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Killer Hogs Sauces and Rubs

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Killer Hogs Rubs and Sauces

Killer Hogs Rubs and Sauces

Every now and then you try something new and it’s so good it becomes your new standard. That’s what happened to us this summer after discovering the Killer Hogs line of sauces and rubs.

Killer Hogs is in fact an award-winning (many times over) bbq competition team comprised of brothers Malcolm and Waylon Reed. These guys know what they’re talking about, and they love sharing their passion as is evident in their friendly, entertaining and very useful bbq tutorial videos.

Their products are truly worthy of their reputation: flavourful, super versatile, and awesomely tasty in every mix-and-match combo we’ve tried. We highly recommend that you grab some for yourself.

What I’m finding myself most excited about is this gem below, Killer Hogs A.P. (All-purpose) Rub.

Killer Hogs All Purpose Seasoning

Killer Hogs All Purpose Seasoning

The ingredient list is deceptively basic (salt, garlic, spices, etc.); whatever magic they do in the mixing makes this an outstanding blend to put on every kind of meat. It works really well alone, and we’ve had several steaks dressed in nothing but A.P.

But what’s really got us going is the layering technique Killer Hogs suggests in their tutorials. We layered these three on a steak the other day, and couldn’t get over the robust flavour and colour.

Killer Hogs - A Tasty Trio of Rubs

Killer Hogs – A Tasty Trio of Rubs

We’ve had fun around the grill combining the rubs in different ways (dialing back this, amping up that…) and haven’t gone wrong yet.

The sauces are also good bbq fun. The BBQ sauce, for instance, is loaded with smokey-sweet-fruity notes I haven’t tasted anywhere else. We do find though that the rubs are so darn good, there’s often no need to dip into the sauces, tasty as they are…

Killer Hogs BBQ Sauce

Killer Hogs BBQ Sauce

So do stop in here soon for most posts about this line of rubs and sauces soon as we’ll surely be doing more experimenting. (And head over to the Killer Hogs website for some truly inspiring bbq tutorials – definitely worth a look).

For more info about Killer Hogs products, helpful how-to videos, and Killer Hogs competition barbecue, visit www.killerhogs.com

Beef Tenderloin on the PK Charcoal Grill

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Beef tenderloin ready to grill

Beef tenderloin ready to grill

 

Mmm…we sure like our beef, and we are loving our PK360 Grill and Smoker. (Kicking off our second grilling season with it – very, very pleased.)

We’ve been hibernating a bit in these parts, but are dusting off the grill and starting things off with tenderloin steaks. Went super-simple tonight, seasoning a trio of good-looking tenderloins with salt and pepper – that’s it that’s all.

 



Preparing to cook on the PK Charcoal Grill

Preparing to cook on the PK Charcoal Grill

 

We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again – the PK 360’s smart design means it’s a cinch to clean up, quick  to prep for grilling, and easy to tend while cooking. (Getting excited thinking of all we’re going to cook on it this summer…)

 

I have created fire!

I have created fire!

 

(Just an action shot as we get those coals  ‘a-glowing.)

 

The PK Grill in action

The PK Grill in action

(And flames make for cool pictures.)

 

Delicious – enjoyed with Heartland’s Director’s Cut – Cabernet Sauvignon (2013)

Success.

Served medium rare with a simple Greek salad and beautiful bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Here’s to summer grilling!

Custom Backyard Platform for Karubecue KBQ C-60 Pit

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So, we love our Karubecue KBQ C-60 Pit and also like having a not-burned-down wooden deck. This summer, in anticipation of KBQ smoker goodness, we had a stone platform constructed where we can safely use this wood-burning wonder for hours and hours. And, it looks great – don’t ya think?

No, this is not an archaeological dig. (Maybe barbecuelogical.)

Custom BBQ Platform Step 1

Getting things on the level…

Custom BBQ Platform Step 2

Ingenious pattern devised by a brilliant 17-year-old mind (after applying much-appreciated 17-year-old muscle to the excavationary details…)

Custom BBQ Platform Step 3

Cool stones that are going to weather years of bbq to come…

Custom BBQ Platform Close Up

Almost there…

Custom BBQ Platform Step 4

Pit platform perfection!

Inaugural rib fest. Totally. Worth. It.

Karubecue in Action on Custom Platform

Reverse Your Approach to Grilling with the Reverse Sear

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Steak that’s tender and juicy on the inside with a gorgeous, delectable crust on the outside. Sound good, right? In fact, it sounds perfect. That’s why you’ve got to try the reverse sear method.

Basically, the reverse sear method means smoking your meat low and slow at first, finish it off over the high heat of blazing-hot coals, and serve immediately. It may fly in the face of what you’ve heard all our lives (it did for us) – get the grill searing hot right away, throw the meat on for a few short mins on each side, then tent and rest. But, when you think about what we’re all after – juicy, beefy inside with a pleasing crust to seal it in – doesn’t the reverse sear make so much sense?

Two Cook Zones on PK Grill

Yes.

And it works.



We grilled up a thick ribeye using this method on our PK Grill – which is the perfect grill to accomplish the reverse sear. Not only is setting up two different heat zones side by side is so easy – a ‘cooler’ indirect heat side for smoking, and a hot direct heat side built up with a neat pile of fiery charcoal for the sear – the adjustable vents allow you to harness the power of the hot coals to turn the cool side into a smoker.

We really like the degree of control we have over temperature and smoke due to the adjustable vents on this unit (two in the lid, two underneath) which you can open or close to get things just right. We created direct and indirect sides in our PK Grill by opening the lower right side vent (the one underneath the coals for the searing stage) and also opening the “opposite” vent (the upper left vent), keeping the other two vents (lower left and upper right) closed. This allowed air to come in through the lower right vent to superheat the coals. It also allowed the smoke from the hot side to be drawn toward the open upper left vent, drifting over the steak while it cooked on the indirect heat side — and thus smoking it low and slow.

Prepping for High Heat with Bacon Fat

In terms of numbers, we aimed to get our indirect heat side to about 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Again, we could achieve this level of precision by adjusting the vents described above and monitoring the temperature of the grill and the meat with our handy Fireboard digital thermometer (read our Fireboard post for more info). Our ribeye smoked on the indirect heat side for ~25 minutes, with the lid closed of course. We monitored the temperature of the meat (also with the Fireboard thermometer) and cooked it until abou1 110 degrees before the sear stage (we were aiming for a final temp. of ~130 degrees for a beautiful medium rare).

High Heat Searing Action

The direct heat side took about one chimney starter full of charcoal, and we tossed on a block of white oak for good measure. When we were ready to get the situation sear worthy, we opened up the lid as well as all the vents and got our coals as hot as hot can be. (For added ribeye yum, we used the decadent technique of slathering the meat with bacon fat just before putting it on the high heat. The salty, bacon-y goodness melts into the steak which will soon melt in your mouth.) Not surprisingly, we got some flare up with all that fat and heat (which looks dang cool in pictures, right?, and they key was turning them meat often – every five or ten seconds – for not much more than a minute, in order to caramelize and not burn the outside.

The next critical step is to serve a.s.a.p – no resting. With the traditional high heat/short cooking time method you’re resting the meat to get the juices that have be retreated center-ward from the heat to redistribute inside. With the reverse sear, there’s no need because the meat has basically cooked slow and low with a quick sear at the end (thus no panicky, retreating juices). In the end our reverse-seared ribeye was off-the-hook tasty.

Glorious! (So glorious, in fact, we needed to pair it with a gorgeous wine from Bordeaux – a 2006 Chateau Monbousquet from Saint Emilion. A dinner for the ages!)

Winner, Winner – Ribeye Dinner

– Ms. K

Fireboard Takes the Heat Off Checking Meat

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You have got to get yourself one of these babies! The Fireboard is a digital thermometer that really makes slow and low smoking the laid back activity it should be — by keeping track of the temperature of both your grill and your meat.

Fireboard with Probe

Fireboard and Probes

But that’s not all – it sends the data in real time to its Fireboard cloud servers so you can check the real-time status of your meal on your phone, tablet, etc. That means you don’t have to hover near your smoker for hours to either lift the lid for a peek, or even to glance at the readout on a thermometer. Just check your phone wherever you are and get assurance that everything is hunky-dory (…or not. And then you know it’s time for an intervention!).

Below is the sort of useful (and very sciency) graph you’ll see on your device that lets you in on what’s going on in your grill (taken from our epic low-and-slow pork shoulder made on our Big Green Egg):

Fireboard Graph

So that’s the graph, and here’s the meat the Fireboard was charting – mmmmm…..

 

Fireboard with Pork Shoulder on Big Green Egg

Super useful — your Fireboard lets you go even more low maintenance by allowing you to set up alerts to warn you if temps go too far up, down, or sideways. Since this can mean the difference between delicious dining or dinner disaster — totally worth it!



Here’s a pic of our Fireboard hooked up to monitor the ambient heat of our PK 360 Grill. Notice how the thermometer’s probe attaches to the grate:

 

Fireboard Monitoring Ambient Heat

Here’s another pic — and this time we’re measuring both the ambient heat (heat inside the grill) and the meat itself. Note the two cables and follow where their probes go  – one attaches to the grate, one nestles into the meat:

Fireboard measuring ambient and meat temperature

Here’s another photo of the Fireboard just hanging out and doing its thing, while we hung out somewhere else doing our thing…

Fireboard in Use (With PK360 Grill)

More than handy, potentially a dinner-saver, and super reliable every time we’ve used it, we’re really pleased with our Fireboard and can’t imagine not using it when we grill. So far, we’ve put it to use with a pork shoulder on our Big Green Egg, and for back ribs, reverse-seared steak, and cedar planked salmon on our PK 360 Grill.

Want to get a Fireboard for yourself?

Check out www.fireboard.com to purchase or for more information.

 

 

Cedar Planked Salmon on the PK 360 Grill and Smoker

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Cedar Planked Salmon is a delicacy we’re so glad we learned how to pull off. Spreading dijon mustard over the fish and adding a generous sprinkling of brown sugar creates a heavenly alchemy of smoky, glazed goodness.

For years, we’ve been using our Big Green Egg to make this tasty dish with awesome results. We wanted to give it a whirl on our new PK 360 Grill and Smoker, and were very satisfied with how it turned out.



Below is a pic from our first try, where, while yummy, we felt we could have achieved a slightly more cedar smoked taste:

 

Cedar Planked Salmon on PK 360 Grill and Smoker

 

We suspected the remedy was getting a more significant char going on the cedar plank itself,  so that’s what we did on attempt #2. Basically, we placed the cedar plank right over the coals (you’ll see it’s a bit offset in the photos above). We even rotated midway through to make sure the plank got a nice, even scorch. Much more cedar smokey goodness this way!

 

Cedar Planked Salmon with Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

 

On both occasions, we smoked up one of those really generous-sized Atlantic Salmon fillets. Since we’re only feeding two around our table, there were delicious leftovers in addition to our dinner. I love eating cedar planked salmon cold, as in this ‘modified’ nicoise style salad, with a hard boiled eggs, olive medley, and roasted beets, blanched green beans, and fresh dill from the local Farmer’s Market. Drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar and a fine extra virgin olive oil  – not a bad way to do lunch:

 

Cold Salmon with “Nicoise-Inspired” Salad

And I still have some for tomorrow! 😉

Ms. K

 

Chef Tim Love All Purpose Bad Ass Rub

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Chef Tim Love All Purpose Bad Ass Rub

A few weeks ago, we received our awesome new PK 360 Grill and Smoker. (Check out our ‘unboxing’ post – and more to come about the tasty results…) There was a Father’s Day special going on when we ordered, and one of the sweet bonuses was a trio of premium spice rubs from Chef Tim Love.

So far we’ve only cracked open the Chef Tim Love All Purpose Bad Ass Rub for some tasty pork side ribs, but man it’s made us eager to try the rest – it was absolutely excellent. (You know when you sample something just to see what it’s like and then you have to keep going back to ‘check’ it a few more times to make sure? Yeah, you’re sure.)



Personally, I love cumin and there was a strong hit of it in this rub right off the top. There’s definitely a reverberating kick from this bad ass too, thanks to the guajillo chile (hot and spicy). Grounding it and rounding out all the flavours are herbs like rosemary and thyme, so you get some herby, earthy goodness, too. And ain’t it pretty to look at?

Close Up of Chef Tim Love Bad Ass Rub

Here it is rubbed into the pork side ribs ready for the smoker with a spicy, all-natural orange glow…mmmm…

Tim Love Rub on Pork Side Ribs

We totally loved the blend right out of the bottle, but the way the Bad Ass Rub mellowed and evolved after a few hours of smoking was ingenious. All that great flavour was still there and you still got some heat, but now it was seriously complementing and in no way overpowering the ribs. I’m drooling as I write…

Well done, Chef Tim Love – and thanks also to the folks at pkgrills.com for introducing us to a great rub. We’ll be trying the other rubs we got really soon – Chef Tim Love Steak Rub and Chef Tim Love Poultry Rub – so stay tuned, Nation!

– Ms.K

PK360 Grill and Smoker Unboxing

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PK360 is Here!

Our Summer of Grill keeps getting better and better! We just received our awesome new PK360 Grill and Smoker – the newest iteration of the popular PK (“Portable Kitchen”) Grill. We were attracted to it for the ability it’s going to give us to set up different cooking zones at the same time (‘cooler’ on one side for slow and low, and ‘hot as heck’ for searing) and its smart ash clean up design (more below). Plus, we were able to take advantage of a sweet Father’s Day discount and scooped up some accessories and bonus gourmet rubs as well. Check out our little ‘unboxing gallery’ here and get inspired…

 

Well-Packed PK360 Grill and Smoker

Funny how the most durable, least fragile things are packed so well (!)…not that we’re complaining. Everything arrived in super shape. Two of us made lifting some of the heavier items out of the box a tad more convenient.



 

Some High-Quality Parts!

You’ll be immediately struck by the high-quality cast aluminum capsule. A work of smoker art — and hard to imagine ever having to replace it.

 

PK360 Parts and Bonus Toys

We went a little grill-happy and added some accessories, like the rib rack (in the orange box), the high-quality cooking utensils (they come with convenient hooks for attaching to the shelves when not in use). We’re especially excited about the The Great Scrape Woody Paddle (pictured to the left of the capsule) which we’ll use for cleaning the grates. It’s just a flat panel now but it will ‘groove’ as we scrape the grate clean, conforming to the exact size of the wire racks over time (for cleaning those nasty nooks and charred cling-ons).

 

Assembling the parts…

Working some assembly magic with an allen key…

 

Coming together…

The instructions were easy to follow and the unit quickly came together…

 

Assembled and Ready to Grill!

A beauty…almost there! BTW, above you’ve got a good shot of the 4-point venting system ‘controls’. Note the circular vents on the top of the lid (that’s one and two); you control vents found inside the bottom of the capsule with the two round black dials under the unit (that’s three and four).

 

Removable Black Durabilium Shelves – Comes Standard with PK360

Two black ‘durabilium’ shelves come standard with the PK360 to provide a handy prep/food staging surface.  The shelves can be removed if you want to lift the capsule off the stand and haul it somewhere (remember, PK= “Portable Kitchen”). We’re considering upgrading to the PK360 Teak Shelves – in our view a bit more attractive – but frankly the standard shelves look and work just fine. (On our first few grillings, we thought we dedicated a hint of plastic smell resulting from the high heat of the capsule, but it seems to be going away with more use.)

 

Convenient Hinged Grid

The hinged grid is ‘grate’ (groan.) Seriously, you can easily lift it with tongs while cooking when you need to make adjustments to the coals without doing contortions over fire. And it stays propped up on its own (as you see pictured) so it won’t flop onto your meat.

 

Raised Vents to Control Internal Airflow

These raised vents (shaped like little ‘volcanoes’, in the bottom of the capsule) are just plain smart… You top them with the ‘lid’ show above that hovers just above the openings on the legs on either side of the hole – this protects your deck or patio or wherever you’re cooking from ash falling through the bottom while still letting air circulate from the bottom of the grill. You control the degree to which the holes are open with dials on the front of the grill, and as we showed you above, you also have vents in the lid of the capsule. (In the picture below, you’ll see that there are two ‘rows’ of vent holes. )

Check out this great features overview demo video at pkgrills.com showing off the 4-point vent system.

 

Manage Ash for Convenient Clean Up

As notes, your vents are protected from the ash during cooking. This ‘plug’ is where you can push all the ash and dump it into a bucket or bin when you want to clean up. Super easy.

 

PK360 Lighting the Coals with Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter

We lit things up for our first PK360 meal (rib-eye steaks) with our Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter. Watch for more on the PK360 – amazing griller/smoker so far.

 

More info:

Want to buy one now? Go right to the PK360 page on the official PKGrill site.

Or visit www.pkgrills.com for detailed information.

-Ms. K

Flight of Ribs on the Big Green Egg

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It’s the beginning of summer. The hose has been uncoiled. The deck furniture has been dusted off and set out. The comforting hum of distant lawn mowers fills the air… You’ve probably been grilling and even bbq-ing all winter, but now begins the season of ‘low and slow’. What better way to herald in those glorious pitmaster meals than by smoking up a tasty rack of baby ribs?

Baby Back Ribs with Assortment of Rubs

The answer is by smoking up four racks of baby back ribs.

And for bonus points, why not approach each rack like the work of art it is and treat it to its own rub? That’s what we did for a recent gathering of hungry pit aficionados. We took four different approaches to our racks using a couple of stellar spice blends from The Spice House and some other tasty favourites:

Gary Wiviott’s Barbecue Rub  – a tangy/herby blend with definite spicy zip. The paprika gives the meat a gorgeous reddish-orange colour. They look yummy even before the smoking begins…

Bronzeville Rib Rub – You’re gonna get a sweetly spicy hint of nutmeg here – sensitive noses may catch a unique smoky sweet scent as it cooks. Mmmmm…

Rub Some Butt BBQ Seasoning (from Old World Spices and Seasonings Inc.) – as a Carolina-style rub, this one’s mustard-based combined with tangy apple cider vinegar and a sweet dose of brown sugar. Definitely stood out as different among the other two where chili and paprika played more of a leading role,

Last but not least, we went salt-and-pepper only, then brushed on some Rufus Teague’s Honey Sweet Sauce, a great sticky-sweet sauce whose name says it all.

Preparing for the Flight of Ribs with the Big Green Egg

Three hours or so of smoking goodness on our Big Green Egg resulted in our first ever ‘Flight of Ribs’, our bbq spin on what you might find on a fine-dining menu. (Frankly, paired with Two Left Feet, an unctuous Molly Dooker Shiraz/Cab/Merlot, our meal was as exquisite as it gets. And it’s inspired us to develop a beverage pairing for our next Rib Flight. It’s going to be one, luxurious summer.)



As for the verdict on which rub was best, each approach was appreciated, but one of our guests singled out the saucy goodness of the “Rufus” ribs while another preferred the  spicy bite of Wiviott’s blend. A lengthy discussion ensued on the ideal order for the various ribs to be eaten (spicy to sweet? tangy to saucy?) and how that might have affected the palate. Debates are great because to resolve them, you have to revisit the evidence, so to speak.

Fours Racks of Baby Back Ribs on the Big Green Egg

To sum up, ‘food flights’ are no longer for the fancy folk. Get creative with your ribs  – but put out the white cloth napkins at your peril.

– Ms.K

 

 

Karubecue KBQ C-60 Pit Unboxing and Assembly

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We got our Karubecue (KBQ) smoker last week  – the KBQ C-60 Pit – and ohhhhhhhhhh, baby!

The first thing anyone can see – this is one solid, well-made unit. It’s packed like a dream, too and arrived in absolutely pristine shape. (Wiener dog approved as well…)

 



Assembly instructions were clear and easy to follow and we had it all put together and ready to go on our deck in about 30 mins or so. (Screwing on the back casters was the most awkward part since you have to reach into the unit and find the holes at the back, but nothing crazy. Two of us made quick work of that)

It’s hard not to appreciate the quality of every piece as you fit it all together. Even an allen key was included (doesn’t always happen — usually when you need it most).  KBQ Cares!

We’re stoked about the whole thing, but the firebox (the box you see sitting on top of the unit) and KBQ’s whole ‘inverted flame combustion’ technology is what’s got us more than curious…

KBQ C-60 Pit Assembled

So on a sort of side note, we’re the type of smoker folk that likes to cover things up when we’re on a smoker/pit hiatus. The KBQ doesn’t come with a custom cover, but when we asked the company about it, they recommended this generator cover (sold on Amazon), which really does fit over the unit perfectly. We had to rejig some of the racks inside to fit the firebox into the main cook box, but fit it does!

Exciting to see this come together – more exciting to think of what we’ll make with it. Salivating just thinking about the brisket, pulled pork, short ribs, back ribs… Stay tuned for more pics!

 

Want a KBQ C-60 Pit of your own?

Can’t wait –  go right to the order form on the official Karubecue site.

Or visit www.kbq.us for detailed information, more pics, users manual, contact info, and more.