This product is being tested as we speak! I plan on sharing my experience, including pictures and over all results! We are also doing a video of the whole process and will also post it here on BossmanBBQ as well as YouTube!

Stay Tuned, but in the meantime Please Visit http://www.drybagsteak.com for a in depth product information and an awesome forum!

 Spices have little resins in them which will release when marinating with meat, when allowed to blend with the food it can make the world of difference from the average tasting BBQ to that which separates itself from the rest and is worthy of being an award winning BBQ meat!

  When you find a product that makes such a big difference in aroma and taste of not only BBQ meats, but sides and deserts you have to share it and let others experience it. THAT is what this article is about, that one product that can make a big difference in taste, flavor and aroma.

 A lot of individuals on the west coast have not heard or experienced Maple Pepper®, but if you have ever been in a kitchen in the morning and woke up to the smell of maple smoked bacon being fried in the kitchen, you can only imagine what maple flavoring can do to meats that are smoked!

 Highland Foods Maple Pepper® was first made in a country kitchen in Northern New England over 20 years ago. This family owned business uses only the finest natural ingredients, combining the age-old flavor of maple sugar, the zest of black pepper, and ocean fresh sea salt to bring you a deliciously versatile seasoning. There seasonings are pure and simple. Highland Foods, LLC is a family owned and operated business, offering its customers the personal attention you would expect and deserve.

 One of the most popular side dishes we make for both competition BBQ and catering is smoked beans. For this article we decided to include a recipe for smoked beans including the addition of Highland Foods Maple Pepper®.

 To make the best smoked beans known to man I would highly recommend the following recipe. This is my personal version of a popular recipe commonly found on BBQ forums. My wife and I have won a few awards with this recipe, and were sure you will be happy with it!

 Bossman’s Smoked Apple Beans

3 or 4 slices bacon, diced
2  28-oz cans Bush’s Baked Beans – see note below)
1/2 c. Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce (or other sweet-spicy favorite)
1 lb. leftover smoked pulled pork or 1 lb crumbled cooked pork sausage
1 can apple pie filling (chop up the big chunks some)

1 Tbsp.Highland Foods Maple Pepper® (or more to taste J)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. Mustard (prepared)
1 Tbsp barbecue rub
Brown bacon, and sauté onion and green pepper in bacon grease. Mix in remaining ingredients. Smoke for 1 hour-2 hours or until the beans begins to bubble and a nice crust has built on the surface of the beans. Serves .15-20 people

I know once you try this recipe with Highland Foods Maple Pepper® you will be hooked! For those with adventurous taste they also produce a Habanaro Maple Pepper® and a Garlic Maple Pepper® which is just as good as the original Maple Pepper®!

 A link will be established on our website in the next couple of days (our webmaster is out of the country..) but until then please click on this link to order directly from Highland Foods. http://www.maplepepper.com  The cost for a 3oz bottle is $5.50 ea for the original Maple Pepper® and Garlic Maple Pepper® and $6.65 for the Habanero Maple Pepper®

Please let Highland Foods know you read the article here and that the Bossman referred you! Until next time Smoke On!!

 Every once and awhile you do find a simple tool that does as it advertises and makes your smoking and BBQ cooking a lot easier. One of those items I wish I had seen or knew about is called the Frogmat. I first heard of Frogmat on the BBQ Central Show with Greg Rempe.

  I contacted Mike Riblett, creator of Frogmats and had one of his mat’s sent to me to see if it does what it advertises to do.

 Frogmats is a non stick, odor free easy to turn mat that is used on your smoker to help prevent food from cracking, sticking to the grate, falling through the grate mat. It’s designed to last for years with easy cleaning. Simply clean with warm water its ready for your next use. What I really like is that this simple mat will NOT pick up odors from the foods your smoking like fish. For me, wanting to use this for competition cooking and catering is HUGE.

 I decided to put Frogmats to the test and use it on one of my foods that sometimes sticks to the grill or tears as you take it off the grill. I tested the Frogmat with not only 1 Bacon Explosion but 3!

                                                     Bacon Explosions

 The above Bacon explosions were smoked on my Louisiana Whole Hog Country Smoker. The Frogmat was not sprayed with Pam or anything else, I wanted the test to be as real as it gets to see if Frogmats does what it advertises

 About 1 ½ hours later the Frogmat and Bacon Explosions were doing well. When they were finished the Bacon Explosions were able to be moved off the Frogmat with NO issues!

    Finished Bacon Explosion using the Frogmat

                                 First Bacon Explosion removed from the Frogmat

 Sliced and Ready To GO!!                

 As you can see from the pictures above, the Frogmat does exactly what it advertises to do! I was able to make a finished product that didn’t stick to the grill or Frogmat and it helped me in creating a product that looked great. Just from this test, I know I will be using Frogmats with my Smoked Chicken during this years KCBS Contests.

If you’re looking to smoke food on your smoker that you have had trouble with falling thought the grill, tearing, ripping or failing apart I would highly encourage you to contact Frogmats at http://www.frogmats.com/Home_Page.php. 

I know that by using Frogmats as a BBQ tool to help with a intact finished product I will have no worries or issues and my investment is one that when cared for and cleaned as directed will last for many years. Contact Frogmats and let them know the Bossman sent you, I promise you will be happy you made this investment! Smoke On!!

What appealed to us was that unlike many classes offered; Kelly encouraged all students attending to bring their own cookers to the class due to each student being given meat from each category to prepare during this class. Topics covered during this day’s class was smoking techniques, the difference in smoking and grilling, meat cuts, meat quality, brines and marinades, sauces, rubs and seasonings, knife skills and a introduction to competition BBQ to include certified judges who would judge each of the classes turned in categories of meats. This would give the participants the rare opportunity to observe the judges in action and hear their comments on each of the categories turned into them to judge.

For us this was a unique and intriguing opportunity to learn from a world champion and experience a school being taught like no other. We really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and knowing that the class had  something for everyone. From the beginning backyard grillers, to seasoned Barbeque Pitmasters.

What made this class interesting was being able to see Kelly walk you through, step-by-step how to select your competition meats, how to trim them and also what rubs and seasonings to consider for each meat.

The Rub and Seasoning portion of the class was unique. Kelly went over the spices and ingredients and how to build a rub for whatever meat you’re preparing. We then built our own rub from a large array of spices and ingredients based on the information Kelly shared with us, and then used this rub on our choice of meat we prepped for that’s days cook

Other unique topics covered during this class were: Knife handling and selection, thermometers selection and useses, building a competition turn in box, different types of cookers and smokers and the advantages of each.

As you can see from the picture above, my wonderful wife had a lot of hands on experience in this class. Just a week prior, I had an accident while trimming brisket and put a boning knife into my forearm. My wife stepped up to the plate with an awesome attitude and felt this would give her the perfect opportunity to learn how to do all the things I usually do during a competition.

We teamed up with our friends Don and Laura Jay from Lizzy Q and cooked on their Kingfisher rotisserie smoker. Our results were pretty impressive, and I have to say Don and Laura have one impressive Smoker! I haven’t quite yet decided to switch from my pellet smoker over to the “dark side” but this gave us the opportunity to see that we could still turn out a very good product on a stick burner as well.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to attend a cooking class and learn from an award winning pitmaster, I would highly recommend attending one of Kelly Wertz schools! Kelly has taken a lot of time and put in a lot of effort in ensuring that his class is educational and gives you the opportunity to get some hands on experience with the ability to ask questions as you go. Please check out Kelly’s website at : http://www.4legsupbbq.com Cost of the class is $275 and an additional $75 for a spouse or friend. Let him know the Bossman sent you! Smoke ON!!

One of the things our friends with the Rocky Mountain Barbeque Association came up with was a “Bucket List” of local Barbeque joints here in Colorado. So every few weeks, we chose one of these locations and met up to sample the foods and see how their food is. Now we know it isn’t near what we feel would be competition quality Barbeque, but we have all ate enough food that people where calling Barbeque to know what is good and what isn’t.

In this review, I’ve decided to write on our experience in eating at Big Papa’s BBQ. In the State of Colorado, Big Papa’s has three locations, two in Littleton and one location in Denver, we ate at the Denver restaurant located at 6265 East Evans Avenue.

What I remember as my first empression walking through the door is how the smell of smoked food was in the air. This alone can get the taste buds going!

 A couple of members from the RMBBQA had started things off with an  appetizer of Catfish Nuggets that was shared with the group. Now I’m not a huge fan of Catfish, and its not something I go out of my way to eat or order at a restaurant, but I made an exception because of the smell and apperance of the nuggets. I found the Catfish Nuggets to be very moist and tender with a wonderful breading that wasn’t gressy or over fryed. So far so good!

One of the main reasons I was interested in eating at Big Papa’s was due to a review of if it that I read in a recent book written by both Ardie Davis and Paul Kirk entitled “America’s Best BBQ”.

One of the dishes they featured were Big Papa’s Bison Ribs. I love Buffalo and knew right away what I was ordering! I  chose their maccoroni and cheese with pit beans as my sides.

My AWESOME wife was with me for this lunch date and she ordered Big Papa’s two meat combo having Pulled Pork and Chicken The sides she chose were sweat potato casserole and coleslaw.

When my food arrived it looked great. The Bison Ribs were tender and moist with very good flavor.My only complaint, with most Bison Ribs there is not a lot of meat on them, but what meat their was it soon disappeared. The maccaroni and cheese was very good, the pasta was not over done and the cheese sauce was very good with a mild chedder taste. Like most Babeque places, Pit beans can make are break a good Barbeque. The Pit Beans at Big Papa’s were full of flavor. Light smoke flavor with a sweet tangie taste that made you want to just keep eating them and wanting more. Out of five stars, one being the absoulute worst Barbeque known to man and five being the best I’ve ever ate , I would give my meal a 4

My wife’s combo plate was delivered and found to be very appealing to the eye as well. The pulled pork and chiken were both very moist and tender with a light smoke flavor to our surprise the meat was not over done and was actually very good. The coleslaw was good with a vineger type coleslaw dressing. Next she ate the Sweet Potato cassarole. I knew right away that it had to be good when she looked at me and said “ you have got to try this!”

I thought it would be the average Sweet potato cassarole I’ve had before and choked down in some cases, MAN WAS I WRONG!! This Sweet Potato Cassarole was nice and fluffy had a nice blend of brown sugar and a hint of orange juice. It was so good, I had to go and order another side of it because my wife’s side just wasn’t enough for both of us! For this combo out of five stars this also received a 4

After you look at the menu for Big Papa’s I think you will see that the prices are real resonible considering the quality of food and the customer service you receive.

We plan on returing to Big Papa’s when we are in the area, and we will continue to recommend it to friends and family from out of town looking for a good place to eat Barbeque. You can check out Big Papa’s locations and menu at www.bbqdenver.com Thanks for reading, and as always Smoke ON!

We went to the Sacramento California location due to the Santa Rosa location being closed for remodeling. When you first walk through the door the first impression I got was the feel of a sports bar, open atmosphere, friendly and relaxed. You also can’t help but see the giant statue of the restaurant logo welcoming you as you enter the establishment! Remembering that this is a “Rock and Roll Sushi and Barbecue” establishment, I felt we would be in for a treat.

Now I don’t know or care much for Sushi, but barbecue on the other hand, that is my thing. But to be fair to Tex Wasabi’s, I brought my brother in law with us who lives in Sacremento and let him order the sushi while my family and I ate some barbecue!

When looking at the menu we did as many of you do, looked at the prices to compare with other barbecue places we have been. The feeling I get is with Tex Wasabi combining both Sushi and Barbecue there trying for a more upscale type of eating experience. Glancing at the menu you will notice the appetizers are pretty well mixed with traditional appetizers such as Onion Rings, Buffalo wings and also a mixture of barbecue inspired dishes.

I looked at the Barbecue section of the menu and have to tell you that I was a little disappointed in the limited selection offered. In a nut shell the Barbecue selection consisted of Smoked Pork Ribs, ½ Barbecue Chicken, Ribs and Chicken Combination, Barbecue Brisket platter and Barbecue Pork platter and that was all! Then you find a couple of pages of the fresh California Style Sushi they have to offer. At the end of the menu you find that they offer sandwiches which are mostly Barbecue inspired, just confusing if you’re looking for Barbecue to find it in two separate places on the menu. If anything I would recommend re-thinking the way the menu is set up now so if someone looking only for Barbecue or someone only looking for Sushi would be able to find what their looking for instead of going on a menu search and destroy mission!

We decided to start off with an appetizer of Pork Slyders (3). Which when it arrived was three dinner rolls split with Pulled Pork stacked high, topped off with coleslaw. I was happy to see they included slaw on their sandwiches, to me if you’re eating a pulled pork sandwich it has to include coleslaw! If you haven’t tried fresh slaw on a pulled pork sandwich, you don’t know what you’re missing!! The pork was very tender and flavorful with a hint of smoke. Out of 5 stars 1 being the worst and 5 being out of this world, the Pork Slyders gets a solid 5

We decided on trying a variety of items from the menu. Of course my brother in law ordered the sushi, deciding on the California combo. I ordered the Chicken and Ribs combo, my wife decided on the Brisket platter and my son tried the Pulled Pork platter with an order of onion rings at the suggestion of our waiter, and our youngest son, trying to be different ordered an Udon Noodle bowl topped with Grilled Teriyaki Chicken.

Starting with the Brisket Platter our only complaint was the Brisket being topped off with Barbecue sauce. It looked Great but we wanted to eat the brisket without the help of the sauce! The Brisket was melt in your mouth tender and had a great flavor with a hint of smoke smell and taste ½ pound of brisket came with this selection. The sides my wife chose was the Coleslaw and Barbecue bacon baked beans both sides were good with good flavor. All in all out of 5 stars we would give this dish a 5 the cost of the platter is $15

My son Zack has a HUGE appetite which I think comes with the territory when dealing with the hunger pains of growing 17 year old. The Pulled Pork Platter came with Barbecue sauce on it as well. The taste was great with a hint of heat which was hard to tell if it came from the sauce or rub. The sides my son chose were Onion Rings (Which we HIGHLY recommend) and Barbecued Bacon Baked Beans. The Onion Rings are made fresh and was a delight to find was NOT all batter!  Out of 5 stars we would give this a 5 as well. The cost of the pulled pork platter was $14.25

My son Ryan ordered the Udon Noodle bowl. Now it’s not exactly Barbecue, but with the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken we thought it would qualify for an honorable mention! The soup had a great flavor with the Grilled Chicken being tender and moist. Out of 5 stars we gave this a 5. The cost of this was $10.95

The Chicken and Rib Platter arrived and didn’t disappoint. The plate consisted of a leg quarter and ½ rack of spare ribs. I was pleased to see that unlike the Brisket and Pulled Pork Platter, the Chicken and Ribs were not doused with Barbecue Sauce. They were mopped with it during the smoking process but not drowned in it! I ordered the Barbecued Bacon Baked Beans (See a pattern here….) and potato salad. The Beans are very good with a definite pepper and molasses’s flavor and smell to it. The potato salad has a homemade taste with dill pickle pieces in it that just adds to the entire side.

Smoked Chicken is one of my favorites and to be honest here, the smoked chicken at Tex Wasabi’s was AWESOME! Real good flavor, moist and a definite smoke flavor that was not over powering. The ribs were very good with excellent flavor as well. They weren’t as moist and tender as I would  have liked them but I also was looking for contest quality ribs which isn’t exactly what they are promoting. The ribs were still very good. Out of 5 stars we give this platter a 4

As you can see from the pictures we have included in this review Tex Wasabi’s is making Barbecue an upscale eating experience. Does it need to be? My feeling is no, but does it mean that what they are doing is wrong? I think with the quality of the food, the atmosphere and knowing that you’re going into an extreme Sushi and Barbecue place tells you that this will be a different Barbecue experience then what you may normally be used or accustomed too.

What about the Sushi? Well, my brother in law liked it and said it was very good. Then asked the more important question if he would come back again for it, he responded that he would! The presentation on his plate was very nicely put together, but as far as taste is concerned I have to rely on his saying it was very good. Sorry but Rock and Roll Sushi Barbecue joint or not, I just can’t eat Sushi.

So if you’re ever in Northern California and are curious if Guy Feri puts out a good product or not, I would definitely recommend experiencing the food at Tex Wasabi’s. I think that even the more seasoned Barbecue competitor and Backyard chef would appreciate and enjoy the experience of eating in a Rock and Roll Sushi and Barbecue joint and trying a different type of Barbecue eating experience! Let them know you read this article and that the Bossman sent you!

If you’re interested in reviews of other Barbecue joints in Colorado or in other parts of the country please give us a shout. Were always looking for new Barbecue places to review and experience. Smoke On!!

Planning;

• Buy the prime rib up to a week in advance, allowing time to dry age.
• Figure about ¾ to 1 pound of meat per person, not including allowances for leftovers.
• Allow 4-6 hours to smoke prime rib, this also includes resting time before serving.

Meat selection;

• Beef selection is graded as Prime, Choice and Select. This is done based on the age of the animal, texture, tenderness and marbling of fat (more is better)
• Prime is best and can be hard to obtain considering this is a seriously expensive piece of meat usually reserved for restaurants.
• Choice is the next best and is generally available to meat markets like Sams club or Costco. Choice is our best selection and goal.
• Select is the more common grocery store meat selection,usually tougher and leaner (dry)

Key techniques;

• Cooking a prime rib is a four step process.
• First chose the right piece of meat.
• Second dry age the prime, allowing  the prime to sit, uncovered 2-7 days. During this time, excess moisture is evaporated and the flavors concentrate, and the muscle tissue breaks down making it more tender
• Third is to brown the prime in a hot pan, so the outside develops a deep brown crust.
• Four, cook the prime low and slow so that the meat from the outside edge to the center is uniformly done.

Procedure;

Prepare your smoker for a 3-4 hour smoke at 225 degree F. to 250 degree F. Take the roast and trim any lose fat, If there are pieces of dehydrated meat shave these off but leave all the attached fat.

Apply Worshcestshire Thick sauce on all meat areas of the prime rib. Once this is done apply the above beef rub to the prime rib. Place the roast in the smoker, fat side up and smoke until the thickest part reaches 130-135 degrees F. (Medium Rare)  This should take about 2 to 3 hours depending on the size of the roast you selected.

Remove from smoker and loosely cover with aluminum foil. Let rest in a warm place for about 20 to 30 minutes. Carve and serve. This is a great one to carve right at the table. Should anyone your serving the roast to want their slice to be more done, slice and place under the broiler in your oven to the desired doneness.

I love Smoked Turkey; it’s probably the one single meat that I love the most smoked. That being said there are times when I just don’t feel like heating up the smoker and yet I want a good turkey. Well I have the answer for you, the Butterball In-Home Turkey Fryer!  In my opinion the next best thing to a smoked turkey is a fried turkey. Here is my review of this awesome product.

When you first see this unit it will remind you of an oversize bread maker, at least that’s what it reminds me of. Its light weight, attractive and easy to use! What’s more, you can use this unit to fry ANYTHING to include wings; fries, onion rings and the list of possibilities are endless!

I have had a large Cajun Turkey Frier that has been in hibernation for several years. The reason is the amount of peanut oil you have to use is crazy, plus what do you do with the oil afterwards? Sure you can store it, but that’s a giant pain in the tush.

What I like about the Butterball In-Home Turkey Frier is that it uses only 2 gallonsof peanut oil or your choice of cooking oil! My recommendation is to use the peanut oil it has a higher burn point but if you have people who are allergic to peanut oil I would recommend the Canoila oil. The end result is a very moist, tender and delicious turkey with a wonderful and flavorful crisp skin!

  You can cook a turkey as large as 14 pounds. A plus is the non-greasy taste as and clean-up is a cinch as they have installed a drain in the back of the unit for quick and easy disposal of the oil.

 The unit is well built, made of stainless steel and has a digital display with a cook timer and all kinds of power and safety indicators. The porcelain inner pot is an easy clean as well. A full owner’s manual that is easy to read is included.

If smoking a turkey is not an option for you this year, and you’ve been scared to fry a turkey because of all the rumors and horror stories you’ve heard of morons having mishaps with a Turkey Fryer, Butterball has come out with one heck of a product that you can use again and again, and use not only for turkeys but endless cooking items and Ideas. For me, I’m using this bad boy to fry up some Atomic Buffalo Turds!!

You can purchase the Masterbuilt Butterball Turkey on line at On Amazon.com for $117 or you can find it in other outlets for as much as $179 at Best Buy.  Check on line and find the best buy for your dollar. But I would order one soon to avoid supplies running out!

I hope you enjoyed this review and have given you an option if you’re unable to smoke a Thanksgiving Day or Holiday Turkey! Happy Holidays and remember… Smoke On!!

We’ve had alot of emails as of late, asking us about the best way to carve a Thanksgiving Turkey. Well this is the way we have done it, and how we teach others to carve it as well at our Holiday Cooking School.
Hope you enjoy the video and it helps with the carving of your Thanksgiving Turkey! Please click on the link below to go directly to the video! Happy Thanksgiving!

Our results, 1st in the World BBQ Sauce, 7th in the World pork and 30th overall in the contest! This was a great experience and an honor to attend and help Mike and his team! Bossman Bar-B-Que is hoping to get our own call in the future to attend the Jack. This was the photo of the Wild Hogs BBQ Team accepting the first place award in sauce! I’m the guy holding the check!