Tag Archives: BBQ

Grilled Pork Chops

Pork chops are a solid comfort food for me. I mostly had them pan fried and finished in the oven growing up, but my preferred method is just the simple grilled pork chop.

I don’t always use a binder with pork chops but the Spicy Ground Mustard from Duke’s pairs amazingly with The Gospel from https://www.meatchurch.com/. I usually let them season at least 2 hrs and pull them from the fridge 30 minutes before a start the cook.

You can do the entire cook on indirect or direct heat but I’m a fan of doing a two zone cook here. Once I get the hot zone up to 400, grill both sides of the chops for 3 minutes each. This will give you that great char you are looking for. Once you get both sides, you can move the chops to the indirect heat side. Thick (1 1/2-2 inch) chops will take about 16 minutes of total cook time to get to 145, but don’t worry about the time. You’re aiming for that temp. Pull them off at 145 and give them a 5 minute rest before you tear into them. Enjoy!

Smoked Turkey Legs

My boy Bodhi is a chicken leg connoisseur and I decided to up the game for him this weekend with some turkey legs.

Brining you turkey legs isn’t required but they turn out so much better if you do. I use a very simple brine for my legs. Just 2 quarts of water with 1/2 cup of sugar, ¼ cup of salt and pepper mix, and 2-3 bay leaves. Add some water to make sure the legs are covered and put in the fridge for at least 8 hrs.

I then pull them out and place on a drying rack. The next step is to dry them off with a paper towel and then I spray them with some olive oil. This helps get that skin to pop when you bite into it. I like to use a sweeter rub with turkey legs and the Sweet Mash from https://www.whiskeybentbbq.com/ is perfect.

While those are sitting, I get my smoker fired up to 250. I used cherry wood for these legs but pecan is also a solid choice. Once you get your smoker to temp, just drop them on. After about 1 1/2 hrs your temp should be around 160. Sometimes you get the big turkey legs and this number is closer to 2 hrs, but 160 temp is what you’re looking for. Hit them with whatever sauce you want to use. I went with the Sweet N Tangy sauce from a local place https://www.brewnquenc.com/. Let them go for about 8 minutes and then flip them over a sauce the other side. You should have about 30 more minutes before you hit your target temp of 175.

Let rest for 5 and then enjoy.

Alabama White Sauce

Made famous by Bob Gibon’s Bar-B-Q in Decatur, AL, Alabama White Souce is great on chicken and pretty much anything else I’ve put it on. Ivory and Duke’s make some decent ones that you can get in many stores but I love making my own.

1 cup of Duke’s mayo

1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp horseradish

1/2 tbsp brown mustard

1 tsp lemon juice

You can get creative with adding seasonings. I start with the below measurements but add more if i’m looking for more of a flavor. Have fun with it.

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

I like to use Mason jars. Makes it easy to mix and easy to store in the fridge. This sauce has a shelf life of 8-10 days but it’s never lasted that long in my house.

Hotdogs For Whining Kids

You’ve just spent all day drinking bourbon and perfectly smoking a B-E-A-UTIFUL brisket for dinner when you hear “Eww, I don’t want that”.  What do you do?  Force those little ungratefuls to eat brisket or do you fold and make them hotdogs.  It’s late and you don’t feel like fighting with them, so you grab 4 dogs, 3 buns and pour another drink.  Happy Father’s Day Weekend!

Smoked Beef Cheek Sandwiches

Beef Cheeks, gooiest stickiest meat you will ever smoke.  Perfect in tacos or sandwiches, beef cheeks are amazing and are super easy to prepare. Grab a couple of cheeks from your local butcher or grocery store if they carry them.  I wanted BBQ sandwiches, so I did a nice spicy beef rub.  Use what you want on them, they take in flavor amazingly.  Put them on the smoker at 250-275 and leave them alone until they hit 210.  You may think that sounds high but you’ll need that to break it down into the sticky mess it you want.  I smoked this batch with cherry but use your favorite wood. 

Enjoy!

Tomahawk Ribeyes

Are Tomahawk Ribeyes overrated? Of course, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them a shot.  I had gift card from a butcher shop that wasn’t really close to me and was in that area for work the other day.  I picked up two beautiful ribeye steaks and the Ancho Americano from Whiskey Bent BBQ.  I loaded up the smoke box on my Oklahoma Joe with charcoal and cherry wood then brought the temp to about 250.  After the meat hit 110, I moved it to direct heat over the coals and seared until it hit 125.  After resting for a bit, the steaks were amazing.

Hatch Chile Vinegar BBQ Sauce

Perfect on chicken or pork

Makes 2 cups

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup apple juice

1/2 cup Heinz chili sauce

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon hatch chile flakes (Trader Joe’s has a great red and green hatch chile flake blend)

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon Ac’cent flavor enhancer

Mix or shake. Store in refrigerator for up to 30 days.