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August 24, 2014 Gadgets

PolyScience The Smoking Gun Product Review

BBQ purists don’t get mad… we won’t argue that traditional low and slow smoking is the BEST way to go when looking for succulent – championship – style ribs, brisket, and chicken. But hey this is http://bbq.backstage.gq and we love a cool kitchen or grilling gadget. So we couldn’t resist giving PolyScience The Smoking Gun Handheld Food Smoker a quick trial run.

I actually received the gun as a Christmas gift and have been dreaming up all sorts of ways to use it. The compact battery operated (four AA) squirt gun sized piston works as promised. Spitting out a heavy stream of your favorite airborne hardwood. The gadget uses surprisingly little wood dust and the BBQ Smoking wood flavors are fairly plentiful.

I think it would be pretty easy to set off smoke alarms with the gun so use caution in the kitchen (check out the cloud I made in the video).

I still want to try a blast or two of smoke in the slow cooker but have played with a few other dishes including chicken in the oil-less fryer (smoke dissipates instantaneously: FAIL). In the video here I attempt to make a smoke infused coffee (I wanted to call it a SMOchacchino) but the smoke did not seem to penetrate the liquid dispite the nifty hose forcing the smoke bubble into the top of the brew. I’ll try smoking the steamed milk next time with hopes the fat or milk will give the smoke something to bond to. Stay tuned.

Cheese worked brilliantly.

Do you have suggestions of a food that would be better with smoke? Feel free to share it in the comments.
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August 17, 2014 Featured

Freeze Your Rub – BBQ Spice Tips

How do you store your spices? With a little care you can make your spices pop just a bit more according to Cheyenne Ledyard from Etsy’s The BBQ Pantry.

The tips and tricks – paraphrased below- are basic but worth noting:

Get Toasty. Toast Your Spices and maximize the potency. This releases oils and flavor.
Stay cool. Never store the spices above a stove. Heat degrades flavor.
Don’t store spices too long. Keep it fresh.
Use your freezer. Dark and sealed dry.
Keep them in the dark. Sunlight degrades flavor too. See tip 2.

My favorite spice trick is using a Monday to Sunday travel pill box to store just enough spices for that trip to the beach… more here…

Got a favorite spice trick for BBQ or just cooking? Love to hear it. Share it in the comments.

Photo – Flickr.com/Larry_Hoffman

July 5, 2014 Featured

4th Of July Red White and Blue Sauce Recipes

Here’s a fun way to celebrate the All American BBQ on a patriotic holiday.. a fun trio of BBQ sauces done up in flag wavin’ Red – White – and Blue. We have a great red sauce (Almost Award Winning) here – but there wasn’t a VIDEO RECIPE FOR THE WHITE OR THE BLUE BBQ SAUCE – so we put one together HERE on YouTube.

First the WHITE SAUCE:

Big Bob Gibson’s is a big name in BBQ especially when it comes to this white sauce…. An Alabama Barbecue traditional ce uses Mayonnaise at it’s core and Bob Gibson of Decatur, Alabama is the guy who launched it back they say in the 19-20’s

Youll want to apply this only at the very end of your grilling or smoking. It will breakdown and separate if it is heated too long.

It’s tangy and thinner than you might think – when grilling chicken; brush lightly over the chicken during the last few minutes of grilling.

Here’s what you’ll need for White BBQ Sauce
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup apple juice I tried corn syrup here
1 tablespoon powdered garlic
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon finely ground cayenne pepper

Place all ingredients in a very large blender or food processor. Blend for 1 minute, or until thoroughly mixed and sauce is smooth. I used a bullet blender – remember it’s almost like a mop – use it to slather on in the very end of the cooking process but you may first want to try it as a dip – again mainly for chicken…

Some people also like to use it a a base for cole slaw and potato salad….

Next THE BLUE SAUCE is unlike anything you’ve tried before.
This version uses dried blueberrys because we couldn’t find fresh at the time… and True it’s not really a Smurf blue color… and that’s probably a good thing. The color is subtle (in fact hard to see here). But the blueberry is defiantly in the flavor.
Perfect for beef or chicken. A side of blue potatoes?
The added bonus is there is a nice hint of blue in the sauce and it’s a great conversation starter.

Ingredients

2 cups water
1/2 cup tomato catsup
1/2 cup dried blueberries minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Add water, blueberries and vinegar to sauce pan and simmer for five to ten minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer on low heat until desired thickness.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain out blueberry pulp using spoon to force out additional liquid. Discard MOST pulp.

If you want to try a fresh blueberry version ——-from blueberry council.org
Try with 1 to 2 cups fresh (or frozen blueberries) blended in a blender first – let me know in the comments
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Team this Blue sauce up with our almost award winning red sauce and a unique Alabama White sauce and you have a RED, White, and Blue patriotic BBQ.
For more tips tricks and other fun stuff head over to www.barbecuetricks.com

June 29, 2014 Featured

Oil-Less Fried Pork Chop With Big Boss How To

Watch This Cool Trick for Oil-Less Frying
BIG BOSS 1300-Watt Oil-Less Fryer, 16-Quart

Cooking with The Big Boss Oil-Less Fryer is quick and easy, and my special Pork Skin Pork Chops come out crispy and delicious every time. First you will need to have this fryer… (get it here and support the site) Amazon has it and you will be amazed.
The Big Boss 1300-watt oil-less fryer cooks with low energy and offers triple cooking power with halogen, convection and infrared heat. You can cook from fresh or frozen with no thawing time, and has 2 trays, and holds 16 quarts so you can cook multiple foods at the same time. It even comes with a metal collar so you can “fry” a turkey in it. It cooks up to 3x faster than the oven without preheating, and leaves food moist on the inside and crispy on the outside with little to no fats or oil, so food is not greasy and you don’t have to figure out how to dispose of oil after cooking. There are three cooking elements working in uniform. The halogen directly heats the surface of the food for browning, roasting and flavor. The convection circulates the hot air, evenly distributing the heat for faster cooking, and the gentle infrared heat cooks food from inside out, sealing in the juices. Works great for roasting turkey, baking fish, broiling steaks, air frying chicken, grilling meats, toasting breads, steaming veggies, and even makes dessert.

Pork Skin Pork Chops you will need:
The Big Boss 16 Quart, Oil-Less Fryer
1 bag pork skins
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper (to taste) – we like it spicy!
4-6 thick cut pork chops
1 egg
Bacos – Imitation Bacon Bits
Olive oil spray (optional)

Crush the pork skins into a fine powder, and pour into a mixing bowl. Add the pepper, garlic and cayenne, and blend thoroughly with a fork. Beat the egg in a small bowl and add a little water. Dip each pork chop in the egg wash and dredge in the crumb mixture to coat on all sides. Place the chops in the wire basket provided with the Big Boss, and place on the higher rack. Spritz the chops with a little olive oil if desired.
Plug the Boss in, set the temperature at 400 degrees and set the timer for about 16-18 minutes. Turn the pork chops half way through, and use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Pork should have an internal temperature of 145°. The chops will come out crispy and moist!

June 15, 2014 Cook

MAKE A GRILL HOTSPOT MAP WITH BISCUITS

If you find yourself shuffling your food around the grill haphazardly hoping to find the cool or hot spot this may be of service. At least you’ll end up with brunch.

Here’s a fun and fast way to pinpoint the hot spots on your grill. We use a few tubes of refrigerated “poppin” biscuit dough. A few tips: get your gas flowing freely first… start with all your dough the same temperature… and make sure the dough slices are of identical thickness. Take a biscuit selfy and save if for future reference. Carolina Pitmaster Jack Waiboer suggests this as the first cook on any new grill. A GRATE idea.

Watch the Grill HotSpot Video HERE

June 8, 2014 Featured

Cauliflower BBQ Pizza – Low CarbBQ

My family loves a good pizza… I’m from Chicago so it’s kinda in my DNA. I always go for the DEEP dish heavy thick slices from Pizzaria UNO (one a pretty wide spread chain that has it’s origins in Chicago).

But, alas, the pizza caught up with me and in January of this year I signed up with MediWeightloss. Thankfully MJ, my wife. was on board too and in the next few months I lost 55 pounds.

Part of the routine was a low carb Acute phase. Needless to say pizza is a tough one. However we found that on YouTube cauliflower pizza crust is all the rage and we loved it. Watch us make the BBQ version HERE on YouTube.

No, it’s not exactly the crun-chewy crusty carbloaded bread we may be craving, but if you love cheesey toppings equally as much this faux crust should be a suitable base to curb your craving for a heavy slice.

Here’s what you’ll need to make the crust:

1 head cauliflower
1 egg
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup mozzarella cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese
¼ cup almond meal

Wash and dry the cauliflower before cutting off the florets. Discard the stems and leaves. Chop florets into small pieces and pulse in a food processor until it looks like snow (about 30 seconds).

Pour cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on high 4 minutes. Let it cool slightly and pour cooked cauliflower onto a clean dish towel or cheese cloth. Wrap up tightly, and holding over the sink, squeeze repeatedly to remove as much water as possible. This is key! Dump squeezed cauliflower into a mixing bowl. Add egg, spices, cheeses and almond meal, mixing thoroughly.

Pour mixture onto a piece of parchment paper and spread out, shaping into a circle about ¼ inch thick. Press a paper towel over the top to remove excess water. Place parchment paper on a preheated grill stone on the grill, close lid, and grill approximately 10 minutes on medium heat until browned.

While it cooks, gather the toppings:

¼ cup BBQ sauce
½ cup pulled pork
½ red onion, sliced
¾ cup Mozzarella cheese, divided

To turn the crust, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a second baking sheet, slide the crust off the grill onto that second baking sheet. Place the parchment lined baking sheet upside down on top of the crust, carefully flip and remove the original piece of parchment paper from the top. Now using the new parchment paper, slide the flipped crust onto the grill stone. Close the lid and grill another 5-10 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Add toppings to the pizza right on the grill:

BBQ sauce
(I mixed a sweet tomato based BBQ sauce with a low fat vinegar based sauce and added a little sugar free syrup)
Mozzarella cheese
Pulled pork
Red onion
Mozzarella cheese

Close grill lid and cook 5-10 minutes. Remove using a pizza peel.

To cook this in the oven, preheat oven to 450° and follow the same procedure. Alternate toppings:

Marinara
Turkey pepperoni
Mozzarella cheese

You can also prepare this with frozen cauliflower florets. Thaw the florets completely and prepare the same, decreasing the microwave time from 4 minutes to 2 minutes. The turkey pepperoni will curl in the oven, so put some cheese on top.

WATCH the BBQ Pizza video HERE

May 25, 2014 Featured

Pineapple Upside Down Cake – Dutch Oven How To

More fun with a BBQ dessert in a Dutch Oven! We claim this is the World’s Easiest Pineapple Cake Recipe. Watch as we spell out the sweet details using only 6 ingredients (Our cake batter is only 2 ingredients – icecream and self rising flour!). But don’t try this at home… watch and tell us what you think of the surprise ending…

Watch Pineapple Cake HERE via YouTube

click and watch on YouTube

January 25, 2014 iTunes