Friday Night Videos

I've been on vacation and haven't felt very bloggy. Still, a man has obligations. Today's video is not BBQ-related, but it does demonstrate the kind of fast food innovation that brought us the McRib.

Merry Christmas

Not much BBQ for me this time of year. Instead, I bring you my very yellow contribution to Christmas Eve dinner. Tonight we will be having goose which is something I've always wanted to try cooking, I've never been industrious enough to track one down and give it a go. Luckily for me, it's a family tradition for HA (crazy Icelanders), and I've been invited to partake. I'll soon find out whether I like it.

Friday Night Videos

This video link arrives courtesy of BD (Husband of Click Daily). Pay attention to J. C. Hardaway's reaction to the length of time Raymond Robinson claims to cook his ribs.

Holiday Hopes Dashed

I had plans for the upcoming holidays. With a week off between Christmas and New Year's Day, I hoped to work on The Sauce, maybe smoke a chicken, organize my office, bake a pineapple upside down cake for Christmas Eve, work on our bathroom remodel, cook some prime rib, change the oil in my motorcycle, and try to make tea eggs.

Big plans, I know. I didn't expect to accomplish everything on my list, but I thought I'd get a few things knocked out. Alas, that will not happen. An upgrade to LineRider has been released. See you all in 2008.

Genius or Madness?

I had a dream last night which is rare, although becoming more common as I age. In this dream, I was eating what could only be called a BBQ cheesecake. Imagine a slice of NY-style cheesecake with a thin layer of reduced, extra-sweet BBQ sauce on top. While my dream was of a dessert, a savory BBQ cheesecake might be possible. A quick consultation of The Great Google yielded an experiment with a smoked salmon cheesecake. Why not BBQ? Discuss amongst yourselves.

My Baby Loves Me

While making a Legion of Zoom/Moxie Dynamite t-shirt for me to wear to the roller derby last week, E also made this kickass tee. Viva McRib!

Friday Night Videos

Like most of the Interweb, I have become obsessed with LineRider. With a little more practice, I'm hoping to turn pro. This is how I spent my week.

Smoking Turkeys

For all practical purposes, The Saucier is a libertarian. If you want to smoke, smoke. If you want to do so in a restaurant, knock yourself out. If the restaurateur would rather you didn't, get out. And if you don't want to work in a smoky environment, get another job. Anti-smoking legislation has nothing to do with public health. Like all politics, it's about money, power, control and self-righteousness.

With that, I give you guest Bar-B-Logger, RJA:

The Commercial Appeal today has a story regarding the proposed state-wide ban on smoking in all public buildings, with the focus being on restaurants and bars. I’m not here to argue whether this is a good idea or not, or whether the government should be going into private businesses to tell them what they can and can’t do. The solution seems like common sense to me – let the private business owner set his own policy and the free market will decide whether it’s a valid policy or not.

This is the Bar-B-Log, so if The Saucier will indulge me, I’m going to focus on the story below the fold, the one about The Rendezvous voluntarily initiating a no smoking policy as of Jan 11. I should point out that I’m a small business owner and that my business happens to be tobacco. The fact that they want to change their policy is their business, being able to make our own rules is why we go into business for ourselves. And I don’t dare tell the Vergoses how to run their operation, they run one of the best tourist traps in Memphis. My problem is with the hypocrisy, with these bar and restaurant owners spouting off about health and the well-being of their patrons. Nick Vergos is in the game of trying to get you to cram as much pork into your system as you could possibly handle. I can also visit the Rendezvous, drink draft Michelob after draft Michelob, put my family in the car and drive them across town. But there’s money to be made in fat. And there’s money to be made in beer. And if there was money to be made for him in tobacco, you can be sure Nick Vergos would baste it, chop it or pour it up with as much gusto as imaginable.

Captain John's Old Tyme Pit Barbecue

Historically, I don't find myself in Collierville very often. Maybe once a year. Maybe. But, now that my dad started managing the service department of a motorcycle dealership out there and the MRD set up shop at FunQuest, I seem to be making the trip all the time – twice last week as a matter of fact.

On the way out to see my baby in the roller derby Saturday night, I stopped at Captain John's Old Tyme Pit Barbecue on Highway 72. I'd noticed it several times before, but this was my first meal there. I ordered a jumbo sandwich plate with beans and fries from some very nice ladies who took good care of me. I love the South.

Skip the fries. The beans were plain but good – just BBQ beans sans any extras like onions or meat. It's difficult to critique the slaw without ordering any extra. On the sandwich, it seemed pretty standard. Although, when I lifted the bun to add some sauce, I could swear I saw some lettuce. Maybe it was parsley. Either way, that's weird.

The BBQ itself had good flavor. My sandwich had some extra crunch that I'm attributing to the presence of extra bark. Lucky me. I don't think it was heat lamp crispiness because the meat wasn't dry at all. The sauce was similar to but not as tangy as Tops. And unlike Tops, Captain John's serves ribs. I'll try those in March when the roller derby season starts back up.

On a side note, I've got to stop ordering jumbo sandwiches. Not just because I'm a little too jumbo myself and shouldn't be eating barbecue in the first place. No, it's because they are unwieldy and always seem to fall apart making a big mess. This isn't a knock on Captain John's. Every jumbo combo seems to do the same.

The final verdict? I wouldn't make any special trips to Collierville for a sandwich at Captain John's, but if you're hungry and driving down 72, stop in.

3 Stars? Are you kidding me?

Given my recent flirtation with Alabama BBQ, I can't say that I'm terribly interested in a Birmingham chain setting up shop in the greater Memphis area, but many of you have pointed out Leslie Kelly's review of the newly opened Jim 'n Nick's Bar-B-Q in today's Commercial Appeal. I have yet to visit, but I feel compelled to respond.

First, you can't really classify Jim 'n Nick's as a BBQ place. Much like Smokey Bones, it sounds more like a restaurant that serves BBQ. You won't find linen napkins, spinach & artichoke dip, quesadillas or a rib-eye steak at Tops. The pie sounds good, but it ain't no bag of donuts. Second – pickles, pickles, pickles, again with the pickles. Third, do you really want to pay $8 for a BBQ sandwich? Lastly, butt jokes are funny. I like a good butt joke. I like a good butt. But, if Jim 'n Nick's slogan really is "you can smell our butts for miles," that's just gross.

The CA has six reviews (that I could find) of BBQ spots available on its website dating back to 2001. Only, Corky's and Jim 'n Nick's were rated 3 stars. Those two reviews were written by Leslie Kelly. It's a shame she's heading back to the Pacific Northwest.

And, no. It wasn't me.

Friday Night Videos

Seriously, how many BBQ-related videos can you watch?

Full Plate

Ukrainian scientist? Talking, musical plates? Smart belt? Stinky jewelry? I just don't think these things will help people lose weight or avoid overeating. If anything, they might just spur on competition. How many BBQ sandwiches can you eat before your smart belt explodes?

The following quote says it all, "I don't take money for any of this, not a kopeck. When I invented the musical condom I had people from Canada, Israel, and even Germany get in touch with me, but there were no offers from serious companies."

Lords of Smoke, Fire & Meat

Barbecue, TV and Las Vegas – three great tastes that taste great together. I've been hooked on the Barbecue Championship Series for some time. It's currently in the second round of competition on Versus. 18 BBQ cooks vie for $75,000 in a 3-round tournament.

Each show consists of 3 dishes – the grand BBQ, the backyard BBQ, and the dish that bites back. For the grand BBQ, the cooks can use their own cooker and they each have access to a fully stocked pantry for 5 minutes at the start of each dish. The meat, the cooker and the time limit are all chosen by the producers.

The show's creators learned a lot from the original Iron Chef including tight time limits, mystery ingredients, contestant profiles, colorful "celebrity" judges and subdued trash talk.

The lone Memphian was eliminated in the first show of the first round. One of the judges is from Oklahoma, and I suspect sabotage. Nevertheless, here are few reasons to watch:

• Wildly inconsistent and unpredictable judging

• The "BBQ Ambassadors" – impossibly thin and buxom Las Vegas showgirls

• A crazy, fat Frenchman

• A whole bunch of butt jokes

• An unruly audience

• A horrendous website
  

• Chubby rednecks in shorts and ball caps

• The "dish that bites back" – a surprise, live ingredient that the competitors must catch, kill and BBQ in a ridiculously short time

Nashvegas vs. the MRD

For any of you who aren't attending the Memphis Roller Derby pre-season bout to see Moxie Dynamite and the Legion of Zoom kick the crap out of the PrissKilla Prezleys on Saturday, December 9th, you can head to Nashville for the Holiday Blogger Meat-up.

If you drive real fast, you may be able to do both, but as much as I loves me some BBQ, I'm taking my sandwich to the bout.

Meet the Flintstones

This is what happens when you eat barbecue made out of dinosaurs. Stick to pork shoulder.

Baker's Edge Brownie Pan

Genius! {via}

Sign of the Apocalypse

If this is the way it's gonna be, I'm canceling Christmas.

Friday Night Videos

It started out funny. Then I got scared.