Old Dominion Smokehouse Featured In Virginian-Pilot

I am excited to announce that we were featured in The Virginian-Pilot's Sunday Magazine, in the Labor Day weekend Sunday Edition. Lorraine Eaton did a great job of interviewing us both at my home and at the Que 'n Cruz in Louisa a few weeks back. To make it even better, Hyunsoo Leo Kim's photos are stunning! The story was huge, consuming the entire cover of the magazine and one of the interior pages. It was thrilling to be recognized twice while I was out yesterday by total strangers who had read the article. To my surprise, in this morning's online edition, the story was featured front-and-center on hamptonroads.com. If you'd like to check out the article, here is a link:

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/09/competitive-side-cooking-low-and-slow

Central Meats Sponsors Old Dominion Smokehouse!

Its with great excitement, that I'm proud to announce Central Meats of Chesapeake Virginia as the new sponsor for Old Dominion Smokehouse BBQ Team!! Central Meats has been a supplier of many of our competition products for quite some time and their top quality products and fabulous customer service has been instrumental in our success so far. When the opportunity to work with them came around, it only made sense. Central Meats was our supplier before the sponsorship and will be our supplier for many years to come, simply because there is no better place in Hampton Roads. The quality, service, and selection is second-to-none.

In today's economy of the mass-marketed mega-mart, it's refreshing to find a gem like Central meats on my doorstep. Unlike your local grocery store that carries the same old, small boring selection of meats, you can find just about anything you would need. From unbeatable prices on the basics to a selection of unusual and exotic products, Central meats is a dream for both the casual family cook to the serious culinary professional and everyone in between.

Because of such high volume sales, you are always assured of finding the freshest products available. One of the best examples of this is with their fresh, ice packed chicken, which has won us a number of awards. The chicken is always extraordinarily fresh, never frozen and packed freshly on ice and delivered promptly to the store. The flavor unlike anything you'll find in a grocery store, with a price tag that should make your local grocery store ashamed.

For the Barbecue competitor, there is no better. From top quality pork, custom trimmed ribs, to Certified Angus Beef and the freshest chicken you will find in Hampton Roads, there is no better place to buy your meats. Forget about the club stores, where you can never be sure the freshness of what you are buying or if they will even have what you need when you get there. Central meats also carries one of the widest selections of BBQ sauces, rubs, woods, charcoals and spices you will find anywhere. I am actually working with the owner right now to make this selection even better. I'm confident that most competitive bbq folks will find Central Meats to be a one-stop-shop for everything they to bring home the big trophies.

Central Meats has customer service that is second to none. If there is a particular cut or product that you want and don't see, they will be happy to freshly cut it for you. All products come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If something isn't right, see Richard at the office and he will make it right.

One of the most unique things you'll find at Central Meats are the fresh artisan sausages and cured meats. Sausages are made right in the store by a 3rd generation sausage maker from recipes handed down for generations. Their enormous smokehouse also produces freshly made hams, bacon and other cured and smoked meats. Because of the attention to detail, small quantities and quality ingredients, be prepared to experience a revelation of flavor.

For the ultimate in economy, Central Meats offers meat packages, which are essentially entire quarters or sides of meat cut to your specifications, professionally wrapped and ready for your freezer. Not only do you get a product that is better and fresher than you would get elsewhere, you get meat for a fraction of the price. For example, right now they are offering an 160 lb split side of beef cut into wide variety of steaks, roasts, and ground meat for only $408. While you might think that's a lot to spend on beef, imagine being able to fill your freezer and feed your family for months, dining on top quality steaks for only $2.55 per pound. Try that at your grocery store!!! Each meat package is cut specifically for you, so if there are certain cuts you prefer, they will work with you to get exactly what you want. The level of service is incredible.

Coming soon is a new, completely revamped website for Central Meats at http://www.centralmeats.com. Check our website's sponsor page at: http://www.olddominionsmokehouse.com/CentralMeats for more information about our sponsor as well as an incredible coupon good for 1 Pound of Artisan Sausage, Free with no purchase required.

Where's the BBQ?!?

I have been a long time reader of Bon Appétit Magazine; I read each issue cover-to-cover every month and have over 10 years worth of back-issues on my cookbook shelves. Imagine my excitement when I opened the mailbox yesterday to find "The BBQ Issue" waiting for me amongst the unpleasantness of bills and solicitations for extended vehicle warranties. It was my diamond in the rough and the highlight of the hour. When I walked back inside, the first thing I did was carefully placed it on the table next to my lazy-boy for the next moment I could give it my undivided attention.

While my frustration is not specifically aimed at the fine folks of Bon Appétit, this issue illustrated my great frustration over the misinformation disseminated about barbecue each and every day. With each copy of this magazine printed, more and more people are being misinformed of the true meaning of barbecue. As food writers, I think these people have a responsibility to the culinary community to do their homework and to know the meaning of a term before they plaster it all over the cover of a magazine that is filled with recipes bearing little resemblance to real barbecue.

Most people reading this blog understand and sympathize with my frustration, but for those who can't fathom why I'm so upset, here is a quick primer on barbecue. First I'll start with a list of things that barbecue is NOT:

• Barbecue is NOT meat with a special sauce applied
• Barbecue is NOT food that has been cooked on a grill
• A Barbecue is NOT a machine that makes fire for cooking food.

So, what is Barbecue? Barbecue is a verb, plain and simple. Barbecue is a cooking technique. Barbecue is one of the few things in the culinary world that Americans can call their own. Traditional barbecue is deeply rooted in American culture and history. So again, what is Barbecue? Barbecue is the process of cooking tough, otherwise inedible, meats at low temperatures over a wood fire. This almost magical technique transforms what were once thought of as 'junk' cuts of meat into tender, succulent and flavorful treats. Traditionally, there are only several cuts of meat that meet the standard, but today we are learning that other meats can also benefit from the process and taste absolutely wonderful when cooked this way. In the East, pork rules; shoulders, ribs and the whole hog. Down in Texas where beef is king, the brisket is what is used.

So, in reading the entire July issue of Bon Appétit, was there one mention of real barbecue? Nope. Any recipes for Pork shoulder/butt? Nope. How about Brisket? Nada..... Ribs? One very laughable attempt.

Page 67, features Steven Raichlen's recipe for "Ginger and Honey Baby Back Ribs". The recipe instructs the cook to cut each bone apart BEFORE cooking. The ribs are then marinated in what looks like a perfectly good Asian marinade, and finished off on a grill... get this.... in only 8 minutes per side! I don't know about you folks, but my championship ribs take over 5 hours to cook. It is only this way that one can achieve a tender rib. Garbage like this is why so many people I've met "don't like barbecue". If this were their only exposure to it, I don't blame them for having that attitude. Ribs cooked in this manner must be so tough and gristly that it would be preferable to eat the sole of your shoe.

My final gripe with this issue was that the editors had the nerve to do what they call "A Globe-Trotters Guide to BBQ". Essentially, this means that the recipes were from all around the world. Presumably this issue is published for July because of Independence Day.... one of the biggest grilling days of the year, also one of the most AMERICAN days of the year. Why not one mention of real American barbecue? Virtually every recipe is ethnic! Do we hate ourselves so much as a country that we can't celebrate our own culinary heritage on our country's birthday?

Again, this is not aimed directly at Bon Appétit. I love the magazine, am an avid reader and will continue to be for a long time. This is just an example of what goes on every day on TV, in magazines and in newspapers. Its only fine organizations such as KCBS that work to undo the damage, but unfortunately can only have little impact against these media giants. "The BBQ Issue"? I don't think so. "The Un-American Grilling Issue" is more like it.

Grilling Tips Featured on Award Winning Blog

I was recently contacted by my friend Lorraine Eaton, food writer for the local paper, the Virginian-Pilot, and goddess of all things culinary here in Southwest Virginia. With Memorial day kicking off the summer grilling season, she wanted me to offer up some tips for her award-winning food blog. Being and avid reader of her blog, I was happy to oblige, and sat down and typed up all of the grilling related information that came to mind. I expected only a few tid-bits to make it into the final version but to my surprise, she ended up using almost my entire rambling. So, if you're looking for any last-minute grilling tips, check out the full post here:

Memorial Day grilling tips from a Chesapeake master

Welcome to the Blog

Hello everyone, and welcome to my new blog. This is where I'll post all of my thoughts and ramblings on the world of food and BBQ for anyone interested. Thanks for reading!