Recession, Schmecession….let’s EXPAND!!!

Well at least those are the plans!  As I have hinted many times before and even given small details, I thought I’d blog about what we plan to do over what used to be the ’slower’ Winter months this year.  We are quite grateful for all the customers that we have and for the many new fans of Hoover’s Southern Fusion sauce!  Here’s to the Vinegar lovers out there….not that we don’t like you ‘thick & sweet’ sauce folks, we’re just a bit different that way!  To be honest, we are butting up against full capacity and something’s gotta’ be done to allow us to accomodate growth!  NOW, I say that knowing that too much of a good thing can often turn it bad and as a guy who is committed to first and foremost producing high quality, wood smoked meats and home made sides.  That said, we’ve got to do something and for that I’ve got a plan!

We are fortunate enough to have some great friends at Blue Mountain Outfitters (www.bluemountainoutfitters.net) in Marysville and Doug’s willing to let us have a temporary presence there during peak months to help fill the bellies of hungry paddlers and passerbys alike.  SO, I have been working for months now to design a Concession trailer that also houses a Commercial Catering Kitchen.  This would allow us to accomplish many different things; first of all it will help meet our goals for rational expansion, secondly it will give us greatly enhanced abilities to provide complete off-site options to our service lines, thirdly (if that’s a word) it will allow us to provide an expanded menu and it will also allow folks to have GreatQ on demand by simply walking up to our windows!

All that said, we still have a few hurdles to overcome.  Choosing the right rig is imperative to this working out right…I’ve got it narrowed down to a few builders, but am not yet ready to pull the trigger, so-to-speak!  Also, as you might imagine, financing in this economy is challenging to say the least.  In fact, we are exploring a number of options, including offering up a piece of the action to customers or investors looking for an alternative to traditional investments with a higher return than just about anything out there.  Again not procrastination, but deliberative contemplation.  (See, I can use big words!)  Finally and most importantly, we’ve got to do this without sacrificing the “Q” since that IS the reason for all of this insanity!  We started out with a goal to make authentic, real-deal BBQ and I intend to keep it that way!

So, for now we move along down the path of steady growth and expansion with a bit of trepidation and lots of good friends to support us.  As if that isn’t enough, I am actively seeking a packer to bottle up a good sized run of Hoover’s sauce for all you fans out there, but same deal…not willing to sacrifice quality for quantity, not now, not ever!  Anyone with any ideas, please feel free to toss them my way!  I’m always appreciative of assistance.  I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween, look out for all those Ghosts and Goblins while you’re driving around at night! – jak

GreatQ4U! BBQ Catering in Central Pennsylvania

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New Menu Items…what do you think?

We are neck deep in re-working the menu for next year to include some customer requests and accomodate for our new kitchen facilities and are looking to bounce a few menu items off some folks to see what they think…I suppose we’ll do this a few times to see what folks think about additions to the menu.  SO, here are a few for you:

• Pulled Pork Chili with Pinto Beans and Black Eyed Peas
• Fresh Hush Puppies
• Garden Fresh Salads and Fresh Fruit Trays
• BBQ Spaghetti

WELL..that oughta’ get you thinking!  I would personally welcome any feedback, thoughts, suggestions, personal experiences, etc. that you might have about these items!  Just cause they’re here doesn’t mean that they’ll wind up on our menu, but they are concepts that have made it past the smoker so-to-speak!

Thanks in advance for your input!

Sad Day…Happy Memories…

On His Throne!

…it is with a great deal of sadness that I am typing these words to announce the passing of our Bloodhound “Hoover”.  His face addorns every bottle of our Signature BBQ sauce and was ever present in the kitchen during the 5 years or so of R&D that went into creating his namesake sauce!  He was not just a good dog, but a great dog!  We were fortunate to have him in our lives and thankful that we had a chance to be such a big part of his!  While many folks know the pain of having to say goodbye…it is never an easy task!

Alas, Hoover will live on…his “Southern Fusion Style BBQ Sauce” will remain his and his photo on every bollte we produce!  His presence in the kitchen during all those menu trials and tribulations will be sorely missed, but his influence and inspiration will always be a part of our philosophy!  Be Good, Take It Easy and Enjoy the moments you have!

BBQ Thoughts for the day…

So, here it is on Friday morning and yet another weekend approaches!  As usual a busy one which includes quite a few miles of travelling and not nearly enough time for rest, but alas I am not complaining.  Instead I am typing a few words here following a long overdue update to the website.  Since I took the time to type the invitation for followers of my website news updates to come here, I thought that the least I could do was to type a current post!

OK, so here’s where it gets valid:  I’ve been giving a great deal of consideration to purchasing a pretty big commercial kitchen (concession style) trailer that would both serve as a fully functional mobile support unit for our catering business AND as a physical location (somewhere in the Greater Harrisburg metroplex) for folks to stop by and enjoy some Great BBQ and perhaps some things that we don’t currently offer like, say: really good hush puppies…cheesy grits….hand cut fries….you get the picture.  My question for you is this; do you think that there is a market for Authentically Wood Smoked BBQ and sides at a walk up location on the West Shore?  I mean, I know that there are some folks doing it now, but there’s simply no pulled pork around done the way we do ours! 

OK, so that’s my interactive question of the day, now I’d be interested in your responses!  Thanks – jak

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

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

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!

Gotta’ Question? Give us a call!

I just got off the phone a short while ago with a fella’ who was calling from Kansas City (yep, KC) just to ask about our Traeger Com-200.  Seems he’s thinkin’ of getting one and couldn’t find any locals who have discovered the virtues of Traegers, he saw on our site that we use one and took a chance.  Good thing he did…we spent a while on the phone talking about my love of Traegers and our experience with the “Big Boy” (Com-200) to date.  I hope that he felt that his time chatting was well spent…he did say that it helped, but more importantly it brings to mind a point about BBQ.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…there’s a LOT more to BBQ than just the food!  Great “Q” belongs to a very small group of foods that are more than simply calories, fat & fiber…they are iconic.  Folks have built lifestyles around BBQ for centuries and with all of the attention that it’s been getting on Food TV these days, it’s only getting bigger.  BBQ is about the folks who make it, the folks who enjoy it and the great times that are usually had while it’s being consumed.  I am always happy to talk to fellow caterers, pit masters and BBQ enthusiasts about my love of “Q” and my experiences to date.  Heck, I may not share EVERY secret, but catch me on a good day and I’ll tell most of what I know!

SO, even as the busy season fast approaches…and it’s going to be a BUSY season…I offer again; if you’ve got a question about how or why we do something or if you just want to chew the (pork) fat a bit about “Q”, give me a call and I’ll be happy to chat.  Our office # is 717-254-1937 or my e-mail is; jim@GreatQ4U.com – stay tuned for more info about the upcoming Stealth Whole Hog party to be held at an undisclosed location in March!!! – jak

PS: O’h yeah, to our friends at Traeger…we’re still saying really nice things about your smokers, even though you haven’t called us about distribution in the Harrisburg area!!!

Calling all bloggers…

…GreatQ4U! is looking to add some more ‘interactivity’ to our FaceBook page. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/GreatQ4U-BBQ-Catering-in-Central-Pennsylvania/30070237853) 

To that end, we are asking all visitors, friends and generally all BBQ aficionados to stpo by the page and get involved!  Post a photo of some BBQ memory or join the Discussion on our board and tell us where your Most Memorable BBQ experience was?  Let us know what you love about Q and why those memories are so special.  Our reason for asking this favor is twofold; first of all, we want the FaceBook page to be interactive and not simply an online ad or bulletin board.  Second, we know that there is more than the meat that makes BBQ such a Great meal!  We know that the people, places, parties and overall experience are what makes most BBQ memories so special.  SO, we would love to have you stop by and contribute to our BBQ experience!

Thanks in advance!  Here’s the link again: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GreatQ4U-BBQ-Catering-in-Central-Pennsylvania/30070237853