I know. I grill a lot. If given the option, I will do almost anything on the grill in lieu of turning on my oven or even the stove. I have grilled in a winter jacket and boots during a driving snow storm. Beyond the requisite beef, pork, chicken and fish, I’ve done turkey, casseroles, veggies and desserts too and admit I take a measure of pride that I can grill with the best of them. And by them I mean men. I know few women who use the grill, relegating that job to their manly men…I mean Tim ‘the tool man’ Taylor even had an aboriginal grunt to signify his prowess with all things both power tools and grill. I don’t know that I’ve ever uttered Tim’s battle cry but I do know I’m happy with the results and also the fact that cleanup is, well, what cleanup?
I have never considered myself a barbecue blog or someone that espouses grilling as a cause. It’s just what I do, as common as cutting the grass, which I also do! So, it was with some surprise when I heard from the folks at Masterbuilt the end of August asking if I could join their CEO, John McLemore and their social media specialist, Alicia McGlamory, for lunch the following week. John had a new book out called, ‘Dadgum That’s Good!’ filled with recipes for smoking, grilling, frying, boiling and steaming and wanted to introduce it to some folks. By folks…I presumed I would meet other local food bloggers and I was game since grilling really is something I love.
I could not have been more surprised that our lunch meeting turned out to be John, Alicia and, well, me. Yes, just me. Equally surprising (and I admit, flattering) was their knowledge of my blog. They knew I loved to grill and attention had been paid to my recipes and my style and they voiced interest in working together. We found a mutual connection over the love of the game…the planning and preparation of foods and the sharing of that effort with friends and family that has always been at the forefront of my passion; this blog is simply a diary of the journey I have been on for 30+ years.
John was doing a promotional piece the next day in the 9 News backyard and I was invited to come watch them tape the episode. I tried to find that piece for you without success but I did locate this recent video. John and Alecia traveled to Denver from Georgia and the ten years I spent in the south were brought back home with their visit; their charm and that sweet southern accent did more than warm my heart..my head was revisiting having babies and thinking of old friends and huge gardens…all such a big part of our ten years in North Carolina. That alone was worth the acquaintance!
This really was my lucky day. They had a couple of their smokers in the ‘backyard’ and when the piece was completed I got to take one home with me. It was like Christmas in August…I was seriously as excited as a kid and could not WAIT until I could start ‘smokin.’
My first experience was to smoke chicken thighs for what I called Welsh Wabbit (my take on a rabbit dish where I used chicken) which was so ‘Dadgum Good’ that I could not get over it. I’ve since smoked some pork steaks, my own bacon, these ribs and have some macaroni and cheese in now that I can not wait to try. I think my poor grill is feeling very lonely!
Masterbuilt has generously offered to ship one of their 30″ electric smokers to one of my readers. I know one of you will LOVE this as much as I do! You don’t have to be an expert (I sure was not) to enjoy slow-smoked barbecue at your next cookout. One of the many things I love about the Masterbuilt Electric Smokehouse is how easy it is to prepare amazing barbecue while still being able to spend time with your family and friends.
Some features of the Electric Smokehouse:
A NEW Remote Control along with thermostat controlled temperature and cooking timer allows for even, consistent cooking without fear of overcooking; you can check cooking temperature, time and meat temperature from up to 100 feet away. Put your feet up and watch the game and manage your smoker at the same time…really, how spoiled is that! The integrated Meat Probe Thermometer means you can cook your food to the perfect temperature every time.
Easy to Use…it’s Electric so all you do is plug it in, set the cooking temperature and cooking time, load wood chips and you’re ready to slow smoke.
Versatile – The Masterbuilt Electric Smoker comes in 2 sizes…a large 30” and an extra large 40” size allows you to feed even the largest of crowd.
Thermostat Temperature Control…means there’s no tuning the cooking temperature in, you can set it and the cooking temperature will remain as consistent as your kitchen oven.
Safe – Automatic shut-off prevents over heating and the adjustable door latch and air damper provides an airtight seal and controlled smoking.
Convenient – uses your favorite, regular wood chips with a side chip loader so you can add chips without opening the door and letting heat and smoke escape and the built-in Viewing Window means you can watch your food slow smoke without opening the door and letting heat out. It’s also easy to clean with a built in bottom drip pan and a rear mounted drip tray.
How to win?
Main Entry [Required] – Leave a comment below sharing a favorite barbecue story of yours. Success or failure or just something funny; I want to hear them all!
Want extra entries?
Each item you do will get you ONE chance to win for a total of 3 chances. If you are already doing any of these, they do count; just make note of that in your comment. You MUST leave each entry as a separate comment or only one comment will count!
Follow @creativculinary & @Masterbuilt on Twitter and tweet the following statement then come back to this post and tell us you tweeted – I just entered to win an Electric Smoker from @creativculinary and @Masterbuilt! Enter here: http://su.pr/1xw9JL #giveaway
Important Details:
This giveaway is open to USA residents only and will run until Monday, October 24, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST.
Winner will have until midnight, October 27, 2011 to claim their Masterbuilt Electric Smoker or we will choose another winner.
Winner will receive one Masterbuilt 30″ Electric Smoker (retail value of $349.99). Product will be shipped directly to the winner by Masterbuilt.
Masterbuilt is also on Facebook and has a couple of additional Twitter accounts…I know they would love for you to become a part of their online family but these are not required for participation in this contest:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/masterbuilt
Twitter: @JohnMcLemore — @Masterbuilt — @DadgumThatsGood
Disclosure:
This giveaway is provided to you by Creative Culinary and Masterbuilt. The views and opinions expressed on this site are based upon my experience with this product. Masterbuilt provided a similar product to me free of charge, however, I was not compensated for this article or expected to provide a positive review.
We have a winner!
Drawing on Monday, October 24th via random.org produced our winner, Donna Currie of Longmont, Colorado! Big congrats Donna, I know you will love this!
Are you Ready for some Ribs?!!
John and Alecia also gave me a copy of John’s latest cookbook, ‘Dadgum That’s Good’ and I’ve been dying to try the Espresso Barbecue Sauce. I did make some slight modifications. John’s recipe calls for ketchup and I wanted to start with fresh tomatoes. Now that my daughter Lauren has moved into her own apartment, I’m not sure I’ll ever buy ketchup again. After seeing that girl ruin food with a squirt of ketchup on almost everything; I sort of went the other direction and just don’t care for it. Because I wasn’t using ketchup with sugar, I also made a few other revisions including the addition of molasses. And all I can say is this. DADGUM THAT’S GOOD!!!
Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Espresso Barbecue Sauce
Fabulous smoked baby back ribs with an espresso barbecue sauce.
Ingredients
Preparation
Season the ribs on both sides with salt and pepper and smoke for 3 hours at 225 degrees in preheated smoker using hickory chips during first 2 hours of smoking.
To Make Espresso BBQ Sauce, put olive oil in saucepan.
Saute onions until caramelized
Add garlic and saute for additional 2-3 minutes or until garlic just starts to turn golden.
Add tomatoes, molasses, honey, mustard and espresso and simmer until thickened; approximately 30 minutes.
Put sauce into a blender, a half of the batch at a time and blend until smooth.
Once the ribs have cooked the first three hours, remove them from the smoker, baste generously with the sauce, wrap in aluminum foil and return to the smoker for 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours at !60 degrees.
2.0
http://www.creative-culinary.com/2011/10/smoked-baby-back-ribs-with-espresso-barbecue-sauce/
This recipe brought to you by © Creative Culinary | A Food and Cocktail Blog | Website: www.creative-culinary.com
