Westford, MA - The Pig and Pepper is an annual event held each Columbus Day weekend down in Westford. It is a two day barbecue and fall harvest festival featuring barbeque contests sanctioned by both the New England Barbecue Society and the Kansas City Barbecue Society. Lots of restaurants sell their own 'que, and contests are held for products made with peppers, in this case meaning chiles. We are pleased to announce that Sprinkle Plenty earned some recognition that has been long overdue her, a First Place Blue Ribbon in the Dried Pepper Products category. We might also mention that David's Devil Dust picked up another prize, this time Third Place, but we don't want to get his head too swelled up.
Natural Charcoal
I intended to get this out to y'all a lot earlier in the year but one thing led to another and here we are near the end of the outdoor cooking seasons up here in the Northeast (though it shouldn't slow you folks down in the warmer climates.) Up here we've at least got a plausible excuse. Maintaining a BBQ or smoker when the wind is howling, the temperature is near zero (one side or the other) and the snow is deeper than the smoker is tall takes dedication. But back to the subject, how many of you are using real honest-to-goodness natural charcoal and how many are using manufactured briquettes?
There is a difference, you know. I got to wondering about this a while back. I remembered way back when I was growing up in Texas and we had nothing but natural charcoal. I still remember years later driving through the hardwood forests of central Texas where you could smell the wonderful aroma of charcoal being made the old fashioned way: huge mounds of oak and other hardwoods covered with dirt slowly smoldering as the wood was turned to charcoal.
When the back yard cook-out craze of the 50's came along, charcoal briquettes began to be made from scrap lumber compressed into uniform shapes at a factory. In fact, Henry Ford is credited with the invention of that form of charcoal as a way to make use of the scrap from his Model T's! Along with that method came the opportunity to put a lot of other ingredients in the pot, some of which we would rather they wouldn't if we only knew. The result is a product that is heavier, burns slower, gives off less heat and adds unknown chemical substances to your food. Natural charcoal is worth the effort to find. It lights easyly, burns hot, makes very little ash and is very efficient. When we are cooking in the Big Green Egg or a kettle BBQ we can cook a whole meal then shut the dampers down and have plenty left for next time.
Speaking of Roots
Interest in peppers goes a long way back in my family. One of my ancestors who was an early traveler to Texas, Orceneth Fisher, wrote in his immigrants guide book Texas in 1840, "Cayenne, or bird pepper, is indigenous to this climate, and in the southwestern part of the country it grows in considerable quantities. It seems to partake of the nature of a shrub, and , it is said, bears the second year from the seed. But the wild fowls are so fond of it, that the people are under the necessity of cultivating in their gardens, in order to reap much benefit from it. The pepper is of an excellent quality."
KCBS Judging
Back in the spring Kathy and I both attended a class taught by Ed Roith of Happy "Holla" Bar-B-Q to become certified as official Kansas City Barbeque Society judges. They take barbecue seriously and judging is a serious matter, too. We tasted a lot of good food in the "hands-on" portion of the training, but it was never like sitting back and relaxing with friends after a day of smoking or 'queing. Ed has put together some excellent video tapes on barbecuing, both for your education and hints on contest preparation. You can obtain them from him at Happy "Holla" Bar-B-Q, PO Box 822, Shawnee Mission, Kansas 66201.
Now here's a recipe to warm up some of those winter afternoons. It was sent to us by a happy customer in Wisconsin who knows one of the best ways to keep warm, with chile peppers!
Pepper Coast Buffalo Wings
-submitted by Kai Sorensen
Mix together:
3 tbls. Sprinkle Plenty
with
3 tbls. David's Devil Dust - for HOT
2 tbls. David's Devil Dust - for Medium
1 tbls. David's Devil Dust - for Mild
Place in plastic resealable bag:
1 lb. chicken wings
Add
above mixture
Shake to coat well and allow to stand 8 hours or more to marinate. Cook on a slowly on barbecue or in the oven and then finish with your favorite barbecue sauce. Serve with traditional celery and carrot sticks and blue cheese dressing for dipping.
Kai's method of mixing the two products to adjust the heat is a good one and one that we have seen used in restaurants that use Pepper Coast Products
™ in their kitchens.Vegetables Like Dry Rubs Too!
Don't forget about Pepper Coast Products
™ when you are doing veggies or are a vegetarian yourself. They taste wonderful on all sorts of non-meat dishes and can add a lot of excitement as well. My daughter Natalie called me recently and said, "Dad, I want to serve a great meal made with your dry rubs to my friends at school but I can't afford meat for that many people and some of them don't even eat meat. What can I do?" Well, here's a suggestion; for those who like meat buy a little bit of boneless chicken breast and season it with Feather Dustings. For the rest buy lots of fresh veggies: tomato, summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms, eggplant, carrots, onion - whatever looks good to you. Cut them into bite sized pieces and marinate them in olive oil and either Feather Dustings or Sprinkle Plenty. (I would use David's Devil Dust, but that's for me, not a bunch of young college kids.) When it comes time to cook the dinner, stir fry the chicken pieces in one pan, veggies in another and make a big pot of pasta. Then those who want a little bit of both can top their pasta with chicken and veggies, and the vegetarians are happy as well! She tried it and said the dinner was a great success.Simply Seafood
There are a lot of you who have come to us by way of the fine magazine, Simply Seafood. If you are not familiar with it and you are a lover of seafoods - and these days with as many fish getting frequent flyer miles as people - it doesn't make as much difference where you live - you should look for a copy on your local newsstand, or at your favorite seafood counter. They have lots of great articles on new ways of preparing fish and shellfish both indoors and out. Many articles suggest various ways of seasoning and of course you will find Pepper Coast Products
™ mentioned there. Their number for subscriptions is 800-835-2722 ext. 232 or in Washington 206-789-6506.So long till next time!
