The last time I was at Fetta Sau up in Williamsburg Bklyn, I picked up this stylish mason jar of their rub. They use ground coffee amongst more traditional rub seasonings, and I've always loved the flavor on their smoked boneless beef ribs. The jar has been sitting in my cupboard for a couple months, but last night I remembered it was there and used it on a thick rib eye steak I picked up for dinner.

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I've read about cedar planked salmon for at least a decade. And I've had a stack of cedar planks in my grilling closet for just as long. Every time I open that closet I see them sitting there, and everytime I grab what I need and close the door leaving the neglected planks of wood behind. But tonight i decided to actually throw them on the grill, and the results were delicious. Read on for more details. 

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I've been barbecuing ribs for years now, and I'm always searching for my ideal pork supplier. My criteria, in no particular order: pasture-raised, humane, sustainable, local, meaty (no shiners!), full-flavored, uniform. I've purchased pork from many local NY farms, but I thought I'd put a few of my favorites to a taste test this past weekend. The candidates? Sir William Berkshire in Dutchess County, Flying Pigs Farm in Shushan NY, and Kinderhook Farm in Ghent NY. They were all at the tops of the scale, but the newbie to the bunch won out in this test. Who is the newbie? Pork out with me to find out! 

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It's that time of year when you might have a crazy amount of leftover brisket in your fridge after celebrating the Jewish New Year. Brisket can be super tasty, but too much brisket is... well, just TOO MUCH BRISKET. Following is a recipe for a beef brisket chili that I've come up with to get through the massive amounts of leftover brisket I have after barbecue competitions. I usually don't add additional spices to that chili because the smoked brisket is already jam-packed with seasonings and smoke... but a typical Rosh Hashanah brisket is not overly seasoned. So I have included my standby chili spices. Interetsed? Read on for the recipe. 

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My second KCBS barbecue competition is in the books after competing in the Harvard Fall Festival BBQ State Championship. 60 teams showed up for this one (note to self: stop entering "State Championships!"), and the competition was serious. Some of these teams are 10 people deep, with decades of experience among them. At most I have a decade of backyard grilling under my belt, so these comps are as much about learning as they are about competing. Read on for a little tour of the weekend.

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I've been smoking ribs for years over charcoal and wood. But before I had a pair of smokers and a pair of charcoal grills, I had a gas grill. I've grilled hundreds of meals on that gas grill and to this day I love that it provides immediate grilling access with zero grill preparation. But could it be possible to smoke ribs, low and slow, on the old blue flamer? Many commercial pits are gas fired with wood added for flavor (Ole Hickory, Souther Pride, etc) and they can turn out some pretty killer 'cue (Blue Smoke, 17th Street Barbecue, Fette Sau, for example).... so I figured it was worth an honest effort. Read on for the results! 

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