Hog’s gettin’ HOT!

First of all I would like to wish each and every reader of this ramble a Happy Independence Day!  Hopefully you’ll not only have a relaxing weekend to enjoy friends, family and whatever else you wish to do, but you’ll also have a moment or two to think about what our Independence means and the many folks who have worked so hard to maintain it for all these years!  Thank you for keeping us free to anyone who’s ever worn the uniform and held up that flag, all of us at GreatQ4U! know what sacrifices have been made and we are truly thankful for them, recent events in Iran should remind us all just how luck we are to be free! 

Secondly…hope you’re having some BBQ this weekend!  What better way to show the american spirit than to fire up the grill, smoker or whatever and cook some tasty meat for you, your friends and family!  We are, of course gearing up for a busy weekend with the notable exception of the fact that this year, we’ve made a bit of time for ourselves!  Yep…92lbs. of hog just for us and it’s ready to go on the big smoker in a few hours!  We’ll be having a party at an ‘undisclosed location’ and working out some new tricks for the whole hog offerings, much to the delight of a few lucky folk’s taste buds!  If you’re reading this and interested in joing us for at least part of the festivities, shoot me an e-mail (Jim@GreatQ4U.com) and maybe I’ll tell you where we’re at! Fair warning though…it WON’T be a kids/family focused event…there may be some serious partying going on!

SO…that’s today’s update, gotta’ get smokin’!  Hope you have a GREAT weekend! – jak

Hoy! Hoy! Summer’s here…

OK, so perhaps my last post regarding the expedited arrival of Fall was a tad premature!  As it turns out, when you spend so many hours making sure that others have all they need to enjoy their summer get-togethers and parties, I guess it’s easy to get stuck ‘in the bubble’.  Now that the rains have (at least temoprarily) subsided and that Pacific Northwest style weather has passed, I’ve been investing some effort into planning OUR parties!  It wasn’t all that long ago that I would have hosted several of them by this time of the year, but then again I was so much older then…I’m younger than that now! (Thanks Roger)  Plans are in the works for a few festivities, the first of which will occur within a week and will include a whole hog, LOTS of fruit, fresh organic veggies, delicious accompaniments and a scenic vista of the beautiful Susquehanna River!  It will be the first of a few ‘personal’ celebrations of the season, one of which will include an invite to all of our Facebook Friends…so if you’re not already on the list…join today and bring some of your friends along!  You can visit our page at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/GreatQ4U-BBQ-Catering-in-Central-Pennsylvania/30070237853?ref=ts

It’s Sunday morning and I just finished a relaxing cup of Dunkin Donut’s finest, truck’s clean and lawn’s not too bad!  I am looking forward to a day of semi-relaxation so that I can tell my surgeon that I was compliant with his instructions following a recent double cut for at least 12 hours!   I am also reflecting on yesterday’s Pulled Pork and Chicken which came out better (in my humble opinion) than ANY other batch so far this year!  Which brings me to a short, but relevant diatribe about Pork Butt…which as you are probably aware comes from the top of the front shoulder…NOT the butt…which is the HAM!  Anyway, just some insight for those aspiring to do this at home (which is a GREAT idea), I like to cook mine ‘blade in’.  It is a subject on which you may find some controversy and in which every Pit Master has an opinion, some cook the whole front shoulder in tact, some cook it with the bones removed and I prefer to do it with the bone in.  My rationale is simple, I personally believe that the bone and its associated connective tissues impart both flavor and moisture during the smoking process.  I mean, 16 to 20 hours on the smoker can (if not closely controlled) dry out the meat and  no one likes stringy, stick in your teeth pulled pork!

So, there’s your tip for the day and a Sunday morning reflection.  I am hoping that all who read this have the best Summer ever and that you don’t forget to make some time to spend with family and friends!  They, like this whole life, are a gift and I for one am quite thankful for both!   – Peace, love and tranquility to all! – jak

Whew…is it FALL yet?

No it is certainly not a complaint, merely an observation on my part!  Our season has been as busy as we like and at times…even busier!  Thanks so much to everyone who has chosen to make GreatQ a part of your events and lives so far this year!  We are certainly having a great time cooking, talking, teaching and YES…judging BBQ this season.  I am celebrating Father’s day quietly recovering from simultaneous hernia and back surgeries that have given me a new appreciation for how each item on a shish-kebab must feel!  Breakfast with my daughter and then hopefully it will remain dry enough to mow the lawn this afternoon. (I know that you said ‘take it easy’ Doc, but who else is gonna’ do it?) 

Judging BBQ?  Why yes…it has been exactly one week since my judging debut at the Beltway BBQ Showdown in the heart of Prince George’s County, MD.  We had a great time and made a few new friends not to mention the benefits of tasting  some really good Q!  Alas, it’s not all food and games this judging thing…there are some down sides too!  Hint:  Don’t use the WHOLE CAN of lighter fluid when competing in a BBQ Competition!  (I’m just sayin’!)  Nonetheless, I thought I’d bring you all up to speed on a busy, but fun season!

BBQ Season is in FULL Swing!!!

It happens every year about this time…in fact this year it seems a bit later than most.  Perhaps it was the cold weather that I spent so many months whining about on the website that kept folks from warming up to Spring…but the certainly have warmed up!  Spring and BBQ season are in full swing around here and as always, I would like to thank all the folks who have chosen GreatQ4U! to make their upcoming events a bit more special. 

For those of you folks considering a BBQ caterer…here are some things to remember about us:  1. ALL of your food is hand crafted and prepared specifically for your event! (This is BIG!) We don’t rewarm any frozen anything for your event…it’s too important for that!  2. We time your meat selections to come off the smokers just prior to your event in order to provide the optimal taste, texture and aroma that you’d expect from Great “Q”!  3.  We’re focused on our customers…no matter what your needs or requests, we’ll do our best to meet and exceed it!  We even have an online ‘Customers Only’ section of our Web Site to make special offers available to all those folks who have helped us to grow over the years!  4. We simply offer Great “Q” for YOU!  We know that planning and executing a successful party can be stressful and time intensive.  We work with you to make serving high quality food as easy as, well, cooking a Pork Butt!!!

We are filling up for the season, but because of our 400+ Square Feet of smoker space, we still have plenty of room to fit your event in!  Give us a call at 717-254-1937 or e-mail me at Jim@GreatQ4U.com and I’ll be happy to help any way I can! – jak

Greetings from Salisbury, MD!

Well…here we are!  Settled in at Pork-In-The-Park and successfully submitted our “Anything Butt” and “Dessert” entries on time and with only a little bit of stress!  Butt’s are on the smokers and a trial of our Chicken is underway and everything is SMOKIN”!  I hear that we’ve got 104 teams here and it sure looks like it!  Due to a whole bunch of technical difficulties and forgotten cords…no video to upload yet, but I’ll try to keep you posted here and with a few photos!

Turn in for all KCBS entries begins at noon tomorrow and we’re feeling quite good about our progress so far…stay tuned!!!

Pork-In-The-Park 2009

Salisbury is just around the corner…

…and we’re keeping the smokers humming around here!  We’re busy trying a few new tricks to tuck up our sleeves as we try to beat our respectable performance last year against some of the country’s finest!  We’ve got a contingent of GreatQ4U! loyalists and team members joining us, but there’s always room for more so please feel free to load up into the car and head on down the Eastern Shore on Saturday the 18th!  

As I have mentioned previously in my posts, the good folks at Wicomico County tourism put on a heck of a party and there’s lots to do in addition to leisurely strolling around the competition area picking up BBQ tips from the best.  There’s a Car Show and Carnival and plenty to see & do…not to mention that the BEACH is only a hop-skip and jump away!

In addition to our early season appearance at Pork-In-the-Park, we are filling up the calendars pretty early this year, so if you’ve got any kind of event coming up that could benefit from some GreatQ, let me know!  You can e-mail me: jim@GreatQ4U.com or give us at 717-254-1937

SPRING…sure doesn’t FEEL like Spring!

You’d think by now I would have given up on ranting about the cold weather, but here we are…several days into SPRING and my thermometer was darned close to the single digits this morning!  OK…that’s it for the rant and now onto the day’s news:

Organic Garden ‘09 has had it’s first turning and will soon be the lucky recipient of some rich compost and peat courtesy of the tiller!  Following that, we’re READY to start planting!  We’ve got our hearty cold weather stuff on standby, including; Spuds, Onions, Beets, Artichokes, LOTS of Lettuce, Turnips and more!  Carrots and Parsnips are yet to come along with a greatly enhanced herb garden this year for even more culinary variety!  In addition to our current planting schedule, we’ll be adding a wide variety of Heirloom Tomatos, Eggplant, Brussels Sprouts, Peas of many varieties, Okra, Cukes, Pickles and of course…PEPPERS!!! Lot’s of HOT peppers planned for this season along with several colors of Bell too!  In addition to it’s Organic upkeep, this year I am quite proud that the garden will be drip watered with rainwater supplied via a pump running on Solar power!  It’s the little things!

In addition to all the gardening, we’re gearing up for our upcoming seasonal Competition debut at “Pork-In-The-Park” in Salisbury, MD on April 17th & 18th!  For folks who haven’t ever attended before this is a 2 day EVENT!  The fine folks at Wicomico County Tourism really do it up and have LOTS going on over 2 days to make it an event that you shouldn’t miss.  This year they’re expecting over 100 Competition BBQ Teams to make it the Biggest BBQ Competition East of the Mississippi!  For more info, check out: www.porkinthepark.org

Finally, ’tis the season…thanks for all who have booked their events!  If you’re looking to add GreatQ to your upcoming event, please call as soon as possible so we can check our calendar and make room for you!  We’ve got lots of stuff going on this year and look forward to our best year yet!

Pork-In-The-Park 2009! Come join us!

As promised, we are planning on attending Pork-In-The-Park on April 17th & 18th in Salisbury, MD

Check it out...

 

This is a GREAT event to bring the whole family to for the day.  There’s no shortage of things going on for folks of all ages; In addition to the nearly 100 nationally recognized BBQ Teams competing for over $20,000 bucks there is a park full of all kinds of stuff to do.  Any true “Q” enthusiast will be dumbfounded at the variety of smokers, techniques and sauces.  You’re free to walk around in the competition area and ask the chefs any questions you might have about BBQ…you don’t get that kind of opportunity on Food TV!  (Word is that they’ll be there too!)

So, What makes your “Q” So Great???

Glad you asked!  It’s a question that I get fairly frequently and I am always happy to share my thoughts about.  This whole adventure started because as a kid growing up in Pittsburgh who’s parents owned a house in North Carolina and brother went to NC State, I fell in love at a very early age with Carolina Style BBQ.  I ate it every time I had the chance, from as many BBQ shacks as I could find.  I paid close attention to the taste, texture and smell.  I watched carefully as second or third generation Pit Master’s stoked their Pits and prepared their “Q”.  After a while, I wasn’t going to North Carolina as much as I once did and I began to crave BBQ.  I tried several local restaurants and so-called “BBQ” places and found that no one anywhere near me was able to come close to my memories.  I got to thinking that I would have to take the Bull by the horns (or Pig by the tail, I guess) and learn to make it myself!

That’s where the Odyssey began!  I started with sauce and had competition in mind from the start.  I had read and heard from several sources that ‘Carolina Style’ Vinegar sauce just couldn’t win at BBQ competitions. “B.S.”…not the degree, but the byproduct of hay, I thought!  I started mixing and combingin all of the ingredients I thought could create an Award Winning sauce that had firm roots in the Carolinas!  Finally, after nearly 5 years and LOTS of test runs, I developed Hoover’s Southern Fusion BBQ Sauce…it’s a great combination of a Tomato based sauce more typical of Kansas City and a Carolina Vinegar sauce.  Turns out, folks REALLY like it…so we make quite a bit of it these days!  Understanding that not everyone likes really tangy sauce, I wroked on another concoction that eventually became Daisy Duke’s Memphis Tang…it’s much sweeter, but still has a pretty good twang to it!  Folks like it too!

All the while I was reading and watching Pit Masters at their craft.  I carefully researched and made my Pit selection, which was Traeger Pellet stoves.  I chose them for a number of reasons that I have articulated in a previous blog entitled “Why Pellets?”, but in brief I thought the combination of constant temperature control and consistent smoke mixes couldn’t be beat.  A few of the Grand Champions of several Nationally prominent BBQ Competitions seemed to agree!  Once the Pits were in place, I turned to the products!  It is, in my humble opinion, VERY important to start with quality meats.  To them I would add my Secret Rub…even though I knew that there were lots of folks using commercially packaged Rubs with great success, it needed to be the way I remembered those great “Q” experiences of my youth…so I worked on it until I got it right.  A bit of Rub ans some oil to work it into the meat and just enough rest for those flavors to penetrate the meat.  Then onto the Pit to cook…the learning curve was pretty steep, but the reward was worth it!

We are proud of our “Q” and it’s taste, texture and smell.  We cook all of our meats at VERY low temperatures ranging from 190-240 degrees for as long as it takes for them to be done.  There’s no absolutes in “Q”..every cut of meat is a bit different.  Depending on the meat, it can be on the smoker from 6 to 24 hours or more.  While it’s smoking, it gets just enough attention with a wet mop to build a tasty crust (or ‘Bark’ in “Q-speak”) and when it’s done on the smoke it gets to rest as long as it needs to in order for all those flavors to reach their peak!  Our “Q” ain’t braised in the oven and smothered with sauce so you won’t notice…no, it’s got a nice healthy smoke ring and a truly Great flavor that stands up just fine without ANY sauce at all!  In fact, I always recommend going easy on the sauce, so folks can taste the meat!

To round it all out, we added Sides, Desserts and Appetizers that are all made to order and chosen specifically to compliment the “Q” and there you have it, the abbreviated story of GreatQ4U!  We are happy to provide information, help develop special menus and give you estimates in writing so you’ve got it right there in front of you!  On top of all that, I personally gaurantee that you’ll love our “Q”!  It’s BBQ season here and the phone’s ringing A LOT…so if you’re thinking about having an event of any kind and want to add the special touch of hand crafted BBQ to the party…call SOON!  We’ve even tossed in an extra bonus of 5% off the total tab for any event booked by March 31st! 

Give us a call and see how we can help! – jak

5% OFF Any Event Booked By March 31st

Yes…BBQ Season is FAST approaching and our calendar is filling up into 2010 already!  We’ve got plenty of space this year and the “Q” will be better than ever.  To help get everyone’s Spring and Summer BBQ plans set, we are offering to knock 5% OFF the total tab of ANY sized event booked by March 31st.  It’s a great deal on GreatQ4U! 

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the web site recently, visit us at GreatQ4U.com and download our new brochure with our newly expanded menu to check out all the ways we’re working to help you enjoy the Q!  We’ve built a Value Options menu that gives you 2 complete BBQ Menus for just $9.95 per person!  We’ve also added a Green Options menu to provide the option of choosing organic, sustainable and locally grown products for folks who are so inclined.  Our Signature Appetizers provided us some tasty homework over these cold Winter months and will definately add to your event!  Finally, we’ve given you the option of adding Pulling, Carving or Rib Stations to your party for an extra measure of personal attention.

SO…book your party, save some greenbacks and enjoy some GreatQ! this year!