Turkey Cheesy Balls

We've been talking about redoing the Cheesy Balls Spaghetti for weeks, and finally decided to do so. However, this time with a little twist, instead of Ground Chicken we used Ground Turkey. 

In the original cook I didn't provide the recipe, so if you'd like to recreate either of these cooks on your own ... here you go.

The prep and cook was the same, so I didn't think I'd need to take photos of the whole process again. However, I did take finished pictures.

Just like the Chicken balls, these were so good, and NO I did not eat all 4 of those bad boys. Actually, most of this plate was left and kept for lunch. 

Stuck and Rubbed Grilled Chicken

Grilled Chicken is a staple at our house. We'll pick up packs like this when they're on sale, cook 2, then split the rest up into twos and add a marinade and throw them in the freezer. Heck, there was a time I had to put Dawn on chicken restrictions and wouldn't allow her to buy anymore till we went through some of our stash.

We normally do the marinade, and let that be, but wanted to switch it up a little bit. It was Friday night, let's get crazy. 

Injected two breasts with the Stubb's Chipotle Butter injection and then rubbed them down with Simply Marvelous Sweet & Spicy Rub.

Dawn wanted zucchini chips, and since this is one of the FEW ways I'll eat zucchini ... I said sure. She also brought us home a fresh pineapple, so that was going on the grill with the chicken. 

It looks a little darker than usual, but that's just the rub ... it's not burnt. 

And if you're wondering about all of the moisture on the plate. When I covered it with foil to rest, it did that. 

The Chipotle Butter injection gave the chicken an almost, silky feel, and the Sweet & Spicy Rub gave it a little kick. The zucchini chips and pineapple were just amazing. Since the weather was set to be in the 70s for the whole weekend, a Summer Ale had to go with dinner. If for nothing else, a soft cry for warmer weather. 

Sam Adams Spring Thaw Variety Pack

In the last 2-3 years I've really started to branch out a bit with my beers. Before, I was mostly a Bud Light kind of guy, and although I still prefer a Bud Light on most days, I've become a big Sam Adams fan. 

Probably my all-time favorite is the Sam Adams Summer Ale with Winter Lager being a very close second. I was checking out another persons entry to a Throwdown last week and noticed he had a picture of a Sam Adams Maple Pecan Porter (yes, that does sound AMAZING), so the search began. This weekend we went to Total Wine, and when I thought all hope was gone, I spotted this variety pack with it. 

Out of the entire pack, I had only tried the original Boston Lager, so each would end up being new to me. 

Now, I'll be the first to admit, I am far from a beer connoisseur. To me, a beer is either good, bad, or "it's ight". I mean, I still really have no clue what the difference between Lager, Ale, IPA, IPL, Red, Porter, or any other type of beer is. I just know good, bad, or ight. 

I'm THAT GUY that the bartender comes up to after I say "I'll try (insert beer)" and says "It's very hoppy isn't it?" and I say "Yeah, it's got a lot of ... flavor." To which he then responds "Oh, it's a very flavorful beer."    What does that even mean? I sure as heck don't know, it just sounded good. 

So, to say the least, I'm not guru when it comes to beers. With all of that said, I've really enjoyed every single one of these. The Irish Red and Double Agent are a little heavier than I usually prefer, but are not bad by a long shot. White Lantern is a beer that I could see myself picking up a 6 pack of. The Alpine Spring is my favorite out of the pack. 

Now, to the point of me buying the pack in the first place, the Maple Pecan Porter. This beer is delicious. It's like you're having a handful of pecans covered is maple syrup mmm mmm mmmmmmm. As you would think, it is a little heavier though, so it'd be tough to have multiples, but for a happy hour or a drink or two ... amazing. Now I can only hope they'll sell the 6 pack around here. 

Tools Of The Trade: Simply Marvelous Rubs

If you've ever cooked the first anything from cardboard pizza to a hamburger to a steak to the fanciest of the fancies, you know everything needs the proper seasoning/rub to help enhance the flavor.

When it comes to BBQ rubs, everybody has (says they have) the best. Rubs are just like BBQ in general, as long as it comes out good, and you like it, you did it right. As long as the meat comes out and taste good ... the rubs good. There's really no such thing as a bad rub.

You can ask my fiancee, I've bought and sampled my fair share number of rubs in the past few years, so I feel like I have a good idea of what's really good and what's an OK rub. 

If you're a BBQ noob, I would recommend purchasing a few rubs that are really good to start with. When I first started (and it still happens now) I didn't always make amazing food. Sometimes a rack of ribs or a butt will need to cook longer than the same exact one you cooked last time and you'll be lazy and not check it like you should and it'll be tough. If you use a good rub, the leather you have for dinner will at least have a great flavor to it as you chew on it for 5 minutes.

Simply Marvelous has a line of rubs that are all very good rubs. There full line of rubs include Sweet & Spicy, Season All, Pecan Rub, Cherry Rub, Spicy Apple, Peppered Cow, and Sweet Seduction. 

I've tried the Pecan, Cherry, Sweet & Spicy, and Sweet Seduction, and I can tell you ... every one is amazing. 

Out of the 4 I've tried, Sweet Seduction is probably my favorite with the Pecan coming in a close second (I love all things Pecan so I'm biased). When I've done my rub give-a-ways so far, I've given a sample of the Sweet Seduction to the winners. 

The Cherry and Sweet & Spicy are good as well, but I just haven't used them as much as the other two. 

You don't have to cook BBQ to try rubs. A lot of rubs are good for pork, chicken, and beef or good for two out of the three, so you can try them on different meats to see what the flavor gives to each animal/cut. 

Simply Marvelous has switched up their site, and apparently doesn't sell direct anymore. If you'd like to pick up a bottle or 7 for yourself, you can do so by clicking here.

Grilled Piggy Tenderloin

We haven't had Pork Tenderloin in a while, and the last time I grilled one it was amazing, so I suggested that for dinner the other night. 

This is a very simple and quick dish to make for a knockout dinner.

For the full recipe click here.

Mix the garlic, pepper, salt, balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a bowl and then put a good layer over the tenderloin. Now, you could probably put it in a sealed bag and let it marinate for an hour or two before you decide to cook it. It has a decent amount of salt in the mix, so I wouldn't recommend sitting it for an extended period of time. 

I had the grill between 400-425 for most of the cook. It jumped up to 450 for a period of time, but that was ok, because I ended up running out of gas and that extra heat helped continue to cook it.

I had just enough heat to get it up to 160 internal temperature and pulled it off. 

Dawn made some of her amazing mashed potatoes to go with the pork.

This pork was juicy as could be, heck, it was still juicy for lunch 3 days later. Get a scoop of potatoes and piece of pork ... mmmmm perfect bite. 

BBQ Competitions Near You

If you've never been to one, BBQ competitions are a blast. Well, maybe I should say, they're a blast if that's your kind of thing. If you enjoy being outside with music, friends, beer, checking out peoples rigs and pits, and the smell of delicious food ... then you'd have a great time at a BBQ comp. If you enjoy winter sports and cave diving ... maybe BBQ comps aren't your thing ...

The catch, however, is that not all comps are the same. Most will have live music, contests, vendors with free samples, and some even have a variation of the "fans favorite". Fans favorite is what it sounds like, it's what the fans pick as their favorite. You, as a fan, can register with the event people and become a fan judge. You go around to the teams that participate and sample and grade. Some events have gone away from this, because the health departments claim people participating in a cooking championship may or may not know how to cook, and they don't want them to serve the fans raw food. Other comps may only have the comp itself, and nothing more. 

I've taken the time to go through and make a list of the areas BBQ Comps this year ... mostly, so I can see which I can attend, but also so you can as well if you'd like to.

Here's a list of BBQ competitions in South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina.

March

22-23 – Hub City Hog Fest – Spartanburg, SC

29-30 – Horsin & Hoggin BBQ Cookoff – Aiken, SC

April

5-6 – Pickens Pig Pickin’ – Easley, SC

Big Brothers & Big Sisters BBQ Festival – Florence, SC
Smoking on the River - Summerville, GA

Grande Creek Pig Jam – Swainsboro, GA

Newport 35^th Annual Pig Cookin’ Contest – Newport, NC

12-13 – Smokin Pork N Butts – Jackson, GA

19-20 – Hejaz Shriners Cook-off – Mauldin, SC

Come See Me BBQ Cook Off – Rock Hill, SC

The South Carolina – Georgia Border Cook-off – Hardeeville, SC
Pork in the Park - Newberry, SC (The one I'll be helping)

Cornelia Apple Blossom BBQ Festival – Cornelia, GA

17^th Annual Firehouse BBQ Cookoff – Kings Mountain, NC

26-27 – Project Host Annual BBQ Cook-off – Greenville, SC

Old Friends Barbeque Cookoff – Bamber, SC

Char-Broil Pig Bowl – Columbus, GA

BBQ Capital Cookoff – Lexington, NC

May

3-4 – Hog on the Hill – Chester, SC
Picking and Pigging in the Park - Irmo, SC

10-11 – Boss Hog Cook-Off – Waynesboro, GA

Smoke on the Lake – Acworth, GA

Jiggy With The Piggy BBQ Challenge – Kannapolis, NC

^7th Annual Hogfest in Historic Edenton – Edenton, NC

11 – Beer Bourbon & BBQ Festival – Charlotte, NC

17-18 Pig in the Park – Williamston, SC

Hawgin’ on Lanier – Gainesville, GA

 NCBS PIEDMONT BBQ BOOT CAMP & JUDGES SCHOOL – Clemmons, NC

June

7-8 – High on the Hog – Beaufort, SC

6-7-8-9 – 9^th Annual Texas Pete Ribfest – Winston-Salem, NC

14-15 – Hog Jam – Blairsville, GA

Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival – Tryon, NC (BBQ Pitmasters Season 5 filming)

July

6 – The 48^th Annual Roasting of the Pig – Beech Mountain, NC

12-13 – The SC Peach Festival – Gaffney, SC

The Pig N Swig – Newnan, GA

Carolina Mountain Ribfest – Fletcher, NC

13 – SCBA JUDGING SEMINAR – Columbia, SC

19-20 - NCBS MOUNTAIN BBQ BOOT CAMP & JUDGES SCHOOL – Sugar Mountain, NC

August

2-3 Beer Bourbon & BBQ Festival – Cary, NC

9-10 Mountain High BBQ and Music Festival – Franklin, NC

16-17 – Classic City BBQ Festival – Athens, GA

23-24 – Sooie Relief Benefit Fest - Greer, SC
Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival – Kennesaw, GA

September

19-20 Tilley Harley-Davidson Biker Blues & BBQ Rally – Salisbury, NC

20 – Smoke on the Water – Columbia, SC

October

11-12 Eastern Carolina BBQ Throw Down – Rocky Mount, NC

18-19 – Swine and Dandy Charity Cook-Off – Duluth, GA

Time Warner Cable BBQ & Blues – Charlotte, NC

10^th Annual Vander Pig Cook-Off – Fayetteville, NC

24 – 84^th Annual Mallard Creek BBQ – Charlotte, NC

26 – 30^th Annual Lexington Barbecue Festival – Lexington, NC

November

1-2 – Big Pig Jig – Vienna, GA

Pig on the Ridge – Ridgeway, SC

2 – Hog Happenin’ – Shelby, NC

15-16 – St. Nicholas Winterfest “Best Q in Conway” – Conway, SC

The National BBQ Cup – Cumming, GA

"1st Annual Hub City Hog Fest" - Spartanburg, SC

This past weekend was the 1st BBQ competition in Spartanburg. I have a buddy that competed along with a coworker of my brother in laws, so we decided to go check it out, and say hey to some folks. 

For a first time competition they had a pretty good turn out. There was about 30-40 teams and a decent little crowd with the live music they had going on. There were a few things they could have improved on, but hey, it's their first time. 

We got there and met up with Jamie and Brandon of Berry Patch BBQ. This is the team I'll be helping with in April, so I walked around the site with Jamie and talked about how they have their set up and all, while Dawn and Brandon sat in the warmth of the trailer watching Death Race 3. 

After we hung out there for a little while, I wanted to tour the event and see if I recognized anyone and meet my bil's coworker. We got over to Big Red's Barbecue and met up with Josh, who's an awesome guy, and spoke with him for a solid 15-20 minutes. Just remember those two names, because he might be becoming a big shot soon. You heard it here first ... 

As I mentioned, I'll be helping Berry Patch in April, but Josh also extended an invitation to help him out with Big Red's, so I might be doing a few other competitions this season ... after the wedding. 

I was hoping to get back out there on Saturday, if for nothing else, to see the awards banquet, but we had a few errands to run before our wedding shower that night. 

While we were out I checked Facebook and found out that Jame and Brandon not only won 1st place in Ribs, but they won their first ever Grand Championship. 

Congrats to Berry Patch BBQ!!!!!

To follow these two teams, like their Facebook pages at Big Reds Barbecue and Berry Patch BBQ.