Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Honey and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] Char-Broil is an official sponsor of Nibble Me This and I receive compensation from them in exchange for recipes and content.  Any opinions stated are my own and have not been reviewed or approved by Char-Broil.

One of my recent posts for Char-Broil was these Baby Back Ribs with Honey and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce. The sauce for these ribs has brown sugar and local honey, so to counter the sweetness and boost the flavor, I added a good bit of roasted garlic paste that we make at home.

Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Honey and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce

The full recipe is over on Char-Broil's site but here is some B-roll footage from that cook.

I got the idea for the platter from this Burnt Ends-n-Ribs combo that I bought at Famous Dave's BBQ a few weeks earlier.  Their combo uses spare ribs but I had baby backs, so that's what I used.

To remove the membrane for baby back ribs (aka loin back), I find it's easiest to use a blunt knife to start a gap in the middle of the rib and then work a finger into that gap. Then I just wiggle two fingers across the rib as shown and left the membrane straight up and off.  For spare ribs I just start at the end, but for back ribs, this is easier for me.

Smash Steak Burgers with Bacon, Grilled Onions, and Provolone

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] Certified Angus Beef is a sponsor of blog/BBQ team and this is a compensated post.

May is National Burger Month and this is one of our new favorites.

Smash style burgers have been a food trend the past several years.  Essentially, you take a ball of ground beef and smash it flat on a hot flattop, griddle plate, or pan to cook it.  The advantage of smash burgers is they are fast cooking and get a crispy crust.  Smashburger built a chain of over 370 stores around this technique and using fresh Certified Angus Beef.

We do a similar method at home that we call "smash steak burgers" because, instead of ground beef, we use cubed sirloin steaks, like you would use for chicken fried steak or country fried steak.  Plus, we don't smash the burgers but they have a similar texture to the smash burgers that we have had in restaurants.  Of course, we also use fresh Certified Angus Beef!

Smash Steak Burger with Bacon, Grilled Onions, and Provolone Cheese

Makes 2 "doubles"

Ingredients

Deep South Smokers GC36

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  We received no compensation for this post.  We are proud to have Flame Boss as an equipment sponsor. Smithfield and Certified Angus Beef are both sponsors as well.

If you follow our social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook), then you know that we got a new smoker for competitions and cooking for big events back in March. It is a Deep South Smokers GC36.

Deep South Smokers are hand made in Cumming, Georgia by Randall Bowman (KCBS Board Member) and a small staff.  It is a gravity fed, insulated box smoker which basically means long burn times, steady temperatures, and clean smoke.  I first got interested in this type of cooker because Larry of Big Dude's Eclectic Ramblings has been using one (Stumps or Superior, can't remember which) for years and loves his.

I was apprehensive about pulling the trigger on such a major purchase and spent 6 months researching and talking with other owners before making the final decision.  It came down to choosing between Humphreys (also a good box smoker) and Deep South Smokers.  Now that it's done, I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

Features

Randall and his team build a quality smoker with fine craftsmanship and pack it full of extra touches and features.

The first obvious feature is space.  The Deep South Smoker has a smaller footprint than the Warthog but it holds more, cooks infinitely more evenly, and you only have to refill it every 10-12 hours or so, not every 45 minutes.

Jordan's Drunk Pickles

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  We received no compensation for this post. We occasionally receive samples of new products from Albukirky's but we also buy plenty of their wonderful seasonings and sauces.

This is easily one of the most popular dishes that we serve at Eggfests.

• People ask us ahead of time if we are making "the pickles".  
• People come back to our booth for seconds and thirds.  
• We had to make one of those signs with clock hands that shows when the next Jordan's Drunk Pickles are going to be served.
• People actually stand and wait for the next batch to come out.

Jordan's Drunk Pickles served at an Eggfest. That's Jordan in the picture in the background.

Rhonda got the idea for this recipe at Frozen Fest - a unique Eggfest held at a lodge on a lake in Wisconsin.....in February. This is her spin on that recipe.  The reason it has taken so long to get this written up is because we are normally making it in batches of at least 500 servings and just used ratios (3 ham:3 Swiss cheese:1 salami mixed and 1 to 1.5 parts of that mix to 2 parts green chile smoked pork).  Here it is scaled down for what you might make at a tailgate or at home.

Jordan's Drunk Pickles

makes 18 appetizer servings

Ingredients

• 9 jumbo Kosher dill pickles 
• strained pickle juice in a spray bottle
• 1.5 ounce thick sliced Boar's Head Tavern Ham, chopped
• 1.5 ounce sliced Boar's Head Mild Swiss cheese, chopped
• 1 ounce Boar's Head Genoa Salami, chopped
• 1/2 cup Albukirky's Green Chile Smoked Pork, chopped
• mustard

Equipment needed

• muffin pan
• coring tool

Cilantro Lime Wings with Habanero Butter

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] I received no compensation for this post and paid full price for any brand names mentioned.

This is one of the dishes that we served at the 2017 Sunshine State Eggfest and at  the campground for our Egging friends at the 2016 Eggtoberfest.  You can substitute our NMT All Purpose Chicken Rub but I like the Chicken Scratch just a bit better in this recipe.

Cilantro Lime Wings with Habanero Butter

Ingredients

• 4 lb package chicken wings (about 14-15 whole wings)
• 1 recipe Cilantro Lime Marinade 
• Thunderbird Chicken Scratch seasoning 
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1-2 ounces habanero sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• kosher salt to taste
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

2017 Sunshine State Eggfest presented by Wassi's Meat Market

[FTC Standard Disclosure] We received no compensation for this post; however, Smithfield and Certified Angus Beef are both sponsors of Nibble Me This.

We attended and cooked at the 2017 Sunshine State Eggfest this weekend and it was another rockin' food festival.  

This Eggfest was presented by Wassi's Meat Market and it benefits Candlelighters of Brevard. Wassi's is a top notch butcher shop and Big Green Egg dealer located in Melbourne, FL and I have to admit, I get jealous when I see those central Florida Eggers getting to shop there every weekend!  

The event was held at the Radisson Resort at the Port again this year. The weather was absolutely gorgeous as 30 or 40 (my guesstimate, I didn't count) culinary teams cooked up some amazing food on Big Green Eggs and served samples to the thousands in attendance.  We handed out about 1,500 samples this year.  Here's a look back.  

Loaded up and ready to roll.  Things I take to every Eggfest are my knife bag, my gear box, EZ-ups (with tie downs in case of winds), folding prep tables, disposable cutting boards, a bin full of seasonings, and plenty of coolers and 2 Cambro's. 

It's 716 miles from our house to the event.  I like to take the scenic route through the Great Smoky Mountains.  It's 19 miles longer than the I-75/I-10 route through Atlanta but way faster and more enjoyable.

We stop in Jacksonville first, to see family and for a day of prepping at my sister's house (aka "Nibble Me Sis").

First part of prep day is getting supplies. We hit Costco, Restaurant Depot, Gordon Food Services, Publix, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a stop or two.

Memorial Day Grilling Ideas - Ribeye Steak with Garlic Chile Compound Butter

This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency on behalf of Char-Broil; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

May is one of my favorite months for grilling. First, it is the National BBQ Month.  Second, it kicks off the "grilling season" for those folks that don't grill all year long.  Third, it has the second busiest grilling holiday of the year - Memorial Day.  Yep, May is the month when everyone embraces the outdoor lifestyle, cooking and entertaining in backyards across the country and I love that.

Char-Broil® just made outdoor entertaining a little easier for me by upgrading my Commercial TRU Infrared™ 3 burner grill with a 4 burner Commercial TRU Infrared™.  That's extra grilling real estate!

Char-Broil Commercial TRU Infrared 4 burner grill

I have said before, the Char-Broil® Commercial grill one of the top 2 gas grills that I have ever used. My newer, bigger Commercial grill has everything I loved about the 3 burner version plus a few extras.

Parts removed to show the TRU Infrared™ system. Left is the burner with the heat shield moved aside. Middle is the infrared emitter.  Right is the full system of burner/emitter/grates.