Tag Archives: bbq

4th Annual Smokin’ in the Oaks Cook-Off

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Can I ever get tired of BBQ? Obviously that’s a rhetorical question. This is my third BBQ event this month! If you haven’t already seen my previous posts then check them out, Bay Area BBQ Championship and Wine Country Big Q.

Smokin’ in the Oaks was up in Penn Valley, CA. I was in Penn Valley earlier this summer for the Food Truck Food Festival. Truthfully, I never heard of Penn Valley until the folks at Stitches ‘n Dishes invited me to the festival. I’m glad I went, had I not, I would not have heard about NorCal BBQ’s photo contest, which I won. The prize? VIP tickets to the Bay Area BBQ Championship, which led to hearing about the Big Q and Smokin’ in the Oaks.

Okay, okay, I’m beginning to babel and you’re really here to see some beautiful pictures of barbecue. Now you might be surprised, but I only ate BBQ from three places. I know, sounds crazy but it’s true. But the weather was really nice, had a great spot under the shade of an oak tree, live music was playing, and I was in no hurry.

Besides, just look at that plate of food! There’s a mini rack of ribs, a hunk of pork, a giant slice of brisket, two ears of corn and a salad…..ok, the salad was there just to add some balance to the picture.

The Food Bank of Nevada County BBQ team spent a lot time making this plate possible. If you have to chance to try their BBQ, do it.

A lot of teams come to cook-offs come with some big rigs, but some teams like the food bank’s show up with backyard equipment and they deliver some hella smoky barbecue.

 Next up was Bam Dazy BBQ from Auburn, CA

The team is named for their Boston Terriers, Bam and Daisy.

Yes, both of those plates are for me. I had a pulled pork slider with slaw and rootbeer BBQ sauce….

and then a beef brisket slider with blackberry BBQ sauce. Their brisket came in 10th and I bet next time, they’ll place higher.

They have a restaurant in Auburn, but I don’t pass through that area very often. Still, I might have to plan a visit.

Last but not least….

NorCal BBQ

This is some of the best tasting chicken I’ve had in a while, besides mine, of course.

The wings featured their special spice blends, Rebel Rub and Chicken Choker. I favored Chicken Choker and I really liked the side of Rebel Slaw (go ahead, click it. It’ll take you to the recipe).

Well, that was it. No, that wasn’t all the BBQ I had that day. Are you kidding? I still had to eat dinner. Yup, had me a rack of baby backs and a side salad.

 

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2nd Annual Wine Country Big Q: July 14, 2012

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This has been a good month, the weekend before last  I went to the Bay Area BBQ Championship in Oakland and this past weekend I went to the Wine Country Big Q in Santa Rosa. I can’t seem to get enough BBQ. The weather was perfect for BBQ and so was the location. The event was held on an athletic field with all the competitors lining the sides. Unlike the Bay Area BBQ Championship, all the competitors here had samples. As much as I wish I could have tried them all, I couldn’t.

This was an officially sanctioned competition by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, but there were three categories for the People’s Choice Award. I picked two out of the three winners, although the team that I did vote for which didn’t win the People’s Choice Award, managed to place third in the lamb category…..so, I could say that all my picks were winners.

But enough talk, I know you all really come here for the pictures of the food.

People’s Choice Winery Big Beef Challenge: Kendall-Jackson Winery BBQ Team

The people’s choice winner for the Winery Big Beef Challenge at the 2nd Annual Wine Country Big Q went to the Kendall-Jackson Winery BBQ Team. They served up the “Tom Young” Sandwich. This wonderful  sandwich was full of Smoked Snake River Farms Wagyu Tri-Tip, Cabernet Braised Cabbage, Point Reyes Blue Cheese Dressing, and Sausalito Springs Watercress. The “Tom Young” was paired with Kendall-Jackson Highland Estate Hawkeye Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. I had four of these sandwiches and needless to say, they got my vote.

Executive Chef Justin Wangler paired Kendall-Jackson’s Hawkeye Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon with Wagyu Tri-tip. He also braised the cabbage with this cab. The pairing was perfect. Oh, did I mention that there was a lot of wine at the Wine Country Big Q…maybe you could tell by its name. 

People’s Choice Bold Bean Challenge: Baird’s BBQ

These guys specialize in Santa Maria Style Tri-tip, but they walked away with an award for their beans. Man, just look at all that tri-tip!You’re most likely asking, where’s the picture of the beans? Well, see that pot in the background..to the right? It’s full of beans! Really, it is, okay, okay, so I didn’t take a picture of the beans….but hey, check out their rig. Is that cool or what?!

People’ Choice Best Barbecue Barbecue Bob and the Smokin’ Banditos of Cloverdale (Hamburger Ranch)

I did not vote for these guys, but let me say that this was a really tasty sandwich and I just might plan a trip to their restaurant.

My Choice for Best Barbecue went to Dad’s Doing What they Love

Their pulled pork just edged out the others, it was moist, smokey, and just flavorful.

I hope you enjoyed my pictures, I had a really fun time at the Wine Country Big Q. I met a lot of fellow foodies and tasted a lot of good food and wine. I think I’ll plan on attending next year.

 

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Food Truck Food Festival – Penn Valley CA

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This past weekend I cruised on up to Penn Valley, CA for Foods4Thought’s Food Truck Food Festival sponsored by the folks at Stitches ‘n Dishes. I love food trucks and this was definitely the place to go. They had a nice line-up of trucks and food vendors from Sacramento, the Bay area, and even local folks. I ate from three trucks and three vendors.

I had to get a Naked Lobster Roll from the Shack Mobile. I’ve eaten from this truck before so I knew I was going to get some good eats.

Next up I had the Peter Rattle Tail from Pit Bros BBQ, it was a mix of rattle snake and rabbit. It actually tasted good and had a nice texture. Pit Bros BBQ are local guys from Penn Valley.

The Skippy Dog from Heavenly Dog…weird, but it worked. Something about the peanut butter, the grilled onion, the fried onion, and the jack cheese all coming together made for an interesting dog.

You really should check out their corn dog, man this thing was huge! Had a really nice crunch when bitten into and the bater had a fresh cornmeal taste. This is my third time eating from Heavenly Dog and if you like dogs, give them a try.

Now who doesn’t like a nice tender beef heart skewered on a stick? This was my first time trying Lima – Peruvian Food and all I can say is if I see them again, I’ll be standing in line. You should give beef hearts a try, they had a nice spice to them and the chimichurri sauce was perfect.

It was a warm afternoon so I headed over to the Local Kine Shaved Ice truck and ordered a large shaved ice with mango, guava, and pineapple. Want something interesting? Have then dust it with plum salt…go ahead, give it a try.

I thought the shaved ice was the last bit for the day, but as I walked out I saw the Butterscotch Girl….I don’t have a picture of what’s behind the lid because I ate it too quickly.

All in all, it really was nice event, there was live music and plenty of seating in the shade. In a couple of weeks there’s a BBQ competition at the same location, I just might check it out.

Shrimp shell on or off?

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Picture of the Day – April 30, 2012

Last night I did an experiment while grilling some shrimp. If you read yesterday’s blog then you know that I made Key Lime Grilled Shrimp. It was delicious by the way. I left the shells on half the shrimp and took all but the tails off the other half. I massaged the key lime marinade, which was really more like key lime mayonnaise, all over the shrimp and under the shell. I let it set for over an hour before putting them on the grill. Now shrimp cooks fast, even these jumbo shrimps; I grilled them for three minutes on each side.

So which was better? Flavor wise, hands down,shell on; but get me wrong, they both tasted great! So it really depends on what you want. Do you want the ease of just picking up the shrimp and eating it? Or, are you okay with getting your fingers messy and peeling the shrimp? Either way I’m sure you’ll enjoy your shrimp and you really should try the Key Lime Grilled Shrimp recipe.

Lamb Brochettes with Harissa

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Picture of the Day – April 8, 2012

We prepared these brochettes yesterday as part of the lamb class at the Fatted Calf. We broke down a whole lamb and used the leg for the brochettes. Harissa is a North African spicy condiment made with peppers, garlic, olive oil and a variety of other spices, there is no one way make it. For this Harissa we used Aleppo pepper, cayenne, Spanish paprika, cumin, black popper, garlic and olive oil. To fully develop the flavors, I’ll let these marinade for another day or so before tossing them on the grill.

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