Pulled Pork Nachos!!

Pulled Pork Nachos, just the name alone causes saliva in the mouth to become eager with anticipation! This has become a family tradition in my home, to the point where I think we only smoke pork butt just so the next day we can have Pulled Pork Nachos!!

           

                                                  

 

So what is needed to make this delicious pile of pork and cheese appear on your table! You will need the following:

Disposable aluminum pan (why make a lot of dishes for yourself…)

Tortilla chips/strips (I use Mission Tortilla Strips)

1lb pulled pork (more if you want)

Refried Beans (32 ounce can)

BBQ Sauce

Salsa

1 large Tomato

1-2lbs of Cheese

Sour Cream

 

Spay the bottom of the pan with a light coating of “Pam” to help keep food for sticking. Next place the Tortilla strips on the bottom of the pan, covering the entire bottom. Spread the refried beans on top of the tortillas evenly. Then place a layer of cheese on top of the beans. I then spread a thick layer of pulled pork on top of the cheese and complete this masterpiece with a light layer of bbq sauce topped with more Cheese!

 

Place the pan in a pre-heated oven at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese begins to bubble and brown. Remove the nachos from the oven and add diced tomatoes and onions on top. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top and more BBQ sauce or salsa if desired.

 

 

This is such a simple dish, but one that EVERYONE remembers and requests especially with Football and Hockey season being here! Hope you enjoy this family favorite. Let me know of any spins or a twist you add to this that just makes the dish even more irresistible! Smoke On!

Posted by Chuck Posted in: Recipes No Comments » September 2008

Buffalo’s BBQ Competition Cooking School

            When you get involved in competitive barbeque contests you learn quickly that there are many individuals in this sport who are incredibly talented at what they do. These are men and women who take this sport seriously, doing their best to produce barbeque so close to perfection that it becomes a barbeque enthusiasts dream come true to eat their barbeque.

So when you find out who these individuals are, you try and watch what they do, ask questions and hope to gain some knowledge and insight, teaching what they do that’s different then yourself, hoping to come up with the next barbeque nirvana.

I began looking for Barbeque cooking classes that probably many of you have looked at as well. In the process I put together my own criteria in selecting a competition cooking class to attend.

 First, I wanted to learn from someone who has won the awards that we all wish to win ourselves. Second, this individual(s) also needed to still be competing on the circuit. In my opinion this was the most important choice because the class would be centered on what is going on NOW and not what used to be the case when they competited on the circuit.

Third, I wanted to have the opportunity to go and not be in an overcrowded class getting lost in the numbers. I wanted to have the ability to watch up close, take notes and ask those questions I’ve had for years but just haven’t found the individual(s) who could answer them. In order to accomplish this, the class would be pricey; I knew this and so prepared to pay the price.

Bottom line I found a class that met the criteria and surpassed my expectations in the process! My wife and I attended Buffalo’s BBQ Competition Cooking Class put on by Donny Teel and his wife Cindy and their daughter Whitney. The class I attended was held in Pueblo Colorado.

If you have never heard of Donny Teel, allow me to give you a short biography of this man and his accomplishments that was included with the class registration:

 

 

Donny has won over 40 GRAND CHAMPIONS!

 

Scored 717.1430 out of 720 possible!

Won Jack Daniels in 2005

Won American Royal 2004

Res. Grand American Royal 2005-2006

Champions of Rocky Mountain Cup 2006

Team of the Year in Pork 2006

2nd Overall Team of the Year Ribs 2006

16 Perfect Scores  (180)

5 Perfect- Perfect   (180).

 

Students that have taken this class in the past have taken many years off the learning curve of competition barbeque not counting all the money and miles it would take to get to this level of contest cooking. It was because of Donny’s records and reputation within the Barbeque society that my wife and I chose to attend this class. In our opinion it was the best investment we have made to date!

Donny starts off the class explaining what his goals are in teaching and covering all aspects of the competition cook from selecting the meat and trimming to smoking the meat on the pit. You’re present from start to finish, asking questions taking notes and later tasting the finished product.

The cost for the class in Pueblo was $500. I know this is a lot of money, but how often do you have the opportunity to sit, talk and learn from someone who is walking the walk and talking the talk? After attending this class, learning why Donny Teel is the best I can honestly say I would happily pay MORE to attend again, no questions asked!

If you have a desire to improve your competition cooking or just want to learn the difference between good Barbeque and the sublime, I would encourage you to contact Donny Teel at: Phone: 918-633-0673 and visit http://www.tbazone.com/alley/  for the next cooking class being held on 10/17/2008 in Sperry, OK .

 I highly recommend registering early to avoid missing out due the class filling to capacity. If your unable to attend this class, but are interested in attending a future class email Donny your information and let him know your interest in attending his class!

 

Consider this quote from Donny:

 

“ It just takes a few walks to the stage to offset the cost of this class. Even if you don’t cook exactly the way I do, just some of the techniques that you will pickup could be what gets your BBQ team to be the last one said for the day and those words: THE GRAND CHAMPION IS: insert your team name here”

 

Let Donny know you read this article and that the Bossman sent you! This is one investment you will not regret ,and one where you will use the skills, techniques and knowledge for many years to come. Smoke On!

 

 

Posted by Chuck Posted in: Cooking Schools No Comments » September 2008

Smoked Buffalo Meatloaf !

 

One of the challenging things of barbeque is trying new things. The challenge for me is to try new things and in the process make them not only edible but something both family and friends would want to eat again.

 

I recently had the opportunity to try my hand at smoking buffalo(Thanks Ben for the Buffalo Meat!). For me this was very challenging in that Buffalo in and of itself is a very lean meat and if not smoked correctly is prone to drying out. I decided to try making a Buffalo meat loaf and see what would happen.

 

With the chance of the meat drying out, I decided to add some ground pork sausage to the meatloaf mixture to help baste the meat and keep it moist. The recipe we used was the same we use for beef meatloaf.

Bossman Meatloaf-  2 lbs of ground Buffalo meat, 1lb Jimmy Deans Breakfast Sausage,, 5 strips of bacon crumbled, ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce,1 small onion/ diced, 1 small green bell pepper /diced, 1 ½ cup bread crumbs, 4 large eggs lightly beaten, 2 tsp Kosher Salt, 2 tsp granulated garlic

Mix the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Place contents into disposable aluminum bread pans or a regular disposable aluminum pan; pierce the bottom of the pan in several places such as the corners to allow the grease to escape during cooking.

Pack the meatloaf into the disposable pan, packing the meatloaf into the pan tightly paying attention to the corners of the pan. Prepare the smoker for indirect smoking with a 50/50 mix of Oak and Sugar Maple or your favorite wood, reaching a temperature of 250-275. Place the meatloaf directly on the smoker grate and allow smoking for 1 hour. Check for firmness, if needed allow cooking longer until firming begins.

Once the loaf begins to firm and pull away from the corners and edge of the pan, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the disposable pan, covering the top of the pan. This next step can be tricky, turn the pan over with the aluminum foil allowing the foil to be on the bottom grate and remove the pan exposing the meatloaf on the aluminum sheet. Smoke for another hour checking for an internal temperature of 155.

Once the internal of 155 is reached, remove the loaf from the smoker placing it back into the disposable pan using the same method as before. Glaze the loaf with barbeque sauce if desired and tent with aluminum foil allowing the loaf to rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve on sandwiches or a main dish.

 

            So how did the Buffalo meatloaf turn out? AWESOME!  As you can see from the photos that were taken during this cook the meatloaf stayed moist, but you can also see that adding the sausage to the meatloaf caused it to have some discoloration in the meat itself. My family enjoyed this lot and actually told me that they prefer the Buffalo meatloaf over the regular meatloaf we make on the smoker.

Moral of this story; don’t be afraid to try new things or to think outside the box when cooking on the smoker this goes for side dishes, main dishes and of course desserts. I think you will find that almost everything on the smoker tastes a little better when mixed with wood smoke!

 

 

 

Posted by Chuck Posted in: Recipes 1 Comment » September 2008