A Different Drum

After the bbq contest, we still had the rental car and wanted to make the most of it. First up was a trip to Flushing to dine at East Lake, our favorite dim sum parlor. I think we have to get out of the rut, but in the meantime....Dim Sum is a sort of family brunch-type meal which is comprised mainly of little bites-- dumplings and other small pieces--and goes hand-in-hand with pots of fresh tea. The food is dispatched via hot carts piled high with steamer baskets full of treats. For every dish, there's a little stamp that the women who push the carts use to mark your check. At the end of the meal, it gets totalled up. It's a sort of frenetic way to eat.
The Char Siu Bao (barbecued pork buns) are my favorites-- go figure, it's stuffed with barbecue. Their version of bbq is sans smoke, in this case, and is tender chopped pork in a sweet, thick, sauce that is a little salty and earthy. The dough is a light, fluffy, mildly sweet blanket. I ate about 5 of them that day w/ hot mustard and hoisin sauce. Yup.

Xiao Long Bao (pork soup dumplings) have many spellings, but one taste: delicious. They are thin skinned little buns filled with meatballs and a surprise splash of hot broth that comes rushing out on the first bite. It's a little bit of balancing act to hold them on the spoon and slurp away. They are served with a soy sauce-based ginger dipping sauce.

Next up on our hit parade were Har Gow (shrimp dumplings) that are translucent little pearls with a clean, crisp flavor and texture. They are light, little morsels. I love to add just a dab of chile oil to these.

I make it seem like these came in waves, but we were picking dishes left and right. Everyone in my family loves the har gow, or meat dumplings. The tradition in our family (for an unkown reason) is to mix a dab of mustard and dab of hoisin on these, so you get a meaty, spicy-sweet flavor. The green tea brings it all together.

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And the Winner Is......

You can see the full results over at WhiteTrashBBQ

I want to thank all of our judges, sponsors and volunteers once again. This could not have happened without HawgeyesBBQ, Dizzy Pig BBQ, HomeBBQ, RUB BBQ, Esposito's Sausage, Manny's Pitbull Hotsauce, 2 Fat Pollocks, SpiceWine IronWorks, The New England Barbecue Society, the St Mark Sports Association for whom we raised $1,500 through the entrance fees, sponsorship and vending of more than 60 pounds of pulled pork donated by RUB. Two teams-- Waterfront Ale House and RUB returned their checks to the program as donations. Classy.

Click the "Read More!" to see some more pictures. There are more at CockeyeBBQ.com

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Directions to Grillin' on the Bay

Thanks to Robert over at WhiteTrashBBQ for putting these together. C'mon out to 18th and Z in Brooklyn this Saturday for NYC's first sanctioned bbq contest, Grillin' on the Bay!

Directions to the BBQ Contest:

Grillin on the Bay - NYC's first sanctioned BBQ contest.
Saturday March 25, 2006
Corner of Avenue Z and East 18th Steet
Gates open at 6:00 AM
Food turn-in begins at 12:00 Noon with Chicken Wings. Fish, Pork, Chef's Choice and Dessert in 45 minutes intervals after that.
Awards Ceremony at 4:00pm.

BBQ, food and drink will be available for sale by the St. Mark Sports Association. The BBQ competitors are not allowed by NYC code to sell food at this event.

How do I get there?

By Subway -
Take the "Q" train to the Sheepshead Bay Station. Use the Sheepshead Bay Road exit, turn left and walk 4 blocks to East 18th Street.

By Bus -
Take the B4, B-49 or B-36 to the intersection of Avenue Z and East 19th Street.


By Car or Truck -

From NJ

Take 440 to Staten Island. (I hear that the Goethal’s Bridge will be closed early in the morning so take either the Bayone Bridge or Outerbridge Crossing to the West Shore Expressway to the Staten Island Expressway)
On Staten Island, take the Staten Island Expressway East to the Verazano Bridge
Take the Verazano Bridge to Brooklyn.

For commercial traffic or cars with trailers….
At the end of the Bridge, go straight to the Gowanus Expressway – I don’t know if it’s labeled as such, but the only other option is to go on the Belt Parkway, which you don’t want.
Take the Gowanus Expressway to the 86th Street Exit.
At the light coming off the expressway, make a right onto 86th Street going east.
You will be on 86th Street for about 8 miles.
(You will be driving through Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Bensonhurst – stop at any of the Italian bakeries you pass – you’ll be glad you did!)
86th Street will end at McDonald Avenue
Bear a slight left on to Avenue X. (You are basically going straight)
Take 86th Street to Coney Island Ave. (Paradise Florist on corner)
Make a right onto Coney Island Ave South.
Take Coney Island Ave to Ave Z.
Make a left onto Ave Z East.
The contest will be at the corner of East 18th Street and Avenue Z.

For non-commercial vehicles...
From the bridge, take the exit to the Belt Parkway East.
Take the Belt Parkway East to the Ocean Parkway Exit.
From the service road of the Belt, at the 1st light, make a left onto Ocean Parkway North.
Take Ocean Parkway North to Ave Z.
Make a right onto Ave Z east.
The contest will be on the corner of East 18th Street and Avenue Z.

From Long Island

For commercial vehicles or cars with trailers...
(Check the maps on this one, I don’t think it’s the best route)
Take the Long Island Expressway West
Exit, Brooklyn Queens Expressway West (South)
Exit at Tillary Street West (Flatbush Avenue)
Turn left (South) on to Flatbush Avenue Ext.
Flatbush Avenue Ext. becomes Flatbush Avenue.
After about 5 miles, Go thru the Grand Army Plaza.
Bear right to continue south on Flatbush Avenue.
Take Flatbush Avenue to Ditmas Avenue (Avenue D)
Make right onto Ditmas Avenue West
Take Ditmas to Ocean AVENUE.
Make a left onto Ocean AVENUE south.
Take Ocean AVENUE south to Ave Z. (St. Mark Church on corner)
Make right on to Ave Z.
Contest is on corner or Avenue Z and East 18th Street.

For non-commercial vehicles...
Take the Belt Parkway West.
Exit at Knapp Street.
Stay on the service road (Shore Parkway) going West through 4 lights.
At the 4th light - Ocean AVENUE, make a right onto Ocean AVENUE north. (Waldbaum’s shopping center will be across Ocean AVENUE)
Take Ocean Avenue North to Ave Z. (St. Mark Church on corner)
Make a left onto Avenue Z.
The contest is in the schoolyard of St. Mark School, corner of East 18th Street.


From Points North

For commercial vehicles or cars with trailers….
Take the Major Deegan Expressway South to I-278 – Brooklyn Queens Expressway West.
Exit at Tillary Street West(Flatbush Avenue)
Turn left (South) on to Flatbush Avenue Ext.
Flatbush Avenue Ext. becomes Flatbush Avenue.
After about 5 miles, Go through the Grand Army Plaza.
Bear right to continue south on Flatbush Avenue.
Take Flatbush Avenue to Ditmas Avenue(Avenue D)
Make right onto Ditmas Avenue West
Take Ditmas to Ocean AVENUE.
Make a left onto Ocean AVENUE south.
Take Ocean AVENUE south to Ave Z. (St. Mark Church on corner)
Make right on to Ave Z.
Contest is on corner or Avenue Z and East 18th Street.

For non-commercial vehicles...
Take the Whitestone Bridge South to Queens.
Follow the Whitestone Expressway West to the Van Wyck Expressway South
Take the Van Wyck Expressway South to the Belt Parkway West.
Exit at Knapp Street.
Stay on the service road (Shore Parkway) going West through 4 lights.
At the 4th light - Ocean AVENUE, make a right onto Ocean AVENUE north. (Waldbaum’s shopping center will be across Ocean AVENUE)
Take Ocean Avenue North to Ave Z. (St. Mark Church on corner)
Make a left onto Avenue Z.
The contest is in the schoolyard of St. Mark School, corner of East 18th Street

See you in Brooklyn!

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Grillin' on the Bay: March 25th, 2006

This saturday, March 25th, 14 of the tri-state area's top pitmasters will square off at Grillin' on the Bay, a one-day, 4-category grilling contest sanctioned by the New England Barbecue Society and sponsored by RUB BBQ.

This is New York City's first sanctioned bbq contest and will have a proclamation from Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz, proclaiming it NYC's official bbq contest.

The event is a fundraiser for the St Mark Sports Program which provides children from the ages of 5-16 with the chance to participate in athletics programs and also hosts a Special Olympics Basketball team.

The teams (as of today 3/22) are:
Sir Sauce A lot
Purple Turtle Catering
Cockeye BBQ
Smokey Mike's Brooklyn BBQ
Beer Belly Porkers
Smokin Dave's Tailgate Party
Big Island BBQ
BBQ Brethren/Brothers in Smoke
Righteous Urban BBQ
Front Street Smoke House
Water Front Ale House
South Shore Smokers
BS BBQ
Josh Ozerky BBQ


Grillin' on the Bay
Corner of East 18th Street and Avenue Z
The B-49 and B-4 buses stop nearby.
By subway, take the 'Q' to the Sheepshead Bay stop.


This event could not have happened without the generous support of our sponsors which include HawgeyesBBQ, Dizzy Pig BBQ, Esposito Meats, Manny's Pit Bull Hot Sauce, Spicewine Ironworks, HomeBBQ, and 2 Fat Polocks BBQ.

All of our judges are volunteers who are donating their time to make this contest happen. Robert, the St Marks Sports Program and I all appreciate you for being a part of this. Thanks-- and see you on Saturday!

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Wednesday Morning, 3AM

All, just a quick note of update. I have a bunch of link updates due, and here's a preview of some of them....

The Hampton Smoker (and our feature model, Lois) was added to Weekend Cat Blogging by Clare Eats over at eatstuff.net, which is a super-fun, groovy site.

I was tagged by my brother in smoke, Curt, over at Bucky's Barbecue Blog for a meme that I'd already done (I got tagged by Big Mista of The Survival Gourmet). My responses can be found by clicking here. Thanks, Curt-- cool site!

Another awesome cooking blog to check out for recipes, tips, how-to's, etc is Playing With Fire and Smoke which recently posted some excellent looking corned beef recipes in honor of St. Patty's day.

More to come soon, my friends, when the mysterious dizzy spells end. Chow!

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Little Red Corvette

Well, it's a panda, not a corvette. I mentioned red pandas over on Mona's always entertaining blog after she mentioned her trip to the Bronx Zoo. I love me some red pandas. So I posted this to share the cuteness.

Don't forget Grillin' on the Bay-- New York City's First Sanctioned BBQ Contest, March 25th in Sheepshead Bay. We're looking for a few more teams, judges/table captains.

Click Here For The Web site

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Monday, Monday

Lois was extra hungry this weekend-- I think it was the pre-maturely spring-ish weather, but she was bird crazy and batting at the screen of the bedroom window early in the morning.

I think she wanted some quesadillas, which have been very popular recently around our house.I've been keeping little snack bags full of shredded jack and cheddar cheese in the fridge along with tortilla wrappers. The two go together in a flash, along with almost anything else you have on hand. These were made with some black beans that I cooked down with some green pepper, onion, garlic, scallions, fresh parsley, some cumin and some grape tomatoes.

I just received a box of goodies from HawgeyesBBQ who are my favorite purveyors of all things any bbq cooker needs. I used Mary's Cherry BBQ Rub on some pork chops, and HomeBBQ's Garlic Steak Rub on some skirt steaks that I served with garlicky spinach, and some roasted potatoes. I rubbed the steaks with the HomeBBQ Butcher Block Garlic Steak Rub as mentioned earlier. I let them sit from Saturday morning until Sunday evening for the Soprano's premier. I grilled them up on the cast iron grill pan.

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After The Goldrush

Hello, kiddos. I'm still here, just needed some time to recover from a 'que stupor. Amy took the camera with her this past weekend, but Hiroshi and I found some pork belly strips and started curing our own bacon (should be pulling that out of the cure tonight or tomorrow!!), made some beef chuck and pork belly quesadillas (oooh, yes), a master batch of bbq rub (with measurements!!) and a batch of peach-chipotle sauce that is in the fridge. We had some mammoth brisket and onion sandwiches on Friday to start it all. We ate so much. We were so happy. We looked like this: Even though outside, it was still like this:

Bacon pics and update to come later. Here piggy, piggy......

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Return of the Grievous Angel, pt. 2

Back with another block rockin' feast, y'all. Oy. Anywho, here's the second part of the story of our most recent trip to Eastern Long Island. We cooked bbq with our friends in some frigid temperatures and here's some pics. Part 1 is right here.

The thai and scotch bonnet peppers before smoke drying are seen at the top of this post. We ground them up when they were done and stuck them in a jar. Along with the bratwurst (did I forget to mention them the first time?), they were in the vertical section of the smoker on the middle shelf for hours while we paid attention to the brisket, ribs, pork shoulder and chicken and eventually, they just shriveled on up.

After about 16 hours or so, the shoulder was done, the bone sliding out clean without a lick of meat on it, and I just had to put my hand on the meat to make it collapse. It practically shredded itself.

The second briset was my favorite. I don't have any pictures that I really like, but after 21 hours (the last 4 held in the oven at 225), it was a juicy, nearly completely rendered (all the internal collagen and fat has melted) and buttery slab of beef. It didn't want to hold up for slicing at all. There was an amazing bark from the rub which was spiked with about an entire coffee grinder's worth of fresh cracked black pepper. The point (hump-like portion of a full brisket that is heavily laced w/ fat) was huge so we got an enormous bounty of burnt ends-- each one a morsel as rich and meltingly decadednt as a fine, chocolate truffle. Oh, yes.

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