Birthday Bash!!!

Time to write up a little something different.  I know I usually write about BBQ places I visit but this evening time to write up a little bit different.  

I was invited to cook for a big birthday party last weekend.  It was a big b-day and they wanted something special to eat, so they called me.  I was quite honored to be asked to do this.  The evening started at midnight.  A good time to start a BBQ.  I got over and fired up the smoker and spent some good time talking to some folks from Iowa about how they did their BBQ.  I've found that when I fire up the VooDoo Child, people love to talk about hey they BBQ or grill and it is definitely fun and a good time to swap war stories.  I always learn something whether it is a seasoned vet or a rookie just starting.  Something my family taught me.  Look at every opportunity as an opportunity to learn.  You never stop learning.

So, eventually, everyone went to bed and it was just me and VooDoo doing our thing.

Now, we did have a couple of visits from some local coyotes and that was fun.  They got about six feet away and just wanted to say hello.

The product turned out pretty good and more importantly, everyone enjoyed the food.

So thanks for having us out!  We really enjoyed the evening and morning and so glad you enjoyed the food.  So Detlef, happy birthday and we at Trinity BBQ hope you have plenty more!!!

Tell us about your best birthday meal.  We would love to hear.  

Keep on Smokin!!!!

More Bama BBQ!!

I travel a lot for work and happily, I travel almost exclusively in the South.  You can't beat the people , the weather, the history and of the food.  Southern cooking is just different.  It puts some meat on your bones and packs such amazing flavor.  I am in the South again today.  I am in Crimson Tide country (which I just tolerate because they have good BBQ!)  I went to a place today called Saw's BBQ.  It was recommended to me by some customers of mine.  I of course had to try it!

The place is small and looks just like an old BBQ joint, even though it is only 4 years old.  The ambience is awesome.  The food is better.  I had smoked chicken with a white sauce.  Amazing. Now if the sauce had not been on there, it wouldn't have been as good but it was on there so it rocked!  The rib I had was perfectly cooked.  Not too long but perfectly moist and tender.  The pulled pork was super tender.  Again, as usual in the deep South, pulled pork has to have a good sauce on it and this did.  It was a sauce that was a blend of Carolina  and Bama Q sauce.  Very tasty.  I of course tried their sausage.  It was just ok.  It tasted too much like breakfast sausage.  It was good but I would have it with breakfast, not lunch.

Overall, I have to say I loved this place.  Some of the better BBQ I have had outside of the Lone Star State in quite a while.  If you are in Birmingham, give it a try.  You won't be sorry!

Birmingham BBQ!!!

Faithful readers, you all know I travel for work, a lot.  The travel does get a bit old for a lot of reasons but there is one good thing about it.  I get to try a lot of BBQ!!  I am in Birmingham, Alabama today.  I spent this evening meeting with a bunch of CIO's and of course I wanted to find out where I should eat.  They definitely provided plenty of options but the leader was a place called Jim -n-Nick's.  So you can just guess where I went tonight.  Yep, McDo....I can't even finish that.  I made a bee line for Jim -n- Nick's.

One thing I love about eating in the "South" is the prominence of pimento cheese.  I love pimento cheese!  I mean really love pimento cheese.  I tried the appetizer plate they had and it was awesome!  I mean who wouldn't love pimento cheese, cheese biscuits and hot links?  The pimento cheese had big chunks of pimento peppers and the perfect mix of mayo and cheese.  The hot links were 2 full sized sausage links.  Biggest appetizer you can imagine.   I asked the bartender Chris what I should get.  He knew I was from Texas (is that really a surprise?) and suggested the brisket and I told him, "thanks but I would like to eat what you are famous for" and he immediately said two types of pig!  Score!  I got the pulled pork and baby back ribs.  The pulled pork was very good.  Very moist.  Very flavorful.  They put the exact right amount of sauce on the pork.  They didn't drown it, which was great.  The ribs were good with a good flavor.  They were a bit dry but the flavor was good.  I did like the way they put a couple of pickles on top of each piece of pork.  

Chris did a great job of selling the desserts and while I am sitting here typing this I really wish I would of got some of that banana pudding to go!

Jim-n- Nick's is a must stop when you are visiting Birmingham.  I really liked it and the service was awesome.  So if you are wanting some BBQ and a good time, stop by.  You will be so glad you did.  

Tell me about your favorite BBQ place on a road trip.  Thanks for listening and Keep On Smokin'!!!!!

So I Guess It Is Time

Hello faithful readers (feeling my Stephen King today).  I have been writing this blog for a while now and by now you all know how much I love Austin Texas.  I have made so many trips there and been to one BBQ place many times but never have reviewed it.  I thought it didn't need it but it is finally time.  So let's go.

Franklin's BBQ.  If you haven't heard of this place, you must either not be a BBQ fan or living under a rock.  This place is epic.  There are two great things about this place.  The food and the wait.  The food is beyond good.  I usually say things like well this was god but the sides were just ok.  Not here.  It is really all great.  Brisket is what I strive to match with my own twist.  The pulled pork was the best I have ever had.  Sorry Carolina.  The sausage is amazing.  And the sides?  Amazing.  Try the Tipsy Texan.  It is huge and awesome.  A friend was with me and she said that the Tipsy was not only the best bbq sandwich she had ever had but the best sandwich she had ever had.  So needless to say, the BBQ can not be beaten.  

Now the line....the line is long.  Very long. If you get there much later than 10:30 in the morning, you probably won't eat.  They serve the BBQ until it is gone.  Was in line at 9am and got close to the front (thank you Ellen).  But even though the wait is long, they open at 11, the wait is worth it and fun.  I have met people from all over the world.  Everyone comes to Franklin's to experience the greatness. So come on, how fun is that?  Meet great people, eat great food, and most likely you will get to meet the man himself, Aaron Franklin.  So get out to Franklin's and enjoy the best BBQ and atmosphere you will ever have.

Thanks for listening and keep on smokin'!

Finally!!!

Finally means two things in this little blog.  First, it means I finally got to eat some BBQ again.  I had a friendly little reminder from a person in a lab coat that maybe I should slow down on eating (not making) BBQ. So I did for a while so I FINALLY had some BBQ last week.  FINALLY Frisco Texas has some good BBQ. 

Shannon and I went to 3 Stacks Smoke and Tap House in Frisco last Friday.  I have to say that it was very good.  The ribs were awesome.  Dry rub but nice and sweet with a bit of a kick.  The beef sausage was ok but the jalapeño cheddar was incredible.  The beef sausage was just a bit dry but that can be expected.  The brisket was cooked perfectly with a nice smoke ring but I thought it could use more flavor.  It did need sauce so if you are a sauce fan, rock on. And speaking of sauces. They have two. Regular and spicy. Both are good but spicy could be spicier.  The pulled pork was good but needed sauce too but that is ok for pulled pork. The creamed corn was awesome as was the cucumber salad.  The potato salad, something a BBQ place should pride itself on, tasted like it came from a grocery store. 

Overall, this place is a great addition to a very weak BBQ presence North of Dallas.  3 Stacks, thanks for stepping up to the plate.  Shannon and I will definitely be back!!

Happy BBQ oh, I Mean Bday!

What better occasion for a BBQ than a Bday? Right?  Well we headed to Austin last weekend for a birthday party for a good friend.  We brought the BBQ house!  First, being in Austin and BBQ'n for the first time is a little intimidating.  I mean, come on, Austin and the Hill Country is where Texas BBQ if not born, it was certainly perfected there.  I expected a tough a crowd and prepared my best.  I will say I think it went great!  Aside from me needing to take trailer parking lessons, the weekend was awesome.  The Hill Country definitely represented with sunny blue skies and perfect weather.  The BBQ was great.  I broke out two new recipes with a new sauce  (we are cutting back to two sauces and I think you will like them both!) and a beef sausage recipe.  Great reviews on both.  Very happy! I have of course put some pics below.  A wonderful photographer took them (thank you Deborah!) and I hope you enjoy them.

So happy birthday Robert! I hope you enjoyed the grub as I definitely enjoyed making it!!  Tell me what other events call for a good BBQ.  I was told a wedding this weekend.  What do you think?

Thanks for listening and KEEP ON SMOKIN!!!!

I'm Back!!!

So I have been out of pocket for a while and now I am back.  Look for regular blogs from me. If I haven't traveled to  a new BBQ spot, look for opinions on BBQ tools or rubs or sauces or I just may ramble on about Texas.  You never know.  So let me know some things you want to talk about.  Let's see what kind of stuff we can't get going on this internet thing.

I did have a BBQ over the holidays.  Had a little soiree for my daughter who recently graduated from Sam Houston State.  It was definitely a good time and I have finally perfected my sausage recipe.  I think my menu is complete now.  Take a gander at what we did!

So anyway, I hope you enjoy the pics and I hope everyone had a great holiday!!

Talk to you again soon and Keep on Smokin!!!

Houston BBQ!!!

I was in H-town last week.  I went by a classic Texas BBQ place for dinner.  I tried several meats they had there.  The turkey was pretty good.  Had a good spicy rub on it.  The brisket was good, not great but good.  The sausage was very good.  It was very cool seeing sausage advertised as Czech sausage.  You don't see that a lot and it is totally a shout out to the Czech heritage in Texas.  If you don't know much about that, you should Google Czech and Texas.  You will be surprised.  So, next time you are in Houston, stop by Goode Co.. on Kirby.  Great sausage and served in the classic Texas style.  You won't be disappointed in their style and flavor of a classic Texas past time.  Tell them Trinity BBQ sent you!

Keep on Smokin!!

Hot sauce and home...

Well the Carolina trip is over and sadly, I had no Carolina BBQ. No time in the schedule and I know, I know. There is always time for good BBQ. Well, I stayed in last night and just had a sub. The sub place I went to had a ton of hot sauces and it got me to thinking. How many hot sauces do you really need? My personal opinion is that hot for hot's sake is a waste. I recently tried some scorpion sauce at a little shop in Fredericksburg, Texas. ( we will talk about that awesome town in later blogs). That sauce was so hot, it burned my tongue for almost an hour and had almost zero taste. Is that necessary? Do you need to prove how tough you are by eating super hot things? I love some heat in my food but a nice dusting of cayenne or a liberal amount of Frank's Hot Sauce (my favorite and I will eat it on just about anything) is enough heat for me. So I am headed home to have some BBQ sausages I made with some spicy mustard and Mrs. Bairds bread. You can keep the heat and I will take the taste. How do you feel about super hot stuff? Let me know!