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TJ's Slow Smoke Barbeque Catering, New Caney, TX (2024)

09/01/2021

Smoked Chicken Maryland
Items that will help you cook these are:
• A 22” Weber Smokey Mountain
• Heat proof gloves
• Lump charcoal
• Thermometer with ambient temp probe (I used a ThermoWorks Smoke X4)
• Jaccard
What is Chicken Maryland?
Chicken Maryland traditionally consists of fried whole chicken leg, including the drumstick and the thigh.
Ingredients
• 4 whole chicken Maryland’s (around 0.8 lbs each)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp savory rub (I used Meat Mitch Rub)
• ⅓ cup sweet BBQ sauce (I used Meat Mitch Naked BBQ Sauce)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
1. Trim any excess fat and skin off chicken.
2. Jaccard the skin (pierce little holes, with knife or skewers if you do not have a jaccard) and then coat with olive oil.
3. Cover each piece of chicken with a generous amount of rub and then leave in the fridge while you get your smoker ready.
4. Get smoker to 300°F and add smoking wood for flavor (I used cherry).
5. Place chicken in smoker and insert a thermometer and set for 165°F.
6. Place sauce and butter in smoker in a saucepan .
7. Once chicken reaches internal temp of 165°F, glaze with sauce and butter mixture and allow a few minutes for glaze to set.
8. Take chicken off heat and rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
To serve:
With mashed potatoes.
With steamed vegetables.
With hot chips.

09/01/2021

Easy Smoked Mac And Cheese
Items that will help you cook these are:
• A 22” Weber Smokey Mountain
• Heat proof gloves
• Foil trays
• Lump charcoal
• Ambient temperature thermometer (I used a Thermoworks Smoke X)
Ingredients
• 24 oz pasta (macaroni style)
• 17.5 oz Colby cheese
• 16 oz shredded Cheddar cheese
• 9 oz cream cheese
• 4.5 oz salted butter
• 6 cups full cream milk
• 12.5 oz bacon (diced and fried)
• 2 – 3 tbsp of your favorite BBQ rub (I used Loot N Bootys Everything Rub)
• 7 oz pork crackle (crushed)
Instructions
1. Add all ingredients except pork crackle into a tray.
2. Get your BBQ up to temp of 300°F to 320°F
3. Put the tray of mac and cheese into the smoker for 30 minutes.
4. After 30 minutes, stir mac and cheese and smoke for a further 30 minutes.
5. After an hour, remove from the smoker, stir again and sprinkle more of your chosen rub over it.
6. Cover with pork crackle and return to the smoker for another 30 minutes.
7. Enjoy
To serve:
1. With your favorite BBQ meats.
2. On its own.
3. In a bread roll is my kids favorite way of eating it.

08/24/2021

How to Make Smoked Hot Dogs From Scratch
Equipment you will need:
• A meat grinder or meat grinding attachment to fit on your kitchen mix. I used my LEM Big Bite.
• Coarse grinding plate and fine grinding plate
• Sausage stuffer or stuffing attachment for your grinder
• Smoker
Prepping the spices
Next, it’s time to mix the spices. Place the chopped garlic, mustard powder, chili powder, coriander, paprika, oregano, and black pepper into either a mortar and pestle, food processor, or spice grinder and pound or grind into an evenly colored paste.
Ingredients
• 1 ¼ lbs pork butt cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 lb beef chuck cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 lb pork fatback cut into 1-inch cubes
• 6 ft natural sheep casings
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• ¾ tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp fresh ground coriander
• 1 tsp paprika
• ¾ tsp dry oregano
• 1 ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp sea salt, fine
• ½ tsp curing salt #1
• ¼ cup milk powder
Instructions
SEE MORE

1. Put all parts of the meat grinder that you can into the freezer.
2. Put the meat and fatback in the freezer for 30 – 40 minutes or until parfrozen.
3. Rinse the casing thoroughly and then soak in a bowl of warm water untill needed.
4. Place the chopped garlic, mustard powder, chilli powder, coriander, paprika, oregano and black pepper into a mortar and pestle and pound into a paste.
5. Mix the chilled meat and fatback together in a large bowl.
6. With the large die plate on the grinder, run the meat through twice.
7. Put the mixture back in the freezer while switching to the small die plate.
8. Remove the meat from the freezer and grind through the small plate twice.
9. Add the spice paste, sugar, sea salt, curing salt and milk powder to the meat mixture and mix until fully incorporated and even in color.
10. Fill the meat stuffer hopper with the mixture and stuff into the casing. Make links of desired length, 8” – 12” recommended.
11. Put the links on a baking sheet or sheet tray and place in the refrigerator to dry, 2 hours to overnight.
12. Preheat the smoker as low as it will go, 70°F – 80°F and add hickory and apple chunks.
13. Smoke the hotdogs for one hour, adding more smoking wood as necessary.
14. Increase smoker temperature to 150°F and continue smoking the hotdogs until the internal temperature reads 150°F, one to two more hours.
15. Serve warm in a quality bun, top as desired.
Smoke the hotdogs
We’ll be smoking the hotdogs low at first and increasing the temperature after one hour. You want the smoking temperature at 70°F – 80°F.
If you’re using a charcoal and wood smoker, this temperature is attainable using a small amount of fuel. It will take longer than usual to get to such a low temperature because you are using less initial charcoal, but keep it slow and steady so you don’t overshoot the target.
If you’re using a pellet grill, keep it on the lowest setting – usually the smoke setting. This will be higher than 80°F, so keep an eye on the hotdogs’ internal temperature.
Once you reach a steady temperature, put your smoking wood of choice on the coals. We used a combination of hickory and apple woods.
Keep the smoke flow steady throughout the cook, adding more wood chunks as needed.

07/16/2021

Smoking Your First Brisket

Brisket is notoriously difficult cut of meat to master.
Many amateur pitmasters have turned a 4lb brisket into a 4lb hunk of beef jerky.
You shouldn’t let these horror stories put you off though. There is no greater accomplishment than slicing a juicy, perfectly cooked brisket after 12 hours tending to your smoker.
His brisket is so legendary that people willingly line up at 6:00am to queue for a taste.
In this guide we go through his whole process from choosing the brisket, trimming and preparing it to how to manage the fire during the long cook.
There is a lot of great advice whether you are smoking your first brisket or you’ve done this many times before.
1. The brisket – how to properly trim and add a rub to your brisket

The problem most people have with brisket is that it’s a tough cut of meat. This makes it perfect for low & slow cooking.
Great brisket isn’t about fancy rubs, mops, marinades or BBQ sauce.
Selecting the the right brisket from the butcher shop and preparing it properly will set you up for success well before you even fire up your smoker.
Selecting the the right brisket from the butcher shop and preparing it properly will set you up for success well before you even fire up your smoker.
If you want to go straight to the good stuff, Snake River Farms sells top-quality American Wagyu brisket and deliver everywhere in the continental United States.
We recommend buying a whole packer brisket, which lets you have full control over the trimming process.
When selecting your brisket look for marbling in the meat and a thick flat so the leaner part will cook at almost the same rate as the larger point.
Look for USDA Choice, Prime or Certified Angus Beef.

How to Trim a Brisket

Use a good narrow curved boning knife for trimming the brisket (using a blunt knife is a good way to stab yourself).
If you don’t trim any fat off the brisket it will taste too fatty, but trimming too much will make your brisket dry. Aim for around 1/4″ of fat.
Brisket is much easier to trim when it’s still cold so trim it right after you take it out of the fridge.
There is a thick membrane called the deckle that will not render out during cooking, you will you need to cut out (some butchers will have done this for you)
Trim off any bits which are significantly thinner than the rest as they will cook too fast and burn.
Think about where the heat will be coming from and how the brisket will be placed on your cooking surface. Areas that run hotter can have a little more fat to help protect the meat.
So long as you leave around 1/4″ of fat and get a good shape don’t worry too much about trimming. Practice makes perfect.
Barbecue Brisket Rub

A lot of people use complicated rubs with chill powder, cumin and paprika on their brisket.
For true Texas style brisket you want to use even parts salt & black pepper. This simple style rub will still give you a great bark, while still letting the beef flavor dominate.
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Mix ingredients in a bowl or rub shaker and then apply to your brisket.
2. The biggest mistake people make is putting on too much rub. You want to be conservative with the rub so that the meat flavor stands out.
3. Make sure you swirl the mixture as you apply it, as the salt can settle to the bottom.
4. Apply rub to the edges of the brisket, using your free hand to catch rub and push it back on.
5. Let the brisket warm up to room temperature for an hour before putting it on the smoker for a more even cook.
2. The cook – how to manage the fire and treat the brisket while it’s cooking
Use an offset smoker for preparing, smoking and slicing the brisket can still be used if you are using a charcoal grill or offset smoker, converted Kettle or any other smoker.
Positioning the brisket on your smoker

Fat side up vs fast side down is a surprisingly controversial topic. While how much this actually matters is up for debate, the right way depends on your smoker setup.
We recommend placing the brisket on the smoker fat side up.
Depending on your smoker, if the heat is coming from below, consider smoking fat-side down to protect the muscle from drying out too much.
Place the fattier point of the brisket closer to the fire. The extra fat will help insulate it.
The flat end of the brisket should be closer to the smoke stack.
Always use a water pan to help keep moisture in the cooking chamber and avoid burning when using a charcoal grill.
How long to cook brisket
Ask any experienced pitmaster how long to cook a brisket and they’ll roll their eyes and tell you to cook until it probes tender.
Two similar sized briskets can have very different cook times based on a number of factors.
But none of this helps you if you’re planning a dinner party and need to have things ready by 6:00pm.
A good rule of thumb for working out how long a brisket will take to cook is 1 hour and 15 minutes per LB (0.45kg) of brisket at 250°F (120°C).
For example: 10lb Brisket x 1.25 hours = 12.5 hours cooked at 250°F.
You can also cook a brisket hot and fast and finish it in less time, and still get great results so give that method a try if you are short on time.
Managing your brisket during the cook
You need to keep a close watch on your smoker and keep the temperature steady.
When the lid of the smoker is open you’re losing heat and smoke and it’s going to take awhile to recover the heat. “If you’re looking you ain’t cooking”.
Check it as little as possible, and if it’s looking dry consider spritzing it using a spray bottle with some apple juice or apple cider vinegar or beef broth.
To ensure a steady temperature and avoid opening the lid too often, make sure you have a quality wireless thermometer setup with dual probes so you can measure the temperature of the smoker, as well as the internal meat temp.
Try and avoid choking off the oxygen too much which can cause a ‘dirty fire’. This can create creosote (a thick, oily substance left over by fire) which causes a bitter, over smoked taste.
Wood choice for brisket is important, so try and avoid green wood or overly cured wood. Using a very dry wood like Post Oak, Hickory and Mesquite woods that has been cured for 9-12 months.
You want to see clean heat coming out of the smoker and not a lot of smoke.
Knowing your cooker and how to manage your fire only comes from a lot of experience so try and maintain an even temperature but don’t freak out if you don’t get it perfect on your first brisket.
How to Keep Your Brisket Moist
Keeping a water pan in the smoker is the best way to retain moisture.
After the first 2-3 hours start spritzing your brisket with water, apple juice, hot sauce or apple cider vinegar every 30 minutes to an hour. This helps keep it moist and stops it from burning.
Some people use a liquid mixture to mop the meat but this causes a bunch of mess and can interfere with the bark on the brisket.
Wrapping your brisket and dealing with the dreaded stall:
Wrapping the brisket in foil (the Texas Crutch) or pink butcher paper is an optional step that can help you in some circumstances.
It can help the brisket retain moisture push through the stall faster.
If your smoker is giving off too much smoke wrapping can also help.
Wrapping in foil can help accelerate the cook time if your guests are getting impatient.
You can wrap the brisket after around 4-6 hours or you can cook for 11 or 12 hours and never need to wrap it. It all comes down to fire management and personal preference.
When the internal temperature of your brisket hits around 150°F -170°F
the temperature can stall as the brisket tightens up and squeezes out moisture. Patience is key.

3. The payoff – wrapping, resting and slicing your brisket
Finishing your brisket
When your brisket has a nice bark formed and is still soft and pliable you might want to wrap it.
• We recommend wrapping the brisket with butcher paper. If you can’t find it in the shops you can get a roll of unwaxed butcher paper on Amazon.
• At this point you might want to start preparing your BBQ sauce and sides
• Once wrapped, put the brisket back on the smoker at 250°F until done. We happen to use appearance and feel of the brisket along with a temperature of 195-203°F to measure when it’s done. We recommend using one of the leave-in thermometer or a good instant read thermometer, and taking it the brisket off the smoker when it’s at an internal temperature of 195-203°F.

Slicing your brisket
Once you’ve taken the brisket off the cooker and let it rest for about an hour, now you are ready to slice.
The proper way to slice a brisket is to cut against the grain on the flat side until you get to the point. And then turn the brisket 90 degrees and then cut against the grain.
Try and avoid scraping off the bark.
Use a sharp knife to slice the brisket.
Cut each slice around the thickness of a big pencil on the fattier part and a small pencil on the leaner part.
If you’re not going to use it right away leave the brisket whole and cut it just before serving so it doesn’t dry out. Make sure the finished brisket is wrapped in butcher paper or in foil and then a towel and hold in a cooler for a few hours.
Brisket is a very uneven cut of meat. Some parts are fatty, some are lean some are thick and some are thin. That’s why it can take so long to master it.
You’re done! Time to relax and enjoy your barbecue brisket with a few drinks. And if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, check out our guide on what to do with brisket leftovers.

06/20/2021

To all you Father's out there, Happy Father's Day.
To all you single Mothers that are both Mothers and Father's, Happy Father's Day.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful Father's Day.
Now get out there and BBQ something. We all love Barbecue, hot off of the pit.

05/30/2021

Smoked Spatchcock Chicken with Smokey Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients
• 1 3-4 Lbs Whole chicken
• 3-4 Tbsp Smokey Barbecue Sauce
• 3-4 Tbsp Poultry rub
Instructions

SEE MORE
1. Place the chicken breast side down on a clean chopping board. Use a sharp boning knife or poultry shears to cut along both sides of the backbone towards the legs.
2. Trim any excess fat or skin from around the leg end of the chicken.
3. Flip the chicken over and press down firmly with the palms of your hand so that the meat is flat and spread out.
4. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
5. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and leave uncovered for a two hours in the fridge.
6. Apply barbecue rub evenly over both sides of the chicken.
7. Set your smoker up for indirect cooking at 300 – 350°F. Add 2-3 chunks of mild smoke wood (apple or cherry are good options).
8. Place the chicken on the grill, breast side up.
9. Smoke until the internal temperature of the breast reaches 160°F. Around 1 hour.
10. Take the Chicken off the smoker and spread barbecue sauce evenly over the skin.
11. Place chicken back on the smoker for about 10 minutes or until the breast reaches 165°F.
12. Slice the chicken up and serve with your favorite barbecue sides or pull the meat and use in a sandwich.

05/30/2021

Smoked Pulled Pork

Juicy smoked pulled pork butt spiced up with a knockout homemade BBQ sauce.
Course- Main Course
Cuisine- American
Prep Time- 15 minutes
Cook Time- 4 hours
Resting Time- 2 hours
Total Time- 6 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients
• 6-10 lbs Boston Butt or Pork Collar
Pork Rub:
• 8 tbsp smoked paprika
• 6 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp salt flakes
• 2 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp mustard powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• ½ tsp cayenne powder

BBQ Sauce:
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 ½ cup apple juice
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black ground pepper
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
Pulled pork:
1. Remove any silver skin and hard solid pieces of fat, these just will not render down during the cooking process.
2. Trim off most of the soft fat, you can leave some as this will render down.
3. Trim off any loose bits of meat as these will just dry up during the long cook.
4. Using a rub shaker, give the pork a generous coating of dry rub from approximately 12” above the meat. This just allows the rub to fall and coat evenly, as opposed to clumping and giving an uneven coverage.
5. Leave this to sit for around an hour while you get the smoker ready, the dry rub will turn to what looks like a wet glaze this time.
6. Set up your smoker for high indirect heat using lump charcoal and some apple wood chunks for smoking.
7. Once the temps have stabilized at 300°F, put the meat in the smoker and insert an internal meat thermometer to track the temps.
8. After 2 hours into the smoke check the meat for any dry patches. If there are any, give the dry parts a spritz with apple juice or beef broth. Keep checking every half hour after this and spritz if needed.
9. Once the internal temp reaches 160°F, wrap in aluminum foil and put back on the smoker.
10. When the internal temp reaches 195°F to 210°F, start probing the pork for tenderness. When you feel no resistance from sticking a metal skewer in, you know it will be time to rest.
11. Put this into a cooler wrapped in towels to keep hot for 2 hours.
12. After 2 hours has gone by, remove from the cooler and transfer to a tray, including all of the juices.
13. Pull the meat apart, removing and gristle of hard fat. Once all pulled apart, add a sq**rt of the BBQ sauce. mix well then
14. Serve.
To Serve:
1. In burgers with a fresh crunchy slaw to help cut through the smoky-sweet pork.
2. In tacos with some finely sliced lettuce, a drizzle of the BBQ sauce and some spicy mayonnaise.
3. On some loaded nachos, crunchy and filling but just the perfect comfort food.
4. or you can make sliders as well.

05/29/2021

Hot and Fast BBQ Brisket
Ingredients
• 17 lbs Brisket
Seasoning:
• 1 part salt.
• 1 part ground black pepper
• 1 part granulated garlic
Instructions
1. Trim the hard fat from the brisket while it is still cool.
2. Remove as much soft fat as you like, I tend to remove most of it.
3. Season with equal parts of salt, ground black pepper and granulated garlic. also known as SPG
4. Get your smoker up to temp of 300°F.
5. Put the brisket on and leave for at least 2 hours before checking.
6. After 2 hours, if any of the bark is extremely dry, you can spritz with apple juice or beef broth.
7. Once internal temp of brisket reaches 170°F, wrap the brisket in a couple of layers of aluminum foil and put it back on the smoker.
8. .Once the brisket is probing tender, anywhere between 195°F and 210°F, take the brisket off the heat.
9. let stand for 1 hour on the kitchen counter then slice the brisket across the grain.
10. Then Enjoy

05/27/2021

Crock pot Root Beer Barbecue Chicken

go grab the root beer and Sweet Baby Rays and get ready for a delicious dinner surprise!
What You’ll Need:
 4 – 5 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, thawed
 One 18 oz. Bottle Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbecue Sauce {18 oz.}
 1/2 Can of Root Beer {approx. 6 oz.}
 1/8 Tsp. Salt
 1/8 Tsp. Pepper
 Crock pot
What You’ll Do:
 Cook chicken in crock pot on high for 3 hours {covered}
 After 3 hours, drain juices from crock pot
 Mix together BBQ Sauce and Root Beer
 Pour mixture over chicken, and cook on high for 30 more minutes {covered}
Now serve over rice for a delicious meal.

05/27/2021

Chocolate Molten Lava Cake
¾ cup unsalted butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup flour
1 ½ cups confectioner's sugar
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 t vanilla extract
6 custard cups
powdered sugar for topping
Preheat oven to 425°. Melt chocolate and butter in microwave until smooth. Add flour and powdered sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in eggs and yolks until smooth. Add vanilla.
Spray the custard cups with cooking spray and pour the batter evenly among cups and place on a cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Edges should be firm, but center should still be runny. Run a butter knife around edges of cups to loosen and invert onto small dessert plates. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top, whipped topping or leave bare. When you cut into cake, the center will flow out with chocolate. Enjoy these beauties!

05/27/2021

Barbecue Ribs - in the Oven
1 rack baby back ribs
McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
BBQ sauce of your choice
Water
Aluminum foil
Cooking Spray
Preheat oven to 350°. Rinse ribs in cold water. Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan that has a rack in it. If you are doing more than one rack of ribs, a larger 11 x 17 pan will work, just be sure to have a wire rack in the bottom or use a roasting pan with wire rack. This keeps the ribs from getting mushy in the water. Place ribs in pan on top of rack and sprinkle seasoning thoroughly. Add enough water to the base of the pan to cover ½” up the side, but not touching the ribs underside. Cover with two layers of aluminum foil and bake in oven 3 hours, checking half way through the baking time to add more water if evaporation has occurred. With 15 minutes remaining to cook, check the ribs to see if they are done. If they pull away from the bone with ease, they are done. Remove the ribs from the oven and brush with BBQ sauce. Leave uncovered and bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve. They will fall off the bone and as you fall in love with them.

05/27/2021

Smoked Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

Ingredients
• 2.2 lbs chicken wings
Seasoning:
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp fine table salt
• ¼ tsp fine black pepper
The Hot Sauce:
• ½ cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
• ½ cup unsalted butter
The Blue Cheese Sauce:
• 5 oz blue cheese
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 clove of garlic (crushed)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
1. Separate your wings into flats and drumettes using a sharp knife.
2. Dry the wings with a paper towel, the dryer you get them the crispier the skin will be.
3. Season the wings with the baking powder mix.
4. Get your BBQ up to temp of around 450°F plus for air frying.
5. Cook wings for 45 minutes using high indirect heat to allow fat to render and skin to crisp up.
6. Mix up the blue cheese ingredients in a food processor.
7. Melt butter in a saucepan and add hot sauce and whisk until butter is melted.
8. Take the wings off the heat and add hot sauce.
9. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and enjoy.

To serve:
1. With sliced celery and carrot sticks.
2. On their own.
3. On a BBQ platter with ribs, brisket, pulled pork.

05/24/2021

ASIAN LETTUCE WRAPS WITH PULLED PORK AND SUGAR FREE BBQ SAUCE

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs. from this Low Carb Pulled Pork recipe
Head Country Sugar Free Bar-B-Q Sauce
1 head butter lettuce, separated into individual leaves
Asian slaw (recipe below)
Cilantro, minced, for garnish
Chopped roasted peanuts
Asian drizzle/dipping sauce (recipe below)
For the Asian Slaw:
1 bag cole slaw mix
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
1/4 c. sesame oil
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
For the drizzle/dipping sauce:
1/4 c. Head Country Sugar Free BBQ sauce
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. sesame oil

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Bring pulled pork to desired temperature (hot off the smoker or fresh from the fridge are both delicious).
Prepare the slaw: In a large mixing bowl, combine rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Stir to combine. Empty the coleslaw into the bowl. Add chopped cilantro. Toss to coat. Allow to stand while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Prepare the drizzling/dipping sauce: In a small bowl, combine Head Country Sugar Free BBQ sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sesame oil. Allow to stand while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Assemble the wraps: Spoon pulled pork into the cup of each lettuce leaf. Top with slaw, a drizzle of sauce, and chopped peanuts. Add extra chopped cilantro, if you'd like. Serve with extra dipping sauce. Enjoy!

05/01/2021

Weeknight Roast Chicken
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Roast chicken is often described as a simple dish, and it is, at least in terms of flavor—when the dish is made properly, the rich flavor and juicy meat of the chicken need little adornment. But the actual process of preparing and roasting chicken is anything but simple; recipes often call for complicated trussing techniques and for rotating the bird multiple times during cooking. And the most time-consuming part is salting or brining the bird, a step that ensures juiciness and well-seasoned meat. After systematically testing the various components and steps of a typical recipe, we found that we could just tie the legs together and tuck the wings underneath. We also discovered that we could skip both the V-rack and flipping the chicken by using a preheated skillet and placing the chicken breast side up; this method gave the thighs a jump start on cooking. Starting the chicken in a 450-degree oven and then turning off the oven while the chicken finished cooking slowed the evaporation of juices, ensuring moist, tender meat.

SERVES 4
We prefer to use a 3½- to 4-pound chicken for this recipe. If roasting a larger bird, increase the time when the oven is on in step 2 to 35 to 40 minutes. Cooking the chicken in a preheated skillet will ensure that the breast and thigh meat finish cooking at the same time.

1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 (3½- to 4-pound) whole chicken, giblets discarded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position, place 12-inch oven safe skillet on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine salt and pepper in bowl. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Rub entire surface with oil. Sprinkle evenly all over with salt mixture and rub in mixture with hands to coat evenly. Tie legs together with twine and tuck wing tips behind back.
2. Transfer chicken, breast side up, to preheated skillet in oven. Roast chicken until breasts register 120 degrees and thighs register 135 degrees, 25 to 35 minutes. Turn off oven and leave chicken in oven until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 25 to 35 minutes.
3. Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Carve chicken and serve.

05/01/2021

Slow Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Slow Smoking Baby Back Ribs on the Backyard Grill
by T. J. Mulhern
Ahh… Life is good on a Sunday!  Temperatures in the low 80s, light breeze, sunshine…  and Eight racks of Baby Backs dusted with Head Countrys original rub going on the Back Yard Barbeque. Soon to be served with one of your favorite side dishes including: Corn bread, Potato salad, Cole slaw and even Corn–on-the-com. YUM
The cooking chamber temperature is approximately (225F -250F degrees) and I added a handful of moist apple chips to the smoke box (put directly on the coals) trough that will generate smoke and flavor the ribs. After an hour, I’ll rearrange the ribs (to promote even cooking) so those closest to the coals and furthest away (are switched) and spray them every 1/2 hour with a mixture of unsweetened apple juice, clear grape juice and some beef broth. (In equal amounts) Total cooking time was about 4 – 4 1/2 hours.
I glazed with a Sassy Finishing Sauce during the last 30 minutes of cooking (During this process I increased the heat a bit to put a nice crispy glaze on the ribs). Just before serving, I dusted the ribs with more with Head Countrys Original Rub to add a little extra flavor to the ribs.
After the 4 to 4 1/2 hours cook time is complete, remove the ribs from the smoker cover and let rest for 1/2 hour. Slice the ribs and serve.

05/01/2021

SLOW COOKER PARTY MEATBALLS

INGREDIENTS
1 lb bag frozen, Premium Angus Meatballs
1 1/2 cups Head Country Original Bar-B-Q Sauce
3 tbsp grape jelly
2 cap fulls apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Place the frozen meatballs in a 2 quart or larger slow cooker.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the Bar-B-Q sauce with the grape jelly, vinegar, and water.
Whisk all ingredients together until smooth and pour over the meatballs in the slow cooker.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and set the cook time to high 4 hours or low 6 hours.
Once cooked, turn the heat off and remove the lid.
Stir the meatballs and then place in a serving bowl or on a platter to serve.
TIP: Have some toothpicks handy for guests to easily serve themselves.
TIP 2: These meatballs taste great dipped in the sauce they cooked in or in Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing.

05/01/2021

PULLED PORK CORN DOGS

INGREDIENTS
2 quarts oil for frying
4 corn dog sticks (or chopsticks if you can’t find corn dog sticks)
1 boneless pork shoulder (approximately 3 lbs.) – Or use leftover pulled pork
1 cup Head Country Bar-B-Q Sauce
Head Country Championship Seasoning
1 cup cornmeal
1½ cups flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
You’ll also need a silicone popsicle mold similar to this one
4- 8 hours (4 - 5 mins using leftover pulled pork)

375°F

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
* If using leftover pulled pork, skip steps 1-3
1. Season the entire pork shoulder with your choice of Head Country Championship Seasoning and place into slow cooker.
2. Top with 1 cup Head Country sauce of your choice and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours or until pork shoulder can easily be shredded with a fork.
3. Shred pork shoulder with a fork and stir to coat with sauce.
4. Transfer pulled pork to popsicle mold and use a corn dog stick to poke holes in the center of each cavity so the pulled pork can easily be inserted onto the corn dogs sticks once frozen. Freeze for an hour.
5. Heat oil in deep fryer or heavy skillet to 375°F.
6. In a bowl, combine 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup flour, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and 4 teaspoons baking powder. Stir in egg and milk.
7. Remove frozen pulled pork popsicles from freezer and place two of each of them on each stick.
8. Transfer corn dog batter to a tall glass, coat each stick of frozen pulled pork in the leftover flour and dip the corn dogs one by one in the batter.
9. Fry corn dogs in batches for 4 minutes or until golden brown
10. Drain on paper towels and serve with your favorite Head Country Bar-B-Q Sauce for dipping.