Kevin's BBQ Joints

It’s not often that I get jealous of the potential winners for a giveaway that I’m having, but when you open your fridge and find you’re out of one of your favorite BBQ sauces (in this case it’s Big Butz BBQ Sauce X-Tra Hot), you start to get envious that someone (actually two lucky people) will be winners of a great prize package from Tom Porter at Big Butz BBQ Sauce. If you don’t know Tom, HERE is a piece I wrote about his sauces a little while back.

Above and beyond the fact that he makes incredible BBQ sauces and rubs/seasonings, he’s genuinely a good guy who is immensely supportive, especially within the BBQ community. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be following him on twitter .

OK, I could go on and on. So here’s the scoop:

The two winners will get to select any two of the 5 sauces made by Big Butz BBQ Sauce and any two of their rubs…and as a bonus each will get 2 packets of Carolina Magic Sauce Mix.

Here’s a list of their sauces:
1 Jar of Big Butz BBQ Sauce – Original
1 Jar of Big Butz BBQ Sauce – Hot
1 Jar of Big Butz BBQ Sauce – X-Tra Hot
1 Jar of Big Butz BBQ Sauce – Cranberry
1 Jar of Big Butz BBQ Sauce – No Butz

Here’s a list of their rubs:
1 6 oz. packet of Big Butz – Pig Pollen
1 6 oz. packet of Big Butz – Cow Pow
1 6 oz. packet of Big Butz – Chicken Dust

Here are shots of the prizes sans the No Butz BBQ Sauce as I didn’t have a photo:

Photo of sauces courtesy of Cyndi Allison

Pig Pollen (Pork Rub and Seasoning)

Cow Pow (Beef Rub and Seasoning)

Chicken Dust (Poultry Seasoning)

There are (3) easy ways to enter. All you have to do is ONE of the following:

(1) Tweet (or Retweet) about the contest including @kevinsbbqjoints and @bigbutzbbq so we both can track it. (2) Post a comment about Why you should win on the facebook page for Kevin’s BBQ Joints. (3) Post a comment below about why you feel you should win this contest you will get an additional entry (so that’s up to 3 per day!).

To up your odds, you can enter every day.

The giveaway will run through Monday February 20th at Midnight Pacific and we will be randomly drawing the two random winners for the prize packages within the next two to three days.

If you want to purchase some of Big Butz BBQ Sauce’s products you can HERE

Thanks so much to Tom from Big Butz BBQ Sauce and of course, good luck to everyone!

Black’s Barbecue, the oldest family-owned barbecue restaurant in Texas, was my second stop during my trip to Lockhart, TX.

I have had a good relationship with the Black family (doing a few contests) and wonderfully and unexpectedly they provided the meal pictured in the photos that follow at no charge. As such, I can’t give a review that isn’t tinged with that appreciation. Know that all of my thoughts are straight forward.

When you enter Black’s you are immediately presented with a serve yourself sides bar. This was not common with most BBQ joints that I went to, but seemed to work well with the overall set up where you get your sides on a tray then head to the meat cutters.

Here’s a closer look at the sides they offer:

Seriously, look at the size of that beef rib, it’s massive:

I had to give homage to Man Up Texas BBQ for this shot of me holding the beef rib for a BBQ porn shot (a quick side note that in any of the Texas photos of me holding a beef rib to the camera I have to say they inspired me to do this).

So I ended up getting a beef rib, a pork rib, brisket, turkey, and sausage.

The sides didn’t impress me much (they weren’t bad in the least bit, just not memorable), however to be quite honest, I really didn’t come there for them. They were beans, mac and cheese, potato salad, cole slaw, and black eyed peas.

Here’s a shot of one of their pits with briskets on it.

So what did I think? I loved the beef rib. It was the 2nd best I had during my stay in Texas. It was rich, tender, and unctuous. The brisket was pretty stellar too. It was incredibly moist and pulled apart easily (it didn’t crumble as sometimes happens when brisket is overcooked). It was definitely not overly smokey which is a concern I often had. Strangely (to me being a red meat lover), the turkey was a meat item that rose to the top. Really moist and intensely flavorful. The sausage in my opinion was mediocre. It was good, but just didn’t wow me at all.

I’d recommend Black’s without question and from talking to others that had recently been, it’s considered the most consistent on a day to day basis of the Lockhart BBQ joints.

Have you been? What are your thoughts?

Here are 5 more great BBQ joints from restaurants across the country

Photo of the Tipsy Texan Sandwich from Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas via Texas BBQ Posse

Photo of ribs from Butcher Bar in Queens, New York courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Photo of Community Q BBQ in Decatur, Georgia via The Georgia Barbecue Hunt

Photo of burnt ends from Southern Soul Barbeque in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia via Oshawa Ogre: News, Views, and BBQ’s.

Photo of Parker’s Barbecue in Wilson, North Carolina courtesy of BBQ Jew

This week’s “My Favorite BBQ Joints” comes from Wes Hagen, the Vineyard Manager/Winemaker at Clos Pepe Vineyards which is nestled in the heart of the Santa Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County, California. Since the day I met Wes about 4 years ago at his vineyard for a semi-private tour I knew I was speaking to a man who not only had a deep knowledge and passion for wine, grape growing, and wine-making, but also a like passion for food and the way food pairs with wine. Because Clos Pepe is hands down my favorite producer of Pinot Noir (and if you tried one of their’s you’d be hooked instantly) I am especially honored that Wes accepted my invitation to participate.

Since Wes lives in an area of California that deems BBQ to be what many across the rest of the country would call ‘grilling’, he has stuck to his roots and provided places that serve up the best of ‘California BBQ’. Here are his favorite BBQ (grilling) joints in his words:

Hitching Post 2 – Buellton CA Even though I am a sauce, smoke and slow-cooking BBQ guy, I have to grow comfortable that the ‘BBQ’ on the Central Coast of California is *really* grilling. Now that we have that out of the way, I will say that hot-fire grilling over coastal red oak produces some of the best grilled meats in the world. I took a break from the HP2 after Sideways when the madness was still at a fevered pitch. But I have been returning at least once a month (I used to dine 2x a week) to the Hitching Post 2, and I do believe that Jesus (one of the main grill chefs) is the best griller in Santa Barbara County. He can do medium rare on a prime pork chop within a 1% level of perfection each time. Hard to get the center of that thick chop just barely opaque. Other faves include dry rubbed spare ribs, the grilled duck, the mushroom appetizer, and of course the filet mignon and the New York. For the trencherman, try the Rib-Eye medium rare. The chefs cook on the rare side, which is good, because the meat is so good you could eat it raw. Make sure to do a full lineup/tasting of the Hitching Post Pinot Noirs–a staple of SBC wine!

Photo of the Hitching Post II courtesy of Serious Eats

Jocko’s – Nipomo, CA Another grilling joint that we call BBQ, one of the oldest in the County. The menu describes a time, in the 40′s/50′s when a monkey used to serve drinks in the bar. It’s another place, like the HP2, where the décor is not nearly as important as the quality and thickness of the steaks. The portions are mammoth size–most of the meals could feed a small family. The grill chefs get it just right, and the prices are a little lower than the HP2. Jocko’s, though, is a Central Coast tradition worth a visit. My only issue is with their 3 oz Libby wine glasses. I’m a low-maintenance wine snob, but I do bring my own stems to Jocko’s. Great cocktails and the baseball cut Top Sirloin is a great choice.

Photo of Jocko’s courtesy of BBQ Guam

Here’s some more info on Clos Pepe:
Clos Pepe is a family-owned vineyard and winery set in the heart of the Santa Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County, California. Of the 29 acres planted in vines, 25 acres are planted in Pinot Noir, and 4 acres in Chardonnay. Pinot Noir is our passion. They make about 800 cases of Estate Pinot Noir each year, 100 cases of Chablis-style Chardonnay that is aged without the use of any new oak, and a few hundred cases of ‘Barrel Fermented’ Chardonnay using only older, ‘neutra;’ French oak barrels. ‘Clos’ (pronounced with a long ‘o’ and with no ‘s’, like ‘Klo’) is a French word that literally means ‘wall’. It describes the ancient stone walls that surround small, meticulously farmed (usually) Burgundian vineyards,rarely you will see a ‘Clos’ in other regions of France, such as Alsace, the Rhone, or Bordeaux. The term ‘Clos’ also denotes a winery in the same way as the words ‘Domaine’ or ‘Chateau’. So the name ‘Clos Pepe’ means Pepe’s Winery, or, more specifically ‘The Burgundian-style vineyard of a guy named Pepe’. Steve Pepe (pronounced ‘peppy’ like someone with a lot of energy) is our Vigneron – he oversees operations and tastes barrels and aging bottles to assure they live up to his strict quality standards.

Our current list of prodcuers, as of Harvest 2011, include Clos Pepe Estate, Arcadian, Ken Brown, Siduri, Loring Wine Company, AP Vin, Hall Wines and Roessler . All of these wineries vineyard designate their Clos Pepe wines.

You can purchase their wines as well as some merchandise HERE

You can follow them on Twitter HERE
You can check them out on facebook HERE

I’ve been a fan from a distance of Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ, chef/owner Aaron Siegel, and his two joints in South Carolina (Sullivan’s Island and Charleston) for a while now. I know that he’s been working hard to put out quality BBQ with a sophisticated yet rustic (if that makes any sense) twist.

Here’s some additional info: “Aaron opened Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ in the Fall of 2006 with the feel of an old Mississippi juke joint. The restaurant features traditional BBQ fair with Memphis-style dry rubbed Ribs and Chicken, a Texas-style braised and smoked Brisket along with Eastern North Carolina-style Pork Butts.”

“The BBQ is surrounded with traditional Southern sides such as creamy grits, smoked gouda mac and cheese, corn bread, squash casserole, and collard greens. After two successful years, Aaron ad his investors decided to pursue the idea of BBQ and Southern cuisine at the beach.”

“The Sullivan’s Island location opened in May of 2009 with the addition of a full service dining room, an extended menu, combined with the BBQ shack/juke joint concept.”

Have you been to either of their locations? What are your thoughts? If you want to order any of their BBQ or merch sent to you you can do so HERE.

Follow them on twitter HERE
See them on facebook HERE

First off, I wanted to thank everyone for entering the Pork Barrel BBQ Giveaway. It was by far the most popular that I’ve run with over 500 entries. I hit up random.org to choose the three lucky winners which you can see below pics of the prizes again:

Here’s a photo of the sauces and rubs:

Here’s a photo of their peanuts:

Third Place Prize – Carol B. via a comment on my blog
1 bottle of Pork Barrel BBQ Original BBQ Sauce
1 bottle of Pork Barrel BBQ Sweet BBQ Sauce
1 bottle of Pork Barrel BBQ Mustard BBQ Sauce
1 jar of Pork Barrel BBQ All-American Spice Rub
1 can of Pork Barrel BBQ Peanuts

Second Place Prize – Caleb Laughlin via Facebook Entry
1 bottle of Pork Barrel BBQ Original BBQ Sauce
1 bottle of Pork Barrel BBQ Sweet BBQ Sauce
1 bottle of Pork Barrel BBQ Mustard BBQ Sauce
1 jar of Pork Barrel BBQ All-American Spice Rub
1 can of Pork Barrel BBQ Peanuts

Grand Prize – Lisa Vigna @lavesq via Twitter Entry
2 bottles of Pork Barrel BBQ Original BBQ Sauce
2 bottles of Pork Barrel BBQ Sweet BBQ Sauce
2 bottles of Pork Barrel BBQ Mustard BBQ Sauce
2 jars of Pork Barrel BBQ All-American Spice Rub
1 can of Pork Barrel BBQ Peanuts

Congrats to the winners. Please email me (or DM me) your address and I’ll have Pork Barrel get your prizes out to you. Thanks again to Heath Hall and Brett Thompson from Pork Barrel BBQ.

Here’s a great video of Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue in Cave Creek, Arizona by ABC15.com.

Photo of Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue courtesy of @hedrives

Have you been here before? What are your thoughts?

I recently read a small write-up on Larry J’s House of Q in Chelsea, Massachusetts at BostonGlobe.com, so to learn more I instantly went to Pigtrip.net which is my go to source for anything New England area BBQ.

Photo of the beef rib courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Since I haven’t been yet, I figured Pigtrip.net could put it best, “A usual downside of over-the-counter joints is lack of appetizers, but Larry J’s is almost singlehandedly changing that paradigm with a bevy of innovative treats: rib tips, burnt ends, Fire Balls (spicy meatballs with spicier dipping sauce), wings, chili, Hawg Wings (pork shanks), catfish bites and more.”

Photo of their sausage courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Pigtrip.net continues, “The barbecue menu is equally far reaching, with both pork ribs (St Louis cut spares) and beef shortribs, pulled pork, sliced brisket, two varieties of sausage, smoked and pulled chicken. Beyond ‘cue, there’s a burger, a veggie burger, a catfish sandwich, assorted stuffed baked potatoes and four salads. Although not mentioned as such on the menu, cornbread is included with platters. I like that chili is available as one of the choices for sides. I almost like the way the combo plates (up to four meats) are configured, with different prices depending on whether ribs are included, but the only way you can get chicken on a combo is paired with ribs.”

Photo of the brisket courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Photo of the burnt ends courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Photo of the pulled pork sandwich courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Read the rest of the review HERE and do yourself a huge favor and check out his site for information on BBQ joints in New York City, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. If there’s a BBQ joint in any of these states chances are he knows about them.

Check out Larry J’s House of Q yourself here:

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Thanks to Eater – San Francisco for cluing me in to a new BBQ Joint called Southpaw BBQ. It looks like they are offering a mix of BBQ taken from many different regions.

Photo courtesy of Thrillist

They have smoked & pulled pork shoulder, dry rubbed & smoked ribs, braised (not smoked?) beef brisket, whiskey brined chicken, fried catfish and fried oysters. Their sandwiches (which are served with house pickles & chips) are: Pulled BBQ pork sandwich with coleslaw, Grilled Pimento Cheese with spicy tomato soup, Fried Catfish with lettuce, tomato, and Helen’s roumelade, and a Fried Oyster and Bacon sandwich with spicy aioli, marinated onions, and fresh herbs. You ‘sides’ options are: black eyed peas, chili, vinegar coleslaw, sautéed zucchini w/ roasted garlic, brussel sprouts w/ bacon, Delta Grind cheese grits, vinegar braised collard greens, Creole mustard potato salad, and baked mac & cheese.

Photo courtesy of Sins Spices Survival

They have (7) different sauces. They are: Memphis, Alabama white, Eastern North Carolina, mustard herb vinaigrette, sweet potato habanero, sweet chili vinegar, and sangre de Memo hot sauce.

Photo courtesy of Daily Candy

You can see their menu HERE
Follow them on twitter HERE
Check them out on facebook HERE

I had a chance to visit Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew about two weeks ago with two icons of Austin BBQ.

This is the only interior shot I have which doesn’t show how large the actual restaurant is.

The BBQ was really good. You can tell that Lance Kilpatrick is putting great effort into providing consistent, quality BBQ. We ordered brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs, and sausage. My favorite was the pork ribs followed by the brisket and beef ribs. The sausage didn’t blow me away, but possibly as second helping of them on my next visit might change my opinion.

I definitely feel that I’d hit up Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew if I was in the area again. You’re going to get a great meal and of course be able to partake in their numerous beer offerings, So don’t forget your collapsible Koozie. They also have several large screen TV’s so it would be great to check out a game in the evening or weekend and be able to get some BBQ to compliment.

Follow them on twitter HERE
Check them out on facebook HERE