Black Eyed Pigz

For long time visitors of the blog, you’ll notice something has changed.  I’ve re-designed the site to give it a cleaner, fresher look.

Hope you like it!

Before I forget.  I wanted to let you know that I’ll soon be opening a small retail shop here on the web site.  I’ve got my BBQ rub being packaged as we speak.  It will be available to you in 16oz Foil Bags.  I also have some grilling sauces being put together as well and the minute they’re available to me, they’ll be available to you.

Just to let you know, I have a Pepper Grilling Sauce that takes your steak from great to extraordinary!  Also, I’ll have a hot sauce that will compliment just about any dish you’re looking to spice up.  Great tasting stuff, available in 6oz bottles. 

More info to come!

Hey friends, I’m going to be absent from the blog for a little while. My father is undergoing triple bypass surgery this weekend, and I need to be available to help him during recovery. That leaves no time for smoking and maintaining this site for the short term. But once he’s back on his feet, I’ll be back on mine and all will be good in the online world of BBQ.

You can help by sending in photos or recipes of YOUR favorite dishes though. Just email them in to me at bill (at) blackeyedpigz (dot) com or use the contact page here on the blog.

Thanks everyone!

I am making up a small batch of Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABTs) for tonight’s big game. It’s just the wife and I enjoying them so 8 of these monstrously oversized jalapenos will be more than enough. Basically you’re hollowing out a pepper, and stuffing it with shredded cheese and diced jalapeno, then wrapping it with bacon before putting it on the grill to cook and crisp up the bacon.

Most people prefer to cut the end off the pepper and seed it out, then stuff with cream cheese, but that’s boring. I slice a piece off the side of the pepper, creating a canoe shape, remove the seeds and white ribs, then dice up the cutoff portion, mix it with a blend of shredded colby and jack cheeses. From there I stuff it as full as it will go without bursting the pepper open, and wrap with a whole strip of hickory smoked bacon. Enjoy the photos. These will be cooked later today and I’ll get a photo posted of the final result for you at that time.

The players in this drama.

The side of the peppers sliced off, ready to be cleaned out.

Cored and seeded. 

Cutoffs from the peppers, about to get diced.

Diced.

Cheese and diced jalapenos blended together.

Pepper canoes, stuffed to the bursting point.

And finally, wrapped in thick bacon-y goodness!  These will get
grilled up later today just in time for the big game!

While I was busy cooking today, I made up a batch of my BBQ Beans. The recipe is here on the site, just scroll back a bit to find it.

Here’s the step by step in photos for you:

My favorite part, frying up the bacon.

And here you’ll see I added the chopped onions

Here you’ll see everything but the beans has been added. Man this is making the kitchen smell so good!

And here finally, the beans have been added.

I’m letting them simmer for about an hour, checking the flavor and adding whatever spices I think they need to be just right. More photos to come as I get time.

I got the chance to do some cooking today, while my friends in Maryland are suffering the effects of the blizzard to end all blizzards, we enjoyed a balmy 50 degrees and overcast here in South Carolina.

With that in mind, I decided to do a little Boston Butt on the smoker today. I also made up some bbq beans and amish macaroni salad, not to mention the hickory smoked wings that we’ll be enjoying tomorrow during the superbowl.

But on to the butt! For those who don’t know, a Boston Butt is a section of pork from the front shoulder of a pig, it’s NOT a true butt like you’re sitting on right now.

Here’s how it all went down:

The usual suspects. The near 7lb pork butt, my specially blended rub (hopefully soon to be available for retail sale) and my work area.

Here you’ll see that I slathered the pork with yellow mustard. You can’t taste it, it merely acts as a glue to hold the rub to the pork while sitting overnight in the fridge.

Here my rub is mostly applied to the meat, I make sure to cover all surfaces thoroughly with my blend. From here it’s wrapped and refrigerated overnight.

On to the smoker this morning around 930am. The fire’s burning and the pit is hot! (well, hot enough)

Here it is after about 4.5 hours. Hickory smoked and ready to be thrown in the pan for the rest of the cook. It already smells good.

Look how easily that bone pulls out of the meat. This is directly off the smoker and brought inside. And the house now officially smells like a BBQ Shack.

I haven’t pulled the pork yet, as it has to rest for at least an hour to let all the juices soak back inside it, but on the sample taste from around the bone, this thing is money! Wish you had smell-o-vision!

Quick update. Here’s the food all plated up right before I tore into last night. Man was it tasty!!!!

When we moved to South Carolina about 4 years ago, the winters were always mild. Sure, we’d have a cold night or two, but nothing bad. This year, however, it’s been downright frigid. And honestly, in those 4 short years, I completely forgot how much I wasn’t a fan of the cold weather.

It’s made it difficult to want to go out back and fire up the smoker or the grill for anything beyond a quick steak to be quite honest. I hate the cold. Luckily, it’s supposed to stay nice and mild for the next few days here and I’ll get that chance to go out and really get to cooking.

Now the only question is, What to cook? With the superbowl coming up, I’m inspired to make some chicken wings, italian beef and maybe even a few Atomic Buffalo Turds. But I’d really like to do something different for a change, and thanks to the fine members of the Smoking Meat Forums, I think I may have stumbled upon a pretty great idea.

He calls them “tenderfingers”. Pork loin that’s been cut to the size of chicken fingers, marinated and wrapped in bacon before smoking them to perfection. I can’t wait to try this out on Super Sunday, I think they’re going to be a huge hit.

If you’re planning a menu for the big game, why not use the comments section and let us know what you have going on?

Well, the camera battery is charging, so I didn’t get any pictures of the setup on this one, but it’s marinating as we speak, and I’ll get pics of the cook if nothing else.

I’ve got 2 boneless chuck roasts, about 4 pounds total.

They’re currently marinating in a mixture of:
Bourbon Whiskey - 4oz
Worcestershire Sauce - 2 Tablespoons
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Kosher Salt
Beef Broth

When they go on the cooker, I’ll spritz them down with a little fruit juice and smoke them over hickory wood until they’re about Medium-Well.

Pics to come!

Well, I took the plunge and made some homemade breakfast sausage just now. It honestly took about 15 minutes all the way through. Now, keep in mind, I cheated a bit here and there, but this is how easy it can be.

What I used:
Hi Mountain Breakfast Sausage Seasoning Mix “Prairie Sage”
2 lbs of Ground Pork

Here’s how it looked:
The pieces……

Adding the Seasoning to the meat:

Seasoning Mixed in, a splash of water to help meld the spices and meat:

Test Fry:

Finished Patties:

The results…. Not too terribly bad, pretty good to be honest. This seasoning blend using red pepper flakes, sage and salt mostly. In the taste testing I noticed the red pepper biting my tongue, which I enjoy but those with a more delicate palette may not. The sausage itself is not as dense as store bought sausage, which is actually kind of nice to feel in your mouth.

Overall, I would do it again, but I think I would mix up my own blends next time. More sage, less red pepper and maybe throw in a few grinds of black pepper. Definitely worth the effort, definitely better than store bought.

I was lucky enough to stumble onto a really nice bbq and cooking forum recently called the Smoking Meat Forums, www.smokingmeatforums.com

What a talented group of people they have meeting there. In just a few days I learned about so many different things you can be making on your grills, smokers and even open campfires. It’s incredible. I posted my introduction and within a few hours, nearly 2 dozen people replied, welcoming me aboard. Very friendly place.

In reading through the wealth of information posted there, I stumbled into their bacon making and sausage making boards. Wow. I never knew it could be done this easily at home. And to test the waters, I’m working on making my very own breakfast sausage this weekend. There will be pics of the process and of course, my opinions on the finished product as well.

I’m also considering making my very own buckboard bacon sometime soon. I have to play with the ol’ smoker to see if I can get the smoke and temps at the right levels for what I need. Again, expect plenty of info and pictures on that process as well.

If you’re looking for a great place to learn about great food, visit the Smoking Meat Forums today. You won’t be disappointed.