Page 38 - DEC2019 BBQNEWS DIGITAL

bbq treats
FEED FOLKS BBQ-
IT MAKES THEM
HAPPY!
watching what they eat, and eating healthier. We also see people skipping pork and beef while choosing the last choice on the BBQ chain, the BBQ chicken! No one likes dry chicken, so serving moist, tender, good tasting chicken is vital for chicken lovers. Some choose only to eat white meat, so preparing moist breast meat is very important. We cook thighs, which is dark meat, but the way we cook it and serve it has won over many white meat only eaters. We offer samples for anyone who may be unsure if they will like out dark meat. Seeing the majority smile and say that's delicious sure makes a pitmasters day!
We recently had a party for my youngest son Cadin who got mar- ried in Tennessee this past June. We celebrated here at the Coun- try Kitchen. They requested all appetizers and man did we have some appetizers. It was fun to watch everyone go thru the line and load their plates. Cadin's in-laws have become a big part of our family and we had a blast with them. I made buffalo chicken dip for Lidya (Cadin's mother in law) because it is her favorite. We went thru 400 stuffed jalapenos and 300 stuffed sweet peppers. At Cadin’s and Sabrina's wedding, they requested a mashed potato bar. It was good, but I told him we would have the ultimate mashed potato bar at his party. We had brisket, two different gravies, grilled onions, grilled peppers, smoked garlic, melted Irish butter, bacon, sour cream, squash relish, and several other top-secret items. People were making a meal out of mashed pota- toes. Small baby back ribs qualified as an appetizer! It was fun seeing everyone eat and the smiles made all the work worthwhile!
A special thanks to the Wolfe brothers for coming to help. Also, thanks to Uncle Rich and Wendy for getting off the cruise ship and driving straight to our house. My old friend Oolah and Dee flying in from Colorado, Donnagail and Walter, Anthony, and Anita from Tennessee. To my great friend John Sweeney, who flew in from Detroit, to run pits, cookers, and help me with whatever I needed. It was a great weekend of cooking and feeding people and making them happy!
We are heading to Jacksonville this weekend to compete in an SCA contest that David Haskett puts on and it will be a first-class time at the Flamingo Lake RV Park. We are also hosting the Battle at BBQ Junction, which is always a fun time. After all the festivi- ties are over, we will be selling and serving steak dinners to all the locals at the park. All the proceeds are going to local charities supported by Ken Lloyd and the Flamingo Staff. Cooking champi- onship quality steaks and serving them to the public will always bring lots of big smiles to the folks we serve!
I love to say this and trust me its true! Feed people BBQ- it makes them happy! See everyone at a contest soon and please keep them grills smokin!
Dana “big
papa” Hillis
BBQ From Florida
lighthousepointe@ hotmail.com
We cook a lot of BBQ and feed a lot of people. I love to hear the stories from folks about where they're from and how they grew up on different styles of cooking BBQ. The Carolina folks grew up having pig pickings and are serious about there pulled pork. Some like there mustard sauce while some are serious about there vine- gar sauce. We make a Carolina Sunshine vinegar-based sauce that makes the vinegar lovers happy. We also make a mustard sauce called Wolfe Brothers Mustard that is a favorite of most that try it. We sell our sauces and many times we have people say they don't care for a mustard-based sauce, but this stuff will most times have them changing their opinion! Our mustard sauce recipe came from Tony and Rick Wolfe's mom. They shared their recipe with us and we have to give them credit for this fantastic sauce.
My favorite responses come from customers that are fans of Texas Brisket. They always come up and say, "nobody makes brisket as good as they do in Texas." I take this as an opportunity to give them a sample of our style of brisket. That's when the fun starts as the usual response is "wow!". Our brisket is slow-cooked, seasoned with our brisket rub, and we cook until it's super tender!
Brisket and pulled pork are favorites, but I think true BBQ fans take their ribs seriously. At one of our events, I had a well dressed southern gentleman pull up in a brand new Cadillac and come to talk to me. He proceeded to tell me he had been cooking and eat- ing ribs before I was even born. (I don't think he realized I am as old as I am cause he did not seem that old) He wanted to know if I thought I cooked good ribs so I gave him the Big Papa challenge. I gave him and his wife a whole slab to sample and told him if he didn't like them, he did not have to pay for them. He and his wife both sampled the ribs. Not only did he pay for them, but he also ordered two additional slabs as well! When you can satisfy a true BBQ fan and witness the big smile on their face complete with a little sauce on their chin, then you know you have done your job!
In today's day and age, we see lots of people being gluten-free,
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DECEMBER 2019