BBQ SAUCE OF THE WEEK: Demon Pig BBQ Sauce

With a name like "Demon Pig", one would expect a real flamethrower of a sauce, but to my surprise, this sauce was not spicy at all. The first thing I noticed about this sauce when I poured it was that there are big chunks of stuff in it. Closer inspection revealed the chunks to be onion and bell pepper. I don't necessarily have a problem with chunks. In this case, the onions factor very prominently in the flavor of the sauce, so watch out onion-haters. The other major flavor component is brown sugar sweetness - this sauce is very, very sweet. And while the sweetness and the onion dominate things, there is a nice depth and well-roundedness provided by bit players garlic, vinegar and tomato.

Yeah, the label tells me it has high fructose corn syrup in it. And liquid smoke. So it might not make the cut at Whole Foods. Does that make the Demon Pig a guilty pleasure? Eh, who cares? The bottom line with barbecue sauce, as far as I'm concerned, is "does it taste good?". And the answer in this case is: absolutely.

Grade: A

UPDATE: It has been brought to our attention that there was a misprint regarding the ingredients on the Demon Pig label. The sauce does NOT in fact contain High Fructose Corn Syrup, but rather the much more benign sorghum. Apparently, future label printings will correct this error. So there you go...tastes great, and all natural taboot.

Hot Chicken Festival Report: Poultry's Popular!

From Eric and Katie's Nashville Restaurants blog comes a review of Friday's Hot Chicken Festival. It looks like, despite having more vendors, this year's festival still drew a bigger crowd than it could handle. And though waiting in long lines is annoying, I think we would all agree that it's better to have this problem than to have the problem of not enough people showing up. Hopefully the crowds and long lines will send the message that this festival is something that our city is embracing, and the result will be an even bigger, higher profile event next year.

DESSERTS: Homemade Ice Cream

One of the few culinary traditions that my family has is that we always make homemade ice cream on the 4th of July. Usually we're at my grandparents' house; this year we're at the lake, but we always use the same recipe. I'm told my great-grandparents developed this very basic recipe sometime in the 1920s. I think it's pretty good, but then again, I haven't tasted a lot of homemade ice cream. It can be easily modified from vanilla to other flavors by removing most of the vanilla and adding in other things. We have experimented with that over the years, but for today, here is the recipe for vanilla.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

1/2 qt half and half
1/2 pt heavy whipping cream
2 eggs
1.5 cups sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla (real if you've got it)
1/2 qt whole milk
1 pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together. Crank away.

Music Thursday: Stir It Up

This Ulika Music Thursday selection has been chosen for you by the team's youngest member, JoJo Marlow. Only babies born in this millennium get the pleasure of having their mothers sing them to sleep whilst singing along with songs from an iTunes playlist coming out of the computer speakers. Of the many varied artists in JoJo's mother's library, we've found that there is one consistent artist that soothes...Bob Marley.



Quench me when I'm thirsty,
Come on and cool me down, baby, when I'm hot.
Your recipe, darling, is so tasty,
When you show and stir your pot.

Hot Chicken Festival

If you are looking for something to do on July 4th, check out Nashville's Second Annual Hot Chicken Festival. The festival will have hot chicken being served by local hot chicken shacks and will include an amateur hot chicken cooking competition. Next year BP and I plan on entering the contest. We still need a year to perfect our Ulika Hot Chicken.

Have a great 4th!

Lawrenceburg Recap

This last weekend we participated in the AT&T State Championship Cook-off in Lawrenceburg, TN. This event has now become one of our favorite places to cook. We were able to get a nice shaded spot underneath a pavilion that made the 90 degree heat bearable. Peter and I arrived at the site on Friday morning, got the trailer parked and prepped our big meats. Once everything was setup, I wondered around the grounds until the cooks meeting.



Soon after the meeting was over we put on our butts and brisket for the overnight cook. In years past this would have been a start to a long night, but with the Stumps, we just let it roll as we sat back and relaxed. It had been a while since I cooked on the Egg, so I grilled a whole tri-tip for BP, Peter and I to enjoy for dinner. Later on I caught some sleep on our now infamous couch. That's right, we take a full size couch to competitions. It is something that BP started at our home town contest in Nashville last year, and he has been bringing it ever since. It is sure to get plenty of comments at every contest we attend.

The morning started out great and we were not rushed at all getting our boxes together. This was probably the smoothest turn in that we have ever had. I think that we have finally developed a system that works and it made for lower stress levels at our site. Once everything was turned in, we packed up and awaited the awards ceremony.



For the second contest in a row our brisket took fourth place. That makes four calls in four contests for our brisket this year. However, we are still chasing that first place brisket. Now if I could just get that consistent in the other categories we would be doing pretty good.

The biggest surprise of the awards was that we won the sauce category. Normally the only ancillary that we compete in is dessert, but when they were delivering our turn-in, boxes Tana Shupe gave me a sauce cup. I said, "well I guess I will turn in a sauce since you gave me a cup." I didn't think too much about it until about an hour before the sauce turn in. I just got in the trailer and made up a little concoction. I added a little of this and a little of that until I thought it tasted pretty good. We turned it in and proceeded to joke about how it would be funny if we won the sauce category. Well we won.



Overall we finished 21 out of 43 teams. It is not where we wanted to be, but at least it was an improvement from Pulaski. We had a great time in Lawrenceburg and got to meet some new people. I was especially glad to meet Rub from Swamp Boys. Rub is a fellow Stumper and is actually a Stumps dealer in Florida. He also knows a thing or two about cooking...he is currently the number one team in the Florida Barbecue Association. Congrats on the third place finish, Rub (1st place chicken and 1st place brisket). We also met Kevin from The EGGseQuetive Council. This is Kevin's first year competing on his own and had a strong fourth place finish with a 1st place pork. To no ones surprise, Byron Chism of Buttrub.com and Mike Davis of Lotta Bull took first and second overall.

Well, now that the heat of the summer is upon us, we are taking a couple of months off. Our next scheduled competition is September 5-6 in Cookeville, TN. I am going to be judging the Lebanon, TN contest in August and I feel that should give me a little more insight to the other side of the table.

Fat Tire has arrived

Fat Tire has finally arrived in Tennessee. They even put out some special commemorative labels that read, "Now Voluntarily Available in Tennessee". Get it? We are the volunteer state. Well this has been a long time coming, and I hope I don't get burned out on one of my favorite beers.

Cheers!

Read the Press Release

I guess those emails eventually paid off.

Music Thursday : Thought Sausage

It is time that I bring you another track from Widespread Panic. Not only is Panic one of my favorite bands, but they have several songs about food, eating, etc. Today I bring you a track from their latest release ‘Carbondale 2000’. This is an entire live show from 12/01/00 Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, and the first release from the Widespread Panic Archives. If you want to really understand who Widespread Panic is you need to buy this 3 disc set. It is by far the best thing that they have ever put to CD. I have never been a big fan of the studio albums that Panic has put out over the years, but this live cd really demonstrates the true Widespread Panic experience.

The year 2000 was the peak of my Panic addiction. I saw 23 shows that year and had the time of my life. Now I have traded in my taper ticket and lot food for contest entry fees and bbq. It is funny how the two sub-cultures are very similar. Both sub-cultures have a family vibe, loyal followings, and offer tons of fun. Now this is not to say that the two groups would intertwine very well, but there are some similarities.

This is not the best track from this show, but how could I not play a song about sausage on a food blog.

Carbondale 2000 - Thought Sausage

BBQ IN THE NEWS: Rock the Vote!

You fellow Nashvillians may or may not have noticed that The Tennessean , in an apparent effort to fill a void that does not exist, has started their own "Best of Nashville" awards. There are a ton of categories and they are all voted on by the public. Food and drink, of course, comprise a large percentage of the categories. And of course there is a "Best Barbecue" category. If you feel so inclined, get out and vote! Actually, you can just CLICK HERE and vote.

This is a decision that is sure to inspire every bit as much passion and heated debate as the Presidential election this fall, as we tend to take our barbecue pretty seriously around here. You can do like me and vote for Martin's, or you can vote for any of the other fine establishments in Middle Tennessee. Heck, you can even vote for Whitt's. If you don't see your favorite listed, you can write it in. Now get out there, Dear Reader, and remember - vote your hopes, not your fears.

R.I.P. George Carlin - May 12, 1937 - June 22, 2008

Enjoy this George Carlin Clip

The Jack: Real to the Bone

My friend Sarah Gilliam recently had an article published in Chile Pepper Magazine. Last year, she was at the Jack and wrote a little story to go along with David Grunfeld's photo essay.

Here is a link to the online pdf of the article:
The Jack: Real to the Bone

BBQ SAUCE OF THE WEEK: Trader Joe's Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce

This week - another Kansas City style sauce, with somewhat better results. Trader Joe's is coming to Nashville. Those of you who live in larger metropolitan areas are probably saying, "big deal", but we Nashvillians are relatively new to the world of upscale grocery stores.

Trader Joe's is the latest in a procession of high-end grocery retailers to Middle Tennessee, following Fresh Market in 2005 and Whole Foods in 2007. Trader Joe's tends to be a little less expensive, and a little more focused on their own store brands. Having had limited exposure to the store over the years, I look forward to seeing what all of the hype is about when their new store opens in Green Hills this fall. In the meantime, I was able to get my hands on a bottle of their "Kansas City style" barbecue sauce.

It's an attractive looking sauce, with deep burgundy color and a glossy shine. It's thick, like a KC-style sauce should be, but still very pourable. The dominant aroma is hickory smoke, and smoke is also a major component of the taste of the sauce. There is definitely a rich molasses sweetness, complemented by hints of onion and garlic, and did I mention...really smokey! Overall, this is quite a tasty sauce, heavy and strong, but not overpowering. Not too bad for a grocery store brand!

Grade: B

Got Wood?

I just picked up a truckload of Wild Appalachian Cherry Wood to replenish my stock. Last year, I found a furniture company that discards their scrap cherry wood and it is available for free. I like to use a mix of cherry and hickory woods when smoking meats. I think that the cherry wood helps to add a good color and flavor to the meat.

Update: New Ulika Member

I have recently had my hands full and have not been able to update the blog as frequently...

The newest Ulika team member has arrived and we are very excited. John Joseph Marlow was born on June 5th at 12:40 pm and weighed in at 9 pounds and 1 ounce. He may be a few years away from tending the smoker, but he will start out with his own bbq set first. This week, I'll begin introducing him to the art of bbq as we have a "stock the freezer" cook on Tuesday.

Ulika to compete in the AT&T Tennessee State Championship in Lawrenceburg

Ulika is now signed up for the 2008 AT&T Tennessee State Championship BBQ Cook-Off June 27th and 28th in Lawrenceburg, TN. This will be our second year to compete at this event, and we are really looking froward to it.

BBQ SAUCE OF THE WEEK: Ribber City Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce

A few weeks ago, we learned that you can't necessarily judge a barbecue sauce by its zip code. That theory will again be put to the test today as we examine a Kansas City style sauce produced by a company in...New Jersey. Ribber City Sauce Company has a line of rubs and barbecue sauces as long as the New Jersey Turnpike. They've got just about all of the major barbecue regions covered - in addition to the Kansas City style sauce, they offer a Memphis style sauce, a Carolina style sauce, a Kentucky style sauce, as well as boutique offerings like a blueberry chipotle barbecue sauce. Each of their products is adorned with a photo of "Old Man Ribber", who I have a feeling is about as real as Aunt Jemima and the Cream of Wheat chef.

The sauce itself does have a lot of the characteristics of a traditional Kansas City style sauce - dark in color and thick in consistency. When uncapped, the sauce effuses an exotic, complex aroma that promises exciting flavors. The taste that follows, however, fails to deliver that excitement. There are traces of the rich and smokey, molasses-sweet flavor that they were surely shooting for, but in the end, that's all there are - traces. The resulting taste is bland, and almost watered-down tasting. Very disappointing.

Grade: C