Lift That Burn Ban!!!!!!

OK! You guys in the Dallas area got some good rain on the weekend. Is that enough to lift that burn ban so the Saucy One can get back out to grill and smoke? I'm not getting enough recipe action here!

Lift the Ban!Lift the Ban!Lift the Ban!Lift the Ban!Lift the Ban!

Quick Basting Sauce

This is probably sacrilegious. When I need a quick basting sauce for smoking, I use one of those bottled marinades one gets in the sauce isle in the grocery store and cut it with beer and cider vinegar, 1/3 each. I then heat the mixture for 15 minutes on medium heat stirring occasionally. This makes a tasty basting sauce without the fuss.

Peace, Love and Barbecue

Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue

I bought this book by Mike Mills and his daughter Amy Mills Tunnicliffe over lunch last Friday and proceeded to get in trouble for reading it all day Saturday!

What a fun book!

Mike is a world championship barbecue pitmaster and owns a restaurant in Murpheysboro, IL. He has been around the block on barbecue (not grilling), and travelled over 100,000 miles to research (read eating and yarning) the subject. There are several recipies and tips strewn throughout the book from some highly talented people. I got so hungry reading this book. It made me want to get in the car and drive hundreds of miles to eat at some of these restaurants.

I definitely will take time on my next road trip to visit some of the places, many of which are in TX! You folks down there don't know what you're missing! Buy the book. It's a fun read with some good tips and recipies. Joe, and Ski---Shall we hit the barbecue circuit this summer?

BBQ, Wine & The Good Life With SaucyJoe

Indoor Beer Can Chicken

When you're living in Ioway, you have to be flexible in your planning due to the weather. Tuesday, we had 65 degrees and sunny. Yesterday, we started at 33 degrees with freezing rain and then cooled down to 20 degrees and snow. The north wind came up and made this paradise truly miserable, and me with a whole roaster chicken just waiting to be smoked! It was too raw even for Dr. Dave, the Arctic Smoker. I decided to get creative in the kitchen.

So, I prepared the roaster chicken like I always do:
Remove the neck, liver and gizzards.
Brine for an hour (1/2 cup Kosher salt in 1 gallon water).
Brush on some olive oil (I used some olive oil flavored with chili pepper).
Rub my favorite Saucy Joe's Ultimate Rub over the chicken inside and out.

Pulling out my Weber Poultry Roaster, my gift from my sis, Connie, I added 1/2 can of beer plus a dash of red pepper sauce to the cone shaped infuser (substitute beer can if you don't have one of these things) in the center. Placing the chicken upright onto the infuser seems particularly painful to the chicken, but not as painful as cooking for 2 hours at 350 degrees, which is what happened next.

NOTE: Place a pan under the chicken if you do this the traditional Beer Can Chicken (Don't you love having the words "traditional" and "ber" in the same sentence?).

While this chicken was missing the smoke taste, it was still very moist and flavorful. Cleanup is a breeze with the Weber Poultry Roaster.

So if you're somewhat trapped inside, try Indoor Beer Can Chicken!

Tomorrow is supposed to start out at -5 degrees, but no snow. I'm thinking about smokin' a roast!

As ever,

Dr. Dave

Sharing the Good Life with Dr. Dave

We had a recent visit from our brother and regular contributor Dr. Dave over the weekend. It's visits like these that give us the definition of the Good Life. Getting together with family and friends to share great food, drink and conversation. Alas, we didn't have the fourth of the crew - Connie, but she contributed through her Christmas gift of Omaha Flat Iron Steaks which I cooked up using the recent Burn Ban Bypass recipe.

As a belated New Years resolution I encourage all of us to make the time to sample and share the Good Life. Our heads may hurt the next day and we'll need to exercise just a little extra, but what a small price to pay for the happiness that comes from the time we share together.

The more we get together ... the happier we'll be. Never thought I'd be quoting Raffi.

Super Bowl Sunday Treats!

There are two recipes I'm FAMOUS for making and they are perfect for having while you wait for the commercials during the Superbowl. They're really easy and all the items are pretty easy to find (don't wait until Sunday to purchase all your items, though) so I thought I'd share my recipes for my Super Bowl of Queso and Margaritas Especial. (Disclaimer: Don't look for much health value in these recipes.)

Cathy's Super Bowl of Queso
2 pound block of Velveeta
1 pound of Jimmy Dean's spicy sausage
1 pound of ground beef
1 can (10 oz.?) of Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Chilies (I use the "Original")
1 can (10 oz.) Campbells Golden Mushroom soup (you can substitute the chicken enchilada soup if you can't find the golden mushroom - regular cream of mushroom won't work here)

Brown the sausage & beef together and drain off excess fat. Dice Velveeta (makes it easier to melt) and melt in a crock pot or medium to large pot. Add meat mixture, Rotel and soup. Let blend together and enjoy with tortilla chips or bread!

Margaritas Especial
1 small can of Minute Maid Lime-ade (don't use a generic or store brand)
Tequila Blanca
Orange Liquor (brand/type depends on your taste and budget)
Ice

In a blender, blend ice, lime-ade, 1 can of Tequila and 3/4 can of liquor (use can from lime-ade). Pour into salted glass (unless you prefer to drink it straight from the blender) and enjoy!

Make sure you keep a designated drinker and designated driver assigned. You'll need the latter if you are the former.
~C

2005 Food Blogging Awards

Alas, the Food Blogging Awards were announced recently and Saucy Joes was nowhere to be found. Being the new kid on the block I didn't expect our humble site to show up on the radar, but it's just a matter of time before we turn some heads amongst the food bloggers out there. Until such time we'll fire up the grill, pour some more wine and spread the good life with everyone.

Here's the award winners of Food Blogging 2005. I'll be watching them through the year, as I anticipate they'll be keeping a close eye on the Saucy Joes Experience. http://www.wellfed.net/index.php/wellfed?cat=129