Articles on Patio Daddio BBQ

Pork Ain't Pork!

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 22:37:00 +0000

If you've been hanging out in barbecue and grilling circles for long, especially competition barbecue, you've probably heard the sage advice to “become friends with your local butcher”. Well, I'd like to expand that axiom to “become friends with the butcher at a local meat market”.

The picture above shows the vast difference between grocery store pork and that from a local meat market that features meat from locally-raised animals. The chop on the left is from a local national chain store. The one on the right is from a local old-fashioned meat market. Let's examine the differences.

Competition BBQ 101: Tips For Success

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:01:00 +0000

So far in this series I've covered the gear and the general flow of a competition. In this installment I'll give you my tips for a successful competition. These are the fundamentals that I've learned along the way.

For the past few weeks I've been mentoring a buddy of mine who will be competing for the first time next weekend. My advising him has renewed these basics in my mind, so I thought I'd capture them and pass them along.

How To: Recipe Adaptation

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 04:34:00 +0000

Just after I posted my Sweet, Tangy & Crunchy Slaw recipe I had an epiphany. I was outside thinking about the ingredients and flavors of the slaw dressing when an idea struck me like a bolt of lightning. I thought to myself, “Self, this could be the base of many barbecue recipes!”

What follows is the extrapolation of that thought.

My epiphany was wondering how many barbecue derivations I could make using the slaw dressing as the base. At first the goal was to only change three of the ten ingredients, but that became unworkable. I then expanded the rule to allow only four changes. I had initially set the goal at ten other sauces and/or dressings, but in the end I was able to dig up twelve.

Hot & Fast Kosmo Pork Butts

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:29:00 +0000

The other day I did a test butt cook with Kosmo's pork injection. I , so I was sure this would be equally good.

Here is a quick play-by-play of the cook.

I mixed 3/4 cup mix to 3 cups of apricot nectar and injected them evenly. I then applied a liberal coat of my competition rub and let them marinate for two hours.

They went on the Ugly Drum Smoker (UDS) at 350º.

Competition BBQ 101: The Gear

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:43:00 +0000

The dark days of the competition barbeque off-season are almost behind us. Soon all the various BBQ internet forums will be abuzz with preparations for our version of the NFL season. Oh, how I love spring!

Given this, I am going to start a series of posts to address the first-time competitor. This year will only be my fourth competition season, so I vividly remember what it's like to be a newbie. I strongly feel that we veteran competitors should 'pay forward' what we've learned to help the next generation, so to speak.

Competition BBQ 101: How It Goes Down

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:18:00 +0000

In the first installment of this series I covered the essential gear that you'll need for a competition.

In this post I'll provide a basic high-level overview of what to expect at a typical KCBS competition. There are other competition sanctioning bodies, but so far I have only cooked KCBS events, so that's all I know.

First and foremost, you need to know the KCBS rules very well before you arrive. You don't want to learn them the hard way via a disqualification. If you're not familiar with the rules, I suggest that you read them now. The rest of the information below will make much more sense if you understand the rules.

How To: Smoke On A Gas Grill

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:35:00 +0000

The “formal” barbecue and grilling season is nearly upon us, and it recently occurred to me that I've never covered how gas grillers can add smoke to their cooking. Given that a lot of my recipes involve smoking, it's long past time for me to help y'all get your smoke on.

Just because you only own a gas grill doesn't mean that smoking is beyond you. While it's true that a gas grill will never give you that true barbecue flavor that you get from charcoal and/or wood, with a little effort you can get fairly close. Here I'll share several ways to take your gas grill to the next level.

It's a Brat Fest!

Mon, 04 Aug 2014 04:45:00 +0000

We recently moved into a brand new La Casa Daddio, and my partners at Johnsonville were very kind to provide all of the fixins for our housewarming party. How can you go wrong with good friends and brats from the grill on a hot summer afternoon?

One problem of having a bunch of folks over for brats is that you have to keep them hot and moist as your guests show up. Nobody wants to stand around with that deer-in-the-headlights stare as they wait for you to grill them a brat, and the grill guy (me) doesn't want to deal with that pressure. What's a bratmeister to do? Well, this is where the “brat tub” is your friend. What's a brat tub, you ask? In short, you bring a pan full of beer and onions to a simmer with some butter right on the grill, and you drop your perfectly grilled sausages in the tub to stay hot, juicy, delicious and at the ready whenever your guest is in need of some brat-ness.

Review: Kosmo's Q Chicken Soak

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:21:00 +0000

You might remember that I've recently reviewed both the and pork injections from Kosmo's Q. This time out I'll be giving my thoughts on the relatively new Chicken Soak product from Kosmo.

Let me be clear in saying that I am a huge fan of brining poultry. I won't get into all the science of osmosis and the denaturing of protein here, but suffice it to say that it really works wonders. The bottom line is that it adds a ton of flavor and moisture to what can often otherwise be dry and boring meat.

To Brine Or Not To Brine?

Sun, 18 Nov 2018 03:36:00 +0000

Being turkey season, the internet is seriously abuzz at this time of year with folks who are investigating the notion of brining their holiday bird. It seems people are on a seemingly never-ending quest for a better bird. The common refrain from people I talk to is, “So, what's the deal with this brining thing? Does it really make that big of a difference?”

In this post I hope to help explain why brining really is a very good thing indeed.