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Heath and Brett
Pork Barrel BBQ was founded in December 2008 at the peak of the economic crisis and thanks to the loyal support of our customers we’ve been able to grab a piece of the American Dream. We are offering the Pork Barrel BBQ Guide to Tailgating free of charge during these economically difficult days as a way of saying “Thank You” for helping us go from a company selling sauce out of our houses and online at http://www.PorkBarrelBBQ.com to one that now sells our BBQ Sauces and Spice Rub in over 1,000 stores in 38 states.
Click the image below to download your free copy of the Guide to Tailgating and you’ll be grilling like a pro in no time! Want to be on the list for more free recipes and BBQ tips? Click here to join our mailing list.
Pork Barrel BBQ was honored to participate today at the Alexandria Carpenter’s Shelter 8th Annual Cook-Off. To learn more about the Carpenter’s Shelter – visit the Carpenter’s Shelter website at http://www.carpentersshelter.org/ – here’s some info from the Carpenter’s Shelter site:
Carpenter’s Shelter is a proactive partner with the City of Alexandria and the greater Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area working to eliminate homelessness through respect, responsibility and results. We are a nexus, a meeting place, a center of learning where people unite interactively to end homelessness. Through Carpenter’s many programs, we act as a catalyst for positive change in peoples’ lives. Using a holistic approach to homelessness, we advocate self-reliance through education and provide programs and services as needed.
And here are some fun photos from the Carpenter’s Shelter 8th Annual Cook-Off:
Good Luck Pork Barrel BBQ Pig
Brett, Susan and Sawyer hanging out at Cook-Off
Del Merei Grille - Peoples Choice WINNER!
Brett in Wonderland with folks from Tempo Restaurant
Here is some video from Carpenter’s Shelter 8th Annual Cook-off:
Carpenter’s Shelter Vision
A community where all live safely and affordably.
To end homelessness through services, education and advocacy.
Our doors have been open since 1988 – a long time. But today we are still working tirelessly to overcome homelessness among children, families, and adults. Our job ends when homelessness ends, when all people can become contributing members of their community.
When you go home at night, do you think, “Everyone deserves to live in safe, affordable housing”?
We know in our hearts this is true. We teach positive ways of living to clients aimed at preventing repeated episodes of homelessness. Our services provide six interrelated programs, which form a continuum of care all the way through to Aftercare, for those who reach independent living in the community.
Only with your help are we able to do what we do every day – improve people’s lives. Carpenter’s Shelter is a nexus where volunteers, donors, and corporate sponsors come together to end homelessness together. People of all walks of life, in addition to other nonprofits, businesses and congregations are essential to our mission, and form our Strategic Alliances.
With your help, we envision an environment for people we serve, where:
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.
The great thing about BBQ and grilling is that you don’t need too many BBQ tools to be successful. If you have a BBQ grill and a fuel source you pretty much have all you need to take a few ingredients and turn them into a delicious meal. Here’s Part I of a collection of some of our favorite posts on the essential tools of BBQ – think of it as a list of the Top BBQ Tools!
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.
Ah, pulled pork – how I do love thee pulled pork? Let me count the delicious ways. We have a lot of folks ask us via email, twitter, or at food shows how to smoke pulled pork. We almost always make the following pulled pork BBQ recipe – its simple, and turns out perfect BBQ’d pulled pork every time! We are big Kansas City BBQ fans, but this pulled pork recipe should make folks from all BBQ regions happy!
We researched the origins of pulled pork – some folks say pulled pork originates from Mexico – known as Carnitas. Of course, don’t even get Americans started in which region pulled pork was created – Memphis pulled pork, Alabama pulled pork, Kansas City pulled pork – it quickly sounds like a scene from Forrest Gump. Whatever the origins of pulled pork – we love it and here is our recipe:
Easy Smoked Pork Shoulder / Pulled Pork Recipe
1 – 7 pound pork shoulder (also known as Boston Butt – bone in or boneless work great)
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4-6 tablespoons Pork Barrel BBQ’s All American Spice Rub
6 cans of beer
1 aluminum drip pan
5 chunks of hickory wood
3 chunks of oak wood
1 Bag of Lump Hardwood Charcoal
Get your smoker’s temperature up to 225-250 degrees. When lighting your charcoal, be sure to only use hardwood lump charcoal and always start with a charcoal chimney starter. If you are using a BBQ grill, you can still smoke! Just place the charcoal in a pile on one side of the grill, and place the meat on the other side.
There are several keys to making great pulled pork. While the smoker gets to temperature rub 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the first side of your pork shoulder and then rub 2-3 tablespoons of Pork Barrel BBQ’s All American Spice Rub into the meat. Repeat on opposite side. Allow meat to rest with rub on it for at least 30 minutes (this can be done ahead of time and placed in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours). Be patient – amazing pulled pork is only a day away!
Place your drip pan into the smoker directly under where the pork shoulder will be sitting and pour the beer into it. If using a grill, simply put your beer into a disposable aluminum pan and place under your pork shoulder. Since we are both from Missouri, we like grilling with (and drink!) Bud Light (but we sometimes use PBR)! We like to have Bud Light around when we actually eat our Pulled Pork – Pulled Pork and Bud Light – a great combo.
Place the wood chunks onto the hot coals in your smoker and then place the grill grate in the smoker. Place your meat directly above the drip pan and close your smoker. If cooking in a smoker, I place the wood into the coals, but if I’m cooking on a BBQ grill, I soak the wood for 30 minutes to allow it to have a longer smoke (you can’t go wrong either way!). Making sure your pulled pork has great smoke is a key to great taste – whether your pulled pork is just for cooking in your backyard, or are entering the pulled pork in competition.
Make sure the temperature remains in the 225-250 degree range throughout the smoking process. Every couple of hours make sure you have enough fuel on your fire to maintain the desired BBQ smoker temperature. A pork shoulder should remain in the smoker for 11-13 hours – and will yield amazing pulled pork. Here’s what it looks like when you put it on the grill:
In August of last year we announced that we had teamed with “Mango” Mike Anderson and Bill Blackburn, two of the area’s top restaurateurs, to bring the first Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant to the Del Ray neighborhood in Alexandria, Virginia. After a slow start on the restaurants construction that has been further hampered by all of the snow, we are pleased to announce that the future home of the first Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant is starting to look like a building.
Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant Taking Shape!
The first Pork Barrel BBQ Restaurant will be located in the heart of Del Ray on the corner of Mount Vernon Ave. and Oxford St. near The Dairy Godmother and Let’s Meat on the Avenue (where you can buy Pork Barrel BBQ Sauces and Rubs).
We are looking forward to a late spring/early summer opening and can’t wait to welcome you through our doors in the near future. In the meantime be sure to stop by Mango Mike’s for a great meal and let us know if we can meet any of your catering needs!!
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