Because of this, I wanted to post a video to one of the best turkey carving videos I have seen. Ray Venezia is the Manager of the meat department at the New York’s Fairway Market, who better to learn carving tips and techniques then from a butcher! In this video Ray shows his step by step technique for not only carving a turkey, but also getting the most meat from that holiday turkey.

This is the carving technique I use and I feel it is the best way to carve a turkey. Cutting the turkey this way also gives you a great presentation for your family and friends and helps in separating the dark meat from the white meat.

Do yourself a favor and watch Ray in this video, and if you have to watch again! I’ also included a visual aide chart to help in cutting up your turkey. You can find the New York Times article regarding the video and chart  at the link provided below.

Ray truly knows his stuff! If you follow his instructions you will surely impress your family and friends with your new found Turkey carving skills. I hope this helps give you some piece of mind in tackling that Holiday Bird!  Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Carving The Perfect Holiday Turkey

Planning and Notes:
- Figure about 1 pound raw weight per person when buying, not including allowances for leftovers
- Allow 4-10 hours to thaw a frozen turkey, more if it’s a Tom (18-24 pounds); a nearly thawed bird can finish thawing in the brine.
- Allow 8-12 hours for brining of your turkey.
- If a really crisp skin is desired, allow 4-12 hours to dry the turkey under refrigeration.
- Allow 4 to 4 ½ hours to smoke the turkey, which includes extra time to ensure it is ready to serve when your are ready to eat.
- Allow 6-12 hours cook time to smoke your turkey, depending on your smoker.   

Key techniques:
- Getting a great barbequed turkey is the result of three key techniques. First, the bird is brined, which is simply letting the bird soak in a salt-water solution. During the soak, the muscle tissues absorbs the brine, which seasons and adds extra moisture to the turkey.
- The second technique is to cook the bird in two stages so that the faster cooking (and faster drying out) breast meat is protected, and the slower cooking thighs and legs are hit with more heat to speed their cooking.
- Finally, the use of a good probe thermometer is employed so that the cooking process is stopped at the right internal temperature to preserve maximum moisture and juiciness.

Ingredients:
Brine
2 cups Kosher or 1 cup table salt
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 bottle maple syrup
2 gallons cold water
1 turkey fresh or thawed, not self-basting, giblets and tail removed, and rinsed thoroughly.

Turkey Mop
1 stick of butter
½ cup corn syrup
Black pepper and/or other desired seasonings
1 stick of butter
½ cup corn syrup
Black pepper and/or other desired seasonings
Wood: Hickory, Oak, Maple or Apple

Brining Procedure
Dissolve the salt and sugar into the cold water in a non-reactive (not aluminum) 12-16 quart stockpot or clean bucket. Add the turkey and refrigerate, or set in a very cool place, like the garage, for 12 hours. If a crisper skin is desired, allow the turkey to dry out after the brining, uncovered, on a wire rack under refrigeration for 4-12 hours.
Dissolve the salt and sugar into the cold water in a non-reactive (not aluminum) 12-16 quart stockpot or clean bucket. Add the turkey and refrigerate, or set in a very cool place like the garage for 12 hours. If a crisper skin is desired, allow the turkey to dry out after the brining, uncovered, on a wire rack under refrigeration for 4-12 hours.

Smoking Procedure:
Preheat your smoker to a temperature of 350-400 degrees. While the smoker is heating, remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry inside and out. Tie the wings into the body using cotton string, or cut a small slit into the skin, allowing you to tuck the wing tips inside the turkey.  Leave the legs untied to allow the heat to circulate all around them.
Next brush the turkey with the prepared mop, if a dark bronze like skin is desired. If not, skip the mop and season the turkey with the desired salt, pepper and other seasonings. Mop the turkey once each hour of smoking.

Place the turkey, breast side DOWN on the center of the grill. Use a v-rack or several carrot sticks to balance the turkey on the grill. Adjust the heat of the smoker if needed, but maintain the 350-400 degree temperature for the first hour of smoking.

After an hour, turn the turkey over, breast side UP, mop the turkey, and damp down the vents or lower the temperature to 200-250 degrees, then continue to smoke. The goal of this cook is to maintain the temperature of 200-250 degrees throughout the rest of the smoking session.

Check for doneness by inserting a probe thermometer horizontally from the end of the breast into the center of the thickest part of the breast. If a remote thermometer is being used, it can be placed in the turkey breast prior to being placed on the grill. Using a manual thermometer, start checking the temperature of the turkey after 4 hours.

The turkey is done when it registers 165 degrees. If while smoking, the breast stars to split or gets very dark, cover the area with foil.  When the turkey is done, remove from smoker to a platter and cover loosely with foil. Let rest 20 minutes before carving.

This is the best turkey you will every have!  I hope you find it to your liking and that it becomes a family tradition of preparation as it has in our home.  From my family to yours, we hope you have a great Holiday season!

I recently wrote an article on BBQ cooking schools. In that article I went over the criteria that I felt was important when choosing a class and what I felt was key points to consider. Here again are my thoughts on the subject.

First, I wanted to learn from someone who has won the awards that we all wish to win ourselves. Second, this individual(s) also needed to be competing on the circuit. In my opinion, this was the most important criteria because the class would be centered on what is going on NOW and not what used to be the case when they competed on the circuit.

Third, I wanted to have the opportunity to go and not be in an overcrowded class getting lost in the numbers. I wanted to have the ability to watch up close, take notes and ask those questions I’ve had for years but just haven’t found the individual(s) who could answer them. In order to accomplish this, the class would be pricey; I knew this and so prepared to pay the price.

In light of Buffalo’s BBQ most recent win in BBQ, I wanted to let everyone know once again, that Donny is offering one of his classes were you can see up close how he selects the meats, trim and season as well as smoking the meats on the smoker. If you have Ever thought of attending a BBQ cooking class, I would highly recommend Buffalo’s BBQ School!

If you have a desire to improve your competition cooking or just want to learn the difference between good Barbeque and the sublime, I would encourage you to contact Donny Teel at: Phone: 918-633-0673 and visit http://www.tbazone.com/alley/ for the next cooking class being held on 10/17/2008 in Sperry, OK.

I hope you take this opportunity to learn from a championship cooking family! Let Donny know the Bossman sent you!

Pulled Pork Nachos, just the name its self gets the saliva in the mouth get eager with anticipation! This has become a family tradition in my home, to the point where I think we only smoke pork butt just so the next day we can have Pulled Pork Nachos!!

So what is needed to make this delicious pile of pork and cheese greet you at the table?

You will need the following:

• Disposable aluminum pan (why make a lot of dishes for yourself…)
• Tortilla chips/strips (I use Mission Tortilla Strips)
• 1lb pulled pork (more if you want)
• Refried Beans (32 ounce can)
• BBQ Sauce
• Salsa
• 1 large Tomato
• 1-2lbs of Cheese
• Sour Cream

Spay the bottom of the pan with a light coating of “Pam” to help keep food for sticking. Next place the Tortilla strips on the bottom of the pan, covering the entire bottom. Spread the refried beans on top of the tortillas evenly. Then place a layer of cheese on top of the beans. I then spread a thick layer of pulled pork on top of the cheese and complete this masterpiece with a light layer of bbq sauce on the pulled pork topped with more Cheese!

Place the pan in a pre-heated oven at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese begins to bubble and brown. Remove the nachos from the oven and add diced tomatoes and onions on top. Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top and more BBQ sauce or salsa if desired.

This is such a simple dish, but one that EVERYONE remembers and requests especially with Football and Hockey season being here! Hope you enjoy this family favorite. Let me know of any spins or a twist you add to this that just makes the dish even more irresistible! Smoke On!

One of the challenging things of barbeque is trying new things. The challenge for me is to try new things and in the process make them not only edible but something both family and friends would want to eat again.

I recently had the opportunity to try my hand at smoking buffalo (Thanks Ben for the Buffalo Meat!). For me this was very challenging ias Buffalo in and of itself is a very lean meat and if not smoked correctly is prone to drying out. I decided to try making a Buffalo meat loaf and see what would happen.

With the chance of the meat drying out, I decided to add some ground pork sausage to the meatloaf mixture to help baste the meat and keep it moist. The recipe we used was the same we use for beef meatloaf.

Bossman Meatloaf

• 2 lbs of ground Buffalo meat
• 1lb Jimmy Deans Breakfast Sausage
• 5 strips of bacon crumbled
• ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 small onion/ diced
• 1 small green bell pepper — diced
• 1 ½ cup bread crumbs
• 4 large eggs lightly beaten
• 2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 2 tsp granulated garlic

Mix the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Place contents into disposable aluminum bread pans or a regular disposable aluminum pan; pierce the bottom of the pan in several places such as the corners to allow the grease to escape during cooking.

Pack the meatloaf into the disposable pan, packing the meatloaf into the pan tightly paying attention to the corners of the pan. Prepare the smoker for indirect smoking with a 50/50 mix of Oak and Sugar Maple or your favorite wood, reaching a temperature of 250-275. Place the meatloaf directly on the smoker grate and allow smoking for 1 hour.

Check for firmness; if needed allow cooking longer until firming begins.

Once the loaf begins to firm and pull away from the corners and edge of the pan, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the disposable pan, covering the top of the pan. This next step can be tricky, turn the pan over with the aluminum foil allowing the foil to be on the bottom grate and remove the pan exposing the meatloaf on the aluminum sheet. Smoke for another hour checking for an internal temperature of 155.

Once the internal of 155 is reached, remove the loaf from the smoker placing it back into the disposable pan using the same method as before. Glaze the loaf with barbeque sauce if desired and tent with aluminum foil allowing the loaf to rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve on sandwiches or a main dish.

So how did the Buffalo meatloaf turn out? AWESOME!  As you can see from the photos that were taken during this cook the meatloaf stayed moist, but you can also see that adding the sausage to the meatloaf caused it to have some discoloration in the meat itself. My family enjoyed this lot and actually told me that they prefer the Buffalo meatloaf over the regular meatloaf we make on the smoker.

Moral of this story; don’t be afraid to try new things or to think outside the box when cooking on the smoker this goes for side dishes, main dishes and of course desserts. I think you will find that almost everything on the smoker tastes a little better when mixed with wood smoke!

Hoping to come up with the next barbeque nirvana, I began looking for barbeque cooking classes. In the process I put together my own criteria in selecting a competition cooking class to attend.

First, I wanted to learn from someone who has won the awards that we all wish to win ourselves. Second, this individual(s) also needed to still be competing on the circuit. In my opinion this was the most important choice because the class would be centered on what is going on NOW and not what used to be the case when they competed on the competition barbeque circuit.

Third, I wanted to have the opportunity to not get lost in the numbers of an overcrowded class. I wanted to have the ability to watch up close, take notes and ask those questions I’ve had for years but just haven’t found the individual(s) who could answer them. In order to accomplish this, the class would be pricey; I knew this and so I prepared to pay the price.

Bottom line I found a class that met the criteria and surpassed my expectations in the process! My wife and I attended Buffalo’s BBQ Competition Cooking Class put on by Donny Teel and his wife Cindy and their daughter Whitney. The class I attended was held in Pueblo Colorado.

If you have never heard of Donny Teel, allow me to give you a short biography of this man and his accomplishments that was included with the class registration

Donny has won over 40 GRAND CHAMPIONS!

• Scored 717.1430 out of 720 possible!
• Won Jack Daniels in 2005
• Won American Royal 2004
• Reserve Grand Champion (2nd place) American Royal 2005-2006
• Champions of Rocky Mountain Cup 2006
• KCBS Team of the Year in Pork 2006
• KCBS 2nd Overall Team of the Year Ribs 2006
• 16 Perfect Scores in a KCBS barbeque competition (180)
• 5 Perfect-Perfect   (180).

Students that have taken this class in the past have taken many years off the learning curve of competition barbeque not counting all the money and miles it would take to get to this level of contest cooking. It was because of Donny’s records and reputation within the Kansas City Barbeque Society that my wife and I chose to attend this class. In our opinion it was the best investment we have made to date!

Donny starts off the class explaining what his goals are in teaching; covering all aspects of the competition cook from selecting the meat and trimming to smoking the meat on the pit. You’re present from start to finish, asking questions, taking notes and finally tasting the finished product.

The cost for the class in Pueblo was $500. I know this is a lot of money, but how often do you have the opportunity to sit, talk and learn from someone who is walking the walk and talking the talk? After attending this class and learning why Donny Teel is the best I can honestly say I would happily pay MORE to attend again, no questions asked!

If you have a desire to improve your competition cooking or just want to learn the difference between good Barbeque and the sublime, I would encourage you to contact Donny Teel at: Phone: 918-633-0673 and visit http://www.tbazone.com/alley/  for the next cooking class being held on 10/17/2008 in Sperry, OK .

I highly recommend registering early to avoid missing out due to the class filling to capacity. If your unable to attend this class, but are interested in attending a future class email Donny your information and let him know your interest in attending his class!

Consider this quote from Donny:

“ It just takes a few walks to the stage to offset the cost of this class. Even if you don’t cook exactly the way I do, just some of the techniques that you will pickup could be what gets your BBQ team to be the last one said for the day and those words: THE GRAND CHAMPION IS: insert your team name here”

Let Donny know you read this article and that the Bossman sent you! This is one investment you will not regret ,and one where you will use the skills, techniques and knowledge for many years to come. Smoke On!

Today I have the opportunity to review Tassleberry Farms Strawberry Marinade and Strawberry BBQ Sauce. As you can see from the below picture, the product is attractive and well labeled.

Now when I picture strawberries in any type of product I envision sweet, fragrant strawberry flavor that will add to the overall product and accommodate the end product.

Unfortunately that was not my experience with the Tassleberry BBQ products. In preparation for this experience I purchased some fresh pork chops and used the above marinade on them. The marinade is very pungent and had a very vinegar and pickled strawberry taste. I decided to go ahead with the review to see if this marinade would have a different taste and flavor in the end product

Later the pork chops were smoked and I added the Strawberry BBQ sauce in the last 30 minutes of smoking. I found the BBQ Sauce to be very bitter and had the consistency of a tomato paste rather then a BBQ Sauce. I continued with the test to see what the pork chops would taste like in the end.

When I brought the pork chops to the table the aroma was incredible. But that’s where it ended. The marinade and sauce both caused the pork chops to be inedible. No one in my family was able to get over the first bite. $23 in pork chops ruined.

Due to this experience I would NOT recommend this product for use. I don’t make this determination lightly. I know the passion and desire that goes into creating a product and then wanting to share it with the world, I guess that’s why my BBQ Sauce has been 7-years in the making and will continue to be until I’m satisfied with the end product! In my opinion this sauce would have to be one where you acquire a taste for it.

I hope Tassleberry Farm re-evaluates this product and makes some major changes, otherwise, in my opinion; this product will not make it on the market for long. I for one was very disappointed with the product and results I had in using it.

With this in mind, I had the privilege of testing a smoker that could be used by the beginner or season veteran. The Brinkmann Smoke-N-Grill is sold at Home Depot, and is where I got mine for $49.95. I wanted to test this smoker to see how user friendly it was and what type of results it would produce for the beginner wanting to make the best BBQ possible.

This smoker appealed to me because of its ability to not only smoke, but also break down and be used as a grill as well. It is small and compact, but yet big enough to smoke. This appeals to both the beginner living in a small condo or apartment with a small balcony or the beginner wanting a starting point and adds this smoker to patio or deck of the home.

This past weekend my family and I competed in the Frisco Colorado State BBQ Challenge. As with many of the contests we compete in, it is a family undertaking. Two of my children competed in the Kids State BBQ Cook-off and in preparation of this contest, both of my children practiced on the Brinkmen!

First, we had to put the smoker together. Using the included instructions my 11year old son and I were able to put the smoker together in 20-minutes. We then prepared it for its first smoke by spraying the inside of the smoker and the inside of the lid with Pam for Grilling. We then started some charcoal and let it season the smoker for 1-hour. Then we added some Hickory wood and began smoking!

So with the smoker going my son Ryan and daughter Kaylee decided that the first thing to be smoked on the new smoker would be Bratwurst, Nathan Hot Dogs and boneless/skinless chicken breasts

I decided to let them test the smoker and see how user friendly it would be. Both of my children have grown up with grilling and smoking foods, so I felt that a true representation of the Brinkmann Smoke-N-Grill would be perfect for them and you as a reader.

The Brinkmann Smoke –n-Grill did a great job in cooking the food my children chose. The only thing I would change in the design would be to make it more air tight. We found the unless you constantly checked the temperature of the smoker, the temperature would not stay steady.

The temperature gage has three readings which are: Warm, Ideal and Hot. In my opinion this should be changed to real temperature readings. Using my digital temperature gage I found that ideal temperature ranged from 165to 255. For my taste this is too much of a difference in “Ideal” temperature.

If you use this smoker understand that you will need to watch the temperature and baby-sit the smoker. Which if you are just beginning is a good thing. It gives you the chance to learn how a smoker works, how to maintain the temperature and how to turn out some great looking and tasting barbeque.

So with my children practicing with the Brinkmann Smoke and Grill, your probably wondering how they faired in the State Barbeque Championship. Well, My daughter is the State Champion in the kids 5-11 year old category and my son took 2^nd place in the kids 11-15 year old category. I think this speaks for itself in how well the Brinkman Smoke and Grill performs as both a grill and smoker!

I would highly recommend the Brinkmann Smoke –N-Grill for your consideration in choosing a smoker without having to make a large investment. I think you will be happy with the results and the ease of use. With the included cookbook and recommendations included with your Brinkmann you will have an excellent starting point to begin your BBQ adventure!

One of the things I do when I go to a different state is try the local BBQ joints trying some of the different tastes and preferences from one place to another. So while in D.C. I was directed by several locals to a joint called “Capital Q-Texas Style BBQ” located in the Chinatown district. ( www.capitalqbbq.com)

I was pretty excited at first because Texas style BBQ is my favorite style of BBQ and the style I love to cook, and second because I was receiving a lot of positive recommendations for this restaurant.

Capital Q is the brain child of Nicholas J. Fontana a native of Port Author Texas. After relocating to Washington D.C. Nicholas longed for the taste, smell and down home Q he had in Texas. Not finding any of his liking or that measured up to his standards the birth of Capital Q was realized.

With six hungry police officers in tow, we found Capitol Q. The interior of the restaurant was second to none. The smell of smoked meat was evident the moment you walked through the door. Our mouths began to water in eager anticipation.
A disclaimer on my part, being a BBQ perfectionist I, like many others I know become what I term as “BBQ Snobs” I always judge BBQ and compare it to my own. And of course no one I know cooks as good as I. That being said we all ordered different meals in an attempt to be fair and honest regarding the BBQ we were about to eat.

My meal was the ½ rack BBQ Rib Sandwich.The sandwich started with two slices of white bread that cushioned a ½ rack of bone in spareribs that was then smothered in BBQ sauce. I then chose a side of coleslaw to go with the meal with a Dr.Pepper to wash it down.

The ribs them selves were good, and had good flavor. My only complaint would be that the membrane was not removed making them a little tuff but edible. The other meats that were eaten during this review were the pulled pork, beef brisket and sausage.
On a scale of 1 being terrible and 5 being out of this world I would give Capital Q a 4 or great BBQ!
I would suggest if you’re in the area of Washington D.C. and would like to enjoy a great BBQ experience, Consider Capital Q. In the end I feel you will be glad you chose them and will walk away feeling you had a satisfying BBQ experience!

This summer Food Network will be airing a new show with Chef Bobby Flay called “Grill It”. Food Network is asking is for all those grill masters out there to upload 2-minute videos displaying their skills and explaining why they love to grill and why they should be selected to appear on an episode of “Grill It” with Chef Flay.

So 4 weeks ago my wife with her trusted video camera in hand filmed yours truly smoking some Barbeque for the world to see!

Anyone can cook the normal everyday selections for the grill such as chicken, steaks, burgers and so on. What I did was try and think outside the box and do something easy and yet something most people wouldn’t think to grill or smoke. I ended up doing two items. First was Smoked Meatloaf and the other, Smoked Hog Apple Beans!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_gt/text/0,3195,FOOD_31139_67192,00.html?sortby=recent&pn=1&pageref=Photo_Video-917539&vw_arrange_order=DESC&vw_sort_order=MOST_RECENT

Please feel free to rate the video and add comments if you chose. The more people who watch and rate the video the better our chances of being selected to cook with Chef Flay! I look forward to your support and appreciate your time in watching me do something I truly love!