Leslie came up with the idea for Grill Charms at a dinner party she was hosting when her husband served her an extra hot Jamaican Jerk piece of chicken instead of the mild one she had requested – he had forgotten which piece was which on the grill.  Since this event goal has been to “insure every American gets what they want – how they want it – hot off the grill.”

How do you use Grill Charms?  Grill Charms can be used prior to grilling by placing the charm in the meat or vegetable to indicate temperature, level of food seasoning and spice or to address health or allergy concerns.  Leslie likes to say that, “Your food is personalized before, during and after it’s cooked.”

Grilling season is just around the corner – make sure you check out Grill Charms.  Pork Barrel BBQ and Grill Charms are a perfect combination for any great BBQ!!!  Check out Leslie’s appearance on Shark Tank!

Here Part II on our series of the most important BBQ tools:

Rib Rack – We love to cook ribs – they are easy to cook, and with a little bit of Pork Barrel BBQ’s All American Spice Rub – they are guaranteed to be a big success at the party. A major part of grilling or cooking is space management. We’ve talked about a lot of important tools on this blog – if you bbq a lot, epecially bbq ribs on your bbq smoker or grill – a rib rack is a key tool of the trade. Read more.

Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker – We have a number of events and BBQ competitions coming up this summer and needed to increase our capacity to cook a lot of great BBQ!  What is really amazing about the Smokey Mountain Cooker (we got two of the 22.5 inch models) is that it can hold 12 slabs of ribs, 4-8 pork shoulders, 3-6 briskets, and even 4 turkeys!  Read more.  And even more here.

Charcoal Chimney –  Besides your BBQ grill, the single most important BBQ tool you need to be a successful pit-master is a charcoal chimney!  What’s a charcoal chimney you ask?  A charcoal chimney lets you quickly light your charcoal without having to use any lighter fluid.  Ensuring from the start that your BBQ food won’t taste like lighter fluid is a good thing!  Read more.

Meat Thermometer – Many of the best BBQ Pit Masters can tell when the meat on their smoker is done just by sight and touch.  For those of us that don’t have BBQ ESP we have to rely on a meat thermometer.  When cooking a pork shoulder, brisket or chicken a meat thermometer is an essential tool for the BBQ backyard griller.  Read more.

Hardwood Lump Charcoal – Lump charcoal is the end product of the process of burning chunks of hardwood in the absence of oxygen. It is almost like your sticking a piece of oak or hickory in the grill so it is the most natural and pure form of charcoal you can buy. We think lump charcoal gives BBQ a much better flavor than BBQ briquettes and it lights easy, burns hotter, and produces far less ash than briquettes.  Read more.

We’re pretty crazy about Pork at Pork Barrel BBQ and we thought it might be interesting to give you a quick run down on some of the breeds of heritage pork that is available today.

Berkshire – The most popular breed of heritage pork is the Berkshire from England. The Berkshire is known for its sweet and well marbled flesh.

Duroc – A local favorite in the eastern United States, the Duroc provides juicy and full flavored meat.

Ossabaw – The Ossabaw is a feral bread of hog that comes from Ossabaw Island, Georgia. The bonus with this hog, whose meat is a bit gamy in flavor, is that it is packed with monounsaturated fat.

Red Wattle – The Red Wattle is a rare pig that comes from the South Pacific island of New Caledonia. This hog has a good meat to fat ratio that makes it great for curred meats and salumi (and who doesn’t like good salumi?).

Tamworth – The Tamworth, another heritage breed from England, is also great for curred meats and sausages. Maybe most importantly, this breed is said to make the best bacon of any hog variety.

You probably won’t find these variates in your local grocery store or butcher shops, but thanks to the Internet you can order them online.  In Washington, DC be sure to visit our friends at Wagshals – they sale Ibirico Pork  (the only place in the United States to do so).

  

After our first use of the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker I must say that the smoker lived up to the reviews – she worked like a charm. We can’t wait to get our two Smokey Mountain Cooker’s out on the Competitive BBQ circuit this year!

We’ll keep you posted on all of her stories as she produces some of the best BBQ you’ll ever have.Don’t forget to visit us on the web at www.porkbarrelbbq.com!!

Pork Barrel BBQ recently acquired two Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smokers. Over the Memorial Day Weekend I put one together and tried it out for the first time.  The following post hits on the highlights of assembling the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker.

The Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker comes in a large box and is relatively easy to assemble. It took me about 25 minutes to go from an unopened box to a smoker that was ready for cooking.

The first step in the assembly of the smoker is to attach the three legs to the heat shield that goes under the smoker – this is a heat shield and not an ash catch.

Next you attach the bottom of the smoker to the three legs and heat shield.

After you’ve installed the legs to the bottom of the smoker install the charcoal grate and ring.

 Next put the body of the smoker onto the base of the smoker.

Next put the first of the two grill grates into the smoker.

The final step is putting the second grill grate into the smoker.

Place the lid onto the smoker and you have a finished product!

 

The Finished Product with its protective cover!

We have heard nothing but great things about the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker and can’t wait to try ours out. Check back soon for a post on how the maiden smoking with our new grills went.

We are always on the look out for interesting BBQ gadgets, dry rubs, bbq sauces, grills and smokers. A loyal supporter of Pork Barrel BBQ sent us this picture from a hardware store in Midland, TX of a pig grill (and in the background you can see a bull grill).  We have to admit that this has been placed on the Pork Barrel BBQ wish list, but we aren’t quite prepared to drop the $1,599.00 necessary to put this beauty in your backyard.

If you find any interesting BBQ gadgets, dry rubs, bbq sauces, grills, smokers or anything else related to barbecue that you think would make a good post on this site email us the details at porkbarrelbbq@gmail.com.

Best BBQ Joints in America

• Bodean’s in London – Next time you’re in London and you’re craving a little bit of home why not drop into one of Bodean’s locations in Soho, Tower Hill, Clapham, Fulham, or Westbourne Grove?  Read Our Review

• Brett’s Secret Pulled Pork Recipe
• Grilled Shrimp and Scallops with Mixed Vegetables
• Hamburger Soup Recipe
• Sawyer’s Chicken Wings

• Capital Cooking - hosted by our good friend Lauren DeSantis.  Read Our Post

• Lets Meat on the Avenue – (Alexandria, VA)  Read Our Post
• The Organic Butcher of mcclean – (McClean, VA) Read Our Post

• All BBQ Sauce Site - http://twitter.com/allbbqsauce
• BBQ Guide - http://twitter.com/BBQGuide
•  Bucky’s Barbecue and Bread Blog - http://twitter.com/cmcadams
•  Indy Smokehouse BBQ Blog - http://twitter.com/isbbq
• Fast Eddies Steak Seasoning Site – http://twitter.com/steakseasoning
• No Excuses BBQ Site - http://twitter.com/noexcusesbbq

The Tools of the BBQ Trade

• Char-Broil – They make great gas and charcoal grills and smokers. They even have a turkey fryer that uses zero oil!
• Char-Broil Owners Blog – a great resource for anyone who loves grilling.
• Char-Griller – A great, cheap grill and smoker that produces amazing BBQ!  Read Our Posting
• Weber Kettle Grill – The classic – you will never go wrong grilling, smoking or BBQing on this amazing grill!  Read Our Posting
• Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker – Want to smoke your meat and poultry for 18 hours? Look no further – this thing makes great competition level barbecue!  Read our Posting
• Virtual Weber Bullet Site – The ultimate resource for your WSMC!

• Chimney Smoker – An essential tool – your coals are ready in 15 minutes, and you never have to use lighter fluid!
• Hardwood Lump Charcoal – The best way to cook – burns hot and true, and contains no additives to ruin the taste of your barbeque or spice rub.
• Meat Thermometer – The only way to know that its done and safe – nothing is worse than undercooked BBQ!

• The Salt Lick – BBQ joint outside Austin, Texas – if we ever get to Austin, this one looks like it will make it on our Best BBQ Joints in America list.