A Giveaway
August 11, 2010 § 28 Comments
Hey, who doesn’t like free things? So when CSN Stores offered me a one-time-use $60 gift certificate as a giveaway to my readers, I said yes. I know my witty posts and sub par pictures are reward enough but one of you will be able to spend $60 at one of the 200 online stores. There’s a lot to choose from: cookware, houseware, dining room sets, shoes, fitness stuff and a bunch of other things. So how do you win?
Since I’ve been BBQ’ing a lot lately, I want to hear about the best BBQ you’ve ever had or made. Just comment to this post and make sure you include a valid email so CSN Stores can send your prize to you. You have until Tuesday, August 17, 6:00 pm PDT to post a comment here. A winner will be picked at random. The picking method is TBD but will most likely involve the Mister and possibly one of the dogs. Since CSN Stores can only ship to U.S. and Canada, only U.S. and Canadian readers can qualify. Sorry to my international peeps.
Speaking of BBQ, I did a low and slow smoke of baby back ribs and a couple of pork butts this past week. I forgot to take pictures of the ribs since family was over but we had some really good eats. I’ve learned that some rubs and cookers will the meat come out looking like a meteorite. I think I’ve heard the term associated with Texas brisket. Although it looks very dark and burnt, it isn’t. Just take a look at mine below. The picture actually makes it look much darker than it really was. Just some of my sub par photo taking skills at work.
But when it’s pulled apart, this is what you get. Ahhhh, hog heaven!
The in-laws didn’t speak for the first 3-4 minutes as they chowed down their first “CAB” pulled pork sandwich. Who says there isn’t good BBQ in San Diego? Haha! MIL said she’s coming to me from now on for pulled pork. Luckily I smoked several pork butts and ribs to share with family and friends. The only bad thing that happened during my last smoke is that my digital thermometer crapped out on me. Luckily I had a backup thermometer but guess I’ll be shopping for a new one soon.
Hope everyone’s week is going well and good luck on the contest!
CAB Cooks 
Awesome. I don’t eat much barbeque but the best was probably the ribs in Atlanta, GA.
Hey Nikki, wow this is your first comment. I have never gotten BBQ during all those trips to Atlanta, not sure why. I have, however, been to the Benihana there. Go figure.
Gimme that brisket!
The best bbq I’ve ever had was definitely memphis style BBQ from Handy Andy’s in Oxford, MS! SO much sauce and goodness.
Hi Jordan! I’ve only had Memphis style BBQ once but it wasn’t in the South. So I don’t know how true to Memphis style it really was but I did enjoy it. And sauce can make something good to something outstanding, right??
Low and slow pork shoulder is the way to go. I do a rub of 1 part sugar to 1 part salt and let it sit overnight. Then it cooks for about 6 hours and right before you serve it, crank up the heat, sprinkle on some brown sugar, and wait until it’s carmelized. It’s from the Momofuku cookbook and it is, hands down, the best pork shoulder I’ve ever eaten.
Oh Leanne, your pork shoulder sounds devine! How do you cook your shoulder? A friend of mine always does hers in her crock pot and it comes out so juicy each time. I just looked up the Momofuku cookbook and I’ve added that to my wish list! Thanks for the recommendation.
BBQ chicken
hehe, Steve, you’re a man of few words.
My dad makes the best barbque chicken. He does something with bottle barbeque sauce and its so good. thanx for the contest.
Hi Melissa, sometimes it’s amazing what a little adjustment can do for store bought stuff. I haven’t BBQ’ed chicken in a long time but I think I might do that before summer is over.
The best bbq in the Bay Area used to be Quincy’s but they’re gone down the crapper and I won’t eat there anymore. Sad. I haven’t found another place that I go for some good ole southern style barb-q. Sad.
Hi Tyrell and thanks for stopping by. Are you talking about Quincy’s Barbque in Milpitas? If so, I used to go there when they first opened up and funny to this day, I still dream about their beef and pork ribs. I also remember them having some great baked beans. Too bad the food isn’t what it used to be. Sad, like you said.
This year on Independence Day, we had a family potluck at my sister’s house. Her husband was our designated BBQ technician. That day, he made the best BBQ chicken I had ever tasted! It was soo yummy! I had to call my sister the next day to let her know how much I enjoyed it! Apparently, he has a book that gives him neat tips on grilling to perfection!
sazzyfrazz at gmail dot com
Hi Henria! I like the designation “BBQ technician!” Sounds like your BIL is a true pitmaster. Um, technician! 🙂
Hi Carol, Your pork butt looks perfect! That bark is incredible stuff even though it doesn’t shine in photos. Was it cooked on your old kettle Weber or did you get a new smoker?
My eye-opening barbeque experience has to be the beef brisket at Kreuz Market in Lockhart, TX. Smoky and juicy and so full of flavor. I haven’t had anything like it since. That was the first stop on a whole road trip sampling barbeque throughout the South a couple years ago. It was an amazing summer. The first thing we did when we returned home was purchase the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker and we’ve been making great barbeque ever since. To be honest though, I still haven’t tried to replicate that brisket. I think you’ve motivated me to give it a try before the summer is over. Thanks!
Thanks Sherry! You and Mike have made some wonderful things in your WSM. I followed suit and got one too a couple of weeks ago. Boy, I love that smoker! I love the bark since that’s where all the flavor is.
I’ll have to remember Kreuz if we make it out to TX. We keep saying we’re going to do a road trip but we just never can find the right time to do one. It would so cool if you could replicate that brisket.
looks like you’ve been on a smoking spree! i would definitely love to invest in a smoker sometime soon…the place i’m moving up to is pretty small though and i live on the second floor (i’m not sure yet if they’ll allow me to have a small grill), but your posts are quite inspiring.
my favorite bbq thing i’ve ever made was back in sd, when i made this honey red wine marinade for tri tip. i had been experimenting a few times, and finally got it down, and it was so damn good! i put all sorts of stuff in there, but the sad thing is, i dind’t write it down! i’ve been trying to get it ever since, but nothing comes close to it sadly…
Hey Sawyer! What a heartbreaker on your honey red wine marinade. I’ve done that too and I am trying to be more diligent now, especially when I tweak a recipe.
The Weber Smokey Mountain has a fairly small footprint considering how much food it can hold. I think I might try to use it as a charcoal grill so it can be more than a uni-tasker. I’ve read people being able to get as high a temp as 700 degrees with lump charcoal.
We BBQ’d our first turkey last Thanksgiving and it came out great! We also have a smoker that makes the best ribs ever! I marinate them overnight in whatever sauce I am in the mood for, then put them in the smoker for a few hours, and they are great!
HobartsMama {AT} AOL.COM
Hi Jennai and thanks for stopping by. BBQ turkey sounds really interesting and delicious. The Mister asked if we could try smoking a turkey this year so I’ll have to do some research on that.
I’m not much of a BBQ fan, although I liked Phil’s. I find that most American BBQ sauces are too vinegar-y for me. My favorite BBQ is my mom’s Chinese BBQ pork ribs, which she bakes in the oven.
Hi Sandy! I don’t really care for too many of the vinegar based sauces and when I make my own, I always cut back the amount of vinegar. I do think a bit of vinegar in a ketchup base sauce is nice but I need also a good amount of sugar to balance the acidity. I can’t have just the vinegar without the sugar.
Lucky gal! I bet your mom’s ribs were finger smacking good. Some of the best ribs I’ve had were oven roasted.
Lately I’ve been addicted to grilled zucchini and onions. So good!
My favorite grilled item is definitely ribs. Can’t get enough! Yum! Yum! Yum!
I’m not really a BBQ connoisseur, but I do love me some Phil’s BBQ. Pork ribs are my favorite. I love Korean BBQ, and the best I’ve ever had was in Chicago. I forgot the name, but will let you know as soon as I find out.
Dude! Pork ribs all the way!
Does Korean BBQ count? We recently ate at a place called Seoul Korean bbq in Calgary that was very good.
As for other bbq places, I like Phil’s. I thought Brett’s bbq in 4s was decent, but liked the sauce at Phil’s a bit more. I heard a lot of good things about Lucille’s bbq up here in L.A., so that’s next up on the list for us to try.
Hey Johnny! I have to say that Korean BBQ is probably my favorite of all time. There’s certainly lots of K-BBQ up in your neck of the woods.
I’ll have to check out Brett’s since that’s close. There’s a Joey’s in Carmel Mtn but I thought it was just okay.