Mexican street corn - My way

Mexican street corn

During the summer we love to eat corn on the cob and we really enjoy Mexican street corn. We often have my mom eating with us and she can't eat corn on the cob anymore, but enjoys the corn. This is how I make our Mexican street corn so she can enjoy it too. You can make it on the stove top or the grill. The grill adds a bit more smokey flavor to it. 

Ingredients:

• Frozen corn - 1 bag
• mayonnaise - 1/4 cup
• Chili powder - 2 tsp
• Paprika - 1 tbls
• salt - pinch
• Pepper- 1/4 tsp
• Cojita cheese
• Sometimes BBQ rub - to taste

Start to cook the corn in a pan on the stove top or a foil lined (especially if the basket has large holes in it) veggie basket on the grill. You can get it going in the microwave and then transfer it to either pan too. Stir it often so it doesn't burn. 

Grilling Mexican street corn.

Once it is no longer frozen add the mayonnaise and stir the corn so the mayonnaise coats the kernels. I also add the salt and pepper at this time. You can let it sit on the heat for a bit and cook. I like to get some charred kernels when I do it on the grill. I like the flavor of the roasted corn. 

Once it is heated all the way through add the chili powder and paprika (and rub if you like) and stir it all up to mix the spices through the corn. Let it continue to sit and cook for a few minutes more. 

Add some cojita cheese and stir it again to mix the cheese into the corn. Remove from the heat and put into a bowl to serve. Top it with some more cheese and cilantro, if you like cilantro and serve. 

I find this is a great side for just about anything I cook on the grill. Pork loin, hamburgers, pulled pork, brisket... anything really. If you have left over pork or brisket and make tacos with them, the corn is really good in the tacos or on the side. 

Review: Kingsford 100% Pure Premium Hardwood Pellets

Product: Kingsford 100% Pure Premium Hardwood Pellets
Company: Kingsford
Price: 10lb bag $11.99 | 20lb bag $18.99

Kingsford contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing their new wood pellets they are bringing to market. Of course, I said yes. I use a Louisiana Grill for most of my cooking now and have competed with it. It's a great cooker and I love that I can set it and "leave" it. Lately though I've been noticing certain pellets tend to back up the auger and cause fire in the hopper, which is very bad. So I was hoping that the Kingsford ones might be another alternative.

Review: Grill Pinz

 Creator: Dan Cranston
Facebook
Kickstarter
Price: $13+

Grill Pinz are a cool new grilling product from Dan Cranston. He is kicking of a Kickstarter this month to be able to produce these stainless steel cooking Pinz. They are ideally built for grilling but can be used in the oven or where ever you need to hold food together while cooking it. They take the place of toothpicks.

iGrill Mini Review

Product: iGrill Mini

Company: Weber

Price: @$50

About two years ago I purchased an iGrill mini. This past Christmas I revived another as a gift. . The igrill mini is a little Bluetooth thermometer that talks directly to your mobile devices and lets you track your cook my temperatures from anywhere on the house. I love them. 

Review: The Beast

Name: The Beast
Location: Paris, France
Price: $$$
Hours: Closed Monday and Sunday; Tuesday- Saturday 12:00PM - 2:30PM, 7:00PM - 11:00PM

In May I had the opportunity to go to Paris, France for work. While I was there I took advantage of the opportunity to see if there were any BBQ joints there. I found two and was able to go to one and try it. It was worth the walk.

Review: The Smoking Bacon & Hog Cookbook

The Smoking Bacon & Hog Cookbook – The Whole Pig & Nothing but the Pig BBQ Recipes is written by championship pitmaster Bill Gillespie. He started cooking competitive BBQ in 2005 and won the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue in 2011 and in 2014 he won the American Royal Invitational, probably the two most coveted titles in the world of competitive BBQ. Bill knows what he’s talking about and shares his hog knowledge with us in this book.

Bill Gillespie covers everything in this book. From the rooter to the tooter (ok, not quite but pretty close). The recipes are easy to read and follow. He covers appetizers, snacks, drinks (with bacon in them) main courses, whole hog, and dessert (with bacon). The book is worth it just for the section on whole hog.

Review: Midwood Smokehouse

Name: Midwood Smokehouse 
Location: Charlotte, NC
Price: $$ - $6-$34 (that's for the Pig Out)
Hours: Sun - Wed • 11am - 10pm
Thurs - Sat • 11am - 11pm

Charlotte has a bad rap for BBQ joints. It's located in the center of the Carolina's, so you'd think they would have some great BBQ places. Well, over the last 10 years that has started to change. and it is AWESOME!

Recently my wife and I went to Midwood Smokehouse to try their BBQ. My friend Wayne of Big Wayner recommended it awhile back, but they had one location that I was rarely near it. In the past year they have opened up two other locations and one was much closer to me. I finally had a chance to get over there and try it. I was not disappointed.

BBQ 101 - Sauces

This is a topic I have been avoiding. It is very personal and can be very divisive as we have seen in NC. The state is split into two camps, Eastern Carolina Sauce and Western Carolina Sauce, and woe be unto you if you choose either or neither when asked. I will be trying to avoid choosing one over the other but just sharing the differences of our great country's sauces with you.

I know we can get into specifics for each region on flavors and profiles, thickness and consistency but I'm going to write using broad strokes to help those who are just starting out or want to find out about the general differences in sauces around the country are. There are many and I like many of them for various reasons. But for this post I will focus on the five main categories.

Kansas City BBQ Tour

I finally got to go to Kansas City where I heard the streets are paved with brisket and the faucets run with BBQ sauce. Ok, not quite. It is a city known for its jazz, BBQ and the head of the Santa Fe trail. It is a city with roots that go back the the US's expansion West, where cattle was sold to head East. Due to its ties to cattle it is also a haven for BBQ and said to be the birth place of burnt ends.

I got to go for work, but didn't squander the opportunity to try some of the BBQ they are famous for. It was a whirl wind tour but I was able to try some great BBQ at four great restaurants. The first was Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, the second, Fiorella Jack Stacks, followed by Gates and finally Author Bryant's. Each was good, but none were Carolina BBQ.

Review - RockyTop Swine Shine and Carolina Q Rub

Company: Rocky Top BBQ Co. LLC
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
WebSite: http://www.rockytopsmokies.com/
Carolina Swine Shine: $6.25 + Shipping and Handeling
Carolina Q Rub: $7.95 + Shipping and Handling


It's been a while since my last post. Life and work have been busy, but I haven't stopped cooking, tasting and testing. You might recognize the name Rocky Top BBQ Co. from BBQ Pitmasters or the interview I did with them (you can read it here).

Jonathan and his crew have added a few more trophies and catered a few more events and come out with a rub and sauce they use on their divine swine. I have tried both and both are good. Their sauce has become my go to Carolina sauce. It's that good.

Review - Ultimate Book of BBQ

I received an email a couple weeks ago asking if I would be interested in reviewing a BBQ cook book. My initial response was, "Is this a trick question?" I'm always looking for new recipes, tips on cooking and just improving my BBQ skills in general.

I agreed to review Southern Living Ultimate Book of BBQ - the complete year-round guide to grilling & smoking. A couple days later I received it and two other grilling books which I will be reviewing later.

Pitmaster Christopher Prieto of PRIME Barbecue in Wendell, NC has worked with Southern Living to compile over 200 recipes, creating a hefty cook book that covers the basics to the finer points of BBQ.

Review - Triple Whammy Sauces

Name: Triple Whammy Sauces
Location: Charlotte, NC
Price: $8
Link: http://www.triplewhammysauces.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Triple-Whammy-Sauces
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TriWhammySauce
Instagram: http://instagram.com/triplewhammysauces

At the 2014 Q City BBQ Championship I came across Triple Whammy Sauces selling their sauces. The samples they had were good so I got a bottle of each.

The sauces were created in 2007 by Tyler Fraiser. He started with a honey mustard sauce, then created an all purpose sauce for other foods. Each sauce has a unique flavor and works well on a variety of foods. Each one has a little sweet, a little savory and a little heat giving you the Triple Whammy.

Review - 521 BBQ

Name: 521 BBQ
Location: Fort Mill, SC 
Price: $$
Link: http://www.521bbq.com/


In my town it can be difficult to find good BBQ. It shouldn't be hard in SC, but if you want to go out for it, it can be. One of my favorite BBQ places opened up a second location closer to me and I was finally able to try it out. I was happy I did.

I took my family out to give it a try and we all enjoyed it. My first experience with 521 BBQ was about six years ago. We were looking for a local BBQ joint and found 521 BBQ off of highway 521. We headed out to get some food around 6pm and when we got there we were disappointed because they had sold out. This was a good sign. It meant they were doing something right. We went back a couple weeks later, earlier this time, and enjoyed generous helpings of chopped pork, ribs, hushpuppies and fries. We've been back a few times and have recommended it to others.

Thanksgiving Day [Part 3]

Thanksgiving came and it was a success due to the preparation I had done previously, including my planning and test cook. I was glad I did a test cook trying the spatchcocking and dry brining of the turkey. I was able to adjust a few things and had a great bird and the venison I cooked was great.

We had a great time with family and they all enjoyed the turkey and the venison. All the sides that were brought were tasty and the desserts finished of the meal spectacularly.

I'm cooking a turkey for the local rescue squad this next weekend and will do it the same way I did ours. It came out great

Thanksgiving Preparation - Test Cooking [Part 2]

With Thanksgiving this Thursday I figured it would be a good idea to test a new recipe I want to try before hand. Turkeys are priced to sell this time of year so we usually get a few to have in the freezer for over the next few months. I used one of our smaller birds we purchased for my test cook. I'm glad I did.

I decided I was going to dry brine and spatchcock it. Cook it at 350º with chicken broth under it to add flavor and use for a stock later. butterflying the turkey helps it to cook more evenly and quicker.

Interview: Tommy Houston of the Checkered Pig

Team: Checkered Pig
Location: Martinsville, VA
Website: www.checkeredpig.com
Twitter: @checkeredpig
Facebook: Checkered Pig

I met Tommy Houston of Checkered Pig two years ago at the Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cook-Off in Waxhaw, NC. I saw him again this year, in Waxhaw, and asked if he would be willing to do an interview with me for my blog. He graciously said he would. Tommy is a busy guy. He owns a restaurant in Martinsville, VA, caters, and travels around to do BBQ competitions. With all that going on he agreed to do an interview.

Preparing for Thanksgiving [Part 1]

The leaves have changed and the air has gotten colder. Fall has arrived and Thanksgiving is on its way (or past if you're in Canada). It's time to start thinking about giving the family the bird. Wait... that didn't sound right (like so many things in BBQ). Time to start thinking about cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving. I used to roast the bird in the oven, but no more. I now smoke it. Smoked turkey is great. I have had deep fried turkey, but it doesn't have that nice smokey flavor of a bird cooked over hickory and pecan wood. One day I would like to smoke the turkey then fry it to finish it of and get the best of both worlds. 

As Thanksgiving draws closer I start to cook the bird in my head. trying to figure out the best way get the best flavor for the family. I also start to plan my cook so on Thanksgiving Day I will have time to cook it and relax. I'll share a little of what I do to prepare. 

NC BBQ Association

Last year at the Q-City Charlotte BBQ Festival I started to hear rumors of a new BBQ sanctioning committee being born. It was started by a group of competitors, caterers and restauranteurs that is interested in preserving the art of NC BBQ. They came together to form competitions that highlight the best of NC BBQ by focusing on the meat.

In August of 2014 I became a NC BBQ Association member and certified judge. The class wasn't difficult - you get to taste BBQ - and since I am a certified KCBS judge, it helped me understand what is being looked for. The style of judging follows closer to MBN style with a combination of both blind and onsite judging. I like the combination of the two because it gives you a chance to learn from the teams and how they create their particular BBQ magic.

Interview: Kosher Q? Find out from the RaBBi-Q.

Team: Rabbi-Q
Location: Kansas City, Kansas
Website: RabbiQ.com
Twitter: @BBQRabbi

I met Mendel of Rabbi-Q through Twitter. I found the idea of kosher BBQ fascinating because when I think of BBQ I think pork. I know beef and chicken and other meats can be BBQed but it isn't everyday you hear of kosher BBQ in KCBS. Through talking with Mendel I have discovered kosher BBQ and kosher BBQ competitions. I think this is great. I love a good brisket and beef ribs along with smoked turkey and chicken. Read the interview to find out how he cooks pork for KCBS competitions and to find out more about kosher BBQ competitions.

Review: Sograte Original BBQ Rub

Creator: Sograte BBQ and Brew
Location: Lubbock, TX
Cost: $7.99 + shipping
Link: Original BBQ Rub

This is another rub Sograte BBQ asked me to review for them. It's a good rub with BBQ flavors that enhance pork or chicken well. It stands up to the long slow cooks that define BBQ and helps to take the flavor of the meat to the next level. If you're looking for a good rub for your next cook give it a go.