used for competition) and participation from other officers who guarded the Rib secrets with pride. Ummm, by the way, I do intent to bring that recipe back tomorrow. I was just borrowing it, really! The dry rub on the ribs had just the right amount of “heat”. I came back for seconds.
Alex Ortiz (HBO's Bad Boys of Comedy). Please be careful with the jokes here ok? Don’t you see the picture on the left? I don’t want that to be you or I on the fork!
Matt explained that the Oasis Center does it right by giving the children a clean safe place to interact with one another. Matt also noted that although they love winning and take great pride in their barbecue, that at the end of the day, it’s for the children and it helps make the officers jobs a little easier when there’s a place like Oasis that keeps the children safe.
Taking third was Rowland Martinez, Hainesville Firestone team. The smoke was really rolling here. Alex Ortiz; can I use that rolling joke twice? Leave the jokes to you? Got it! Anyway, Rowland and the Firestone team should be very proud. They were busy with the smokers and serving their guests with warm smiles on a chilly day. The ribs? Incredible smoky, moist flavor with a tender bite. Keep up the great work Hainesville Firestone team!
Team Rising Sun Lodge of Grayslake is featured here. They’re a Masonic lodge, which was led by Greg Gara and competition chef James McArthur. The Rising Sun team also uses dry rub only. On this day the rub was the only thing that was dry! Greg explained that they use a combination of charcoal and hickory chips to create the BBQ masterpiece. I watched them doing this all on twin quality Weber Grills. Great effort by this team! Just a little inside info… The Rising Sun Masonic Lodge was founded in 1852 by Elijah Haines, speaker of the house, founder of Hainesville, IL and friends with none other than Abraham Lincoln himself. Yeah, I would say they were formed from a pretty solid foundation under this team.
Pictured below is the Verizon Group, led by Shane and Jennifer Holms. I wasn’t spooked out of trying these incredible ribs. As matter of fact, the eerie smoke drew me in. There were bones, sauce, dry rub and smoke everywhere under this tent! The Verizon team did a great job on all the details from the great ribs to the decorations. Really nice job Shane and Jennifer Holms and the Verizon team.
On a chilly day, another team that warmed our hearts with great cooking and warm spirits was Ken’s Burnt Ends (pictured below). Ken Kolman...great job with your team and incredible ribs!
I am dedicating this blog to Alan Haberkamp; dear friend and loved family member to many. Alan, son of Fred (pictured here, center) and Penny Haberkamp and lead foreman at Craft Metal Spinning. Alan passed away just this year on May 31. Our hearts are with Fred Haberkamps family of Long Grove. Alan, I was proud to know and work with you and you will be missed dearly. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailyherald/obituary.aspx?n=alan-m-haberkamp&pid=151443685
Barbecued Ribs and “Throwed Rolls”?
by John Warren on 09/13/11
Barbecued Ribs and “Throwed Rolls”?
Please let me share with you a place where I recently ate. Have you been here before and have you had their smoked barbecue ribs?
Recently, travels took me south through the great state of Missouri, mother riding shotgun. Now, we were road hungry looking for something different, and if it involved barbecue, all the better!
Well, my mother remembered eating at a place nearby. A place where they would throw the dinner rolls to ya. “Huhhh?” I said to her. Yes, they throw the dinner rolls to you. Now this sounds like my kind of place! Without hesitation, I programmed the trip to Lambert’s into the GPS. I want to be up front and tell you that this isn’t an ad for Lamberts. We just respect good barbecue and have to write about it when we taste it, and they certainly earned the right to be in the spot light. So here ya go!
On arrival and first seeing this popular eatery, I have to question the use of the word Café, since this place is more like the size of a sports arena. Well, the café actually started out smaller when Earl and Agnes Lambert opened it back in 1913. Not today though. It’s incredibly large. 48,960 lbs. of white beans and 2,246,400 dinner rolls were served to their customers last year alone. Parking? No problem. Cars, Vans, handicap, SUV, motorcycles, campers, tractor trailers, you name it. I’m sure there’s a landing strip out back somewhere, right?
Now, you walk inside Lamberts and its antiques and history at your fingertips. Look, I’d have to write a blog 5000 words long to do this establishment justice and even then, I would still have more to write about. You need to check this place out on the web at:
http://www.throwedrolls.com/default.asp
Trust me, I’ve cooked at some incredible establishments and I can truly say, you won’t want to pass up this “Café.” This famous dining establishment has been frequented by celebrities for years: James Arnes, Conway Twitty, Tammy Wynette, Dennis Weaver, Clint Eastwood and Elvis Presley to name a few. Elvis? You know…”Ya ain’t never caught a roll, than you ain’t no friend of mine”.
It’s nothing short of a hungry guy and his mother’s dream when you sit down here. Even before we ordered, the food started flowing. Fried Okra spooned out onto brown paper napkins torn from the spool at our table. They call these “Pass Arounds” and these guys don’t mess around with Pass Arounds! It didn’t stop coming. Then before I could say “more Iced Tea please”, I saw dinner roll the size of a soft ball coming at a good clip at our table. I gathered all of my courage, reached out and made the catch. LOL. My mother, a little startled, let the first one pass her by as it landed mid table next to the sweet butter, but now well seasoned, she demonstrated her catching ability too and caught the second pass, one handed I might add. Made me feel confident to have her riding shotgun on this trip. If you haven’t figured it out by now, these guys are also known as the home of the “Throwed Rolls.” No misprint, “Throwed!”
Yeah, I was thinking about my tread mill back home and looking at the salads on the menu. Me? Yeah right. Then I just put that out of my mind when the server offered us Apple Butter and Sorghum ladled out of a cooking pot tableside to slather on the hot, steamy, incredible-smelling dinner rolls. That put things back into perspective. Then mom and I just continued on with our careless disregard for healthy diet. In my opinion you just have to park farther out in the parking lot and walk a little farther and then it’s ok to eat this good.
Now let’s get down to the meat of this blog. From me to you, arguably one of the best, smoked barbecued ribs in Missouri can be found at Lambert’s Cafe. Lambert’s serves competition style smoked Barbecue Ribs, hanging over the edge of a skillet. The real deal! Oh yeah, did I mention they toss a roll to ya when you get your ribs too? So it’s true that Lambert’s is known for a wide variety of southern cooking. However I spotlight their Ribs because they just happen to be some of the best I’ve ever had. A few more of their popular dishes are Pulled Pork Sandwich, Chicken and Dumplings (my mother had this and was in heaven!), Chicken Fried Round Steak, Beef Liver and Onions, Barbecue Pork Steak, XXL - Center Cut Ham, Fried Catfish Filets. I hear they’ve been serving up a whole train-load of pork chops too these days.
Sides? No problem. Southern comfort at its best! Baked Potato, Candied Yams, Cottage Cheese, Baby Carrots, Cole Slaw, Turnip Greens, Sliced Peaches, Corn, Baked Beans, White Beans, Green Beans, Sliced Beets, Fried Apples, Homemade Mashed Potatoes, Potato Salad, Cold Chunky Applesauce, Pineapple Walnut Salad, Cucumbers & Onions.
What they call Pass Arounds: Fried Potatoes & Onions, Macaroni & Tomatoes, Black-Eyed Peas, Fried Okra, Hot Rolls & Sorghum. With the Barbecued Ribs, I had more of the fried Okra, Black-Eyed Peas and Candies Yams. Mom, better known as Joann Warren, had the yams and famous mashed potatoes with the Chicken and Dumplings. We were drinking Iced Tea (of course), in mugs that average about a quart of liquid. Who needs refills here? Don’t mean to imply anything, but seemed like my ribs were disappearing faster than I was actually eating them. Right Mom? Can you blame her? These things were smoky, falling off the bone, barbecue heaven. That’s okay, though. I kept taking her fried Okra when she wasn’t looking.
The incredible ribs are basted in Lambert’s original recipe, homemade barbecue sauce and smoked with natural hickory. So if you’re traveling from the west coast state of Washington to the east coast state of Maine, I would still recommend you go by way of Sikeston, MO. Well worth the detour!
Other than your own award winning Barbecue Ribs of course, where do you go out to eat to get great BARBECUE pork ribs that meet your expectations? Let us hear your recommendations.
Check out this smokin’ link! How To Build A Smoke House | How To Build A Smoker
http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-build-smoker
Summer Grilling and Tea
by John Warren on 08/31/11
Summer
Grilling and Tea
What an American Tradition!!!!
We love our BBQ in one hand and we love it better with a real cool drink in the other!
I remember one long summer day in Ohio when my dad and I were building the deck on the back of the house. Mom was preparing BBQ chicken and chops on the grill. There was the smell of Charcoal, BBQ and well… red wood from the boards we were cutting on the deck.
Boy it was hot. Everything was cooking that summer day in 1976. Mom was on a roll with the Open Pit! It was hard to keep focused on building the deck. Something about the smell of grilling just makes you hungry. You could have just eaten and smell that and be ready to eat again. It is addicting! But it all goes together, doesn’t it? Hard work, the smell of the BBQ and the fresh cut wood and then there’s the tea! Mom always had a pitcher of ice cold tea.
Still, to this day, I crave ice cold tea with BBQ. It may sound simple, but it’s like religion for me. When its summer and the grill’s rolling; gotta have my tea! For those of you my age, remember the Nestea Tea commercial where someone falls into the swimming pool while drinking the tea? Nestea Plunge. That commercial was hypnotic. I think about it almost every time I drink tea. Seemed pretty refreshing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV65RYQxXl4
Well tea has come a long way since those days. Different tea recipes have come out of the wood work, so to speak. Had Don Meredith tried some of the recipes that are out there today, he would have done the “El Triple Lindy” into the pool.
Here are a few recipes from food and wine and a few other goods one’s for you to enjoy with your family and guests as your summer winds down.
By the way, what are those guys drinking on Grills Gone Wild anyway???
Do you have favorite tea recipes you would like to share?
Mint Tea, by Food &
Wine
http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/mint-tea-recipe-7873
Tea
Thyme, by
Food & Wine
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/tea-thyme-cocktails-2011
Cool Drinks, NY: Soho Park Iced Tea
Ingredients
1 cup chopped refrigerated mango slices
1 cup pineapple juice
8 green tea bags
Directions
- Place the chopped mango and pineapple juice in a blender or food processor bowl. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate the pureed mixture.
- Meanwhile, in a large glass bowl, pour boiling water over the tea bags and mint sprigs. Cover and let steep 5 minutes. Remove and discard the tea bags and mint sprigs. Cool, covered, for 1 hour. Chill for 2 hours.
- Transfer the chilled tea to a 2-quart pitcher; add the pureed mango mixture and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Simple Sweet Tea Recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 pinch baking soda
- 2 cups boiling water
- 6 tea bags
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 6 cups cool water
Directions
- Sprinkle a pinch of baking soda into a 64-ounce, heat-proof, glass pitcher. Pour in boiling water, and add tea bags. Cover, and allow to steep for 15 minutes.
- Remove tea bags, and discard; stir in sugar until dissolved. Pour in cool water, then refrigerate until cold.
